Risk is lower, but Paris attacks could hit United States

WASHINGTON (AP) — When Fran Townsend was counterterrorism adviser to President George W. Bush, she says, her worst nightmare was that the al Qaida network would send men with assault rifles into malls across the American heartland on a crowded shopping day. Al Qaida was more focused on airplanes and spectacular bombing attacks, and it apparently never attempted such low-tech mayhem. But current and former American officials say last week's attacks in Paris show the extent to which the Islamic S

WASHINGTON (AP) — When Fran Townsend was counterterrorism adviser to President George W. Bush, she says, her worst nightmare was that the al Qaida network would send men with assault rifles into malls across the American heartland on a crowded shopping day. Al Qaida was more focused on airplanes and spectacular bombing attacks, and it apparently never attempted such low-tech mayhem. But current and former American officials say last week's attacks in Paris show the extent to which the Islamic S…