Baitullah Mehsud, commander of the Pakistani Taliban until he was killed in a U.S. missile strike in August 2009, said in March last year his group was planning an attack on the White House that would “amaze” the world.

“Soon we will launch an attack in Washington that will amaze everyone in the world,” Mehsud told The Associated Press by phone after identifying the White House as one of the targets in an interview with local Dewa Radio.

Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud, shown in a 2008 photo, was killed in a U.S. airstrike in August 2009. (Photo credit: The Washington Post / Associated Press)

Although Mehsud has never been directly linked to any terrorist mission outside Pakistan, attacks launched by his terror network in recent years have widened in scope and ambition.

The Pakistani Taliban has links with al-Qaida and Afghan Taliban militants who have launched attacks against U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan.

According to a recent report in the Washington Post,

Mehsud’s death served as the apparent source of inspiration for the Jordanian suicide bomber and al-Qaeda double agent whose Dec. 30 attack at an American base in eastern Afghanistan killed seven CIA officers and contractors.

In a chilling videotape released posthumously ... by the Pakistani Taliban and broadcast on regional TV channels, bomber Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi [link added], 32, called on Muslim holy warriors worldwide to avenge Mehsud’s death by attacking U.S. targets.

“We will never forget the blood of our emir Baitullah Mehsud,” Balawi said on the tape, using the title that means leader of the Muslim faithful. “We will always demand revenge for him inside America and outside.”

The videotape confirmed the Pakistani Taliban’s central role in the bombing and exposed its close links with al-Qaeda and with the Afghan Taliban. It suggested an unexpected degree of coordination, capability and shared ambition among the three movements that some experts here said may force the United States to reassess its regional and even global counterterrorism strategy.

We learned on 9/11 that al-Qaida has the motive and the means to strike targets inside the United States. Moreover, al-Qaida has a pattern of repeating attacks deemed failures on the first attempt.

For example, after the first World Trade Center bombing on February 26, 1993 failed to bring town the north tower, al-Qaida launched the vastly more sophisticated attack of September 11, 2001 -- eight years later -- which brought down both the north and the  south tower.

Similarly, shoe bomber Richard Reid's unsuccessful attempt three days before Christmas in 2001 to blow up a trans-Atlantic airliner was replicated -- eight years later -- by the 2009 Christmas Day attack by underwear bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab.

Against that background, it's important to remember that the intended target of United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed in Shanksville, Penn. on 9/11 -- though never unequivocally confirmed -- was either the White House or the United States Capitol.

According to the 9/11 Commission Report (2004), Osama bin Laden's favored targets were the White House, the Pentagon, and the Capitol. Furthermore, the 9/11 Report notes that Bin Laden told 9/11 planner Ramzi Binalshibh to advise hijack ringleader Mohamed Atta that he preferred the White House over the Capitol as a target.

Ultimately, neither the White House nor the Capitol was hit on 9/11. Now, more than eight years later, it must be assumed both locations are urgent priorities on al-Qaida's high-value target list.

Related reports

Pakistani Taliban vows White House assault
(AP, March 31, 2009)

Video
Possible new al-Qaida threat? (MSNBC, Jan. 14, 2010) -- U.S. intelligence points to a new possible threat from Yemen-based al-Qaida against the United States. NBC's Pete Williams reports. (01:36)

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Background reports

Yemeni Clerics Threaten Jihad (Jan. 14, 2010)

New Details in CIA Bombing (Jan. 10, 2010)

Balawi Fit Suicide Bomber Profile (Jan. 5, 2010)

CIA Zawahiri Team Decimated (Jan. 4, 2010)

Afghan War Expands to Region (Oct. 8, 2009)

Taliban Leader Vows Revenge (Oct. 5, 2009)

White House Attack Will “Amaze” (March 31, 2009)

Taliban, al-Qaida Up the Ante (Sept. 21, 2008)

Al-Qaida Threatens New Attacks (Sept. 20, 2008)

Based on reports by the Associated Press quoting sources familiar with Dr. Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi, the 32-year-old Jordanian physician who turned against his Jordanian intelligence recruiters and struck the CIA's Camp Chapman forward operating base in Khost province near the Afghan-Pakistan frontier on December 30 killing seven Central Intelligence Agency employees and his Jordanian recruiter, al-Balawi matched the psychological profile of a suicide bomber.

As reported by the Associated Press, a close relative of al-Balawi's and high-school friend Mohammed Yousef "described the bomber as 'brilliant,' a devout Muslim, well-mannered, well-spoken, but a little anti-social." [Note: The correct term is asocial, meaning a loner; not antisocial, which refers to a psychopathic character structure.]

