Beltway Sniper Shootings-FR Commentary-Tuesday, Oct. 15

Fox News, CNN, Press Conferences | October 15, 2002 | Fox News, CNN, Press Conferences

[Peach]

To avoid multiple vanity threads regarding any news from press conferences, let's keep a live commentary thread going again today.

Note: This is the graphics-free thread. Graphics can be found under the thread titled "Beltway Sniper Shootings-Graphics Only"

[ellery]

Let's try to appeal to the better angels of our nature instead of finding an excuse to burn mosques down. To the contrary, I haven't seen many, if any "nuke Mecca" types of comment on these hundreds-of-posts-long threads. I hardly think speculation about whether this is an isolated whack-job or an organized terror attack from a declared enemy is unreasonable.

[texasbluebell]

Excuse me, but if you don't believe that anyone who can in cold blood murder 9 people is not over the deep end, then I don't know who is. Of course they're planning it rationally, but it takes a madman to do so.

They (whoever they are) are nuts.

[LisaFab]

Well reasoned as usual Jane. May I add to those who say that Al Qaeda would claim responsibility if they are indeed behind these shoots:

IMHO, It behooves them and their aides in the media to promote the 'white male right-winger' theory so the residents come to hate and fear their fellow citizens.

BTW, did you see Helen 'The Hag' Thomas ask Ari Fleischer "why do you promote war every day?" Yeesh!

[John H K]

Unfortunately the FR response to mass media bias and illogic is to be just as biased and illogical in the opposite direction, as if it will cancel out in the middle. Doesn't work that way.

[hispanarepublicana]

IF it's a terrorist group, and they are following the latest edicts, then hitting the economy is important to them.

I just spent some time lurking over at the islamic discussion group at Google.....some really scary stuff posted over there, but the general theme is that the "U.S. is evil because of our fixation on money, and Capitalism is the root of this evil fixation on money." (I know, I know--sounds alot like Democratic Underground, doesn't it?). I think you may be on to something...they know that this is the start of the biggest shopping season, and I posted earlier that Michael's is primarily a pre-Christmas shopping season place (you have to start early on crafts, etc.). They saw the "success" they had in hurting our economy after 9/11, and they know that slowing down shopping would hurt our economy.

[Robe]

Islam is not a religion, it is a ideology based on world domination masquerading as a religion. No other religion requires total submission or death. Islam does!

Sooner that is understood the better we all will be

[shattered]

This isn't exactly the same type situation..but wasn't there a guy about 30 years ago who got on top of a building at UT Austin and sniped around 20 people?

I am not ruling out the fact that this could be terrorist (middle east) related but feel they would do something a little more spectacular.

I don't care who the Gov't suspects and questions as long as it leads them to the RIGHT person(s).

[texasbluebell]

"Why does the President want to go to war when we have snipers right here?" How does Ari keep a straight face?

[livius]

This type of sniper attack has been used against the Israelis by the Palestinians. It was also used by the mujahdeen in Afghanistan....

Snipers targeting civilians were also common in Bosnia.

[LisaFab]

These frequent denials, in spite of many of us knowing that some of these terrorist groups do not claim credit, doesn't sit right with me.

Right. See my post #603.

[WRhine]

I agree John. At least from the information disseminated publicly there is no hard evidence that points to the ethnicity of the Killer(s) at this point.

[OReilly]

Are you defending The Idiocracy of Kelly Arena's logic or not?

[Garak]

You are absolutely right and that is a good way of looking at it. The cries of "Richard Jewell" haven't been because people are afraid of a rush to judgment, but because they're afraid of a rush to judgment about it being a white man. They're afraid Morris Dees is going to run and tie this to militias - which is why John Doe #2 stories about Jose Padilla have gotten so much currency as well.

Al Qaeda or another terrorist cell could certainly have done this. The Bader-Meinhof Gang might have, too. Most criminal psychologists, etc, would tell you that this sociopathic type of behavior is more indicative of a typical serial killer - who is likely to be young, white, and male. Probably played a little too much Quake in college or watched too much Predator. The person is treating this as a hunt, not as way of maximizing human terror or suffering. He gets his release and goes home.

