Said one analyst: "The fact that they haven't struck out against the West proves to me in itself that they are still being controlled by the ISI." Not that the control of the ISI should make anyone sleep better at night. First, there is the plainly disturbing notion of a jihadist group essentially owned and operated by Pakistani intelligence. They have proven themselves dangerous even when supposedly "under control" -- see also: Mumbai.
Even then, all it takes is one loose cannon putting the desire to wage jihad now over any semblance of a policy of strategic restraint at the ISI. More on this story. "Pakistani militant group a global terror threat," by Kathy Gannon for the Associated Press, April 2 (thanks to JCB):
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Created by Pakistan to wage a proxy war against India, the Lashkar-e-Taiba terror group has moved its jihad onto the global stage and could match al-Qaida in strength and organization, according to officials, experts and group members.
Blamed for the 2008 Mumbai massacre, Lashkar-e-Taiba has developed its own distinct networks worldwide, found global funding sources and established links with groups that refused to hook up with al-Qaida, fearing Osama bin Laden's group would hijack their causes, say analysts who have followed the organization.
According to interviews with analysts, intelligence officials and anti-terrorism investigators on three continents, the group also known as LeT could be poised to expand its reach beyond South Asia.
U.S. court documents and an internal Indian government dossier on the Mumbai massacre acquired by The Associated Press show that Lashkar-e-Taiba (pronounced LAHSH-kar eh TAY-eh-ba) operatives have turned up in Australia, Europe, East Asia and the United States.
They have plotted to blow up sites in Australia, recruited from existing terrorist groups in European capitals and have become the greatest source of inspiration for radicalized Muslims living in the West, say intelligence officials in the United Kingdom and France.
Juan Carlos Zarate, a top counterterrorism official in the administration of President George W. Bush, said his "fundamental concern is that LeT could not (only) serve as the flashpoint for a broader South Asia conflagration but could also evolve into an alternate international jihadi platform for global terrorism."
Lashkar-e-Taiba, which means Army of the Pure, belongs to the Salafist movement, an ultra-conservative branch of Islam similar to the Wahabi sect, the main Islamic branch in Saudi Arabia from which al-Qaida partly emerged. The organizations operate separately but have been known to help each other when their paths intersect.
Former and current members interviewed by the AP denied the organization has ambitions beyond India and fighting to reunite the disputed territory of Kashmir.
If LeT does have aspirations of becoming a global terrorism force, whether it acts upon them may depend on whether it is willing to strain its relationship with Pakistan. Despite being officially banned, it operates with relative freedom there — even doing charity work using government money.
Last month its leader, Hafiz Saeed, addressed a rally of thousands demanding the hanging of CIA contractor Raymond Davis, who had been arrested for killing two Pakistanis. Davis was released after blood money was paid to the family in accordance with Pakistani law.
Under Islamic law. Pakistan didn't make that up.
Details of how several LeT members plotted mayhem and murder from nondescript locations in the United States and their hideouts in Pakistan were outlined in a 35-page plea agreement struck by David Coleman Headley, a Pakistani American who aided in the Mumbai assault.
In those meetings they gave detailed instructions on how to deliver, place and detonate explosives, according to the Illinois District U.S. court document obtained by the AP. They plotted the Mumbai attack that killed 166 people and discussed blowing up the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten to protest publication of offensive cartoons depicting Islam's Prophet Muhammad, the document said.....
At least the report said "Islam's Prophet Muhammad," honorific capitalization notwithstanding. And apparently the AP finds or takes for granted that its readers will find the Motoons "offensive."
Oh, good, another international jihadist organization. We can never have enough of those.
"established links with groups that refused to hook up with al-Qaida, fearing Osama bin Laden's group would hijack their causes"
I wonder what groups and what causes those might be.
In the meantime, our fearless leaders are squandering ordnance, treasure, valor and national will (no blood, yet) on this fool's errand in Libya. By the time we face a genuine threat, we won't have the resources left to tackle it.
Of course, perhaps that's "The One's" deep game ...
Whoever is indulged, will take license. Obama drove spike into islamonazi backs in his al-azhar surrender. When US Presidents say that islam is benign and muslims are victims, then that hands terrorists a window of opportunity.
