Police suppress terrorism angle

WorldNetDaily ^ | October, 16, 2002 | Paul Sperry

[scripter]

WASHINGTON – Several witnesses to the Beltway sniper shootings over the past two weeks have described suspects resembling Middle-Eastern men, but authorities have played down the Islamic terrorism angle to avoid mass "panic" in the area, an ATF official told WorldNetDaily.

"That angle is actually being looked at, and the FBI has the lead on it," said the official, who is working with the sniper-murders task force based in Maryland's Montgomery County, where the first five shootings took place.

"None of this has been overlooked. There's an awful lot that they're not allowing out," he said. "But the issue really is, as it was with the nuclear (terrorism) stuff, that they do not want public panic."

The Bush administration fears parents might pull their children from schools if police speculate about a terrorist connection, he says. And federal employees might skip work, effectively shutting down the government.

Also, tourists would likely cancel travel plans, dealing another blow to the area's already soft economy, says the official, who wished to go unnamed.

That said, the task force won't likely release a composite sketch of suspects – alternately described by witnesses, law-enforcement lookouts and police-scanner chatter as "Hispanic," "Middle-Eastern," "olive-skinned" and "dark-skinned" – until all other suspects are ruled out.

Two white males apprehended separately in the manhunt, based on tips, have been questioned and released. While they were in custody or under watch, the shootings continued. Police say the men, both from Maryland, are not suspects.

Montgomery County Police Chief Charles Moose, who is leading the multi-jurisdictional investigation, Tuesday said the task force has at least a "partial" description of suspects who he suggested are minorities.

But he elected not to release the information, explaining it might "paint some group."

Since Oct. 2, the sniper or snipers have cut down 11 people in Washington and five surrounding counties with single shots to the head or torso. Nine have died. All were shot with a rifle or rifles that chamber a .223 round, such as an AR-15 or hunting rifle.

Prince Georges Police Department Detective Paula Pascarella, who is part of the task force, told WorldNetDaily on Friday that authorities are investigating the possibility of teams of snipers using more than one .223-caliber rifle and traveling in more than one white vehicle.

Moose told reporters at Tuesday's press conference that there are "numerous vehicles they could be using."

The task force has released composite graphics of a white box truck witnesses described leaving the scene of one or more of the Maryland shootings. On Tuesday, it released composite graphics of two models of white cargo vans with roof racks that witnesses reported seeing fleeing the last two shootings in Virginia.

Federal authorities interviewed by WorldNetDaily say the sniper shootings are more sophisticated than first thought, and have the earmarks of an al-Qaida operation.

• For one, the shootings are unbelievably brazen, like the Sept. 11 attacks. Eyewitnesses in both the Home Depot shooting in Falls Church, Va., and Exxon station shooting in Fredericksburg, Va., told authorities they saw a sniper taking aim and shooting from outside the reported getaway van, WorldNetDaily has learned.

• The snipers, like the Sept. 11 hijackers, seem highly disciplined and under control. They've stayed away from the District of Columbia, where security is tight and Potomac bridges make escape risky. They take one shot, aiming at the head or heart, and flee the scene. A man shot at a Manassas, Va., Sunoco station, for example, was felled by a bullet that entered the upper left part of his back. They appear to have pre-selected their targets to spread the greatest fear in the nation's capital. Victims range in age (13 to 72), race and sex. Message: No one is safe – not even under a covered parking lot amid other shoppers, as they proved in the Home Depot assault.

• They strike at day and at night – but not on weekends, ostensibly to breed panic among workers commuting into Washington Monday through Friday from the five bedroom communities where they've hit. It's as if the snipers are "on a mission to shut down" the nation's capital, observed one law-enforcement official. And it may be working: Many federal employees, including some at the Pentagon, have requested they be allowed to telecommute to work part of the week until the shootings stop, WorldNetDaily has learned.

• By using common white delivery trucks and/or vans, snipers have spread law enforcement thin. Dragnets that have shut down major arteries in and out of the capital have proved fruitless. Some 200 detectives in the Washington area are working around the clock on the case. The FBI Terrorism Task Force has assigned agents. So have Maryland and Virginia state police. The Secret Service also is helping with the investigation, as WorldNetDaily first reported Oct 4. Next: The Pentagon, which is expected to help with aerial surveillance.

• Snipers have managed to terrify America's capital with just 11 strategic shots. Homecoming football games and SAT tests have been canceled. Drivers are afraid to pump gas. Shoppers brave enough to go out walk briskly across parking lots in zig-zag patterns. Schools are in indefinite "lock-down," meaning kids can't go outside for recess until the snipers are caught.

• The shootings took place alongside a resurgence in al-Qaida terrorism. Successful smaller-scale attacks against Americans and other Westerners in Yemen, Kuwait and Indonesia were apparently praised in a letter penned by Osama bin Laden himself, who appears to have reemerged defiantly from the shadows.

