Michael Leiter

(Newser) - Osama bin Laden’s reign as the top terror threat to the US is over: According to the head of the National Counterterrorism Center, he’s been overtaken by Anwar al-Awlaki . “I actually consider al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula with al-Awlaki as a leader within that organization probably the...

(Newser) - The US is facing a major threat from inside: as home-grown terror plots abound, authorities may not be able to foil every plot, said a leading counterterrorism official in a Washington speech. Amid “a more complicated threat, a more diverse threat, and lower-scale attacks to include individuals who have...

(Newser) - The director of the National Counterterrorism Center remained on his ski vacation despite news that a passenger had tried to blow up a Detroit-bound jetliner. Michael Leiter, the top official in charge of analyzing terror threats, didn't return to the Virginia center's "bat cave" near the CIA until several...