Pakistan’s jihadi camps remain a threat
Dan Darling has some early opinions on the al-Qaeda cell that was unearthed in Lodi, California. That cell comprised of two Pakistanis and two Americans of Pakistani origin.
What is so troubling about this for me is not only that the confessed American al-Qaeda trainee volunteered to return to the US after less than 3 years worth of indoctrination for the express purpose of killing his own countrymen in such mundane locations as hospitals and stores.
Also, is there something in particular about California that seems to make it such an attractive grounds for al-Qaeda recruiting? From John Walker-Lindh to Adam Pearlman and now Hamid Hadayat, there seem to be far too many cases of al-Qaeda recruiting in California in particular and the West Coast in general to just be an isolated incident. One thing that might be worth looking into is whether or not there isn’t some kind of jihadi support network down there, as I recall a number of the 9/11 hijackers being active in southern California prior to the attacks.[Winds of Change]
This should help convince the United States that closing down those Pakistani jihadi groups and their camps is as important to its own security as it is for India’s. This should put paid to Washington’s tacit acceptance of Musharraf’s attempts to distinguish between the jihadis of the Afghan front (branded as al-Qaeda terrorists) and the jihadis of the Kashmir front (still called freedom-fighters).
Related Link: Evan Kohlmann at the excellent Counterterrorism blog has more. But he appears to be mistaking al-Qaeda camps in Waziristan with the one in Rawalpindi (where the Lodi suspects went to). The irony is that while the Waziristan is getting the attention (because that’s where bin Laden is purported to be) the Lodi terrorists actually trained near Rawalpindi — the heart of Pakistan’s military and intelligence establishment.
I think by far New York has had the most terrorists and terrorist cells rolled up. Most operating out of Brooklyn (also mostly trained in Paksitan). At the same time the DC area seems rife with these people but they are mostly know and mostly hiding behind the facades of aide organizations and charities.
I think many US politicians still bear an animosity towards India for leaning towards the USSR during the Cold War days. I cant see why else they would want to continue favouring Pakistan over India, espescially since it always keeps its economics in mind – India is far superior in economic terms and the US has a lot more to gain by allying with India rather than Pakistan. Yet….
Nitin,
“Questions have emerged about the alleged camp in this case. Authorities say Hamid Hayat acknowledged attending a terror training camp outside Rawalpindi. But some experts say it is unlikely such a camp would exist in that part of Pakistan.”
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0610/p01s01-usgn.html?s=eee
Could Hamid be just spreading disinfo or are the ‘experts’ wrong as oft seems the case.
maybe they just looked jihadi from a distance?