Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Hezbollah, Iran Agents Scouting U.S. Targets for Terrorist Strikes

Fiddle Music, anyone ?

Rome Burns,....

GTC



Link: http://www.newsmax.com/Miller/hezbollah-iran-homeland-targets/2012/03/21/id/433460

Hezbollah, Iran Agents Scouting U.S. Targets for Terrorist Strikes

Wednesday, 21 Mar 2012 09:36 PM

By Judith Miller

America faces a growing threat from �hundreds� of agents of Hezbollah in the U.S as tensions grow over Iran�s suspected nuclear weapons program, current and former law enforcement officials warned the House Committee on Homeland Security on Wednesday.

Opening hearings in Washington on the domestic security threat posed by the Iranian-supported terror group, committee chairman Peter King, Republican of New York, called Hezbollah �one of international terrorism�s most violent murder gangs� and said that the government had a duty to �prepare for the worst.�

The director of intelligence analysis for the New York Police Department and former officials of the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Agency, and the Treasury Department who had worked intimately on Federal cases involving Hezbollah agreed that the militant Shiite group now posed a greater threat to Americans at home than Al Qaeda, Sunni Muslim militants, and that more needed to be done to identify operatives and limit their operations here.

They also agreed that a foiled Hezbollah plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the U.S. by bombing a restaurant in Washington last October was a �game-changer� suggesting that the group would not hesitate to strike on American soil if necessary by transforming what has previously been operations focused mainly on fund-raising into terror plots.

The committee was told that the more than 20 federal cases involving the Lebanese-based Hezbollah since 9/11 was probably just the tip of the iceberg of the group�s presence in the U.S., since the Federal government had chosen to quietly deport many other alleged operatives and settle other cases with publicly identifying suspected agents involved. Mr. King added that Iran has often used its diplomats to spy on American targets and support fund-raising and terror-related actions of its agents. �There also are 55 Iranian diplomats at the United Nations mission in New York and another 29 Iranian officials here at its interests section, many of whom, Mr. King said, are �presumed to be intelligence officers.�

But Bennie Thompson, of Mississippi, the ranking Democrat on the committee, questioned whether the testimony being presented was based on �outdated� information and intelligence. �No current federal officials" had been asked to testify Wednesday, he complained.

But Mitchell D. Silber, of the NYPD, disclosed the existence of three more recent cases in which Federal authorities appeared to have taken no action against alleged spies. Iranian diplomats had been �released without incident� in May, 2005, September, 2008, and September, 2010 after the NYPD had caught ostensible diplomats or employees of the Iran Broadcasting Company taking photos and video-tapes of such potential targets as cruise liners, railroad tracks inside Grand Central Station, and most recently, the Wall Street heliport.

Silber added that over the past six months, the NYPD�s investigation into terrorist plots with a �plausible nexus to Iran� that were conducted or foiled in Azerbaijan, India, Georgia, Thailand, and in Washington had �heightened our concerns� about a possible attack by Iran in New York.
Christopher Swecker, a former FBI assistant director in charge of the Criminal Investigative Division, called Hezbollah the �A Team� of terrorist organizations, given its history, its organizational reach, para-military training, and the state sponsorship of Iran. He described a landmark money-laundering case that the Bureau launched in 1998 showing how Hezbollah had leveraged the �full range of criminal activities� to raise money for the group. In March, 2001, he said, an indictment named 25 defendants in a 77 count federal bill of indictment that included such crimes as cigarette smuggling, interstate transport of stolen property, immigration, bank, mail and credit card fraud, and conspiracy to provide material support for a terrorist organization.

Michael A Braun, a former assistant administrator and chief of operations of the DEA, warned of Iran�s �growing presence in the Western Hemisphere and beyond� and the growing nexus between networks used by Mexican drug cartels and terrorist groups, especially Hezbollah. �If anyone thinks for one moment that these terrorist organizations do not understand that the Mexican drug trafficking cartels now dominate drug trafficking in our country, reportedly in more than 250 cities, then they are ignorant or very na�ve,� Dr. Braun said.

He also warned that another terrorist group heavily involved in drug trading, the Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, had financed the construction of mini-submarine-like boats, one of which had carried 8 tons of cocaine from the shores of Colombia to northern Mexico. More had to be done, he said, to break down barriers that still separate counternarcotics and counterterrorism activities.

