The DC Sniper Nest: None Dare Call it Terrorism

Sierra Times ^ | Oct 7, 02 | Analysis by J.J. Johnson

[SLB]

This will be one of those articles our enemies will try to pick apart in order to make the accusation that the author actually condones what is happening around the nation's capital. It's expected, since it's one of the few ways the left knows how to deal with such a dilemma. Fact is: There have been at least 11 shootings, with 5 confirmed fatalities so far in the Washington DC area. Since despite all the police chest pounding, they probably won't find a suspect by the time this is article is published, there will probably be more.

In our new War on Terrorism, none dare call it that. So let's call it what it really is - war, and deal with it on those terms.

This of course, will make the spin meisters even more upset, since nothing - absolutely nothing since September 11, 2001 will be called terrorism. Not the American Airlines flight over New York City a year ago, not the string of oil refinery explosions, unexplained train derailments, not the nutcases attacking Greyhound bus drivers, and heaven forbid - that Anthrax thing was an anomaly, just like the West Nile Virus and the new cases of malaria popping up in the same area of the shooting. Just individual crazed lunatics mind you, not terrorism.

Meanwhile, the war continues.

If it hasn't dawned on you that this is an actual war in progress on our own soil (don't worry - it's not terrorism unless we tell you), take a look at the affect one lone sniper has had on the social infrastructure of the DC suburbs:

MARYLAND: Anne Arundel County Schools: . All schools locked . After-school activities canceled . After-school childcare will be provided . No evening high school classes . Indoor recess and activities

Baltimore City Schools: . No afternoon pre-kindergarten . No outdoor after-school athletic events; indoor events will be held

Calvert County Schools: . Students being kept inside schools . No after-school activities

Charles County Schools: . Heightened security . Students kept indoors . After-school activities canceled . Tuesday field trips canceled

Frederick County Schools: . Lockdown status . No students allowed outside

Howard County Schools: . Modified lockdown status . No afternoon kindergarten or special education . No outdoor recess or activities

Montgomery County Schools: . Code Blue status . No afternoon pre-k or kindergarten . Extra security in schools . All field trips canceled . Indoor recess and lunch . All after-school activities canceled

Prince George's County Schools: . Code Blue status . All outdoor activities canceled . Indoor recess and lunch . No outdoor after-school activities . No afternoon pre-kindergarten . All school doors monitored by security . Increased police presence in schools

Queen Anne's County Schools: . No after-school activities

DISTRICT: D.C. Schools: . No outdoor lunch or recess . No outdoor after-school activities . All field trips canceled

Archdiocese of Washington Schools: . No outdoor lunch or recess . No afternoon kindergarten or activities . Aftercare will be provided

VIRGINIA: Alexandria City Schools: . No outdoor recess or physical education classes . After-school activities canceled . Increased police presence for dismissals

Arlington County Schools: . All outdoor after-school activities canceled . Indoor after-school activities will be held

Caroline County Schools: . Outdoor activities canceled

Fairfax County Schools: . No outdoor activities

Falls Church City Schools: . Outdoor activities canceled . Police officers at each school

Fredericksburg City Schools: . Lockdown status . No after-school activities

King George County Schools: . Lockdown status

Loudoun County Schools: . Heightened state of alert . Outdoor activities at each principal's discretion

Manassas City Schools: . Limited lockdown status . No outdoor recess or activities

Prince William County Schools: . No outdoor after-school activities Monday or Tuesday

Spotsylvania County Schools: . Outdoor activities canceled

Stafford County Schools: . Outdoor activities canceled

Not bad for eleven rounds. Anyone want to take a guess how many of these students are children of federal employees? Now, let your brain spin. Here's a federal government planning for war, importing and exporting no goods on its western flank, and with a market in a steady freefall, and yet to even submit a budget this fiscal year. But none of that will be on their minds when they wake up - only: who's next?

