Posted on 10/08/2002 3:36:37 AM PDT by Peach
It's 6:30 a.m. EST and we're waiting to go to the second press conference providing media and local updates on the Maryland sniper shootings. To date, the 13 year old boy has survived the evening and seems to be improving. Fox News mentioned that his aunt is a nurse. The police briefing at 6:15 a.m. mentioned Todd Beamer's Let's Roll comment and police are urging people to use caution, good judgment, but remain strong and try to continue with everyday life as much as possible.
Police had a search warrant last night (didn't say for who or where) related to the sniper shootings, but the search did not provide any information to LEO.
ET, don't try to pass the foil off on me! there is nothing "tin foil" about any thing I've said. In case you missed it, read post #279, by antidisestablishment who pretty much sums it up. For someone with the "end tyranny" handle, you sure are fuzzy about gun registration and the potential for future confiscation.
Would it ever occur to you that a Black man, maybe even a concerned and thoughtful one, might come at this issue from a different perspective than you do?
I'd be setting up neighborhood watches, armed, in the neighborhoods where this is happening. I'm in the south, small sleepy town, where an Arab would stick out immediately, so I'm not particularly alert here. When we were in CT and MA last month for 2 weeks, I found that I was much more alert to all sorts of things and people - almost jumpy. Guess you get used to it but it made me glad we aren't in the northeast anymore.
Heh - if the premises are unoccupied, then to whom were they supposed to present the warrant?
Besides, I was under the impression that the officers doing the searching never had to have the warrant physically with them before starting the search. An officer would get the judge's approval and signature, and then radio to the search team to go ahead.
Common sense would dictate that the Feds didn't broadcast it, since they knew the cell had weapons. The arrests in Portland also had to be coordinated with the one cell member who was picked up in Michigan, which would further indicate that at least those arrested weren't spooked ahead of time.
The flip side, of course, is that Islamists have been allowed to operate so long in this country under the guise of "religious freedom" and the Feds fear of racism/profiling charges, it's possible they might have known they were under surveillance, but figured they could continue business as usual. These groups, along with recruiters, facilitators and sympathizers, have been in business for years, and I'm sure there are some that haven't even come up on the Feds radar screen yet.
The person who took this shot though, has been running from the police since Wednesday night, when they started this spree. The only alleged miss so far has been the first shot fired through a Michael's window.
This person shot 7 people in a row, from long range, with just one bullet each, killing 6. Took the week-end off, while remaining unfound, then picked a spot, and calmly cranked 1 round from 2 1/3 blocks away, nailed his target, and got away.
A few weeks at the range does not give you this ability. This has been plotted out, and it is a stone killer. Not one bit of nerves, bringing out a yippy shot. Could be a car near the woods, a bird flying by, the fear of being shot by a LE type to distract this shooter... a sudden gust of wind, a pang of conscience, anything.
I will bet anybody, that this person has a very interesting background.
Well, you're basically wrong on all counts.
First off: this would not be a difficult crime to pull off. There is no need for elaborate planning and careful plotting of escape routes. The only thing required is an eye for likely locations (far enough from traffic to to preclude witnesses, and close enough to merge quickly, and an open shot at a likely spot), a willingness and ability to kill, and the ability to blend into heavy traffic once the deed is done. There's no pattern, because there's no plan beyond finding spots to make a kill.
Second: Klebold and Harris demonstrated the ability of teens to pull of crimes like this. They chose to commit suicide; they could have as easily gone the sniper route. FWIW, I don't really think it's teens -- I think it's a couple of loser guys in their early 20s. And I think they read and loved Clancy's "Without Remorse," wherein an unhinged John Clark undertakes his own sniper spree.
Third: nobody here has blamed it on MTV, heavy metal, or video games. I, personally, blame it on the aforementioned nutjobs. However, MTV and metal would give encouragement to somebody already of a mind to do these things, and video games would provide a means of training (just as the 9/11 boys used video games to hone their piloting skills).
I am still hung up on the truck. I have had several people tell me that it is the ideal escape vehicle et.al. but, I remain skeptical. How 'bout this scenario.... several "hits" with the vehicle being a large white box van. then, a "hit" that has the police come running. There, parked in a strategic position is the van. PD goes on the offensive, surrounds the van, SWAT creeps up on it, and BANG! it was a trap. the truck is packed with ANFO and the SWAT tem is vaporized. Backup officers are stunned by the blast (think flash-bang) and Abdul the sniper opens up on them from a concealed position and a few more brave souls get killed. Abdul and Suliman run to the Camaro they have 'jacked, and make their getaway.
Sound far-fetched? Hardly. Part of terrorism is to instill fear into the populace that they aren't safe. That the "powers-that-be" cannot protect them. What better way then to demonstrate this than to effectively remove the "best and brightest" (which is generally the criteria for SWAT) of local law enforcement. If they are lucky maybe the FBI wold have a couple of HRT types there and then all the better.
You all have to understand that the shooter, if he is an AQ terrorist (and my bets are that he is), has already attained "legend" status among the AQ. He has killed kafir and eluded the police. At this point, even if he is killed, he will be an admired martyr for all AQ to aspire to. Honestly, I fully expect a "copy-cat" affair to start in another city any time. I say copy cat, because law-enforcement is ill-equipped to pursue these affairs as true terrorist actions. So, they have to use their training and tools in a manner that they are familiar with. I.e. a "spree" killer. If another cell starts excuting kafir it will be touted as a "copy-cat" and not the next phase of a calculated terror plan.
In my opinion THAT is the soft spot that America has in dealing with these guys. We (America) will continue to rationalize these actions against a metric that we can understand (i.e. a whack-job, mentally unstable, emotionally disturbed INDIVIDUAL as opposed to an organized group) then, once it is established that this is indeed an organized effort, then there will be the overall denial (How could this happen here?) then the witch-hunt (who knew and when?) all the time, we will be trying (and initially failing, as in Maryland now) to exterminate the threat.
The sooner we recognize that it is a broad threat and take steps to mitigate the threat, we will have dead people littering the streets. Get used to it. It is only beginning.
God knows, I want to be wrong, but, those of you that have been on FR for more than a day know that my track record is unfortuneatly pretty good. I have been right more than I have been wrong. Thats not to say that I havn't been wrong, but as far as I can see, and I am first to admit that I base my opinion and observations on an extremely narrow fact-set and I do not profess to have some "inside souce" for information. I am just going on my gut instincts. That being said, I want to be wrong, but facts seem to indicate otherwise.
I return to the mists of "lurk"
Vaya con 'dios mi Freepers
Semper Fi
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