Rising Terror Chief Worries U.S. Officials
Baitullah Mesud, Accused Bhutto Assassination Mastermind, Emerges As Global Nemesis
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Photos Of A Dangerous Threat
Photographs of Pakistani warlord Baitullah Mesud have emerged for the first time. U.S. intelligence officials call Mesud "one of the most dangerous people on the planet." Bob Orr reports.
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Sources say Pakistani warlord Baitullah Mehsud threatens to eclipse Osama bin Laden as the world's top terrorist. (CBS)
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Pakistan Blasts
Two massive suicide bombs ripped through a federal police headquarters and a home in Lahore.
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Bhutto Killed In Bombing
The bomb went off just minutes after Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto spoke to thousands of supporters.
He is Pakistani warlord Baitullah Mehsud, the accused mastermind of the Benazir Bhutto assassination. An emerging leader, sources say, who threatens to eclipse Osama bin Laden as the world's top terrorist.
Terrorism analyst Christine Fair says Baitullah Mehsud is running a training camp for suicide bombers in Pakistan's off-limits tribal region -- a magnet for radical Islamic recruits from Europe and potentially the United States.
"He may not be out there cultivating people to send them abroad, but people abroad may seek him out for the operations that they conduct back home or elsewhere," Fair says.
Officials suspect that's precisely what happened in the recent foiled suicide bombing plot targeting transit systems in Spain and four other European countries.
Operatives rounded up in Barcelona have been linked to terror training camps in the same Pakistan region where Mehsud is the supreme commander and where al Qaeda has found safe sanctuary.
Robert Grenier was a top official at the CIA.
"Given the fact that he is able to control territory that is extremely important to al Qaeda, that makes him a very important player," Grenier says.
Unlike al Qaeda leaders bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri, who use very public propaganda to assert their power and build fear, Mehsud is a secretive tribal fighter who rarely shows his face outside his inner circle.
But Mehsud's message is just as threatening.
With his identity protected, Mehsud told the Arab network al Jazeera, "We want to eradicate Britain and America ...We pray that Allah will enable us to destroy the White House, New York, and London."
"He's saying the same thing that bin Laden said then years ago," Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff said. "And it doesn't mean that the attack's coming tomorrow, but yeah, it's certainly, he's the kind of person and his group is the kind of group that we need to mindful about."
While Mehsud's emergence from the shadows is worrisome, U.S. officials hope there's an upside. As one intelligence analyst put it, if he makes himself more visible, he'll be easier to eliminate.
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See all 80 CommentsNow Congress will allow eavesdropping---we should go to level orange any day now.
Put the fear of Allah in those Americans who feed into it.
Perhaps we should invade Pakistan.
More hate for Muslims--vote for McCain--he''ll save you--thats only if Bush is out of office in 09.
My problem is, if this is true---who will protect us? Most of our troops are out killing terrorists.
Have no fear--Bush is here!
Posted by truth-hurts at 03:16 PM : Mar 17, 2008
Of course, when you have no bid contracts that get paid regardless of whether your projects are complete failures, there''s really not much to check up on, just gotta make sure none of the crooks who work for you are looting the company, selling materials to Al Quaeda or something and not giving you your cut of the booty.
-He looks more like the Yeti living in the neighboring Himalaya Mountains... Another TERRRORRR fright!
-Bob Orr, why don''t you report something on Olmert, the biggest Israeli terrorist who terrorized Lebanese civilians over, on July 2006, killing over 1000 civilians, Kana babies, destroying more than their share of CIVILIAN INFRASTRUCTURE?
This CBS article reeks of more poopaganda boogeyman nonsense from some garbage factory like IntelCenter, or the SITE Institute.
Not to be taken for other than comedic consumption.
Re: "Unlike al Qaeda leaders bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri, who use very public propaganda to assert their power and build fear..."
Pot to kettle, Bob Orr!...pot to kettle...
I wonder what kind of "attack" we will see if the neo-conservatives/neo-liberals feel cornered.
Remember the nukes that were "accidentally" flown around the U.S. recently, all willie-nillie?
Were there 5? or 6?
Hi "grazinggoat",
Re: "Bob Orr, why don''t you report something on Olmert, the biggest Israeli terrorist who terrorized Lebanese civilians over, on July 2006, killing over 1000 civilians, Kana babies, destroying more than their share of CIVILIAN INFRASTRUCTURE?"
A very good question.
From the article-
Re: "With his identity protected, Mehsud told the Arab network al Jazeera, "We want to eradicate Britain and America ...We pray that Allah will enable us to destroy the White House, New York, and London."
Why would he "protect" his identity, if it is already known who he is, and what he looks like?