The thumbnail sketch by individuals closely acquainted with al-Balawi offers a precise match for the puritanical compulsive terrorist type represented by 9/11 hijack ringleader Mohamed Atta -- the unobtrusive, disciplined operative willing to sacrifice himself for a “higher” cause -- that I red-flagged in a confidential report to the CIA in March 2005.

In view of the vital national security interests of the U.S. and its allies in the war on terror to accurately profile and preempt future attacks by this type of terrorist operative, I'm releasing an executive summary of my 2005 report. 

Key Leadership Roles in a Global-Reach Terrorist Operation

Personality Profiles of Three Al-Qaeda Leaders

Personality assessment of three al-Qaeda leaders in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the United States provides evidence for a rudimentary model of the leadership roles required for major terrorist operations. This model has implications for combating terror.

Osama bin Laden

Assessment of Osama bin Laden (Immelman 2002a), founder and leader of al-Qaeda, shows he is highly ambitious and exploitative (i.e., narcissistic), with adventurous and dissenting (i.e., antisocial) tendencies. Narcissistic leaders are bold, competitive, self-assured, and frequently charismatic; they easily assume leadership roles, expect others to recognize their special qualities, and often act as though entitled. Antisocial leaders are bold, courageous, and tough; are minimally constrained by the norms of society; routinely engage in high-risk adventures; are not overly concerned about the welfare of others; are skilled in the art of social influence; and are adept at surviving on the strength of their talents, ingenuity, and wits.

Bin Laden’s blend of narcissistic and antisocial personality patterns suggests the presence of the unprincipled narcissist syndrome. This character complex combines the narcissist’s arrogant sense of self-worth, exploitative indifference to the welfare of others, and grandiose expectation of special recognition with the antisocial personality’s self-aggrandizement, deficient social conscience, and disregard for the rights of others.

A major implication is that bin Laden neither fits the profile of the highly conscientious, closed-minded religious fundamentalist, nor that of the religious martyr who combines these qualities with devout, self-sacrificing features; rather, it suggests that bin Laden is adept at exploiting Islamic fundamentalism in the service of his own ambition and personal dreams of glory. In the war on terrorism, information operations can be used to undermine the moral authority of the charismatic leader.

Ayman al-Zawahiri

Assessment of Ayman al-Zawahiri (Immelman & Kuhlmann, 2003), reportedly chief strategist for al-Qaeda operations prior to 9/11, shows that he is highly contentious and oppositional (i.e., negativistic), with highly dominant and controlling (i.e., sadistic) tendencies.

The amalgam of negativistic and sadistic personality patterns in Zawahiri’s profile suggests the presence of the abrasive negativist syndrome. For these personalities, minor frictions easily exacerbate into major confrontations and power struggles. They characteristically take the moral high ground, dogmatically and contemptuously expose their antagonists’ perceived hypocrisy, and contemptuously, derisively, and scornfully turn on those who cross their path.

The study offers an empirically based psychological framework for conceptualizing Ayman al-Zawahiri’s antagonistic negativism, single-minded commitment to a cause and inflammatory rhetoric. The major implication is that it highlights the importance of a committed, persuasive, “true believer” in a strategic position close to the charismatic leader.

Mohamed Atta

Assessment of 9/11 hijack ringleader Mohamed Atta (Immelman 2002b) indicates a highly conscientious (i.e., compulsive), introverted (i.e., schizoid) individual with secondary self-denying (i.e., masochistic) features.

Atta’s personality profile suggests the presence of the puritanical compulsive syndrome. This composite character complex is rooted in deep ambivalence between obedience and defiance, and characterized by the dual ego defenses of reaction formation against forbidden thoughts and sadistic displacement of hostile impulses. The masochistic elements in Atta’s profile provide a partial, personality-based explanatory framework for his willingness to sacrifice his life as a martyr for his cause.

The major implication is that political socialization experiences that produce a compulsive character structure — one manifestation of which is the classic authoritarian personality — may predispose a person to suicidal acts of terror (so-called “martyrdom”) when molded by a political culture that promotes religious fanaticism. In the war on terrorism, the ability of security personnel to identify the external features of this personality pattern can increase the probability of detecting terror operatives inside the United States and at our borders.

Summary and Formulation

Collectively, these three studies suggest three critical roles in terrorist organizations: (1) A narcissistic, charismatic leader devoid of core values beyond personal self-interest, adept at exploiting others in pursuit of their grandiose ambitions; (2) strategic-thinking “true believers” without constraints of conscience in the levels of violence they are willing to employ in their single-minded pursuit of mission; and (3) unobtrusive, disciplined operatives willing to sacrifice themselves for a “higher” cause. The presence of such radically different personality types occupying key roles in a terrorist organization has practical implications for fighting terrorism.

