[monday]

"and if this sniper activity is viewed as a possible extension of the same strategy, the effect of what is happening in and around the D.C. area, especially in and about gas stations, is likely to have a profound impact on local tourism"

Possibly. The DC area has no real economy though. It is mostly just a parasite to the rest of the nation. If it causes the hemorraging of money, caused by gov't waste, to slow even a little, it will make the rest of the US economy healthier.

[I. M. Trenchant]

No doubt you're right about the immediate effects of the D.C. area killings on the economy, but if the same activity were generalized, and were to have the same effect (social paralysis) in other areas that it is having in the D.C. area, the effects could be significant out of all proportion to the loss of life involved. Additionally, the discomfort of the wealthy mandarins who live in the Virgina area is likely to have political effect out of all proportion to their numbers.