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Just Suppose It's Terrorism
Washington Post ^ | October 17, 2002 | Caleb Carr

Posted on 10/17/2002 6:43:21 AM PDT by spycatcher

The psychological profiling that has consumed the media since the start of the sniper killings has produced in almost every case a rather cliched portrait of a killer or killers who are white, in their twenties or early thirties, have military experience, enjoy exercising the godlike power of life and death, and are alienated from society. Some describe the culprit as a serial killer, and some label him a spree or thrill killer. Yet the salient aspects of the shootings do not fit with our knowledge of either of these types, and if the perpetrator does turn out to be disaffected, frustrated, alienated, white and male, he will constitute an important new subcategory. Should the killings be the work of international terrorists, on the other hand, they will fit a textbook pattern that has been on ample display during recent years in every part of the world.

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TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Editorial; Foreign Affairs; US: District of Columbia; US: Maryland; US: Virginia
KEYWORDS: sniper; terrorism; terrorist
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The mainstream press in D.C. is waking up from their deep naive 2-week slumber
1 posted on 10/17/2002 6:43:21 AM PDT by spycatcher
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To: spycatcher
I CAN'T VOTE.

PLEASE, HELP TAKE BACK THE SENATE.
IT'S FOR THE PUPPIES!

TakeBackCongress.org

A resource for conservatives who want a Republican majority in the Senate

2 posted on 10/17/2002 6:53:32 AM PDT by ffrancone
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To: All

"Did I hear someone say terrorism?? Let's keep it strait now...right wing gun nut OK??" ...sez the Moose

3 posted on 10/17/2002 6:55:16 AM PDT by spycatcher
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Suppose liberals had brains...
4 posted on 10/17/2002 6:55:53 AM PDT by dyed_in_the_wool
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To: spycatcher
Waking up yes, but still needs more coffee:

Take the issue of type: The victims shared neither sex, race nor age group, and this has led to a general declaration that they shared no characteristics at all. But they did: They were all Americans, engaged in the typical American activities of pumping gas, going to school, shopping, etc

They were all non-Moslems. They were all kaffir infidels. None had olive skin. None wore the hajib. Coincidence?

5 posted on 10/17/2002 7:01:46 AM PDT by Sender
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To: spycatcher
Not only could this be terrorism, but so also could the West Nile Virus deaths.

The country panicked over the Anthrax attacks that killed a dozen or so people last year, and are now equally transfixed by the sniper(s) but everyone appears to be oblivious to the 164, yes 164, deaths from 3052 cases of West Nile this year.

West Nile Virus was one of several viruses sold to Iraq in the past for biological weapons "research", connect the dots????

6 posted on 10/17/2002 7:01:59 AM PDT by Wil H
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To: spycatcher
"If DAsshole had a brain, this is where it'd go"
7 posted on 10/17/2002 7:02:47 AM PDT by Darth Dan
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To: Sender
Good point. The victims were either black or white
8 posted on 10/17/2002 7:13:30 AM PDT by spycatcher
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To: Sender
The Hispanic female victim had olive skin.
9 posted on 10/17/2002 7:18:48 AM PDT by 3AngelaD
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To: spycatcher
From my FReepMail:

Re: This time, sniper left clues - Witness reports seeing man fire fatal shot at latest victim
From JeanLM | 2002-10-17 06:59:01 new

Found the article. It was in the November 26 2001 Washington Post. WSJ reprinted part. Here's what Hunter wrote,

.."You won't see guns like that carried by the Taliban, no sir. Look at Osama bin Laden's gun. It's visible in any of a dozen pictures and it's tubeless, screenless and grenade-launcherless. But it, too, is not only a gun. It's a gun with a coded message; you can read this guy like a book.

He's certainly no Captain Winters from HBO's "Band of Brothers," who, despite his natural genius for soldiering, insisted on carrying the line soldier's prosaic M1 all the way to Berchtesgarten. No, bin Laden's narcissism -- dead giveaway to a fake tough guy -- mandates that he make a fashion statement.

Any idiot knows that was an AK-47 leaning against the cave wall behind bin Laden during his videotaped response to the American bombing. Yes, the AK-47, the most famous of the liberation firearms distributed globally by the Soviet Union and its client states during the Cold War. There may be 50 million of them floating around the globe today.

Except it wasn't. But if you're one of the idiots, don't feel bad; you belong with the other 99.9 percent of the population that doesn't know anything about guns. Bin Laden's rifle wasn't an AK-47 at all, but one of its descendants, an AK-74, and of a particular modification that included, for portability and ease of handling, a very short barrel and a folding skeletonized stock and a flash suppressor. It's called a Krinkov.

It's actually a hybrid. If you crossed a classic 7.62mm x 39 Soviet AK-47 with an American 5.56mm NATO M4, its natural antagonist in about a million firefights in about 75 wars, insurrections and special-ops tiffs, you'd get the AK-74, which is the AK-47 mechanism reconfigured to fire the smaller-caliber, high-velocity round. Then you trick it up; by cutting the barrel and adding that folding stock, you get a Krinkov, which is the current hot lick among people who want to be noticed. It was designed for airborne troops. If you're not going to be jumping out of airplanes, it doesn't do anything for you that the 47 won't.

