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Shootings to spread to other cities? Expert thinks Washington-area killer doing 'market research
World Net Daily ^ | 10/17/02 | Jon E. Dougherty

Posted on 10/17/2002 7:37:22 PM PDT by GOP_Lady


WND Exclusive
D.C. SNIPER TERROR
Shootings to spread to other cities?
Expert thinks Washington-area killer doing 'market research'

Posted: October 17, 2002
1:00 a.m. Eastern

By Jon Dougherty
© 2002 WorldNetDaily.com

A former Green Beret and combat veteran who is an expert in Middle East-based Islamic terrorism believes the sniper killings in the Washington, D.C., area may be the opening shots of a wider, national effort directed against the United States.

John Moore, a former Missouri homicide detective and veteran of more than 57 combat missions in Vietnam, told WorldNetDaily in a wide-ranging interview that he believes the recent sniper attacks are just the beginning of a larger campaign.

"What's going on is what I like to call 'marketing research,'" said Moore, who is also the author of several Special Forces classified studies on Islamic terrorism. "It may just be a test tactic for future use."

He said if the shootings are the work of a terrorist cell – and he believes they are – they "may want to learn just how much shooting they have to do in order to get the desired effect."

A desired effect of the attacks, he said, is "a percentage reduction in productivity," as well as the creation of gridlock in and around the nation's capital. Also, such an operation would seek to damage the local economy while sowing fear and confusion.

The Sept. 11 attacks resulted in substantial losses to the U.S. economy, analysts have determined.

"If you want to create terror while expending a minimal amount of resources, they're certainly doing an excellent job of that," he said, adding the Washington-area attacks "could simply be a matter of fine-tuning this particular tactic" to achieve maximum results.

Moore said the leadership of many of the terrorist organizations aligned against the U.S. are led by well-educated men who have studied American society and culture. He also said they are well-positioned to predict how American leaders will react to certain threats.

"The people in charge of these various organizations – al-Qaida being one of about a dozen – have advanced degrees in the 'hard subjects' such as engineering and mathematics," he said. "They also know they have a finite amount of resources. So they are going to want to know how much of those resources they are going to have to use to get the desired effect."

Once they figure out what works, it's likely they'll apply the formula to other American cities, he said.

Moore's theories coincide with other evidence first disclosed by WorldNetDaily last month. An al-Qaida training videotape, captured in Afghanistan, shows Osama bin Laden's terrorists are not only planning attacks with weapons of mass destruction, but are preparing to kill Americans with drive-by shootings and home break-ins, through ambushes of law-enforcement officers and targeted assassinations on golf courses.

Analysts were surprised by some of what they saw in the latest video and believe they employ terrorist tactics and techniques meant for export to America and other nations, WND reported.

Moore said he believes the "main event" to what's happening in D.C. "will come when we attack Iraq."

"When the war begins in earnest, that would be the time to proceed with whatever [terrorist groups] intend to do [in the U.S.], expending a lot of resources in a lot of cities at the same time to get the maximum impact," said Moore. "That would be the smartest thing."

Yesterday, President Bush – joined by 100 lawmakers in an East Room ceremony – signed a congressional resolution authorizing him to use force against Iraq if Baghdad refuses to disarm and get rid of any weapons of mass destruction.

The resolution "symbolizes the united purpose of our nation, expresses the considered judgment of the Congress and marks an important event in the life of America," he said. "The 107th Congress is one of the few called by history to authorize military action to defend our nation in the cause of peace."

Moore, who says he's done more than 17,500 hours of urban, suburban and rural surveillance, also praised the sniper's choice of vehicle, and indicated that it added yet another air of professionalism to his attacks.

"Most people, most of the time, in any business area won't pay much attention to any given vehicle," he said. "The choice of vehicles was a very smart move. The color white is by far and away the most used color for work and delivery vans in the U.S."

That fact may be why the sniper – or, some believe, snipers – has eluded capture thus far.

Also, police have been unable to release a composite sketch of alleged sniper suspects. Though a number of witnesses reported seeing a sniper in action Monday night when FBI analyst Linda Franklin was shot and killed in Falls Church, Va., police said Wednesday too many factors – such as distance and darkness – have prevented them from reporting enough similarities for a drawing, Fox News reported yesterday.

Franklin is the sniper's 11th victim and the ninth to die. Each have been felled with a single gunshot.

The only common denominator, said Capt. Nancy Demme of the Montgomery County, Md., Police Department yesterday, is that the alleged shooter "is male."

"We don't have a refined description to go by. I know that's not what the public wants to hear," she told reporters.

Should the sniper attacks spread to more communities and cities, Moore believes one of the first things to be sacrificed will be personal liberties.

In fact, he says martial law in some cities or states is a real possibility if attacks get out of hand. And he believes most Americans will accept it in exchange for a promise of security – though he says that kind of dramatic response would be used as a last resort because it would hamper business and commerce, making the fragile U.S. economy even more volatile.

"First and foremost, the business of America is business," he said.

Click here to read WND's coverage of the Washington-area shootings



Jon E. Dougherty is a staff reporter and columnist for WorldNetDaily, and author of the special report, "Election 2000: How the Military Vote Was Suppressed."


