The Blotter reports in an unusually candid statment by the United States Director of National Intelligence, Jack McConnell, indicated both Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri are in the Waziristan region of Pakistan and building new Al Qaida training camps.

Referring to Pakistan’s rugged tribal area, McConnell said “to the best of our knowledge that the senior leadership, No. 1 and No. 2, are there, and they are attempting to re-establish and rebuild and to establish training camps.”

It is this area which has been news of late when CIA officials and unnamed sources have told publications Al Qaida has at least attempted to rebuild under the peace agreement brokered with Pakistan in the tribal region of Waziristan.  As noted by The Blotter, this testimony comes one day after U.S. intelligence presented Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf what has been described as ‘concrete’ evidence Al Qaida is using the territory to rebuild its terrorist network (coverage HERE).

We haven’t heard anything from OBL in nearly one year, while Ayman al-Zawahiri has released several video and audio tapes within over the course of the past year.  That has led to speculation OBL is dead, but it has also led to speculation the due split up, apparently having issues who gets the prettiest virgins.  In fact, Musharraf has said he believes the two went their different ways.

Now it appears that is not the case, that the two are at least in alliance to rebuild Al Qaida under the safe refuge of tribal law, and in a region where there is at least some open hostility towards the Pakistani government.  An October 2006 strike against a madrassa used as a training center was aiming for Zawahiri, so we knew U.S. intelligence at least believed Zawahiri was within the region.  But bin Laden has been rumored to be in the Northwest Frontier near the finger of Afghanistan bordering Uzbekistan.  That appears not to be the case according to McConnell’s testimony.