|
Trending Topics
|
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17874369/
Hizbullah Builds a Western Base
[MSNBC] Pablo Gato and Robert Windrem - The Iranian-backed Hizbullah militia has taken root in South America, fostering a well-financed force of Islamist radicals boiling with hatred for the U.S. and ready to die to prove it. An extensive smuggling network run by Hizbullah funnels large sums of money to militia leaders in the Middle East and finances training camps, propaganda operations and bomb attacks in South America, according to U.S. and South American officials. U.S. officials fear the poorly patrolled Tri-border region could make it easy for Hizbullah terrorists to infiltrate the southern U.S. border. The CIA singles out the Mexican border as an especially inviting target for Hizbullah operatives. "Many alien smuggling networks that facilitate the movement of non-Mexicans have established links to Muslim communities in Mexico," its Counter Terrorism Center said in a 2004 threat paper. In 1992 and 1994, terrorists linked to Hizbullah carried out two attacks against Jewish targets in Buenos Aires, with Iran's involvement, as well. The Argentine prosecutor's office said the Iranian president at the time, Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, ordered the attack to retaliate against Argentina for suspending nuclear cooperation with Iran. A warrant for Rafsanjani's arrest remains outstanding, and the prosecutor's office continues its investigation 13 years later.