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; Extended News; Foreign Affairs; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: sniper; terrorism; terrorist
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1 posted on 10/17/2002 7:37:22 PM PDT by GOP_Lady
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To: GOP_Lady
Note that the city they picked to begin would 100% assure that any bystanders would be unarmed.
2 posted on 10/17/2002 7:43:46 PM PDT by Dialup Llama
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To: GOP_Lady
See also:

Political Correctness Kills: The Beltway Sniper

3 posted on 10/17/2002 7:45:47 PM PDT by mrustow
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To: GOP_Lady
I'm sure our left wing media will be glad to oblige by showing them how to make us as miserable as possible.
4 posted on 10/17/2002 7:46:13 PM PDT by TheLion
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To: Dialup Llama
Note that they aren't doing it in the -- um -- "colored" neighborhoods of DC where 70% of the males are armed.
5 posted on 10/17/2002 7:47:47 PM PDT by Ford Fairlane
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To: GOP_Lady
The numbers don't look good. If there were say 200 snipers spread out through the nation and each could take out 20 people, then that would be 4,000 people dead in about a month. The police would be overwhelmed, they couldn't handle that level of activity. It could lead to a general breakdown of law and order where people don't think the police can protect them.
6 posted on 10/17/2002 7:48:49 PM PDT by Brett66
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To: GOP_Lady
It's possible. It could be that America would be under attack this way in all locations. This might be a lone nut, or maybe not. One thing for sure, America is not being terrorized, America is being annoyed and will eventually take care of the problem.
7 posted on 10/17/2002 7:48:57 PM PDT by RightWhale
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To: Dialup Llama
I am wondering if the DC sniper might not go on a road trip to another city given the heat around DC. It would take him a few days to recon a new site. I am thinking he would drive so it probably would be within 2 to 3 hours from his home. That would mean Richmond, Wilmington and Philly are possibilities. I think Baltimore is too close.

Just my two cents.

8 posted on 10/17/2002 7:49:30 PM PDT by Pete
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To: GOP_Lady
bump
9 posted on 10/17/2002 7:51:03 PM PDT by foreverfree
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To: TheLion
"...I'm sure our left wing media will be glad to oblige by showing them how to make us as miserable as possible..."

Teleprompter tapes and file footage are already in the can, I'm sure.

Fortunately, moslems can be incredibly stupid...

They might turn a talking head or two into a cloud of red mist.

Then we might see a cat fight!

10 posted on 10/17/2002 7:51:03 PM PDT by DWSUWF
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To: Ford Fairlane
good point.
11 posted on 10/17/2002 7:51:04 PM PDT by PatrioticAmerican
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To: GOP_Lady
Good post
12 posted on 10/17/2002 7:51:14 PM PDT by kimosabe31
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To: Brett66
"It could lead to a general breakdown of law and order where people don't think the police can protect them."

DO people REALLY think police can protect them now? Aren't they just the "after the fact" squad? (No disrespect meant to police officers, but that's kind of a known fact.)
13 posted on 10/17/2002 7:51:18 PM PDT by goodnesswins
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To: GOP_Lady

14 posted on 10/17/2002 7:51:51 PM PDT by LouD
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To: GOP_Lady
Last night I was walking across a shopping mall parking lot towards Borders bookstore where I had parked my car. It was almost closing time and the mall was just about empty. Suddenly I thought of the sniper and realized I was a 'sitting duck'. Every hair on my body stood to attention. It is a scarry feeling, to say the least.Those poor people in the Washington area, I know how they feel.
15 posted on 10/17/2002 7:53:10 PM PDT by shiva
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To: GOP_Lady
Note how starting late yesterday shooter became plural in the national media.
16 posted on 10/17/2002 7:53:22 PM PDT by Amerigomag
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To: Ford Fairlane
Note that they aren't doing it in the -- um -- "colored" neighborhoods of DC where 70% of the males are armed.

There have been 86 killings in Oakland Ca so far this year. 2 more than all of last year.

17 posted on 10/17/2002 7:54:30 PM PDT by tubebender
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To: GOP_Lady
Sniper...Come on out to West Virginia in my territoy and try that crap. I guarantee you you'll never live to regret it.
18 posted on 10/17/2002 7:56:08 PM PDT by RLK
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To: GOP_Lady
Moore has a very viable--and frightening--theory.

I don't think Rumsfeld would have gotten involved unless it was a radical Islamist plot.

The shooters are so diabolically cold--just like Atta and his crew.

And they are getting the desired effect. Everyone is looking over his shoulder everywhere--even miles away from VA. and MD.
19 posted on 10/17/2002 7:56:42 PM PDT by Palladin
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To: GOP_Lady
*IF* terrorists decided to branch out and attack in multiple cities with multiple teams of shooters, I wouldn't give 2 cents to be a Muslim/Middle Eastern type living in the US.

I don't think *some* would refrain from forming up posses and getting a rope.

It would be a drastic departure from trademark American complacency.

20 posted on 10/17/2002 7:56:45 PM PDT by Thumper1960
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