Just like September 11 - brilliant war tactics. Then again, as any sniper can tell you, psychological terror is a bi-product of this time-tested, lethal art. The only thing America has going for it right now is that there is only one. Surely the profilers are trying to figure out some way of saying this lone gunman is some nut - some crazy white guy that gets a monthly high from reading Soldier of Fortune, probably hates the New World Order, and is of course, a believer in the Second Amendment, Turner Diaries, etc.. This profile (soon to come, I'm sure) will give some antigun nuts a second wind, attempting to get more gun legislation passed.

C'mon - you know this is coming, don't you?

Lest we forget that the state of Maryland already has some of the most draconian gun laws in the nation. And no gun law will slow down this sniper. In fact, only the opposite is true.

We're dealing with a professional, someone who is becoming pretty good at one shot - one kill. This person is not firing several shots at random, and is deadly accurate. Our shooter knows how to take the shot, then relocate. Some amateur could not be this skilled working behind enemy lines, if you will and, knowing there is a dragnet out there, still hit his mark at least 10 times. According to authorities, there is no common pattern with the victims that are being chosen. So if we said the only thing the victims do have in common is that none are Muslim, that would be a stretch, wouldn't it?

If what many people fear turns out to be the case ("sniper jihad"), catching this critter may be difficult, and a few more may have to die to get a bead on this SOB. Not being a sniper expert, I'd say it will take all we have inside us if and when the next round is fired. But I recall something about hitting the ground, and get a good look in the direction where you heard the sound. If it were a war zone, the next line would be lay down cover fire, and fire teams should keep their 'field of fire' in mind, but we don't want to turn the Washington Suburbs into Washington, DC, now would we?

Our little sniper is operating in an enemy environment, but he is also operating in a relatively 'safe' environment. You see, the fact that we really are at war is a concept too many people haven't taken seriously yet, especially in east coast, antigun bastions such as suburban DC. Hence, only time will tell when suddenly concealed carry laws are lifted (or simply not enforced), so that the soldiers in this new war (the citizens), may have the means of neuturalizing such threats upon discovery.

Go ahead. Call me extreme. But attending all those funerals will get old real fast. Legislators can pass all the laws they want, but no police chief or sheriff wants to spend the rest of is time in office counting innocent bodies. I'd suggest the local police make a few inquires to the Pentagon on how to deal with this problem, not the FBI or ATF. No, I'm not calling for military intervention, but gathering background information on someone that clearly has a military background.

To put it bluntly, we've have a region of the country on the verge of societal shut down. The pundits prefer calling this a lone nut than dealing with the obvious.

This person is not a 'right-wing' lunatic. This person is not a terrorist. This is a solider - waging war on our own soil.

[Delbert]

How come Mr Muslim doesnt bring his Jihad to Texas? Because firearms are as important a house hold appliance as a friggin water heater. Religion of Peace Incorporated.
I do think it's terrorist cell activity or some a$$hole trying to make it look that way to get Muslim extermination/deportation off and rolling.

[wjcsux]

I haven't heard any numbers. A good sniper with a .30 caliber rifle is good to at least 500 yards. IMHO this is a military guy who was trained in one of the Islamic or former Combloc nations.

[Dead Dog]

500 yards is the lower end of the range, military snipers can hit out to 800-1000 yards, even with a .308. I believe Hathcock hit a 1200 yarder with what is essentially a .30-06 deer rifle with a heavy "Bull" barrel.

.223s in M16 type rifles have won 1000 yard service rifle matches using 80ish grain bullets. Never under estimate any rifle, especially in trained hands.

[Dead Dog]

How come Mr Muslim doesnt bring his Jihad to Texas?

Not enough goats and virtually no camals.

[lgjhn]

....Never under estimate any rifle, especially in trained hands.
Very true words that we need not ever forget.

The 5.56 round is obviously not the round of choice by what we would consider classic snipers, but it is ideally suited for what he(they) are doing. It's probably a semi or full auto with scope mount and will also be ideally suited for the shoot-out that will occur when he(they) are caught. He(they)know exactly what they're doing and they need to be taken out as quickly as possible.