"He''s saying the same thing that bin Laden said then years ago," Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff"
So top U.S. official terrorist, Michael Chertoff, couldn''t even come up with a new script for this nonsense?
Another idle to make FellFree1 proud of being jihadiot is rising.
Now those left-wing jihadiot who post daily on this site have a new hero.
FellFree1, rowdytexan,floyzepp,liberalme,j-whitman and others, now you have another hero who will make you forget about OBL.
Another idle to make FellFree1 proud of being jihadiot is rising.
Now those left-wing jihadiot who post daily on this site have a new hero.
FellFree1, rowdytexan,floyzepp,liberalme,j-whitman and others, now you have another hero who will make you forget about OBL.
Posted by BaghdadsHere
Why shouldn''t we forget about Osama---Bush did years ago!!
Fortunately for America--not all of us believe all Muslims are terrorists, anymore than all germans are nazis or all italians are mafia.
It''s you fear based war mongers that loves having the (now) minority scared to death--just to justify Bushs'' war for oil!
Remember--you can fool some of the people some of the time-------
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zScm2X3S2AM
Just put one foot infront of the other...LOL!
A female suicide bomber attacked a group of Shiite worshippers near a mosque in Karbala on Monday, killing at least 32 people and wounding 51, officials said.
03/17/08 Reuters: Gunmen kidnap 2 off-duty Iraqi soldiers in Tikrit
Gunmen kidnapped two off-duty Iraqi soldiers at a fake checkpoint on Sunday in western Tikrit, 175 km (110 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
03/17/08 Reuters: Roadside bombs wound 4 in seperate incidents in Baghdad
A roadside bomb wounded three people in Zayouna district in eastern Baghdad, police said...A separate roadside bomb wounded one person in Mansour district, police said.
A roadside bomb killed one policeman and wounded another as they patrolled Mansour district in western Baghdad, police said.
03/17/08 Reuters: Five bodies found in Baghdad on Sunday
Five bodies were found in different districts across Baghdad on Sunday, police said.
03/17/08 AP: Three bodies found in Udaim
police said they found the bodies of three members of a U.S.-allied group fighting al-Qaida in Udaim...Members of the mostly Sunni groups have been increasingly targeted by suspected al-Qaida members seeking to derail the recent security gains.
03/17/08 Xinhua: Three killed in minibus bombing in Baghdad
"A booby-trapped minibus went off after midday near the UqbaBin Nafie Intersection in Karradah neighborhood in central Baghdad, killing three people and wounding 11 others," the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
03/17/08 AP: Roadside bomb targeting a U.S. convoy injures four civilians in Baghdad
A roadside bomb targeting a U.S. convoy injured four civilians in Baghdad, while a separate bombing in the capital''s Mansour neighborhood injured a policeman. Both were reported by police officials on condition of anonymity because they...
Still, it''s the neo-cons that act like Manson... but to stupid americans, looks are everything....dah!
A female suicide bomber attacked a group of Shiite worshippers near a mosque in Karbala on Monday, killing at least 32 people and wounding 51, officials said.
03/17/08 Reuters: Gunmen kidnap 2 off-duty Iraqi soldiers in Tikrit
Gunmen kidnapped two off-duty Iraqi soldiers at a fake checkpoint on Sunday in western Tikrit, 175 km (110 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
03/17/08 Reuters: Roadside bombs wound 4 in seperate incidents in Baghdad
A roadside bomb wounded three people in Zayouna district in eastern Baghdad, police said...A separate roadside bomb wounded one person in Mansour district, police said.
Posted by Smirk5 at 08:48 PM : Mar 17, 2008
Is this the new guy--the old guy or a bunch of guys? Did they catch them?? Hope so with all the military sacrifices over there.
Posted by Smirk5 at 08:58 PM : Mar 17, 2008
More Bush sacrifices.
Posted by Smirk5 at 08:58 PM : Mar 17, 2008
More Bush sacrifices.
Posted by liberalme at 09:03 PM : Mar 17, 2008
+ report abuse
*******
you..pumping gas..leeching off the sacrifices of others
"and just like clockwork..radical liberals coming out of the shadows diverting attention away frm this terrorist with wishy washy made up hollywood style fantasies.."
Iraq was a diversion away from the real war on terror.
There was this "hollywood style" fantasy where we''d invade Iraq and we''d be greeted as liberators. In that fantasy, Saddam had WMDs and a nuclear weapons program and secret drones to deliver anthrax on our coastal cities. It was a great story. Oh, and oil would pay for the reconstruction. While the real terrorists that attacked us on 9-11 have regrouped, Bush has had us on a 5-year hollywood style fantasy where we''re "winning" in the war on terror.
Posted by libsrweak at 09:30 PM : Mar 17, 2008
Does that mean you don''t work or have a car?
