In yesterday’s Herald Tribune: 'Blair's [the new director of national intelligence] written testimony was made public as he prepared to appear in person before the intelligence committee Thursday afternoon. For the first time since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the annual threat report did not list Al Qaeda as the most immediate threat facing the United States. Instead, Blair devoted the beginning of his testimony to the implications of the economic crisis and the "likelihood of serious damage to U.S. strategic interests."
The crisis spawned by American markets, the report read, "has increased questioning of U.S. stewardship of the global economy and the international financial structure."'