Author: Paul Sperry
Publication: WorldNetDaily.com
Date: December 26, 2003
URL: http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=36334
Introduction: Pakistani nationals
behind U.S. plot, warns new Homeland Security memo
A new U.S. intelligence report obtained
by WorldNetDaily describes a plot by "Pakistani Islamic extremists" to
pose as aides to disabled travelers to obtain U.S. visas and carry out
terrorist attacks once inside the U.S.
They also plan to conduct attacks
in Britain using the same scheme, which is designed to "draw less scrutiny
from law enforcement," according to the closely held two-page report by
the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The attacks will allegedly take
place in April 2004, says the report, which is marked "Law Enforcement
Sensitive."
"Pakistani Islamic extremists are
allegedly planning to conduct attacks in the U.S. and the United Kingdom
in April 2004," according to the report's summary.
From intelligence gathered so far,
U.S. intelligence officials believe the Pakistani nationals, all male,
plan to obtain U.S. visas in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan.
"The operatives will accompany a
disabled person and act as the disabled person's assistants when obtaining
the visa," the report said, adding that the disabled individual may have
prosthetic limbs or be confined to a wheelchair.
The State Department screens foreign
applicants for visas. Phone calls to the department were not immediately
returned.
The report says that the scheme
"fits with current al-Qaida methodology, as al-Qaida has been trying to
recruit individuals who would draw less scrutiny from U.S. law enforcement
entities."
Al-Qaida is still active in Pakistan,
routinely described by the administration as a "key ally" in the war on
terror. U.S. intelligence believes the terror network's top leaders, including
Osama bin Laden, have taken refuge in the Islamic state's northern tribal
belt.
About two-thirds of all designated
terrorist groups in the world have a Pakistani connection, according to
the U.S. Treasury Department.
Bowing to pressure from Islamic
groups in America, the Justice Department recently discontinued an antiterrorist
immigration program to monitor Pakistanis and other foreign nationals from
some two dozen Muslim nations visiting the U.S. on visas. They're no longer
required to report to immigration inspection offices while staying in the
U.S.
A top Homeland Security official
distributed the report about the Pakistani plot to border and immigration
agents on Christmas Eve.
"Al-Qaida remains interested in
using Pakistanis as potential operatives," warned Roy Surrett, intelligence
director for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, in a Dec. 24 security
update to field operations directors.
"The most recent intelligence suggests
that they may be using disabled Pakistani individuals along with an assistant
as possible terrorist operatives," Surrett added.
