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The US media would much rather promote civil disarmament than arouse us to enemies within ...

If Rudy knew, he'd keep it quiet,

I did some further research. A letter was indeed found on the body of Ali Abu Kamal. The letter was released by the city government of New York and the full text was published in the New York Times on February 26th, 1997.

Other articles in the NYT also discussed the note, which mentioned both both Kemal's hatred of Americans, Britons, French and Zionists and also his financial difficulties. I would have included a copy here, but I didn't want to pay $4.95 to the NYT or violate copyright.

In any case many of the assumptions behind this entire thread do not seem to be true.

" In any case many of the assumptions behind this entire thread do not seem to be true."

First off, great research, thanks.

I did assume that Rudy never mentioned a terrorist link, preferring to promote his disarmamnent agenda.

And MSM certainly did not spread the idea around, instead amplifying Rudy's words.

I did assume that the media would not mention the letter at all, and as you pointed out and backed up with good research, I was wrong, thanks for informing me, I like to learn things.

Use LexisNexis Alacarte for your research. It only costs $3.

Here is a quote from the New York Times article of Feb. 26, 1997:

RAMPAGE AT THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING: OVERVIEW;Empire State Gunman's Note: Kill 'Zionists'

The New York Times, Section A; Page 1; Column 3; Metropolitan Desk
February, 26 1997
By MATTHEW PURDY
1360 words

The gunman who opened fire on the observation deck of the Empire State Building on Sunday said in a letter found on his body that he planned his attack as revenge for the treatment of Palestinians by the United States, Israel and other countries.

"The Zionists are the paw that carried out their savage aggression," wrote Ali Abu Kamal, the 69-year-old English teacher from Gaza who shot seven people before killing himself Sunday afternoon. "My restless aspiration is to murder as many of them as possible, and I have decided to strike at their own den in New York, and at the very Empire State Building in particular."

Law enforcement officials said they have found no evidence to support the contention of Mr. Abu Kamal's family that he was distressed at having been swindled out of hundreds or thousands of dollars of his life's savings, and the officials said they doubted the money ever existed. They also said they had found no indication that Mr. Abu Kamal acted in concert with a terrorist group or any accomplices.

- end excerpt -

I looked at the timeline of the stories- Rudy's "we need more gun control" letter was published the day before the "this guy was a terrorist" article.

The two stories did not collide on the same day.

It is possible that Rudy didn't know about the letter, but as I stated earlier it would have been convenient for his message if he didn't say anything to blunt his "common sense disarmament" theme. It also would make sense for the media to keep them separate (like you don't see the story of the fire, and ads for the fire sale on the same page).