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Arabia
Al-Rooters' love letter to Baitullah Mehsud
2008-02-04
Fred posted this snippet of the article, published in the Pak Daily Times. Now, as Paul Harvey would say, stand by for the Rest of the Story. And bring your barf bag:
Baitullah Mehsud, the leader of the Taliban in Pakistan, had just consoled the father of a 16-year-old suicide bomber when he spoke of his religious compulsion to drive American forces out of Pashtun tribal lands.

"I know very well the military might of America, and that fighting with America is like banging my head against a wall," said Mehsud, his dark eyes gleaming beneath a black turban.

"But my religion compels me to fight against the occupiers until the last drop of my blood,"
"I know very well the military might of America, and that fighting with America is like banging my head against a wall," said Mehsud, his dark eyes gleaming beneath a black turban.

"But my religion compels me to fight against the occupiers until the last drop of my blood," he said, according to a witness among the scores of kinsmen and fighters who had assembled to commemorate the boy's martyrdom for the cause.

That was in August, 2006, in the village of Khaisor in South Waziristan, just a few days after Shoaib, the son of a cleric, had rammed his truck into a convoy of Western troops in the Afghan village of Nawe Adda in Paktika province.

Pakistani general had called him "a soldier of peace" for signing a peace deal
Two months ago, Mehsud was declared Emir of the Taliban in Pakistan. Yet in 2005 a Pakistani general had called him "a soldier of peace" for signing a peace deal that brought a short-lived lull in the conflict in South Waziristan.

Intelligence officials say he's been behind a wave of suicide attacks in Pakistani cities since the army stormed Islamabad's Red Mosque in July to crush a militant movement. But it was when Pakistani officials named him as the prime suspect in the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto on December 27 that Mehsud's notoriety rocketed.

evidence pointed toward the little big man -- Mehsud is barely five foot tall
CIA Director Michael Hayden also said the evidence pointed toward the little big man -- Mehsud is barely five foot tall -- in South Waziristan.

According to the Friday Times magazine, Mehsud is financed by al Qaeda and Afghan and Pakistani businessmen in the United Emirates
In a recent interview with al Jazeera, Mehsud said he had met Abu Musab al Zarqawi, the al Qaeda leader killed in Iraq. According to the Friday Times magazine, Mehsud is financed by al Qaeda and Afghan and Pakistani businessmen in the United Emirates.

Despite this pedigree, Brigadier Mahmood Shah, former chief of security in the tribal areas, says he is unimpressive. "He is not much of a man, inconsistent government policy has made him so important."

Mehsud possesses qualities that have allowed him to assemble a heavily armed following. "He is very clever, he is very cool-minded, he is very calculating. He is not a jumpy character."
But Shah says Mehsud possesses qualities that have allowed him to assemble a heavily armed following. "He is very clever, he is very cool-minded, he is very calculating. He is not a jumpy character." Shah believes Mehsud has been able to exert fear over ordinary tribesmen who are sick of the conflict.

Th[ey] might underestimate Mehsud, whose fighters humiliated the Pakistani army last August by capturing some 250 soldiers in a supply convoy, and later exchanged them for the release of 25 of his own men
"I don't think people respect him because they think that all their troubles are because of him. Th[ey] might underestimate Mehsud, whose fighters humiliated the Pakistani army last August by capturing some 250 soldiers in a supply convoy, and later exchanged them for the release of 25 of his own men.

"DIABETIC"

A member of the Shahbikhel, a sub-tribe of the Mehsud, who with the Wazir represent the main tribes in Waziristan, the tribal region furthest from Peshawar, the capital of North West Frontier. There are seven regions within the semi-autonomous Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), but North and South Waziristan are the poorest and most violent.

...recalls a simple person, quite religious
Abdul Karim Mehsud, a lawyer in Peshawar who comes from the same tribe, said he hadn't seen his clansman for six years, but recalls a simple person, quite religious, but an avowed jihadi driven by desire to liberate Afghanistan, where he had fought.

"He's a diabetic and he doesn't sleep well because of the diabetes," the lawyer said.

Many of the men in Baitullah Mehsud's family are truck drivers, according to the lawyer. Other members of the tribe describe a round faced man with a trim black beard in his mid-thirties, who left school at the age of 12, never made much money, is economical with words and strict in dealings with subordinates.

Mehsud, who was actually born near Bannu, a town at the gateway to North Waziristan, moved to the village of Shaga, and built a mud-walled home on the dusty land of his forefathers.

A government official with experience in Waziristan, who requested anonymity, said the authorities had built Mehsud's reputation by blaming him for any attack they can't solve.

"He's enjoying it. He's raising his status among his own fighters," the official said dismissively.

"A typical Robin Hood."
Hat Tip: Jammie Wearing Fool
Posted by:Seafarious

#7  ABU KHABAB MASRI seemingly isn't dead either.
Posted by: JosephMendiola   2008-02-04 18:52  

#6  NEWSMAX > ABU KHABAB [MASRI] TRAINING RECRUITS FOR WMD ATTACKS. USG believed Masri survived deadly attack back in 2006 - is now allegedly training AL QAEDA foreign recruits in secure Paki areas where research into Chemical-Biological WMDS can be safely conducted.

ISRAEL > DIMONA reactor city suicide attacks > IMO, marks a shift in focii to seriously damage or destroy Israel's self-defense nuclear assets, espec NUCMATS for mil-oriented nuke warhead production
Posted by: JosephMendiola   2008-02-04 18:51  

#5  Â¿Ah, another "last drop of blood" guy, ya say?

Exhibit A: Who's blood?
Here's the Blood

Your Witness...

************************************************

Seafarious and Fred, Damn it, pounds forehead on desk! you guys beat me to it!

I thought I scooped the first good PIC of Maulana Fazlullah first!! Bawwaaaaa
Posted by: RD   2008-02-04 16:46  

#4  *"Until the last drop of my blood" > Amers are reminded again that many dedic Muslims including Radical Islamists fear their -ism's USSR-style self-implosion + obsolescence.

*"Little big man" > DUSTIN HOFFMAN in LITTLE BIG MAN???

* "Met ABU MUSAB AL ZARQAWI, the Al Qaeda killed in Iraq" > I too met + know ZARQ = ZARK, and I'm NOT convinced he's dead, NOR that the personage reportedly killed in Iraq was him.

* "Humiliated the Pakistani Army" > IOW, for such an allegedly small unimportant man, MEHSUD HAS TALENT/WORTH.

* "Is a DIABETIC" > RUNS IN THE FAMILY/BLOOD.

OTOH, "LOVE LETTER" > VIBE MAGAZINE [USA/African-Amer Mag] > VIBE KNOWS MANY OF YOU DAWGS OUT THERE DESIRE = ARE HOPING FOR A SERIOUS WHITNEY HUSTON COMEBACK - WHITNEY'S THE QUEEN!
Whitney fan OSAMA BIN LADEN???

D *** NG IT, VIBE MAGAZINE IS SICK AND TIRED OF RAP MUSIC BEING SICK AND TIRED!
Posted by: JosephMendiola   2008-02-04 16:38  

#3  give him what he wants, his last drop of blood i mean
Posted by: sinse   2008-02-04 16:19  

#2  Ah, another "last drop of blood" guy, ya say?
Posted by: tu3031   2008-02-04 14:38  

#1  But my religion compels me to fight against the occupiers until the last drop of my your sons' blood.

There. Fixed it for ya, Mehsudie, old boy.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305   2008-02-04 11:45  

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