[Nonstatist]

Or is there a continuing al-Qaeda presence in that area?

Yes there is. They found 6 or 7 of them in an apartment complex behind the Laurel mall on Rte 1 in PG county. Apparently there lived there a well connected Egyptian who flew the coup after 9-11. I see a few of them around here now and then. This is definitely one of their magnet places, along with Trenton, NJ, I believe..

[concerned about politics]

along with Trenton, NJ, I believe..

Considering the recient court case there -- go figure! Birds of a feather flock together.

[American Soldier]

There is also the bigwig radical cleric who lives over by the parkway and ADMITS to knowing Bin Laden. I somehow managed to catch him outside once. Had intended to harass him if I found him but then I realized he had had a clear view of my license plate number. There were young African Americans in Muslim dress nearby, as many of the African Americans in the area are Muslims of the sort that dress up like Middle Easterners. There was nobody else in the area, and from the way he acted around the kids it seemed they were being watched over by him.

I have been worrying ever since the LA riots that the Nation of Islam would hook up with a Middle Eastern fundamentalist group. It appears to be happening. Therefore I am inclined to believe that the current shootings could just as easily have been a native, well-trained Nation of Islam member as a Middle Eastern immigrant (though I lean away from the Nation of Islam theory). The gangs would make particularly good recruiting pools for Al Qaeda.