US sniper may be linked to Bin Laden (DC SNIPER ALERT)

The Evening Standard ^ | October 14, 2002 | James Langton

[MadIvan]

Intelligence experts in Washington are increasingly concerned that the gunman known as the "psycho-sniper" could be a terrorist with links to Islamic terror groups.

From the evidence gathered so far, which includes a handwritten note by the gunman, investigators think English may not be his first language.

The shootings, which have left eight dead in fewer than 12 days, coincided with a warning that Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network is planning new attacks. The FBI warned last Wednesday that supporters of Bin Laden were "targeting key sectors of the US economy" and has long suspected that a number of "sleeper" cells are still active.

The latest victim, on Friday morning, was father-of-six Kenneth Bridges, gunned down at a petrol station in Fredericksburg.

Investigators are troubled by the gunman's behaviour, in particular his habit of selecting targets at random. Recent reports suggest he may have a female accomplice and drives a large white van.

[Argus]

It's been a no-brainer from the beginning that the "sniper" is actually a team of terrorists, one or two shooters with a small number of supporting crew. The tactic is straight out of the al Qaeda training videos found in Afghanistan, and the fact that so many of the hits occur at gas stations is, IMHO, more than coincidental.

[Mitchell]

It would be interesting to know the origin of the Tarot cards in use in the Middle East.
Were they of moslem origin, or were they reintroduced by the Venetians who occupied Cyprus for many years?

I don't know; it's an interesting question. Nor do I know how prominently Tarot, and the occult in general, figure in the Islamic world today.

[FollowingTheGrace]

"And, don't forget, "weekends off"! Scary! "

But isn't Friday the Muslim sabbath? Last killing was Friday.

[areafiftyone]

Alot of serial killers are interested in the occult. Son of Sam said that "SAM" the dog told him to kill. He also was involved with sacrificial rites. He would go to the park with some other people and practice their black magic. Also the Zodiac killer was interested in the occult. It's not uncommon for serial killers to be swayed by some wierd cult. It hasn't happened in a long time but who is to say it can't happen now.

[Mitchell]

The Italian word for Tarot is "Tarocchi" which gives credence to the idea that the name comes from the Arabic "Turuq" i.e. 4 ways.

Interesting. What does the phrase "4 ways" refer to?

And is the word "Turuq" related to "Turk"? It sounds cognate, but phonetic similarity can be misleading.

[Nogbad]

Nor do I know how prominently Tarot, and the occult in general, figure in the Islamic world today.

That famous film of Bin Laden rambling on about dreams, etc. impressed me greatly.

These people (OBL, Atta, etc.) I am sure are deeply 'into' the occult
and no doubt have messianic visions of themselves.

The history of Islam is replete with examples of this type.

[mikhailovich]

"teenagers are not at home on the weekends"

Yeah, I know, but parents are, and if this is a teen using dad's rifle, dad is likely to be home on the weekend, but not during the week, thus the kid would have more eyes on him during the weekend. Just another possibility.

[Nogbad]

Interesting. What does the phrase "4 ways" refer to?

And is the word "Turuq" related to "Turk"?
It sounds cognate, but phonetic similarity can be misleading.

4 ways apparently a Sufi phrase.
Have a look at the Web Page I linked above
It is very interesting.

The Italian word for Turk is Turco.
The Arabic word is Turk, exactly the same.
Nothing to do with Tarocchi or Turuq.

I was interested, however, to come upon the following:

"a Turkish manuscript called Codex Cumanicus
which is said to have strong links with tarot-related tales."

[cake_crumb]

Muslims are very seriously into mysticism. Tarot (now, but Arabs, even pre-Muslim Arab cultures, didn't invent it) numerology, true dreams, evil spirits visiting in the night...Heck, Muslim fundimentalists don't believe in pop music, because, to the Semitic cultures, and that includes some orthadox sects in Israel, song is a form of magic, and "music" as we think of music, doesn't exist.

[Best of Times Worst of Times]

I don't think the sniper really cared that much about all the symbolism concerning the "death card." You might be right, but that doesn't really ring true to me. Very interesting points made, though.

[Best of Times Worst of Times]

This leads me to a thought I brought up to my wife a couple months ago while driving south out of Chicago in rush hour traffic. The other side of the Interstate was bumper-to-bumper for at least 5 miles. We were cruising down the other side at 65 mph and I began to think.... if terrorists got together in a van or something and threw a few hand grenades or something into traffic like that, think of the havoc it would wreak. People would be terrified of being in traffic. And what if it happened in 10 or 12 US cities in the same evening rush hour. AQ have proved that they can co-ordinate pretty well. Just a thought, but it really gave me pause to think. Terrorism is a scary thing in a free country.

[snippy_about_it]

Oh please. The devout muslim also wouldn't go to strip bars and indulge in liquor, but they did the night before their terror flight.

[TrueBeliever9]

Excerpt from: http://skepdic.com/tarot.html


Gypsies didn't begin using tarot cards until the twentieth century. Today, there are many different tarot decks used in cartomancy. The meanings of the figures and numbers on tarot cards vary greatly among tarot readers and advocates, many of whom find connections between tarot and the cabala, astrology, the I Ching, ancient Egypt, and various other occult and mystical notions.


The oldest playing cards date back to tenth century China, but the four suits of tarot and modern playing cards probably originated with a fourteenth century Muslim deck .[Decker]


According to de Givry, in the modern 52-card deck of ordinary playing cards, sticks or wands = clubs (and announce news); swords = spades (and presage unhappiness and death); cups = hearts (and presage happiness); coins = diamonds (and presage money). According to Decker, the Muslim sticks represented polo sticks. As Europeans were not yet familiar with polo, they changed the suit of sticks to that of wands, cudgels or batons.

[snippy_about_it]

I am watching a re-run of Steve Emerson (American Jihad) on C-span from a conference he had yesterday. He was asked if he thought the DC sniper was an islamic terrorist. He said he did not believe so, however, he is afraid the terrorists will see our reaction and may take up the practice as a tool of terror.

[js1138]

They are not separate issues when the religion, as practiced, forbids individual initiative.

Chapter and verse please.

Try opening a DSS franchise in the middle east, or a movie theater, nightclub, or magazine stand that carries American books and magazines. A dog groomer's, a church, a pizza parlor, an internet access company, a woman's clothing store, a beauty salon. I could go on.

[spokeshave]

Yes, but a devout Muslim would have nothing to do with Tarot. I just can't buy this scenario, even though I would prefer to think that we don't have a case of an American killing his fellow Americans.

We've re-visited this on numerous occasions.

The islamics lie to non believers to further their cause.

It is well documented that Atta and his group went to girlie bars and clubs prior to 9-11

Using the Tarot cards or anyhing else to further their cause is reccomended....see the AQ guide book.

[Columbo]

Some (probably) worthless speculation: Does the G.O.D. (Guaranteed Overnight Delivery) company have any box-type trucks in its fleet?

[fivecatsandadog]

And what if..

I had nearly the same exact thought last week during my morning commute. You just don't know what will happen next or when or where, and that's exactly how they want us to feel.