See this somewhat balanced New York Times report on political-islam in Egypt. However, they need to know that the muslim-brotherhood is indeed a salafi entity. Ask al-Zawahiri. Once these savages are in power, they will make the quran their constitution, as it is in the saud terrorist entity.
http://video.nytimes.com/video/2011/04/01/world/middleeast/100000000754912/egypt-salafi.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=thab1
Let's send the Pakis packing.
Part of preparing the citizenry in the West to take part in a counterJihad, or at least an effort in self-defense, is to enable people to be able to, first of all, name the threat, put a label onto it, something simple and easy to remember. Hence "al-Qaida" is a name everyone nowadays is not afraid to say, at least. Almost everyone can feel comfortable in any social situation saying "Al Qaida" and not be afraid of being misunderstood as a crazy person. Of course, what to do about it is another issue, but at least everyone everywhere in the West agrees there is such a dangerous thing called Al Qaida. Many have also heard of "Hamas". We, as a civilization, have gotten that far, minimally. It's time to expand the lexicon for all the MSM-type devotees, beyond Al-Qaida and Hamas to a third name: "Lashkar-e-Taiba". The mainstream mind is capable of expanding the circumference of danger to include now this third terrorist group.
I believe Pakistanis are a large portion of Muslim immigrants, especially in the UK, probably in the U.S. too. Those in the know tell us that Lashkar e Taiba have become the greatest source of inspiration for radicalized Muslims living in the West. The MSM should be picking up on that soon and telling everyone that. There's a whole other world over there in the East, in India and in Australia. New maps shall be drawn up. Maybe the mapmakers will also include Russia.(You know, that country north of Pakistan).
“Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new and there you will find things only evil and inhuman,” the Byzantine Emperor Manuel II said in 1391.
The words above proven every day.
There is a solution: Isolate them. Do not admit them in to Western countries. Warn them that should a nuclear warhead ever get used against a non-Islamic country that we will retaliate with a blow to Mecca and Medina along with other sites.
We should demolish those cities with large H-Bombs so that the only thing left to pray to will be a radio-active molten crater.
Tell them that they're free to abuse each other according to their creed, but that they'd better not try it upon us.
Those that go to those countries will be on their own. We should not spend one penny to help them.
Then, let the chips fall where they may.
For the analyst who took comfort from the fact that the LeT is still under the control of the ISI, s/he would do well to remember that there was a time when the Taliban too was under the control of the ISI. Yep, Taliban, and that too under Benazir Bhutto, the late wife of Pakistan's current president - who owes his position purely to nepotism in the ruling party.
For this exercise, I'm glossing over the obvious fact that for this analyst, only terrorism against the West is a cause for concern, and so wouldn't invoke Mumbai in any of this.
At least the report said "Islam's Prophet Muhammad," honorific capitalization notwithstanding.
Yes!
They could forgo capitalization if they added a comma, as in, "Islam's prophet, Muhammad." That would be grand to see in the Associated Press.
Whether any country helps us r not we r more than capable of taking down these psychos on our own ofcourse its gonna cost us little more money and lives but it has to be done. India is used to do the donkey work all along on its own
Muhammadans couldn’t plan mayhem from nondescript locations or anywhere else in America for that matter if our politicians would regain their sanity and ban and reverse Muhammadan immigration. Indeed, it doesn’t matter how much we expand the size of the federal government or increase federal spending ostensibly to protect the homeland from Islamic terrorist attacks, but really to create a false sense of security so we can continue accommodating mass Muhammadan immigration with all of its excess baggage, as long as there are millions of Muhammadans living in America with thousands of mosques and madrassas, Islamic terrorists will always be able to hit us at will. Indeed, there is only one-way to protect the homeland: ban and reverse Muhammadan immigration, as zero Muhammadans equals zero Islamic terrorist attacks.
Moreover, we can’t afford to continue accommodating Muhammadan immigration with all of its excess baggage as for all intents and purposes this country is already bankrupt.
Let's not forget that the US of A played a major role in foisting Islamic extremism on Pakistan through its unstinting support for zealots like Zia ul-Haq, Pakistan’s fundamentalist Sunni dictator in the 1980s.
Ronald Reagan called Mohammedan terrorists in Afghanistan “freedom fighters”.