[El Sordo]

"A handgun is what you use to fight your way to your rifle" - William Cooper

[harpseal]

Those Easy Rider gun racks are frowned upon here in CT other than hunting season but right now its close enough.

Judge Roy Bean once described as suicide a man who went up against a long gun with a handgun. However, I would take the shot and hopefully get a few rounds of .45 cal lead into the sniper before he could adjust his aim onto me, presuming I stumbled onto him. A few rounds of .45 acp lodged in his torso may just disturb his subsequent aim.

Stay well - Stay safe - Stay armed - Yorktown

[El Sordo]

I've wondered about the found shell casing. It seems that a great bit of misinformation would be for the shooter to drop a shell casing picked up at a range somewhere. Do this a few time and make it look like there are several different shooters.

[Grampa Dave]

While everyone is thinking LARP or Seal Sniper Rifle, this sniper as Travis has tried to point out could have a single shot .223 and be really mobile and deadly with just one shot at his innocent victims.

Lone Eagle (generic Thompson Contender) $469.--

Leupoid 2.5 X 8 Matte Scope $429.--

Sub total $829. The scope could be mounted for about $70-100 bucks.

Box of 500 rounds of foreign .223 cheap less than $100.

For about $1000 an Islamakazi Sniper/shooter of innocent children and people could have a weapon that would fit into a back pack, a bicycle Camel back pack, or ride in a car or van using a partially rolled down window to stead the one shot. Or he could ride in the passenger seat in a legitimate white delivery truck with a fellow Islamakazi.

The weapon would be accurate enough to cause tremendous body damage up to 200 yards.

Would the Marine Corp LARP snipers use this gun? No!

Would a psycho killer with a budget use this gun to commit random acts of violent terrorism? You bet the bastard would!

[Dan Cooper]

"A handgun is what you use to fight your way to your rifle" - William Cooper

I think that was Col. Jeff Cooper who said that (no relation).

[grania]

Was listening to Roger Hedgecock yammer on earlier about this being a terrorist act, when to me it doesn't really fit the general profile of terrorism, as opposed to one loon out there shooting at people.

Other points...it seems like the shooter must've known the area. Whoever it was blended in. It seems more likely a home-grown whacko would most likely meet those two criteria.

[Dead Dog]

...45 acp lodged in his torso may just disturb his subsequent aim.

loss of judgement and motor skills are the first signs of lead poisoning. If you stumbled on them in their "nest" you would have a pretty good chance.

Just remember to plug their new holes with bacon.

[gatex]

"...Bullsh!t! Soldiers don't kill women and children. Any suggestion that this cowardly crap is soldiering degrades meaning of the word and insults every good person who has put on a uniform for their country. Soldiers kill military targets, not civilians."

Per history of WWII, the Nazi soldiers killed women and children. Didn't the Japanese do the same ?

Sgt Hathcock, the famous U.S. sniper killed a woman Viet Cong known as Apache, becuse of her cruel torture of U.S. prisoners (he gave her a second shot-she was a military target).

In Black Hawk Down, women and children were shot (they were shooting or being used as cover, so were military targets, in self defense).

[Travis McGee]

Good point about an AR-15 etc being better than a bolt or single shot for fighting off armed response when and if the LEOs get lucky.

But the sniper may be on a different tack, I think he spends 90% of his study time on his escape route, and "who" he shoots is only incidental to his very refined escape plans. So he may very well be using a weapon which aids in escape, which is why I would tell the LEOs NOT to rule out a rifle caliber pistol which could fit under the seat of a GEO Metro or in a daypack or briefcase or baby stroller.

[foreverfree]

bump

[Travis McGee]

US Secret Service use rifle caliber pistols for counter sniper fire if penned in tight corners, and SEALs play with them for some urban and water scenarios as well I understand.

[Atlas Sneezed]

Bang