"These shootings are in line with cheap, low-level terrorism designed to disrupt commerce and law enforcement, and to lower morale," the ATF official summed up.

Al-Qaida training videos recovered by U.S. forces in Afghanistan demonstrate small-scale attacks such as drive-by shootings and assassinations, as WorldNetDaily first reported. The al-Qaida cell recently busted in Oregon was uncovered after local police spotted operatives shooting targets with assault rifles.

Other developments:

• Surveillance-and-detection teams in unmarked cars have been deployed to watch for snipers at locations and intersections around Washington that have been profiled as possible targets.

• Authorities now suspect the so-called tarot card left near a Maryland school-shooting scene is more a "red herring" than a break in the case. Police still have not made the document public.

• They also view the Michaels crafts store connection as nothing more than a coincidence. Michaels stores are located in shopping centers, such as the Seven Corners Shopping Center in Falls Church, where the Home Depot is also located. The snipers are targeting high-traffic areas such as shopping centers.

• The task force did not get a good license plate number for the sniper van used in the Home Depot attack. "We have a lot of numbers," said the ATF official. "That's the problem."

• FBI agents are upset Moose is still running the investigation, and think the FBI should take over.

  "There have been more shootings outside Montgomery County than inside his jurisdiction," said an FBI veteran. "Yet he's still in charge."

  He called Moose's performance so far "disquieting."

• Authorities aren't sure anymore that the snipers are escaping shooting scenes on highways. They may be stationed locally and then draw back to nearby hideouts, which may explain how they've managed to slip dragnets.

• It's unlikely the administration will authorize National Guardsmen to help with roadblocks and other aspects of the investigation, because that would "tip the hand" that it's terrorism and spook citizens, the ATF official confided.

[motexva]

Yours is a rationale for why the Bush-led DOJ would let us know why they think they are terrorists. However, my guess is they are about to do that very thing. I think we'll see a composite picture of the suspect tomorrow or Thursday sometime, and if there's another shooting I think they'll stop giving "no comment" answers to the terrorist questions.

[seeker41]

Not your defense of FR against, just the way you handled it against the AF'ers. Ask u/s, she knows I'm not an AF'er.

Now we should stop mucking up this thread-I apologize for calling you that dreaded name.

[patriciaruth]

A lot of what you are saying may be true.

But the government of the U.S.A. may only have become involved very recently as recent witness accounts gave information that lent credence to the theory that it might be a terrorist or a terrorist cell, so we may see a big shift coming up here in what the public is told.

I heard on another thread that President Bush is going to address the nation tomorrow, uh, actually tonight. Is it possible there is a connection?

Finally, are you against using the spy plane in the investigation as a violation of our posse comitatus rights and our right to be free from jackbooted federal policemen? Some FReepers think this is a big issue.

[WRhine]

So, knowing that at least 20% of the country or more don't have the guts to hang tough and keep the country going if they fear for their safety, what would you do if you were the President of the United States and didn't have enough information yet to conclude one way or the other whether it was a psycho or a terrorist cell.

The public's "natural" reaction to what you described is the result of our government's decades long "disastrous" experiment with high levels of 3rd world immigration. I would have immediately halted immigration from all middle east nations after 9/11, sealed our borders and deported every single illegal alien, particularly those from the middle east as fast as I could. And I'd spell out the REAL STORY to the American People because I have faith that Americans "in the Know" are stronger and more effective in dealing with the enemy than Americans "in the Dark".

If you think this is extreme, just look at what (the Pinko) FDR did after Pearl Harbor. In many ways, America was a much healthier country back then. Now, we seem paralyzed every which way by political correctness and have lost our sense of survival. Nothing good will come out of this.

The real story though, is that incidents like the DC/MD/VA Shooter is an embarrassing reality to the open borders, unlimited immigration crowd that Bush, his dad and Clinton represent.

[patriciaruth]

We don't have a war on those.

I thought you weren't arguing about this....

War, schmore. Is it merely PR semantics that bother you?

Don't answer. We don't want to argue here about that.

[HitmanLV]

As far as the 'credit' angle, I don't think Al Queda has even taklen credit for the 9-11 attacks. They certainly didn't in the weeks and months after 9-11.

I could be wrong here - does anyone know for sure?

[patriciaruth]

I would have immediately halted immigration from all middle east nations after 9/11, sealed our borders and deported every single illegal alien, particularly those from the middle east as fast as I could.

I have a reality flash for you. The Democrat Senate and the media would never let you do it.

[Future Useless Eater]

Why can't the FBI maintain a parallel investigation and show up the Moose? It might be a great chance for us disallusioned public, burned out by 8 years of Clinton goons, to finally gain some needed respect back for the fibbies.

No killers?... Moose's case.

FBI finds the killers? FBI marches to the rescue.

[HitmanLV]

America is stronger and smarter than the people inside the beltway think.

