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Terrorism

Chertoff: Hizb'allah puts Al-Qaeda in 'minor league'



By Stan Goodenough
May 29, 2008

The director of US Homeland Security said in Jerusalem Thursday Lebanon's Hizb'allah makes the Al-Qaeda terror group of Usama bin Laden look like a minor league team.

America's Fox News television channel described Michael Chertoff's statement at a special forum on terrorism as "shocking" in light of the fact that most Americans understood the Hizb'allah to be a Middle East terrorism organization without the world reach demonstrated by Al-Qaeda.

"Someone described Hizb'allah like the A-team of terrorists in terms of capabilities, in terms of range of weapons they have, in terms of internal discipline," Chertoff said.

"To be honest, they make Al Qaeda look like a minor league team.

"They have been more disciplined, and they've been in some senses more restrained in the kinds of attacks they carry out ... in recent years, but that's not something we can take for granted," he warned.

Hosted by Israeli Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter, the two-day conference is focused on ways to combat terrorism.

Chertoff described his country's top security fear as being a terrorist successfully smuggling a bomb on board a jet airliner.

Homeland Security was consequently "intensifying the degree of screening we use for baggage that goes into the cargo. Whether it comes from the passenger or is shipped from company.

"All of this is raising the level of defense," Chertoff added.

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