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Coloring the sniper news
TownHall.com ^ | 10/11/02 | Michelle Malkin

Posted on 10/10/2002 9:18:38 PM PDT by kattracks

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. -- Some profiling experts are convinced that the roving sniper who has terrorized my neighborhood and surrounding communities is a white male.

-- Dr. Michael Welner, a forensic psychiatrist at New York University Medical Center, described the shooter as "white, male, single, 20s-30s . . . (with a) longtime fascination with hunting and shooting."

-- Chris Whitcomb, former FBI hostage rescue team member, told NBC's Katie Couric that "statistically, it's going to be a white male, and it's going to be a young person, young 20s emotionally, but also because that's the age most likely statistically somebody's going to commit a crime like this."

-- Brian Levin, the director of something called the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism in San Bernardino, Calif., stated confidently that the killer "is kind of a wallpaper white male, a disenfranchised, disrespected man who's getting back at society. That's one of the reasons he's kept his distance from inner D.C., where he might lose his cover."

The media immediately embraced the Angry White Male theory by sensationalizing the cops' questioning over the weekend of one Robert Gene Baker. Newspaper reports described him as "heavily tattooed" and "linked" to "militia and white supremacist" groups. The headlines screamed: "Supremacist Sought in Sniping Spree" and "Neo Nazi Named as Sniper Murders Suspect." But in fact, Baker was never a suspect and had no weapons on him at the time he was taken into custody for an outstanding auto-theft warrant.

The AWM theory remains a plausible one, of course. But it isn't the only one. You won't hear Katie Couric or Peter Jennings talking about it with their conventional-thinking experts, but there is a significant possibility that the sniper and the sniper's support system could be non-white Muslim extremists with ties to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network.

Consider: Al Qaeda training videos analyzed by the Army show Middle Eastern terrorists, armed with assault rifles, rehearsing combat scenarios involving ambushes, raids and sniper attacks.

Consider: James Ujaama, a black American Muslim convert, was indicted in August on charges of conspiring to help al Qaeda establish a terrorist training camp on a ranch in southern Oregon. According to one camp attendee, 10 to 15 members of Ujaama's Seattle mosque brought a large arsenal of weapons to the ranch for target practice. "I thought they would only use rifles, but they were pulling out AK-47s, pistols and other assault rifles, enough for everybody and then some," the camp attendee told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Drills included both close-range and long-range shooting.

And consider: Just before the killings in the Washington, D.C., area began, federal authorities arrested members of a suspected terrorist cell in Portland. Their cache of weapons included semi-automatic pistols, a Chinese SKS 7.62 assault rifle, a 12-gauge Remington 870 shotgun, and a 30.06 rifle with scope, which they shot off at a private quarry in Washougal, Wash. According to Skamania County Deputy Sheriff Mark Mercer, the alleged cell members held target practice shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

An unindicted co-conspirator of the terrorist cell, Lebanese-born Ali Khaled Steitiye, was arrested in Portland last October after attempting to buy an assault rifle illegally. Federal agents found several weapons and 1,000 rounds of .22-caliber ammunition in his home (the same caliber used by the D.C.-area sniper), a calendar with Sept. 11 circled in red, and evidence suggesting a link to the terrorist organization Hamas.

One of Steitiye's alleged shooting buddies, accused Portland terrorist cell member and black Muslim convert Jeffrey Leon Battle, joined the U.S. Army Reserve in 2000 and was assigned to a military engineering unit in Oregon. He was discharged for desertion, but had already received basic Army training -- including instruction in firearms and ordnance use. The federal terrorism indictment against him charges that Battle joined the Army "in order to receive training in U.S. military tactics and weapons which he intended to use against the U.S. and in support of al Qaeda and the Taliban."

Many in the mainstream media are convinced that a "wallpaper white male" is responsible for the D.C. area sniper killings. But the faces of evil come in every color. We must be prepared for all possibilities, not just the ones that play into reporters' preconceived notions about hunters, soldiers, tattoos and guns.

Contact Michelle Malkin | Read her biography

©2002 Creators Syndicate, Inc.



TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; News/Current Events; US: District of Columbia; US: Maryland; US: Virginia
KEYWORDS: banglist
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To: kattracks
Aren't all these profilers going to look stupid when it turns out to be a Non-european ancestory female? For there is no real evidence in the public domain to indicate anything at all about the sniper or snipers. They pulling all this out of there...well you know. All that is known for certain is that the bullets he/she/they are using are .224 caliber, most likely .223 Remington/5.56x45. Even the card and the catridge case are not "for certain" clues to either the weapon(s) being used nor the nature of the shooter(s).

