A disturbing rush to judgement.

Capitol Hill Blue ^ | 10/17/02 | Doug Thompson

[FatherTorque]

As usual Doug is right on the money. Many people around here could learn a thing or two from him.

[Rick.Donaldson]

RusH?????????????

It's been over two WEEKS, what RUSH, moron?

[Lizard_King]

“Yeah and he could be a little green man from Mars,”

Methinks the lady doth protest too much...

[cardinal4]

Granted, the angry white male that Clinton rushed to condemn after OKC needs to be looked at. But that doesnt mean we abandon looking for Islamic terrorists either. By most accounts there are two shooters, going against the lone gunman theory. Al-Qaeda is not a run of the mill terror org. They have learned to be unorthodox, read 9/11! All Im saying is dont rush to a clintonesque judgement by blaming a right wing gun nut who doesnt want to pay taxes.

[dirtboy]

"As usual Doug is right on the money. Many people around here could learn a thing or two from him."

He's not on the mark this time. There have been several witnesses who saw a Middle-eastern looking man, including one witness the first day. Couple that with the CNN Report that just broke, saying that the CIA is questioning the Gitmo detainees about the DC sniper, and the feds have a lot more info than they are telling us. Of course, these are the same folks who would not judge an Egyptian shooting up an El Al counter last year as terrorism.

Following the evidence is not racist. Denying it is PC.

[Puppage]

Following the evidence is not racist. Denying it is PC. Absolutely correct. And, PC KILLS.

[Kerberos]

"As usual Doug is right on the money. Many people around here could learn a thing or two from him"

Such as what? How and when to properly launch a disinformation campaign?

I could take the article apart point by point but it would just make my blood pressure go up to much.

[austingirl]

Another reason to think it could be ME terrorists is the tapes that have been found that show golf course killings, residential killings, street kidnappings and other assorted atrocities that they plan to unleash on us in our country. There have been threats to malls and apartment buildings.

I am one of many people who thought it was ME terrorism WAY before the description came out. I think the author's head is in the sand and is bending over backwards to be PC.

[M. Peach]

“Success is measured in body count, in shock value and in an ability to spread fear over the widest possible area,”

Let's see - 9 dead, 11 shot, and shock value and fear over the widest possible area (it's a headline on every TV station and newspaper in the country) - I guess that's not success.....

[Lizard_King]

"It goes beyond paranoia and becomes racism."

At last. He gets to the point, and a barf alert becomes imminent.

Look, by and large I am still convinced this is a homegrown loony, and not an imported one that's part of Al-Qaeda. But I don't think a series of causal fallacies and potentially false assumptions are so definitive that he can smugly dismiss these with self-righteous conclusions like this one. Given the resourcefulness and variety in our Arab foe's strategies, to leave them out of the equation as at least probable is foolish. The disgruntled white male is more probable, but hardly in absolute terms.

[babygene]

“No Muslim will lie about such a thing. They will lie about their name, their nationality or their intentions, but claiming to the God would be blasphemy. It would deny the shooter an afterlife.”

Yes they would. Lieing to an infidel, no mater what the lie is about, is promoted by their false religion...

[Hostage]

Did you bother to think of the importance of the North Korea news???

They have nukes and a Syria/Iraq connection.

Do you see what is shaping up?

Do you think we can't be attacked with nukes?

And you are worried about being PC?

Moron.

[Rick.Donaldson]

The ONLY thing in this thread that is "dead on" are the comments of the folks. The article is dead wrong. I was also one that said "terrorism" after the third shooting (I waited THAT long only because I thought like everyone else... "it can't possibly be....")

Look elsewhere in the threads here, and especially TODAY, and you will see many, many, MANY reports based on experts on terrorism, police personnel, military (I'm that one) and intelligence folks saying "do not rule OUT Al Queda" and other terrorist groups.

For the past two weeks we've heard all these "long gunman" theories, all of which are nothing more than a way for the so-called "profilers" to make themselves look better. They are wrong, I'm betting money on it this time.

[Do Be]

It goes beyond paranoia and becomes racism

Yeah, but then it goes beyond racism and becomes truth.

[MickMan51]

As usual Doug is right on the money. Many people around here could learn a thing or two from him.

No, as usual, Doug is full of crap. Look in the dictionary under "Terror". If you exercise your God-given ability to reason, you will find that what this sniper is causing is called TERRORISM. Ergo, he is a terrorist. NOT THAT COMPLICATED.

[CodeWeasel]

Single shot deaths are not the terrorist way

This one is hard to ignore. In at least a couple of cases (the FBI agent's husband and the youngster's aunt) the shooter easily could have claimed another victim without delaying the escape. I don't think a terrorist would pass up a free chance to increase the body count.

For that matter, a terrorist might just as easily have shot up the entire schoolyard. Imagine the fear and horror that would have caused.

[eno_]

And will you eat you hat when it turns out to be a terrorist team? The cells in Oregon and upstate New York were training on Kalashnikovs (a "collector" would have a spendier gun) - the type of rifle a witness claims to have seen. The distances from the victims don't require outstanding marksmanship. The fact the shooter and probably one or two helpers can continue their spree without anyone turning them in (in contrast with the Columbine shooters who had blabbed/bragged about comitting violent acts) augurs for isolation from meanstream American culture and society.

Yah, domestic shooter smells about as rotten as "domestic anthrax."

[Chapita]

I don't think you risk your money!

[MsLady]

Ah, hate to burst your little bubble, but didn't the F.B.I. also say that no one but, McViegh and what's his name, was involved in blowing up the Murray Building? And what are they saying now? Several credible witnesses said they saw McViegh with a man that looked like mid-eastern. And NOW the F.B.I is rethinking there investigation and talking to those witnesses again.

[Real Cynic No More]

“'Probably someone with military or law enforcement training,' Burlingame says. 'Someone who craves the media attention and the power he has from this situation. I agree fully with the profilers who say this is a homegrown shooter.'”

So, it's ok to profile the suspect as "military" or "law enforcement" is ok, but to profile him/her as "al-qaeda" is not acceptable?

I haven't heard anyone say it is a middle-Eastern terrorist. All I've heard anyone say is that the possibility should not be overlooked.

We can't jump on a bandwagon for any specific group be it ethnic or operational.

As an aside, I don't have any clue why people are saying that the suspect would have had miltary or law enforcement training. Any backwoods hunter from east Kentucky, east Tennessee, or Arkansas would likely have the skills to do this dirty deed. I know several; and none of them have had miltary or law enforcement training. So let's cut the profiling crapola.