Taliban leader says attack on Washington will amaze.

[killer cacti]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,511873,00.html

 

The United States has put a $5 million bounty on his head, and he says militants under his control are planning a terrorist attack in Washington that "will amaze everyone in the world."

 

And he isn't Usama bin Laden.

 

Baitullah Mehsud, commander of the Taliban in Pakistan, told The Associated Press in an interview Tuesday that his group was responsible for Monday's attack on a police academy in his country that killed seven police officers and injured more than 90 others.

 

He also said, chillingly:

 

"Soon we will launch an attack in Washington that will amaze everyone in the world."

 

Terrorism experts call Mehsud a "rising young star" who is linked both to the December, 2007 assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and the bombing last September that killed 54 people in the Marriott hotel in Islamabad. They say his threat to carry out an attack in Washington is credible.

 

"It should be taken seriously because [Mehsud] has ordered the deaths of many Pakistanis and Afghans and has a close alliance with Al Qaeda," said James Phillips, a terrorism expert and senior research fellow for Middle Eastern Affairs at the Heritage Foundation.

 

"It's not too much of a stretch to think he might be involved in an attack on the U.S. if he's able to get his followers inside the United States. He's a militant extremist whose threats cannot be ignored."

 

Mehsud, 35, is the senior leader of Tehrik-e-Taliban, or the Taliban Movement of Pakistan, and is a key Al Qaeda facilitator in the tribal areas of South Waziristan in Pakistan, according to the U.S. State Department. A $5 million reward for information leading to his arrest and conviction was announced just last week.

 

"He has conducted cross-border attacks against U.S. forces in Afghanistan, and poses a clear threat to American persons and interests in the region," the State Department wrote in a March 25 release.

 

Phillips said Mehsud is less of a direct threat to the U.S. than bin Laden in an ideological sense, but his influence in Pakistan could allow him to tap into existing networks within Al Qaeda or among Afghan Taliban militants to achieve his goals.

 

"The U.S. government and other allied governments cannot afford to ignore this threat because [Mehsud] has acted on targets in the past," Phillips said. "Because he has a relatively secure base of operations in South Waziristan, he has been able to extend his influence throughout the border region and even into Pakistani cities."

 

Steve Emerson, executive director of The Investigative Project on Terrorism, said that of the many terrorists who have issued "blustery threats" in recent years, Meshud is considered a "rising young star" among militants.

 

"He's a dangerous guy," Emerson told FOXNews.com. "It just reaffirms the fact that Washington is a major target.

 

"He seems to be a pretty bloody, bold guy who is not afraid to have a marker on himself and knows how to exact publicity.... The real issue is what U.S. intelligence knows."

 

Malou Innocent, a foreign policy analyst at the Cato Institute, said Mehsud's attacks have "significantly altered" the political dynamics in Pakistan and provide a major test for President Asif Ali Zardari. But any direct threat Mehsud poses to the United States will be through his link with Al Qaeda, she said.

 

"If he did have the reach, it would be because of Al Qaeda," she said. "This is more posturing on his behalf."

 

Mehsud, who denies involvement in Bhutto's assassination and the Marriott Hotel bombing, is a diabetic who was reportedly called a "good Taliban" in 2007, when the Pakistani army struck a peace agreement with him that was later aborted.

 

Mehsud has said he's not concerned with the bounty on his head, telling The Associated Press, "I wish to die and embrace martyrdom."

 

"That shows that he is adamantly committed to his extremist goals and is unlikely to be brought to justice by law enforcement actions," Phillips said. 'It will take a war to defeat him in South Waziristan, and I think that shows that the term War on Terrorism remains applicable there."

 

A State Department spokeswoman, Megan Mattson, declined to comment on Mehsud's threat.

[T_O_Bull]

I find it incredible that the AP can do an interview with this guy and that the CIA can't find and eliminate him. All this does is make us look weak in the eyes of our enemies. If we are the most powerful nation in the world then its time we started acting like it.

T_O_B

[Vince from ShamWOW]

I find it incredible that the AP can do an interview with this guy and that the CIA can't find and eliminate him. All this does is make us look weak in the eyes of our enemies. If we are the most powerful nation in the world then its time we started acting like it.

T_O_B

 

It's not that simple.

[huskerfan500]

I find it incredible that the AP can do an interview with this guy and that the CIA can't find and eliminate him. All this does is make us look weak in the eyes of our enemies. If we are the most powerful nation in the world then its time we started acting like it.

T_O_B

 

no where in the article is he interviewed. The threat probably came from a video. The rest of the article is interviewing analyst.

 

Anyways I think I speak for everyone by saying I hope they find him and prevent an attack

[killer cacti]

Baitullah Mehsud, commander of the Taliban in Pakistan, told The Associated Press in an interview Tuesday that his group was responsible for Monday's attack on a police academy in his country that killed seven police officers and injured more than 90 others.

 

He also said, chillingly:

 

"Soon we will launch an attack in Washington that will amaze everyone in the world."

 

 

Yes, it does.

[The Maudfather]

Damn, that just makes me sick. We need to find this mother fukr, and shove a boot in his ass!

 

I wonder what the future holds as far as the military goes in Pakistan...if we are truly engaging in a "War on Terror" then we need to knock these suckers out that are in Pakistan...

[I See Red People]

I'm tired of cowardly threats on our own soil. How about we just go ahead and "amaze the world" and turn Pakistan into glass.

[T_O_Bull]

I find it incredible that the AP can do an interview with this guy and that the CIA can't find and eliminate him. All this does is make us look weak in the eyes of our enemies. If we are the most powerful nation in the world then its time we started acting like it.