21 posted on 10/10/2002 10:44:11 PM PDT by El Gato
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To: 69ConvertibleFirebird
The Limburg was an accident and the guy in LA wasn't a terrorist and oh yes, Hatfill did the Anthrax! One wonders if they were shooting at Weaver's wife or doing a preemptive strike on the white baby? Strike that, it would have been a retroactive abortion like KC's friend Andrea performed times 5.
22 posted on 10/10/2002 10:44:23 PM PDT by Righty1
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To: Sabertooth
I happened to see Michelle interviewed by a liberal PBS-type curmudgeon on the local 'Party Television Station'. That lady's got heart, and lots of smart.

She did a great job promoting her book; "Invasion" I think it's called.

23 posted on 10/10/2002 10:45:57 PM PDT by Crowcreek
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To: kattracks
The "weird White guy" scenario is looking more and more plausible. The sniper's actions don't make sense if he's a terrorist; especially one in, or allied with, Al Qaeda.

If he's a terrorist, then it's safe to assume that he's at least sympathetic to Al Qaeda's cause. And if that's the case, then he must see himself as "taking the fight to the enemy." But if that's his purpose, then why go to his enemy's capitol city, but not enter it? He could have gone on a shooting spree anywhere. Why travel all the way to DC and then stop short? One would expect that a politically motivated sniper would choose a course of action that would attract the most attention to his cause. Playing around in Maryland and Virginia does not accomplish that; shooting people within the "Great Satan's" capitol would.

And why shoot-n-scoot? I would expect a terrorist to hang around, at least for the first shooting or two, to pick off "first responders". There was an anti-abortion bomber once who tried to do just that. He set off a small bomb to attract the police and then left a larger device where they might conduct a search. (Fortunately, they didn't follow the bomber's idea of "standard operating procedures"!) Wouldn't a terrorist try the same thing? Especially one who would value "martyrdom" and thus be willing to take greater risks?

A garden variety nut, however, would behave like this. (And the blasphemous message on a tarot card doesn't fit the Islamic Terrorist profile either.) A "weird White guy" would play it safe. He'd avoid DC. He'd be nearby simply because that's where he lives. He's likely a local rather than someone who deliberately traveled into the area. He would be much less likely to hang around for a follow-up shot on police or paramedics. And above all, he'd hit soft targets like civilians who aren't on guard. A terrorist would be more inclined to go after Government personnel.

24 posted on 10/10/2002 10:52:05 PM PDT by Redcloak
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To: MissAmericanPie
Heard anything about the Antrax killer lately?

No. Not sure what to make of it, but point well taken.

25 posted on 10/10/2002 10:53:11 PM PDT by WRhine
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To: El Gato
ADDENDUM:
(I think I spelled that right...)

The SKS is 7.62x39, not NATO 7.62 (which would be a .308 by our standards). I currently own several SKS, and previously owned a .308 (still regret getting rid of it) - there is a significant difference in size.

You are correct that most SKS are fixed magazine, with wood stocks, and that you can buy after market POLY stocks for them (currently have two POLY stocks)- they cost $60-80 on average.

I know most people dont care for the SKS, but they are affordable, easy to work on, fairly cheap to shoot, not too powerful with recoil, and all around decent little rifles. Although, I have read that they are not the most accurate things, especially at distance.
On the bright side, they are incredibly durable.

26 posted on 10/10/2002 10:56:08 PM PDT by Villiany_Inc
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To: John H K
"Serious mistake by the author, would have been caught already in this thread if the author's political agenda didn't match most of FRs :-)"

Sorry - The mistake is yours.

There are many conventions shooters use when referring to weapons, chamberings, and specific cartridge terminology.

All Ammunition for .22 rifles is .22 ammunition. If you refer to a particular weapon, or chambering, then the terminology must be exact, such as ".22/250" or .25/.308 Ackley Improved.

".22 ammunition " is not synonomous with ".22 long rifle", which is a a specific, standardized cartridge chambered in rifles, pistols, combination guns, and many machine guns.

27 posted on 10/10/2002 10:57:43 PM PDT by Crowcreek
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To: Sabertooth
Kindly add me to the Malkin ping list. Thank you ...
28 posted on 10/10/2002 11:02:56 PM PDT by MHGinTN
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Comment #29 Removed by Moderator

To: Redcloak
He's targeting gas stations and chain stores (the woman on the bus bench was sitting in front of a chain restaurant). The kid who I hope is recovering was supposedly wearing a sweatshirt with a swoosh or other logo on it. The killer is an anarchistic eco-terrorist - there were anti capitalist, anti-corporate riots in DC only a few weeks ago.

