The economic crisis is currently the biggest threat to the United States, National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair said Thursday. Blair told the Senate Intelligence Committee about the potentially dangerous effects of a sustained and deep recession, which started in December 2007 and is expected to last at least through the middle of this year. Blair also said al Qaida is less capable than it was a year ago but remains a leading threat to the United States. Despite U.S. and international efforts in Afghanistan, the Taliban is regaining power in many parts of that country.