Matthew Levitt, a former senior Treasury Department official now at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said that while Hezbollah once saw America mainly as a �cash cow� to finance its sprawling activities in Lebanon where it operates openly as a powerful political faction and throughout the world, it was �no longer clear� that Iran saw carrying out an attack in the U.S. �as crossing some sort of red line.� He said that

Hezbollah specialized in recruiting agents whom it used as sleeper agents, often for years without activating them. Its agents, he added, often �don�t fit the profile,� which made the organization a more potent terrorist threat.
Levitt and other witnesses cited testimony last January by James Clapper, the Director of National Intelligence, that Iran's leaders are "more willing to conduct an attack inside the United States in response to real or perceived U.S. actions that threaten the regime."

All the witnesses agreed there was no certainty that Iran would strike in the U.S. if tensions over the nuclear program escalated or if Israel or the U.S. launched a military attack against its nuclear facilities. Nor could they link any specific surveillance incident in New York to an actual plot. But, Mr. Silber added, �Iran has a proven record of using its official presence in a foreign city to coordinate attacks, which are then carried out by Hezbollah agents from abroad, often leveraging the local community -- whether wittingly or not -- as facilitators."

Intelligence officials blame Hezbollah for more American deaths than any group except Al Qaeda. Its attacks on the U.S. Marine�s peace-keeping compound in Beirut in 1983 and on Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia in 1996 had claimed some 150 deaths alone. It had staged far-flung successful attacks � two in Buenos Aires in 1992 and 1994 against Jewish and Israeli targets.

�If Iran had it way,� said Mr. King, �Washington D.C. would have witnessed terrible carnage amid the smoking ruins of a popular local restaurant only a few months ago,� referring to the thwarted attack on Adel Al �Jubeir, the Saudi ambassador.

Mr. King used Mr. Silber�s presence at the hearings to praise the NYPD as the nation�s most effective counter-terrorism force, and to attack press and other critics of the department�s Muslim surveillance program as �irresponsible,� �misguided� and �cheap.�

Judith Miller is an author and a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter formerly with The New York Times. She also is an adjunct fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a contributing editor of its magazine, City Journal. Read all of Judith Miller's columns on Pundicity.com. Read more reports from Judith Miller � Click Here Now.

Read more on Newsmax.com: Hezbollah, Iran Agents Scouting U.S. Targets for Terrorist Strikes
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Eh, they're just eager to get their asses kicked. Iran and Iraq went at it for years that ended in a stalemate and we swept Iraq under the rug a few years later. Iran would be no different.

Greg,
Do you think they have cased your place yet? Did any of the get together people seem to be out of place or just a little too snoopy when they poked around? Last thing we need is the muzzies interfereing with our plans to take out the illegals. When it rains it pours huh? Keep the powder dry and the water running.
Keep Hammering

Oh yeah, what about me becoming a member of the Clan?

Hoping the pres,
or his 243, doesn't direct,
the rag heads to me.

we'll weather this.

Unbelievable the SCREWBALLS that legitimate , and squeaky keen initiatives attract.

One here in particular has become "Wannabe Case Study # 4".

Than and again, the attempted discreditation grows more transparent by the moment.

Filthy, and cowardly tactic, nonetheless.

GTC

We had a couple in today buying a shotgun becuase they read on the internet that America was getting attacked. kwg

I trust you are correct and we'll make the best of a bad situation. I seriously doubt the hezbo's would wade into the waiting arms of you or any of the Clan members, knowing what firepower they would be facing. Never the less, don't let your guard down or sleep too sound. Might want to hand some tin cans on the compound fence to alert you should they try something stupid. Do you know how to use claymores?

I'm thinking the narco subs need to start quietly suddenly disappearing in the open ocean, along with their crews. 8 tons of cargo capacity would be darn useful to a suicide bomber. I think they are snorkel type boats and not truly stealthy, but one of them sneaking into a critical spot could cause real problems.

I don't know if it is true or not none of us do. Wouldn't surprise me if it was though. I know for a fact that SHAVAK agents were here durning the Shah's reign keeping tabs on Iranian college students.

Back in 2008 or 2009 one of the leaders of Hezbollah, Hassan Nazarallah (?) said that they have 2000 sleeper agents in America ready to immediately attack American targets if the U. S. attacked Iran in any way. This about the time prayer rugs were being found buried along the border. There are probably a lot less than 2000, due to the middle eastern propensity to exaggerate, but I do not want a school in the U.S. attacked by these scum.
They are here among us. Stay vigilant.

