Pakistani Taliban claim responsibility for upstate New York attack
James Forsyth 12:43pm
This story is moving on the wires:
“Pakistani Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud claimed responsibility for the attack on an immigration services center in Binghamton, N.Y., the Press Trust of India reported Saturday.
Mehsud said that a Pakistani and another man carried it out the attack, which left 14 people, including a man the police suspected of being the gunman, dead during a killing spree Friday.”
But the principal gunman was a 42 year old Vietnamese immigrant who had recently lost his job which is hardly the usual profile of an Islamist terrorist. (The news reports I've seen do not report the involvement of anyone else in the attack) The Pakistani Taliban has also been making boasts about their capability recently—talking about plans to attack the White House and such—and there must be a very significant chance that they are just opportunistically claiming responsibility.
In its report, the Press Trust of India stresses that the claim is seen by analysts as far-fetched. On the other hand, it does seem odd to make a claim that can be so easily disproved. But overall, I would suggest treating it with severe scepticism unless some more evidence emerges to support it.
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Neil Turner
April 4th, 2009 8:35pm Report this commentWill the Taliban also be claiming responsibility for Global Warming, Newcastle's relegation from the Premiership, and the increase in rabbits eating my lettuce ?
Hysteria
April 4th, 2009 11:09pm Report this commentwatching TV here in the US - absolutely no suggestion of this story line here.
Verity
April 5th, 2009 1:26am Report this commentInteresting, Hysteria, and thank you.
So in Britain, the BBC trying to degrade, or devalue, the currency of the threat of genuine jihad by the introduction of absurd jihad.
None of this is accidental.
Sikander Hayat
April 6th, 2009 3:02pm Report this commentI would like to add that Taliban in Pakistan are a different entity from the Taliban in Afghanistan. Pakistani Taliban is a bunch of criminal terrorists drawn from local criminals in Swat and Waziristan. Their campaign is run through kidnapping for ransom and selling opium/processed heroin to the outside world.
Whereas Taliban in Afghanistan represent a Pashtun insurgency which like Bathists in Iraq embodies a major section of society which was in power and was ousted from power by the Americans and NATO. As I have said before on these pages, Pakistan’s interest in Afghanistan can be denied and as long as the Indians are heavily involved in that country, Pakistan due to its own security concerns will not be able to pull back.
http://real-politique.blogspot.com
By Sikander Hayat
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