Leftist terrorists, like the Unabomber, like to kill from a distance. The tarot card may be a reference to the societal change he hopes to provoke with his rampage. Tarot cards and hippies go together like Clinton and pudgy, trashy, postadolescent interns.
30 posted on 10/10/2002 11:08:19 PM PDT by motexva
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To: motexva
I would expect that even a domestic terrorist would go into DC rather than play around outside. Not to say, however, that the "weird White guy" might not have a skull full of lefty political ideas.
31 posted on 10/10/2002 11:11:20 PM PDT by Redcloak
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To: Villiany_Inc
The SKS is 7.62x39, not NATO 7.62

Never said it was. The 7.62X39 was developed from a very similar German cartridge, the 7.92 Kurtz (Kurtz meaning "short"))

BTW, I have had one for about 12 years now. Don't shoot it much anymore, having moved on to bigger things (7.62 NATO as a matter of fact) and smaller things also (.30 Carbine) :)

32 posted on 10/10/2002 11:11:29 PM PDT by El Gato
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To: El Gato
" SKS is not an assault rifle"

It is in a historical and technical sense, but probably not a legal sense - depending on how many 'evil doodads' are attached to it.

Mid-powered cartridge (7.62x39 Russian), high sustained rate of fire, etc., all conform to the concept of the 'assault rifle', and the SKS compares well to the best of the breed.

It is considered obsolete because of it's stripper-clip, fixed magazine -- but many shooters would rather use one for say, hunting deer, than an AK style rifle.

33 posted on 10/10/2002 11:12:31 PM PDT by Crowcreek
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To: motexva
" Tarot cards and hippies go together like Clinton and pudgy, trashy, postadolescent interns."

I love your style, but I think the eco-terror types like to be more specific with their targets. They like to go after logging equiipment, fur farms, lab-animal facilities, etc.

I don't think it's likely they'd push their cause by terrorizing the general population of the DC Beltway.

34 posted on 10/10/2002 11:21:31 PM PDT by Crowcreek
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To: Southack
Actually, I think that you'll find that the younger the criminal who goes on such a killing spree, the more shots are fired in each encounter. Firing discipline (e.g. one shot = one kill) is not associated with the very young.

Moreover, this particular killer is strictly limiting her (oops, his) victims to one person per encounter, rather than taking in more than one target of opportunity.

That's two facts, not conjecture, that point towards strict training in this person's background.

I agree on the discipline and the training. As for the age of the perp, I think we're all in the dark.

These serial sniper attacks are completely unprecedented. There's no previous profile from which to speculate.




35 posted on 10/10/2002 11:23:52 PM PDT by Sabertooth
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To: Fishtalk
All you have to do to foil the shooter is to keep moving, across the line of fire. He probably won't pull the trigger until you stop.

What do you mean, " no snipers on rainy days"?

36 posted on 10/10/2002 11:26:14 PM PDT by Crowcreek
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To: El Gato
"Never said it was"

Sorry for not clarifying...
On your part, I was merely adding additional thoughts.
Somewhere else in this thread (the article maybe?), an SKS was mentioned firing a 7.62, which is not ENTIRELY accurate.

37 posted on 10/10/2002 11:29:38 PM PDT by Villiany_Inc
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To: kattracks
Also, I just thought I'd add that the greatest sniper in history (# of kills) was the Soviet Army female Svetlana Akhmatova at the Battle of Stalingrad.
38 posted on 10/10/2002 11:39:53 PM PDT by Born on the Storm King
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To: Redcloak
Ahh, but the suburbs are what they hate. All these attacks but one have occured in the 'burbs. I wasn't surprised he targeted Manassas - I lived there for a year and it's an almost archetypal suburb. Lefties like car unfriendly cities with their stacks of people on top of each other - besides, start shooting in DC and you might hit some of your fellow travellers. Go out to the burbs and you can blast away at the enemy.

And DC was a hard target before the shootings started. That city has been in lockdown since 9-11. Lots of extra security, you wouldn't want to be carting a long gun around that town.

Think about what the likely effects of this will be if they don't catch him soon. People afraid to buy gas. People afraid to "consume" (ie, shop). Left-o paradise!
39 posted on 10/10/2002 11:49:37 PM PDT by motexva
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To: Crowcreek
I have a pretty good track record - the weirdness of this crime reminds me of another weird crime from this summer, the kook driving around the american southwest leaving bombs in peoples' mailboxes. I tagged him as a leftist the second I saw he was drawing a smiley face. (A symbol of the left from the '60s, the bomber was inspired by a popular t-shirt from the rock band Nirvana.) In fact, he was trying to alert people to the environment and the need for drug legalization (which, though not exclusively a leftist issue, tends to be embraced by people of that persuasion). There is another pattern here, not as simple as a smiley face drawn on a map, but I imagine it will emerge as these crimes continue.

The location of the murders are important, as are what the victims were doing when they were killed. They are randomly chosen, but chosen according to his twisted profile.

The cops should pay a visit to the leftists they arrested early on in the recent riots - my theory is someone didn't get to throw a rock through a window, or deface an ATM because he was cooling his heels in jail. This arrest was the "breaking point" event that initiated these crimes.

I will gaurantee you this - it ain't a mooslim and it ain't a right wing nut or klannie.
40 posted on 10/11/2002 12:00:55 AM PDT by motexva
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