I know of one drug sub that was NOT a snorkle-type. It had fully submersible capability, believed to be down to about 60', which is deep enough for it to disappear from overhead observers. A sub such as that could ease into a harbor or shipping channel and detonate its' load under a ship, breaking the keel and sinking it in place.

Talk about a Denial Of Service attack!

Even a small one, detonated under a fishing pier would cause panic and disruption.

What we are experiencing is not new, folks. Look back at history (yeah, I know, here goes Ed again!) and see the terrorist attacks that took place here during EVERY wartime period in history. Our POTUS' dear friend, Mr. Ayers, was a terrorist and killed Americans on this soil within my lifetime, look at the ship burnings in NY during WWI from Nazi sympathyzers, all examples of terrorism.

These guys don't need to pop off a dirty bomb, or pull another OK City bombing, or 9/11 type attack to cause major disruptions. All they need do is a series of smaller attacks, even one-on-one as a friend of mine has mentioned, to cause us to suspect each other, create a climate of daily fear, and cripple our economy.

Ed

I am sure that if the Iranians just stopped by the White House, they could get some face time with our muslim president, and maybe some pointers for their planned sabotage.
God knows King hussein has done enough destroying stuff on his own already.

They are only doing this so they can get there favorite Black Muslim back in the White House, scare the Sheepeoples and Obama will come to their rescue and they will put the Chicken chit back in , the last thing they want is another George Bush.

Can't hardly argue that.

Here's an interesting piece that illustrates the broad scope of international intrigue,and "Under the Radar" People moving.
Upscale aircraft, and straight out of an Ian Fleming novel.
Years ago, I put up some treatises regarding Mexico as a "Safe House Country". I can';t see that anything's changed, in that regard.

GTC

Link: http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/0...lleged-saadi-gaddafi-smugglers-document/

Curious email to Mexican aviation company at heart of case against alleged Saadi Gaddafi smugglers: document

National Post Staff Mar 20, 2012 � 7:23 PM ET | Last Updated: Mar 21, 2012 3:07 PM ET


By Stewart Bell in Mexico City
and Natalie Alcoba in Toronto

The case against a Canadian and three others accused of conspiring to smuggle members of the Gaddafi family to Mexico rests partly on a curious email sent to an aviation company, according to a summary of the investigation.

Details of the case have been kept under wraps because of the closed nature of Mexico�s legal system, but a court document the National Post obtained describes the email message and says it was viewed on Dec. 29 by an agent of the Ministerio P�blico de la Federaci�n.

The document says that on Aug. 25, 2011, one of the suspects, Mexican businesswoman Gabriela de Cueto, emailed photos and names to the wife of the owner of a small jet charter service that flies out of the airport in Toluca de Lerdo, west of Mexico City.

Two days earlier, Ms. Cueto�s San Diego-based company had reached a deal to rent two of the Mexican jets to fly to Canada and on to North Africa. One of the jets was to wait in Kosovo, where it was to be available to fly into Libya to conduct an emergency extraction.

The email listed four names: Amira Bejar, mother; daughter Sofia Bejar; son Moha Bejar; and Danny Bejar, the father. Their birthdates were provided and a scan of the pages of a man�s Libyan passport was attached.

It was routine for the charter service, which flies government and private-sector clients, to receive emails listing the passengers travelling on its planes, as well as scans of their passports. But when owner Christian Esquino saw the name Gaddafi, it caught his eye.

While the email identified the father as Mr. Bejar, the attached passport indicated the man was actually Saadi Gaddafi, the son of the notorious Libyan dictator whose regime was then being overthrown by NATO-backed rebels, the document says.

Seven months later, the email appears to be a critical piece of evidence to Mexican prosecutors, who have charged Cynthia Vanier, a mediator from Mount Forest, Ont., and Ms. Cueto, a partner in the California firm that was arranging planes for the Canadian. Former Texas nightclub owner Pierre Flensborg and Jose Luis Kennedy Prieto, an alleged passport forger, have also been charged.

But Gregory Gillispie, a business associate of both Ms. Cueto and Mr. Flensborg, said the email should be treated with caution because of Mr. Esquino�s criminal past. Mr. Esquino was deported to Mexico in 2007 after serving time in a southern California prison for fraud.

Although never convicted of a major crime, Mr. Esquino was also targeted by U.S. drug enforcement agents who suspected he was associated with the ultra-violent Tijuana cartel. He was taken into custody by Mexican authorities on Saturday for unknown reasons.