Posted by x123123 at 10:04 PM : Mar 17, 2008
Tracy Morgan, is that you? What''s up girl friend? Did the KKK meeting let out early this evening?
Re: "Did the deaths of 3000 people at the world trade towers satisfy Obama and his church for their justice?"
I doubt it, but we know that Mr. Cheney, the "dancing Israeli" spies, and various Israeli leaders were pretty happy about it.
I think that is why Mr. Orr, CBS, and the rest of our complicit Western media are hyping up this new alleged boogyman- too get us primed for part two, so that the plutocrats can retain power and control.
Posted by libsrweak at 09:33 PM : Mar 17, 2008
-libsrweak and RepukonsRfreak. You are an fricking idiot! Santa Claus exists in your dumb thick mind... sleep well DumbIdiottoOfStupidoLand. Have you fright-jumped when you saw the new Yeti? Scaring huh?
GOD D-A-M-N WHITE AMERICA
Posted by x123123 at 10:20 PM : Mar 17, 2008
-x123123123123 said on conditions of anonamity. LOL!
Posted by libsrweak at 09:33 PM : Mar 17, 2008
-libsrweak and RepukonsRfreak. You are an fricking idiot! Santa Claus exists in your dumb thick mind... sleep well DumbIdiottoOfStupidoLand. Have you fright-jumped when you saw the new Yeti? Scaring huh?
Posted by grazinggoat at 12:21 AM : Mar 18, 2008
+ report abuse
Posted by libsrweak at 09:33 PM : Mar 17, 2008
-libsrweak and RepukonsRfreak. You are an fricking idiot! Santa Claus exists in your dumb thick mind... sleep well DumbIdiottoOfStupidoLand. Have you fright-jumped when you saw the new Yeti? Scaring huh?
Posted by grazinggoat at 12:21 AM : Mar 18, 2008
+ report abuse
******************
am i right or am i right?? diversions..diversions..
profanity and idiocy seems to ooze out of these pro-terrorist anti-american liberal *slash* terrorist bit ch masses when they squirm with a little pinch of salty truth..
From the article-
"He is Pakistani warlord Baitullah Mehsud, the accused mastermind of the Benazir Bhutto assassination."
It looks pretty likely to most reasonable folks, that our little nuclear-armed, military dictator buddy, Musharraf, was the "mastermind" behind this murder, so this article looks pretty silly from the get go.
I don''t think that as many folks will be willing to buy this latest ooga-booga creation, this time around.
(1) bombed until nothing but scraps are left
(2) captured and waterboarded until they squeal like hogs
(3)both
psy_war,
That was not a very nice comment to "grazinggoat".
psy_war,
The only lunatics that I am worried about at the moment, are the pro-Israeli extremists and the neo-nuts, that have seized control of our country, and are driving it into the sun.
All other current threats pale in comparison, in my opinion, and this article is just another layer of ********* on the pile.
I saw that dude kickin it with Adam Pearlman at a reggae show last Summer.
They were really off the hook.
It is becoming more clear by the day that Obama and Clinton are right here. We need to be where these people are, where they live. Fighting a proxy war in some other country is NOT going to capture and bring to justice people like this. Sieg Heil Bush
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Posted by MCVet at 06:02 AM : Mar 18, 2008
+ report abuse
You are so right Sarge. Right now Terrorist Leaders are developing networks in Europe and around the world. They are using the vast hatred for Bush as a weapon against us, they are using the invasion and occupation of Iraq to scare people into helping them. From all indications and from the size and scope of the World Wide protest against us, they have very good grounds to develope such networks. Very good Ground indeed.
Of course you''re only worried about pro-Israeli extremists.
Why wouldn''t you be when you''re a Moslem Arab who''s paid to pose as a patriotic American on this Comment board by a well-known terrorist organisation?
GUESS WHAT? IT''S ANOTHER ELECTION, AND THE SCARE-YOU-BOY''S, ARE UP TO IT''S USUAL TRICKS. CARL ROVE HAS COME OUT OF RETIREMENT. THE HOMELAND IN-SECUTITY WILL RAISE THE TERROR ALLERT TO LIME GREEN AS SOON AS THEY SOBER UP FROM THEIR MEETING LAST NIGHT. THE NEXT ATTACK WILL COME IN THE FORM OF A MUSHROOM CLOUD. A VOTE FOR A DEMOCRAT IS A VOTE FOR AN ATTACK ON THE HOMELAND.
BOO !!! GOT YA.............
Now would someone PLEASE explain what we''re doing in Iraq? IF we are concerned about the safety of this nation it would appear to me that we would be listening to what Obama and Hillary are saying. THEY, if you believe this expert, are dead on the money. This is where the Threat is NOT Iraq!!
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