CIA l "Syria is the worst threat to the U.S."

"It's probably the biggest problem in the world today, in the direction they are taking" the conflict, Morell explained in an interview with the newspaper The Washington Post two days before leaving the agency after 33 years of service. In his opinion, there are more foreign fighters who join the ranks of al Qaeda-linked groups in the worst days of the Iraq War. There is also the risk of the crisis spreading through the region or that the regime of President Bashar al-Assad that Syria will fall and become a new sanctuary for al Qaeda. Morell also noted that Iran, North Korea and cyber warfare are other threats to the security of their country. About Al Qaeda, the deputy CIA director said the United States has been able to decrease "significantly" the threat, although the extremist network "has also achieved their victories." "The dispersion of Al Qaeda is your victory," he said, to point out that the organization led by Ayman al Zawahiri has spread increasingly autonomous groups.