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| Terror Networks |
| Mastermind fears grow: terrorism is a family practice |
| 2003-03-04 |
| United States authorities, buoyed by the capture of al-Qaeda operations chief Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, say they are worried his nephews may take over planning terrorist attacks. We have noted here before that being a scumbag terrorist seems to be genetic. As FBI agents began running down leads which emerged from a search of the house where Mohammed was captured in suburban Islamabad, counter-terrorism officials said they believe that two of his nephews and one of their cousins were planning al-Qaeda operations in the US and Europe. Mohammed was flown from Pakistan yesterday to Afghanistan, where US interrogators are questioning him. The interrogators' immediate goals were to find out about any attacks planned for the near future and the location of al-Qaeda's leader, Osama bin Laden. They believe bin Laden is hiding in the rugged northern border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan. I still think Binny is feeding the worms. An informant is reported to have tipped off US intelligence about the whereabouts of Mohammed. In London, The Sun claimed that an Egyptian father of four, who is a suspected former Taliban officer, was to be given a $A43million reward. He had been tracked down by the CIA and arrested in the Pakistan border town of Quetta on February 14. The newspaper reported that the man was being offered a new identity. The Sun also reported the town in England where the guy was supposed to be hidden in. Binny is supposed to have spoken (from the grave) and put out a hit on him. US intelligence officers say Mohammed had in the past spoken about blowing up filling stations and suspension bridges. He is believed to have been active in several plots targeting US interests, but officials do not have specific details. Even before Mohammed's arrest on Saturday, sources said, the US intelligence community were worried that his nephews had the experience and connections to succeed him. The brothers have been in Pakistan and move easily around the Middle East, officials said, but their whereabouts are unknown. They'll be moving now, wondering if Uncle Mohammed is going to crack and give them up. Authorities in Pakistan say they were led to Mohammed by information developed from other arrests, including the arrest five months ago of Ramzi Binalshibh. US officials said on Monday they were also helped by the capture last month in Quetta, Pakistan, of Mohammed Omar Abdel-Rahman, a son of the blind Egyptian cleric serving a prison sentence for plotting to blow up New York landmarks. Another family connection. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #8 Dar, When we shot down Yamamoto in 1943, the war ended in...1945. Wait a minute! I'm with you. Whatever else you think about these deranged nutballs, they are persistent. This is a fight that's going to take a long time and a lot of patience. Unfortunately, a lot of Americans are short of the latter. |
| Posted by: Dreadnought 2003-03-04 16:40:51 |
| #7 Oops--I was posting at the same time as you, Bomb-a-rama, so please don't interpret my comment as targeted at your comment. Especially as I agree with your sentiment! |
| Posted by: Dar Steckelberg 2003-03-04 15:41:58 |
| #6 (T)hey are worried his nephews may take over planning terrorist attacks. Who the f... cares? Am I just that naive that I don't see what the worry here is? Isn't the idea of taking out the "mastermind" so that command and control is crippled, morale suffers, paranoia increases, and, ideally, infighting will result as internal factions wrestle to advance their successor? And, if you take said "mastermind" alive, you get the added bounty of intelligence on the org, creating even more chaos as they race to change their communications, and supply and finance methods. Or am I really that naive? Surely they didn't think the whole org was just going to dry up and blow away in the wind... |
| Posted by: Dar Steckelberg 2003-03-04 15:39:58 |
| #5 United States authorities, buoyed by the capture of al-Qaeda operations chief Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, say they are worried his nephews may take over planning terrorist attacks. Then the answer to this that it will become necessary to capture them too, even kill them, if at all possible. How difficult a concept is this? |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2003-03-04 15:34:40 |
| #4 Must be like "king me" in checkers? |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-03-04 12:49:42 |
| #3 Now he's a masterminder. Yep, not much else to do these days but mind the ol' master. |
| Posted by: becky 2003-03-04 12:48:19 |
| #2 I thought there could only be one "Mastermind"? I thought it was like....a rule? And if they're such "Masterminds" how come they always end up dead or in jail? |
| Posted by: tu3031 2003-03-04 11:46:12 |
| #1 "Mastermind" heh heh. is funny, nyet? |
| Posted by: mojo 2003-03-04 10:59:29 |