More coverage on the Lebannon thingie

[leejo]

Once again Bill Roggio and co. dish it out. http://www.counterterrorismblog.org/

[AMosely]

Originally Posted by Walid Phares

we should not be surprised if Hizbollah initiates waves of attacks in Canada and the U.S. More analysis later.

No, we should be VERY surprised - shocked - to see a militant group created on the sole intention to fight Israel show up in America or Canada. Especially considering that Hezbollah is currently losing a war against Israel and growing weaker by the minute.

Sometimes I think people hyped up on the GWOT like Walid are some strange combination of paranoid and self-centered, making wild assumptions on how every militant Islamic group must somehow be planning to attack the US. This is more far-fetched than Gore's dire predictions on global warming!

[USN_Squid]

Originally Posted by AMosely

No, we should be VERY surprised - shocked - to see a militant group created on the sole intention to fight Israel show up in America or Canada. Especially considering that Hezbollah is currently losing a war against Israel and growing weaker by the minute.

Sometimes I think people hyped up on the GWOT like Walid are some strange combination of paranoid and self-centered, making wild assumptions on how every militant Islamic group must somehow be planning to attack the US. This is more far-fetched than Gore's dire predictions on global warming!

http://www.penraker.com/archives/004213.html

[xTYBALTx]

1) That's all speculative, Squid.

1a) Turning fund-raisers into terrorists at the flip of a switch? That's pretty flimsy. Hmmm...flimsy speculation.

2) We should be very shocked if Hezbollah were to strike inside the US - for no other reason than the fact that the US would initiate strikes against Iran.

[AMosely]

The FBI later concluded that Hamas and Hezbollah had the capacity to launch terrorist strikes on the homeland, but did not believe they intended to do so. ... He told the Sun yesterday that Hamas and Hezbollah logistical cells that have been used by the organizations with success to raise money and send materiel to Lebanon, Gaza, and the West Bank could be quickly turned into operational terrorist cells.

Just one of many reasons why the U.S. won't dare get directly involved with the current conflict in Lebanon - it would greatly complicate the global terrorism threat. History, precedence and intelligence would seem to back up the FBI's conclusion that there is no intention on the part of Hezbollah or Hamas to inflict any attack on the U.S. If they did, their struggles (and in the case of Hamas, modest gains) in the Middle East would come to an abrubt end - swiftly defeating the founding principles of their organizations.

[USN_Squid]

Originally Posted by xTYBALTx

1) That's all speculative, Squid.

Yes, there is some speculation there. By experts in the field which I'm pretty sure you and I are not.

Originally Posted by xTYBALTx

1a) Turning fund-raisers into terrorists at the flip of a switch? That's pretty flimsy. Hmmm...flimsy speculation.

There are quite a few "fundraisers" sitting in prison right now for supplying material support to terrorists. Definitely not speculation.

Originally Posted by xTYBALTx

2) We should be very shocked if Hezbollah were to strike inside the US - for no other reason than the fact that the US would initiate strikes against Iran.

So, they're just here on vacation?

[xTYBALTx]

That information is simply not alarming. These people are fundraisers. They're not on vacation - they're seeking political and monetary support for an organization classified as terrorist by the government. That makes them criminals, but it does not make me frightened in the least. It would indeed shock me were these fundraisers - or their anyone affiliated with their organization - to attack the United States because such actions are clearly not in their self-interest nor would those actions further Hezbollah's cause(s).

Now, if the United States were to become engaged with Iran in a shooting war sometime in the future, I might expect Hezbollah to strike inside the US. But under current conditions, such attacks would be shocking indeed.

[USN_Squid]

Originally Posted by xTYBALTx

That information is simply not alarming. These people are fundraisers. They're not on vacation - they're seeking political and monetary support for an organization classified as terrorist by the government. That makes them criminals, but it does not make me frightened in the least. It would indeed shock me were these fundraisers - or their anyone affiliated with their organization - to attack the United States because such actions are clearly not in their self-interest nor would those actions further Hezbollah's cause(s).

Now, if the United States were to become engaged with Iran in a shooting war sometime in the future, I might expect Hezbollah to strike inside the US. But under current conditions, such attacks would be shocking indeed.

Well, yes I would be shocked as well if Hezbollah attacked us in the US. This is more what I was responding too, however:

Originally Posted by AMosely

No, we should be VERY surprised - shocked - to see a militant group created on the sole intention to fight Israel show up in America or Canada.

[AMosely]

I guess I should clairfy, then, that I meant 'show up' with a bomb or other weapon and kill Americans or Canadians. Of course these guys are in America - and you'd better believe there are Americans giving logistical and financial support to these guys. Hopefully not for long, with all the new eavesdropping activities and cooperation between federal intelligence agencies... right?

[leejo]

Right.

[Rincewind]

Left?

[CingularDuality]

I don't know if you guys remember, or even heard about it, but some Hezbollah terrorists were caught in a group coming across the Mexican border about a year ago. If our Border Patrol caught one group, how many did they miss?

[USN_Squid]

Originally Posted by CingularDuality

I don't know if you guys remember, or even heard about it, but some Hezbollah terrorists were caught in a group coming across the Mexican border about a year ago. If our Border Patrol caught one group, how many did they miss?

Oh come on, that's just speculation!

[Switchcraft]

And an obvious lack of objectivity.

[CingularDuality]

You two are right. I apologize.

Some illegal aliens from special interest countries were caught in a group coming across the Mexican border carrying materials that seemed to identify them as having a possible connection to an organization called Hezbollah that may or may not be involved in international terrorism...