References

Immelman, A. (2002a, July). The personality profile of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. Paper presented at the Twenty-Fifth Annual Scientific Meeting of the International Society of Political Psychology, Berlin, Germany.

Immelman, A. (2002b, July). The personality profile of September 11 hijack ringleader Mohamed Atta. Paper presented at the Twenty-Fifth Annual Scientific Meeting of the International Society of Political Psychology, Berlin, Germany.

Immelman, A., & Kuhlmann, K. (2003, July). “Bin Laden’s Brain”: The abrasively negativistic personality of Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri. Paper presented at the Twenty-Sixth Annual Scientific Meeting of the International Society of Political Psychology, Boston, MA.

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Topical reports

Where is Osama Bin Laden? (Dec. 10, 2009)

Osama bin Laden Personality Profile (Dec. 6, 2009)

Chuck Hagel on National Defense (Sept. 3, 2009)

Abstracts of terrorist profiles developed at the Unit for the Study of Personality in Politics

The Personality Profile of Al-Qaida Leader Osama Bin Laden

“Bin Laden’s Brain”: The Abrasively Negativistic Personality of Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri

The Personality Profile of September 11 Hijack Ringleader Mohamed Atta

The 'Bomb-Throwing' Michele Bachmann

Politico reports that elements within the GOP are concerned that the "bomb-throwing" Rep. Michele Bachmann, Republican of Minnesota, may be inflicting damage on the party’s reputation with her incessant incendiary rhetoric.

The report is buried in an article by Glenn Thrush on House Minority Leader John Boehner's unsuccessful attempts last week to cajole South Carolina Congressman Joe Wilson to apologize for heckling President Barack Obama at the Sept. 9 Joint Session of Congress with the retort "You lie!"

John Boehner Struggles to Keep Up With Base

By Glenn Thrush

Sept. 17, 2009

Excerpts

House Minority Leader John Boehner spent much of last week trying to persuade a stubborn Rep. Joe Wilson to apologize to the House — telling associates he needed to “get to” Wilson before the weekend to elicit an apology.

But as the days dragged on, Boehner had to back off: Wilson’s spine was stiffened by $1.5 million in campaign contributions, the Democrats’ anti-Wilson rhetoric had become increasingly extreme, and the South Carolina Republican was rapidly accumulating support from the conference’s dominant right wing. ...

Like a surfer riding the heavy waves before a hurricane, Boehner, a conservative with a penchant for compromise, has spent the past few months trying to harness the anger of the GOP base without allowing his conference to veer too far to the right. ...

Long before the tea parties or Wilson’s outburst, Boehner and Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) had struggled to moderate the rhetorical excesses of House conservatives hammering away on Obama’s birth certificate, decrying the creation of “death panels” and ferreting out signs of creeping socialism.

Sources say they have been especially wary of the possible damage inflicted on the party’s reputation by bomb-throwing Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), who last fall called for an investigation into whether members of Congress are “pro-America or anti-America.” [link and emphasis added] ...

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Related reports

[Republicans] certainly are in a bind when it comes to Bachmann. On the one hand, the base loves her and she's frequently invited on television. On the other hand, she calls for revolution and warns against the government using Census data to round people up into internment camps. [links added] ...

Dump Bachmann gets straight to the point:

Until the GOP refutes or otherwise officially distances themselves from Rep. Bachmann, she will remain the face and shrill voice of the party. [link added] 

U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann: New "face and shrill voice" of the GOP?

 

Charlie Cook: Dem situation has 'slipped completely out of control'

Charlie Cook, one of the best political handicappers in the business, sent out a special update to Cook Political Report subscribers Thursday that should send shivers down Democratic spines.

Reviewing recent polling and the 2010 election landscape, Cook can envision a scenario in which Democratic House losses could exceed 20 seats.

"These data confirm anecdotal evidence, and our own view, that the situation this summer has slipped completely out of control for President Obama and Congressional Democrats. Today, The Cook Political Report’s Congressional election model, based on individual races, is pointing toward a net Democratic loss of between six and 12 seats, but our sense, factoring in macro-political dynamics is that this is far too low," he wrote.

"Many veteran Congressional election watchers, including Democratic ones, report an eerie sense of déjà vu, with a consensus forming that the chances of Democratic losses going higher than 20 seats is just as good as the chances of Democratic losses going lower than 20 seats."

Cook scrupulously avoided any mention that Democratic control of the House is in jeopardy but, noting a new Gallup poll showing Congress’ job disapproval at 70 percent among independents, concluded that the post-recess environment could feel considerably different than when Congress left in August. ...

Full report and comments