Media Might Be Missing a Story and Ignoring a Terrorist

Imagine a man with a bomb strapped to his body making his way into a packed football stadium, reaching his seat and blowing himself up. There would be a heavy death toll in what would be the first successful terrorist act on U.S. soil since 9-11.

Jolting us back to memories of the Oklahoma City bombing, this would obviously be a massive headline in our ongoing war on terror. One would think attention would be heightened even further if such a story were to occur again in Oklahoma.

Well, there's reason to believe it nearly happened, and it was indeed in Oklahoma, making the paltry coverage of the story unfathomable.

On Oct. 1, as the Oklahoma Sooners hosted Kansas State in front of 84,000 fans, University of Oklahoma student Joel Hinrichs III blew himself up outside the stadium.

There is evidence that he sought to enter the game and was turned away by security after refusing to allow his backpack to be searched. Some minutes later, that backpack, containing the chosen explosive of shoe bomber Richard Reid and the London subway bombers, exploded, killing Mr. Hinrichs as he sat on a bench.

There have been some dutiful print and broadcast accounts of this event, all leaning heavily on the favored establishment take – that this was a troubled young man who sought only to kill himself, simply doing so in an offbeat way.

Well, what if the young man had a Pakistani roommate? What if he had been spending time at the Islamic Center of Norman, Okla., once frequented by "20th hijacker" Zacarias Moussaoui? What if the warrant used in the search of the bomber's apartment had been sealed by federal authorities?

What if explosives had been found in that apartment? What if the young man had tried to purchase ammonium nitrate, the chosen explosive of Tim McVeigh, at a Norman feed store days earlier?

That's a lot of what ifs, and they range from the confirmed to the unconfirmed. But the parts we do know – the Pakistani roommate, the attempted fertilizer purchase, the veil of secrecy around the investigation – should be enough to cast doubt on the simplistic "troubled young man" theory favored by, among others, OU's nervous president, David Boren.

Mr. Hinrichs' father told me his son was not the type to join radical causes and would not want to hurt anyone. But his son's chosen method – blowing himself up in a public place – would seem to cast doubt on his concern for his fellow man.

As for the terrorist angle, Mr. Hinrichs is now the subject of understandably intense scrutiny, virtually none of it from the mainstream media. You might think the story fizzled because there was, in fact, no death beyond the bomber. True enough, but I'd suggest that if a raid revealed some radical plan to bomb an abortion clinic anywhere in America, the suspects would be household names by nightfall without a single fuse lit.

Something about the nature of this event has swallowed almost whole the normal curiosity one would expect from the usual sources.

Is it political, because acknowledging a terror threat on our soil might bolster President Bush's war logic? Is it economic, out of fear of scaring people away from football games? Is it geographic snobbery because it didn't happen on either coast? Or is it a PC fear of seeming to lunge toward a jihadist angle?

Whatever the reason, hunting for details of this shocking story puts you in some offbeat company.

Jayna Davis is a writer who has spent years documenting what she asserts is an Islamic connection to the Oklahoma City bombing. She has a fan in Douglas Hagmann, director of an outfit called the Northeastern Intelligence Network, whose Web site (homelandsecurityus.com) has a conspiracy geek vibe that might spark scoffing.

But the fact of the matter is that these people are breaking fresh news on this story that only later winds up in more conventional news outlets.

I'm not calling for a leap to the conclusion that Mr. Hinrichs was another in a series of Caucasians pressed into service by terror cells for their undercover value. But it seems equally unwise to shrug dismissively at the possibility.

Here's the latest from the Tulsa World.

No one else involved in bombing, FBI tells lawmaker
By JIM MYERS World Washington Bureau
10/12/2005

View in Print (PDF) Format

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Rep. Tom Cole said Tuesday that the FBI told him there is no indication anyone else was involved in the apparent suicide bombing that took the life of University of Oklahoma student Joel Henry Hinrichs III earlier this month.

Citing a point of frustration expressed by law enforcement, the Oklahoma Republican said, the agent who briefed him on the investigation questioned why no one with knowledge of Hinrichs' lengthy interest in explosives had ever contacted the bureau or some other agency.

"That is illegal activity," Cole said. "It is not like having a firearm and being a hunter."

No situation involving the making of a bomb even for private use is legal, he said, adding the agent clearly thought public awareness should be increased on that issue.

A two-term member of Congress whose district includes OU, Cole said he asked for an FBI briefing on the case that has generated an unusual amount of attention from those inside and outside the university community.

"No. 1, we don't have any reason to believe this was anything other than an individual suicide," Cole said, again quoting the FBI agent.

"We feel pretty good that there
is not terrorist activity."

Cole said the FBI, while still careful about ruling certain things in or out in the ongoing investigation, said law enforcement has looked at the 21-year-old student's phone records, e-mails and personal records.

"They checked out every acquaintance they could find," he said, including his roommate.

"He didn't have a lot of friends."

No evidence such as jihadist material has been found linking Hinrichs to others, Cole said.

"There is no indication he was acting in concert with anybody," he said.

Asked if Hinrichs had left a suicide note, Cole said the FBI told him "there was no note."

One of the questions that continues to generate speculation involved the timing and location of the bombing, which occurred close to a packed Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.

Cole said the FBI has not come up with a reason why Hinrichs picked that location and time for the bombing, adding, however, that that area is the first place that offers a place to sit down near the stadium.

As to the ongoing speculation that Hinrichs had attempted to enter the stadium only to be turned away by security, Cole said the FBI briefer conceded "honestly, we don't know," but added no confirmation of those reports has been found.

He said the FBI also cannot confirm the path Hinrichs took right before the bombing.

The FBI, the congressman said, praised the reaction of the local community, including those in the Islamic community, law enforcement and OU President David Boren.

Cole said he was told members of the Islamic community "went above and beyond" to cooperate with the investigation and no connection to the local mosque has been found.

U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., received an FBI briefing on the incident last week.

Danny Finnerty, special assistant to Inhofe, said the senator also received assurances that Hinrichs was acting alone when he killed himself.

Finnerty said the FBI also told Inhofe it could not confirm reports Hinrichs had attempted to enter the stadium.

Jim Myers (202) 484-1424
jim.myers@tulsaworld.com

That is unbelievable! It reminded me of something Yosseff Bodansky said in his book, "Bin Laden,The Man Who Declared War on America. This was written before 9-11 but after the middle eastern terrorists were not acknowleged in several attacks. Here is his quote:

“The case of TWA 800 served as a turning point because of Washington’s determination and to a great extent ability to suppress terrorist explanations and float ‘mechanical failure’ theories. To avoid such suppression after future strikes, terrorism-sponsoring states must raise the ante so that the West cannot ignore them. The temptation is growing to use weapons of mass destruction-chemical, biological, and radiological weapons-to ensure exposure.”

And I would add, the ability to float "Just a suicide of a depressed young man."

Mr. Hinrichs' father told me his son was not the type to join radical causes and would not want to hurt anyone. But his son's chosen method – blowing himself up in a public place –

AFAIK, it's not even confirmed that the person blown up was Joel Hinrichs. Most likely it was, but there wasn't enough left to make a positive ID and last I heard they were awaiting DNA tests. My speculation is that the ID was made on the basis of Joel's student ID card found on or near the body. I base that on the initial photo released by the FBI, which clearly was the student ID photo, but was sort of wrinkled looking. Later the actual photo, probably from OU's electronic "original", was published.

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