Osama bin Laden Plotting New Attacks

Osama bin Laden and the core al-Qaida leadership are plotting new attacks against the United States and its allies from safe havens
in Pakistan, a senior US official warned Thursday.

Officials have said President Barack Obama’s new Afghan-Pakistan strategy will focus on destroying safe havens for terrorists in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Read more

Rewards for Justice – $5 Million Offered For Baitullah Mehsud

The U.S. Department of State has authorized a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the location, arrest, and/or conviction of Baitullah Mehsud, the senior leader of Tehrik-e-Taliban (Taliban Movement of Pakistan).

Mehsud is regarded as a key al-Qa’ida facilitator in the tribal areas of South Waziristan in Pakistan. Pakistani authorities believe that the January 2007 suicide attack against the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad was staged by militants loyal to Mehsud. Press reports also have linked Mehsud to the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and the deaths of other innocent civilians.

In addition, Mehsud has stated his intention to attack the United States. 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.

More information on Mehsud is available on the Rewards for Justice website (www.rewardsforjustice.net/mehsud).

The United States is determined to bring Baitullah Mehsud to justice. We encourage anyone with information on Mehsud’s location to contact the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate, any U.S. military commander, or the Rewards for Justice staff via the website (www.rewardsforjustice.net), e-mail (RFJ@state.gov) or mail (Rewards for Justice, Washington, DC 20520-0303, USA).

Government officials are not eligible for rewards based on information furnished in the course of their official duties.

All information will be kept strictly confidential.

Since its inception in 1984, the Rewards for Justice Program has paid more than $80 million to more than 50 persons who have provided credible information that has resulted in the capture or death of terrorists or prevented acts of international terrorism.

Police: U.S. Teens Were Hit Men For Mexican Cartel

Prosecutors say they quickly discovered these two teenagers were homegrown assassins, hired to carry out the dirty work of the notorious Gulf Cartel.

“There are sleeper cells in the U.S.,” said Detective Garcia. “They’re here, they’re here in the United States.”

The cases against Cardona and Reta — both are in prison serving long prison sentences for murder — shed new light into the workings of the drug cartels.

Prosecutor and investigators say Reta and Cardona were recruited into a group called “Los Zetas,” a group made up of former members of the Mexican special military forces. They’re considered ruthless in how they carry out attacks. “Los Zetas” liked what they saw in Cardona and Reta.

Both teenagers received six-month military-style training on a Mexican ranch. Investigators say Cardona and Reta were paid $500 a week each as a retainer, to sit and wait for the call to kill. Then they were paid up to $50,000 and 2 kilos of cocaine for carrying out a hit.

The teenagers lived in several safe houses around Laredo and drove around town in a $70,000 Mercedes-Benz.

Source

Homeland Security Plans For Violence On US Border

Tighter gun control and stronger law enforcement in Southwestern states were recommended Thursday by lawmakers concerned about drug violence in Mexico possibly spilling across the border.

The escalating violence — which has killed thousands, mostly south of the border — has been blamed on Mexican drug cartels which one Homeland Security official described as the biggest organized crime threat facing the United States.

Roger Rufe, Homeland Security’s head of operations, outlined the agency’s plans for protecting the border, a response that includes — as a last resort — deploying military personnel and equipment to the region if other agencies are overwhelmed.

Echoing comments a day earlier from President Barack Obama, Rufe said there currently was no need to militarize the Southwestern border with Mexico, despite violence that threatens to migrate into the United States.

“We would take all resources short of DoD (Defense Department) and National Guard troops before we reach that tipping point,” Rufe told lawmakers on a House homeland security subcommittee. “We very much do not want to militarize our border.”

Rufe did not specify what circumstances would trigger a call for troops.

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Syria Strike Was Approved By Syrian Government

The Black Hawk strike conveyed U.S. troops over the border from Iraq into Syria where they killed terrorist Abu Ghadiya. He was identified by the Treasury Department as “a high value al-Qaida commander in charge of money, weapons and other terrorists for al-Qaida in Iraq.”

Officially the Damascus regime denounced the attack in which seven villagers died. But intelligence sources in London and Washington provided an intriguingly different story of the background to the raid, citing sources in the formidable al-Mukhabarat al-Jawiyya, Syria’s intel service.

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