Mr. Esquino testified to Mexican investigators in January that he had rented planes to the suspects and while he did not initially know why they were flying to North Africa, he was eventually told his planes were to be used to bring Mr. Gaddafi to Mexico.

�I absolutely think it should be treated with skepticism,� Mr. Gillispie said of the email. He said Ms. Cueto was in Canada on the day the email was allegedly sent, adding she had accompanied him to Kitchener, Ont., to deliver one of Mr. Esquino�s planes to Ms. Vanier.

�I was with Gabby the entire time we were meeting with Cyndy Vanier on board the Gulfstream III aircraft. I can guarantee you that Vanier did not pass any passport information pertaining to Saadi Gaddafi or anyone else to Gabby while we were in Kitchener,� he said.

�They carried out actions to smuggle him into Mexico�

Mexican authorities have said they launched their investigation, Operation Guest, on Sept. 6. Ms. Vanier was arrested in Mexico City on Nov. 10. Ms. Cueto and the others were arrested the following day. They were charged last month with counts ranging from attempted human trafficking to documents fraud.

�During the development of the investigation, the agent of the Ministerio P�blico de la Federaci�n was able to prove that the criminal group came together with the objective of bringing Saadi M. Gaddafi and his family into national territory because approximately since July 2011, they carried out actions to smuggle him into Mexico,� the government said in a statement.

At the time of the alleged conspiracy, Mr. Gaddafi was not permitted to cross international borders. The United Nations Security Council had restricted his movements and frozen his assets, citing his role as a commander in the special forces, close ties to the Libyan regime and �command of military units responsible for the suppression of demonstrations.�

Mexican officials did not respond to requests for comment. Through his lawyer, Mr. Gaddafi has denied any involvement in the Mexico plot. Ms. Vanier also says she had nothing to do with it. She said she travelled to Libya last July to conduct a fact-finding mission for SNC-Lavalin, the Montreal-based engineering and construction firm that had been working on several large building projects in Libya until civil war erupted.

Gary Peters, a private security contractor who accompanied her to Libya, has said there was a plan to fly Mr. Gaddafi, his wife and their two children to exile in Punta Mita, Mexico. He said Ms. Vanier�s role was to help legally obtain Mexican travel papers for the family. But he said the operation was called off in June because the necessary documents could not be obtained.

Mexico was one of several countries examined as potential exiles for Mr. Gaddafi as rebel forces closed in on Tripoli, he said. Others included Algeria, Chad, Niger and Canada. Mr. Gaddafi was unaware of the details, he said. �He was always looking at moving his family for safety, to where he did not know.�

The court document says that after receiving the email, Mr. Esquino�s wife called Ms. Cueto to ask what it was about. Ms. Cueto responded by asking if she knew anyone who could get Mexican documents for the people in the email, the document alleges.

The Post viewed the email and verified the man in the passport was Saadi Gaddafi. The passport includes two photographs of Mr. Gaddafi � one on the photo page and another on a visa issued by the Canadian government. It describes him as an engineer and head of the Libyan Football Federation, a title once held by the dictator�s son. Several Canadian visas were in the passport, corresponding with dates Mr. Gaddafi was in the country.

The email was sent from Ms. Cueto�s email address two days after her company had made a deal with the Mexican aviation company to rent a Gulfstream jet and a smaller Citation, for up to nine months for $300,000 per month.

�The Citation will be staged in Pristina, Kosovo where it will be available to conduct emergency extractions out of Libya or Tunisia,� Mr. Gillispie wrote in an Aug. 23 email to Mr. Esquino. �In the event that the Citation does execute an on call emergency extract we will pay $500,000 for each trip.� But Mr. Gillispie said the extraction referred to in the deal was simply a contingency plan in case members of Ms. Vanier�s team were injured and needed to be picked up inside Libya.

National Post
[email protected]

And yet we allow immigration from those 3rd World schittholes.

Have you hugged a Somalian today ?

Haven't seen one of those for a spell. Send 'em down here. It's spring, gators are awake and hungry.

What the Iranians don't understand is that American Citizens are armed and we profile. Bring it!

Iranian leaders know if terrorist hit the USA there will be no cave they can hide in.

496 said:
Iranian leaders know if terrorist hit the USA there will be no cave they can hide in.

They don't care. They don't live in a normal world. They are in their own little zone. kwg