T_O_B

 

It's not that simple.

 

It was before the Viet Nam war. After we put our tails between our legs and left that stink hole we decided that the CIA was too powerful and so we cut them off. We are now experiencing the crop that was sown in the 1970's. I was one of them, I protested, I wanted government out of my life but when the time came I served my country. I caught a lot of negative vibes when I got home. It took 30 years for someone to say, "Thank you for serving your country and welcome home brother." I don't believe in war as a means of solving world problems but I also don't believe that if you are threatened you only respond with a half hearted, politicised reaction. We tried that once and it didn't work.

T_O_B

[Vince from ShamWOW]

I find it incredible that the AP can do an interview with this guy and that the CIA can't find and eliminate him. All this does is make us look weak in the eyes of our enemies. If we are the most powerful nation in the world then its time we started acting like it.

T_O_B

 

It's not that simple.

 

It was before the Viet Nam war. After we put our tails between our legs and left that stink hole we decided that the CIA was too powerful and so we cut them off. We are now experiencing the crop that was sown in the 1970's. I was one of them, I protested, I wanted government out of my life but when the time came I served my country. I caught a lot of negative vibes when I got home. It took 30 years for someone to say, "Thank you for serving your country and welcome home brother." I don't believe in war as a means of solving world problems but I also don't believe that if you are threatened you only respond with a half hearted, politicised reaction. We tried that once and it didn't work.

T_O_B

 

It's no longer the same world as it was back in the 70's. As somebody that spent over 20 years with the NSA, I think I have more than a clue as to what the realities are and are not in todays world.

[T_O_Bull]

I find it incredible that the AP can do an interview with this guy and that the CIA can't find and eliminate him. All this does is make us look weak in the eyes of our enemies. If we are the most powerful nation in the world then its time we started acting like it.

T_O_B

 

It's not that simple.

 

It was before the Viet Nam war. After we put our tails between our legs and left that stink hole we decided that the CIA was too powerful and so we cut them off. We are now experiencing the crop that was sown in the 1970's. I was one of them, I protested, I wanted government out of my life but when the time came I served my country. I caught a lot of negative vibes when I got home. It took 30 years for someone to say, "Thank you for serving your country and welcome home brother." I don't believe in war as a means of solving world problems but I also don't believe that if you are threatened you only respond with a half hearted, politicised reaction. We tried that once and it didn't work.

T_O_B

 

It's no longer the same world as it was back in the 70's. As somebody that spent over 20 years with the NSA, I think I have more than a clue as to what the realities are and are not in todays world.

 

That's is precisely what I'm saying the 70ies was when you lost your power and it needs to be restored. We need to have the ability to take smeone out when it is in our best interest. If you have been with the NSA can you say that you havent felt like you couldn't do what needed to be done because of restrictions placed on you by the Congresses of 1970 to 1982?

T_O_B

[husker B-rent]

it doesnt matter what the realities are today! IF YOU FIND THAT MF-ER, YOU KILL HIM! if stupid people like him want to attack where i live then i see no reason not to track his happy @ss down and put a bullet between his eyes.

[Army Husker]

it doesnt matter what the realities are today! IF YOU FIND THAT MF-ER, YOU KILL HIM! if stupid people like him want to attack where i live then i see no reason not to track his happy @ss down and put a bullet between his eyes.

 

Don't worry, they are getting rid of stupid people like that as we speak.

[Vince from ShamWOW]

I find it incredible that the AP can do an interview with this guy and that the CIA can't find and eliminate him. All this does is make us look weak in the eyes of our enemies. If we are the most powerful nation in the world then its time we started acting like it.

T_O_B

 

It's not that simple.

 

It was before the Viet Nam war. After we put our tails between our legs and left that stink hole we decided that the CIA was too powerful and so we cut them off. We are now experiencing the crop that was sown in the 1970's. I was one of them, I protested, I wanted government out of my life but when the time came I served my country. I caught a lot of negative vibes when I got home. It took 30 years for someone to say, "Thank you for serving your country and welcome home brother." I don't believe in war as a means of solving world problems but I also don't believe that if you are threatened you only respond with a half hearted, politicised reaction. We tried that once and it didn't work.

T_O_B

 

It's no longer the same world as it was back in the 70's. As somebody that spent over 20 years with the NSA, I think I have more than a clue as to what the realities are and are not in todays world.

 

That's is precisely what I'm saying the 70ies was when you lost your power and it needs to be restored. We need to have the ability to take smeone out when it is in our best interest. If you have been with the NSA can you say that you havent felt like you couldn't do what needed to be done because of restrictions placed on you by the Congresses of 1970 to 1982?

T_O_B

 

 

I started with the NSA in 1983 with my first assignment beginning in 1985. With each assignment I never had an issue with getting my hands slapped and I was encouraged to use whatever means necessary to get my job done. That lasted through my retirement in late 2008. I can't get into details, however restrictions exist when things are done which cause/ result in too much attention or in asking for permission.

 

Federal initiated wiretaps without a court order are a great thing and should be encouraged by all law abiding citizens around the world.

[Vince from ShamWOW]

it doesnt matter what the realities are today! IF YOU FIND THAT MF-ER, YOU KILL HIM! if stupid people like him want to attack where i live then i see no reason not to track his happy @ss down and put a bullet between his eyes.

 

 

Keep the capture and detention a secret. The media and others need not know when a guy like this has been taken into custody. If he happens to die, then make it known.

[strigori]

If memory serves, the only limitations on assassinations is the one on foreign heads of state. Anyone in a military capacity is fair game. A leader or some non recognized organization is fair game.