Bin Laden knows this: For him the gun isn't just a weapon, it's a symbol. He's making a statement, as with the curved ceremonial dagger that hangs from his belt when he's all duded-up in his white finery. He is making a claim: I am of the elite. In other words, he is saying something so Western it suggests the soul-deep depth of his hypocrisy. He is saying: I am so cool.

A fellow who favors posing with a Krinkov has delusions of grandeur, and he'll try to take over no matter the venue.

Bin Laden wouldn't be caught dead with a regular old AK, but his men are, all over the place. In a funny way, I like it better that he has this little vanity. I don't think he's a good enough man for an AK-47 and what it stands for. This is the true symbol of the war, for both sides seem to have it in the thousands, and no matter where the war blows next, you can bet that most of the close-in killing will be done with that old war horse. That cold wind you just felt, that was the chill of history.

Remember, folks, in the bad old days, a thing called the Soviet Union, run by a principle called communism? The AK-47 was at once its tool, its icon, its manifesto.

The AK-47 was to the Russian empire what the short sword was to the Roman Empire. It dwelt at the centurion's right hand. It was the cutting edge of a cynical philosophy that disguised conquest under the bogus banner of liberation. It was so simple that even the most undeveloped nations could fabricate it from Russian plans with Russian guidance and a few lathes and stamping machines. You could probably build one in your basement if you wanted. Crude, derivative, simple, powerful, robust, tough as hell.

Can a gun be great? If you don't think so, you probably shouldn't be reading this piece, but the AK-47 was great. It was invented by a peasant sergeant, and it was manufactured in a tractor factory. What could be more Red?"

Same gun the sniper uses, I think.

10 posted on 10/17/2002 7:23:26 AM PDT by js1138
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To: Wil H
If the West Nile virus was "terrorism," I'd say it's a pretty pathetic attack. West Nile occurs in nature and could just as easily have come here via a Third World immigrant. And 164 deaths probably doesn't even make it one of the 50 most lethal health-related issues in the U.S.

I know this sounds crass, but as far as I know all of the West Nile deaths involved people who were well over the age of 50, most of whom had compromised immune systems. In most cases, this would have another name -- "natural causes."

11 posted on 10/17/2002 7:27:42 AM PDT by Alberta's Child
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To: js1138
Can a gun be great? If you don't think so, you probably shouldn't be reading this piece, but the AK-47 was great. It was invented by a peasant sergeant, and it was manufactured in a tractor factory. What could be more Red?"

I thought the AK-47 was just a slightly modified MP-44 of German design, dating from 1944.

Walt

12 posted on 10/17/2002 7:30:28 AM PDT by WhiskeyPapa
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To: 3AngelaD
The Hispanic female victim had olive skin.

Good point, I was wrong about her. But still she was probably identifiable as non-Arab and non-Moslem.

13 posted on 10/17/2002 7:37:10 AM PDT by Sender
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To: js1138
I just love how all last week the media and the local police (with the exception of a few) never once mentioned that it might be terrorism. Even though every man and woman on the street said otherwise. The thing that gets me is that now we hear, "Well, thats not the terrorists MO" from the same people. Well, neither was hijacking planes and flying them into buildings.

The point is not that these attacks are being carried on by arab terrorists. They may or may not be. The point is the police and the media are so inept as to rule out possibilities that seem so obvious to others, just so they can remain PC. Its going to get us all killed.

14 posted on 10/17/2002 7:38:49 AM PDT by KC_Conspirator
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To: spycatcher
"The mainstream press in D.C. is waking up from their deep naive 2-week slumber"

Maybe so. But they are nowhere near awakening from their deep psychotic multi-decades coma.

15 posted on 10/17/2002 7:39:23 AM PDT by Savage Beast
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To: dyed_in_the_wool
Suppose liberals had brains...

And Pi=3.0

16 posted on 10/17/2002 7:39:29 AM PDT by Axenolith
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To: Wil H
Another Polio? West Nile Risks Emerge
17 posted on 10/17/2002 7:41:51 AM PDT by blam
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To: Alberta's Child
"I know this sounds crass, but as far as I know all of the West Nile deaths involved people who were well over the age of 50, most of whom had compromised immune systems. In most cases, this would have another name -- "natural causes."

See post #17.

18 posted on 10/17/2002 7:43:45 AM PDT by blam
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To: Wil H
About a month ago, Steve Malzberg had a guy on his Sun am radio show who presented a VERY good case for west nile being the first bio weapon released on American soil, perpetrated by Iraq.
19 posted on 10/17/2002 7:43:48 AM PDT by agrace
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To: WhiskeyPapa
Hey, the article was originally from WP. I've seen the OBL pictures posted with his Yuppie AKS-74, but this is the first print article that describes OBL's obsession with his gun. If the beltway sniper is using OBL's weapon, that's a pretty clear statement.
20 posted on 10/17/2002 7:45:32 AM PDT by js1138
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