Baitullah Mehsud, the leader of the Pakistani Taliban recently claimed responsibility for the deadly attack that took place at a police academy on Monday in Lahore, Pakistan. But that’s not all. According to Mehsud, the next attack is going to be much closer to home. In a phone interview with the Associated Press, Mehsud indicated that his terrorist organization was planning a devastating attack on Washington D.C. that would “amaze” the world. Heritage analyst James Phillips told Fox News: It should be taken seriously because [Mehsud] has ordered the deaths …
A European Union court yesterday annulled a new move by the E.U. to freeze the assets of an exiled Iranian opposition group in the latest in a string of legal setbacks to its blacklist of suspected terrorist groups. This is a setback for European efforts to fight terrorism. The group that was involved, the People’s Mujahideen Organization of Iran (PMOI), has a long history of supporting terrorism and has been designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. government. The PMOI is a non-democratic Marxist terrorist group that was part …
Last Wednesday a small group of at least 10 gunmen fanned out across the Indian city of Mumbai. In coordinated assaults, they attacked areas frequented by foreigners, killing indiscriminately and taking hostages. The one gunmen captured so far has reportedly admitted to authorities that he received training from Lashkar-e-Taiba, a group recognized as a terrorist organization by the United States that has long fought an Islamic insurgency in Kashmir. While the rationale and responsibility for the attacks are still under investigation, the incident is not unprecedented and does raise questions …
Sarah Palin maybe forgot to mention this in the debate, but we’re sort of having a pop culture election a month before the presidential one. This weekend, movie lovers have one of those rare opportunities to tell Hollywood they want to see more films that honor America’s traditional values and founding principles — the stuff Governor Palin talks about so well. Even better, those who trust in God — be they conservative or not — also can vote at the box office by staying away in droves from a movie …
Last week, the world witnessed a stunning example of the success of Plan Colombia when 15 men and women were rescued after years as hostages of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia (FARC). The full details of the rescue as explained by The New York Times and other news sources read like a movie script with the Colombian military tricking the guard of the captives into transporting the hostages right into their hands. The FARC is a guerrilla army in Colombia, listed by the U.S. and the European Union’s as …
News, as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, that the UK intends to extend its proscription of Hezbollah as a terrorist group to include its entire military wing is a long overdue step in the right direction. The proscription means that it will soon be a crime to be a member or supporter of the military wing of this violent entity, which has supported terrorist acts on both coalition forces and civilians in Iraq. It’s now time for the EU to follow suit and add Hezbollah to its common list …
While the days of the organized crime of The Sopranos are over, the policies that were used to fight them have been revived in the struggle against domestic and international organized crime. These strategies in combination with a new interagency coalition are seeking to not only combat gang crime, but take down the gangs themselves. Numbers put out by the FBI estimate that there are roughly 30,000 “violent street, motorcycle and prison gangs” with some 800,000 members. Many are hoping that this new strategy of interagency information sharing will help …
An editorial from major Pakistani English daily The Dawn demonstrates that the era of “peace deals” in Pakistan’s tribal belt and other parts of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) may be drawing to a close. Strong and decisive action is needed without delay for the situation is spiralling out of control. Baitullah Mehsud captured and then withdrew from Jandola at will, setting houses ablaze and killing pro-government tribal leaders by the dozen. After fresh clashes in Swat that left at least 10 dead on Tuesday, the peace deal struck …
In a speech this afternoon at Heritage, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said North Korea “will soon give its declaration of nuclear programs to China,” a long-awaited report that would allow the Bush administration to recommend the nation’s removal from the U.S. state sponsors of terrorism list. In the next 45 days after that, before those actions go into effect, we would continue to assess the level of North Korean cooperation in helping to verify the accuracy and completeness of its declaration. And if that cooperation is insufficient, we …
Editor’s Note: Adapted from testimony delivered June 12 before the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Despite a successful election four months ago, Pakistan’s political and security situation remains highly unstable and demands close attention from U.S. policymakers. A power struggle at the center among the three main political players — Asif Ali Zardari, leader of the ruling Pakistan People’s Party and widower of Benazir Bhutto; Nawaz Sharif, party leader of the junior coalition partner, the Pakistan Muslim League/Nawaz; and President Pervez Musharraf — is distracting the …