I don't have a whole lot of good evidence to work on myself, I admit. But while they may do Tarot in Turkey, they do a heckuva lot of it here, and they don't do it much at all in Saudi I would imagine. And having maps is great, but it's more likely it's someone who grew up in the region and knows what roads to take, where traffic is bad at, where the red light takes too long to turn green. People speculate that the person is employed, which explains his "hours" - is a Muslim terrorist likely to have a job he can't walk away from?

[nevergore]

Supposedly they have over 1000 LEO's of all alphabets working this case.....

But spread over an area of a couple of thousand square miles with little evidence and random events, I'm sure they are fustrated....

NeverGore

[Quilla]

I tell ya, John, I am hoping and praying this is the work of a white redneck or local nut of some type. When the killer is caught, that should be the end it. On the other hand, if this is an Al Quaeda plot, completely stopping it will be considerably harder. To make matters even worse, the publicity this nut is garnering could be giving sleeper cells in our country ideas.

[LisaFab]

LOL! Not to get off-topic on this thread but, why does a 'columnist' (the Hag left the AP last year) get WH press corps credentials?? Can Cal Thomas or Ann Coulter get accredited?

[Sacajaweau]

How about our Marines in Kuwait a few days ago.

Sac

[Gritty]

Another piece of information given on FOX I haven't seen here...

Victim was an FBI Intelligence analyst, who has worked on counter-terrorism.

Sure, this particular victim may be a coincidence. On the other hand, this really could be a specific hit. Perhaps she was identified for killing at one point and followed to the scene?

[Kip Lange]

personally, i think the tarot thing is either a deliberate misdirection, something that blew in from the neighborhood by the time the cops found that spot, or that that entire shot was a copycat ...

Make that $0.04, because it's my two cents as well. :-)

--KL

[LSUfan]

FWIW, here are some random thoughts on this thread:

1. I hate to say it, but I have a sick feeling in my gut that these guys are not going to get caught. I think they are going to just stop one day and move on to another operation...and that is what this is: AN OPERATION. These are not serial killers. The Feds and the media are so quick to dismiss Jihadists as a possibility here. The Feds because it makes them look clueless, the media because they want it to be a right wing gun nut.

2. I think they chose the parking garage last night because of the extreme light contrast it appeared to provide on TV. Even with iron sights, shooting into a very well lit area from darkness is easier than even shooting in daylight. Same scenario in the last gas station shooting.

3. I think that the reason there is no shooting on weekends has nothing to do with these terrs' personal lives (what a ludicrous comment...if the present FBI profilers are anything like the retired FBI profilers on TV, these guys will be getting medals in Baghdad before we have a clue). I think they are planning their week on the weekends. They are scouting sites and setting up shots and rehearsing on the weekends...in unknown vehicles and without firearms. I am so sick of the psycho-babble on TV. One TV profiler even speculated that the perpetrator (singular) may have an elderly parent or relative to care for on weekends! HELP!

4. Al Qaeda only takes credit for its ops indirectly and long after they are over. The FBI guy's denial was weak. They are literally worried that, if the media and the public start to suspect that this is al Qaeda, there won't be an FBI as we know it fairly soon. The Marines at Quantico call the FBI at Quantico the Fag Boys Institute...and with good reason.

5. I live in New Orleans. We had a fairly famous sniper incident in 1973. A former black sailor set fire to the Howard Johnson's Hotel in downtown N.O. and then started shooting firemen and pedestrians with a Ruger .44 magnum carbine. The NOPD was clueless...there was no SWAT team at the time...I vividly remember officers bringing their hunting rifles to the scene. You know how they finally got him? This is no $h!+: a Marine Colonel with balls at the Naval Air Station across the river, loaded a few Marines in a CH-46 (he was the squadron cdr) and went and started flying around the building...they took a M79 grenade launcher and blew holes in a blockhouse on the roof. The perp ran out and two Marines armed with M14s put 20+ rounds into him.

The Marine colonel got in trouble for violating posse comitatus. He should have gotten a medal.

A few dozen Marine snipers from Quantico could have these guys in body bags within 2 weeks...I GUARANTEE.