Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the terrorist group affiliated with Osama bin Laden's organization, does a decent magazine, said a top government official Feb. 9 before a congressional panel.

The magazine in question is AQAP's Inspire, which so far has come out with three issues; the official was Michael Leiter, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, and the panel was the House Homeland Security Committee.

"We obviously look at Inspire--it's spiffy, it's got great graphics and it...probably speaks to individuals who are likely to be radicalized," Leiter told the committee chairman, Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.).

But the content doesn't break new ground, Leiter added. "It is not, I don't think, something revolutionary new in substance, but the way it conveys the message is useful [to AQAP] and we think it is attractive to English speakers."

Past features have included "Make a bomb in the kitchen of your mom," "I am proud to be a traitor to America," and an exclusive interview with Abu Basir al-Tartusi, a Syrian extreme Islamist living in London.

The magazine came up during a discussion of the shifting shape of homeland security threats, which now includes a greater possibility of uncoordinated, individual attacks from individuals motivated by al Qaeda propaganda.

AQAP has proven particularly adept at using the Internet to spread their message, Leiter said. Anwar al-Awlaki, a senior AQAP figure, "certainly is the most well-known English speaking ideologue who is speaking directly to folks here in the homeland...Awlaki probably does have the greatest audience on the Internet, and in that sense, is the most important."

The rise of homegrown terrorists has forced the Homeland Security Department to modify its approach to counterterrorism, said Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, who also testified at the hearing. "The realities of today's threat environment means that state and local law enforcement officers will more often be in a position to notice the signs of a planned attack," she said.

In response to a question from King, Napolitano said she spends "the bulk of my time" on counterterrorism. "It can be in the TSA world, it can be in the CBP world, it can be in the Intel and analysis world and working with the fusion centers," she added.

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