Arab summit plotted attacks on U.S.

[NewsGuy]

Top terrorist operatives from Hezbollah and other groups sympathetic to al Qaeda met recently in South America to plan attacks against U.S. and Israeli targets in the Western hemisphere, coalition intelligence sources told CNN.

http://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/americ...der/index.html

From news article:

Other indications of the threat came from intelligence sources in the Middle East, who told CNN of a new terrorist effort aimed at U.S. and Israeli interests and coordinated by a man named Imad Mugniyeh.

The sources say Mugniyeh -- working from his bases in Iran and Hezbollah-controlled areas of Lebanon -- is directing the activities of terrorists in South America, planning to hit U.S. and Israeli targets if the United States attacks Iraq, or if Israel is drawn into the conflict.

Mugniyeh is suspected of being the mastermind in a long list of attacks against U.S. and Israeli targets over the past 20 years -- including the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, and the 1992 car bombing of the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Argentine authorities have connected Mugniyeh to such groups as Hezbollah, Gamaa al Islamiya, and Islamic Jihad, all of which have been identified by the U.S. State Department as terrorist organizations.

[L@mplighterM]

It’s not the first time that terrorist groups have met earlier on in the year they held a summit. I don’t think it pays to support large armies these days. Of course someone has to be in charge of the nuclear arsenal.

It seems to me a military organization with a few thousand highly trained operatives acting as small units could do one hell of a lot of damage.