I'n not as sure as you are. I expect the usual suspects would begin crying foul. The legion of soccer moms would wish we could just "talk to them to work this out," (while rigging PTA elections, of course - I don't care for the so-called 'soccer moms').

Americans clearly don't have what it takes to fight this, as it stands now. Indeed, the only conclusion I can draw is that things have to get much worse, before they will get better.

[WRhine]

I have a reality flash for you. The Democrat Senate and the media would never let you do it.

I have a reality flash for you...there is NO DIFFERENCE between the Bush and Democrats when it comes to immigration.

[patriciaruth]

I don't think Al Queda has even taklen credit for the 9-11 attacks

Correct. There was a semi-admission in the bin Laden tape released in December, but never an outright admission and never a boasting credit-taking statement.

[spodefly]

I have mixed feeling about the military involvement. It is a potential area of trouble. But, as trust has to be a 2 way street, I will trust that the military will be used in support roles, and that the involvement is limited to specific areas of concern for this sniper.

Obviously, what I would like to see is the US finally understand what its citizen militias are supposed to be for, and begin to use us, and keep us informed in a manner consistent with that use.

That will never happen though with the 'liberal progressives' in place ... they hate the American public and don't believe we (free men armed in accordance with the Constitution) will ever have a role in their world except as taxpayers.

[patriciaruth]

NO DIFFERENCE between the Bush and Democrats when it comes to immigration.

Not to you because you want to boot EVERYONE out, but I can see differences.

Sorry, I'm fading...I was finishing my taxes today and I'm exhausted. Ping me on an immigration thread sometime.

[spodefly]

Americans clearly don't have what it takes to fight this, as it stands now. Indeed, the only conclusion I can draw is that things have to get much worse, before they will get better.

I think you are right. We have been steeped in PC/liberal bull$hit for a few geberations now ... many of us are gutless, pacifistic, socialists who want nothing more than a big TV and a comfy bed.

But, there are many of us who know that our lives are what they are because many before us have paid the price, and we will always have to pay that price. We can stand up, and we can fight back. I am not afraid of Al Queda and the muslim fanatics. In a face to face match we will kick their asses. When the bring their BS down to Georgia, they are in for a surprise. And it will get ugly fast for anyone that doesn't stand up and declare in no uncertain terms which side they are on.

There are plenty of former farm boys such as myself that are ready to do whatever it takes to support this country. But that will only happen if the government is stratght with us and stops this PC horseshit right now. If they do not, we will probably not have a chance to fight because they will get chem/bio/nukes in here, and we will all die before we can get a bead on their turbaned heads.

[WRhine]

Not to you because you want to boot EVERYONE out, but I can see differences.

Not everyone. Just the illegals as “The LAW” compels us to do but yes I do advocate next to zero rates of immigration from 3rd world nations. An "intelligent" immigration policy would want a moderate rate of educated, skilled immigrants from 1st world nations. NO?

Ping me on an immigration thread sometime.

Will do.

[Future Useless Eater]

FBI: Since it looks like a team of terrorists working together to elude capture, you might try this...

If there is a next time, try shutting down all cell phones in a wide area (except for law enforcement) ASAP after a shot rings out.
The sniper(s) and accomplice(s) are probably communicating during their getaway.

By the way, what's FEMA up to?

• Isn't that organization partly chartered with this kind of national emergency?
• Are they rid of their Clinton rot yet? You know, civil service jobs handing out billions of taxdollars, in return for bimbo pimping and democratic enemies 'wetwork'...

[meadsjn]

Isn't it more likely that since the FBI reports to G.W. that every day where the case goes unsolved would cause a 2-point slide in G.W's approvals?

That makes sense. The shootings are still being treated like state crimes, with federal assistance. Once solid confirmation is made that this is terrorist-related, Bush will have all the room he needs to make this fully a federal (even DOD) case.

It'll be interesting to see how the talk will go concerning using the DOD to deal with an enemy force which has already fully infiltrated. If we have to depend on the alphabet soup guys, we're doomed.

[Travis McGee]

Our PC Uber Alles goobermint is afraid we might take it out on our neighbors from the Religion of Peace.

But lying to us just increases the chance that folks will turn vigilante, believing that the govt will not even tell them the truth, much less protect them.

[spodefly]

By the way, my apologies to all for my off color language in this thread ... this is not like me. I am pretty well disgusted with the mess we have ourselves in here, and I am letting my passion get the better of me in my word choices and apparently in my spelling too ...

Maybe the sniper is nothing but an ordinary wack job, and maybe there are no sleeper cells in the country trying to off us and our families. But I have a sense that we are in a hole here, and we will have to fight our way out of it sooner or later. This is upsetting, and my word choices are reflective of that (and my sleepiness ... )

Again, my apologies.

[meadsjn]

... violation of our posse comitatus rights...

That's going to be the big debate, but probably from the left this time. IIRC, the Posse Comitatus act deals with using Army troops for crimes and civil insurrections, but does not mention foreign forces waging war against U.S. citizens from within.