Moved: Maryland shooting spree = al Qaeda?
I haven't heard this theory at all, but it was the first thing that came to my mind when I heard about these <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/South/10/03/maryland.shootings/index.html"; target="_blank">Maryland shootings.</a>
? They're just outside of DC, which would be an obvious target for terrorists.
? It seems very al Qaeda-like to me. The ramming of the planes into the building after hijacking them with box cutters just seems so simple and obvious and hard to prevent, just like going around in a van killing people with a rifle.
? Apparently these were reasonably skilled assassins - one shot was used in most cases. The al Qaeda terrorists seem to have a certain amount of training/skill.
? There appears to be no common victimology like you'd often see from a serial killer. Like Bundy killed young long-dark-haired women, Dahmer killed gay minority men, etc. This seems random, but also very well-planned and "organized," which suggests a rational purpose. Random victims would usually seem to me to be the work of an "unorganized" killer, but these clearly aren't. So what's the purpose? Terrorism would be a possibility here.
There have so far been no descriptions of the "look" of the shooters (arabic or white or etc.).
But it surprises me that I haven't heard the terrorist theory before.
Thoughts?
[ 10-04-2002: Message edited by: groverat ]</p>
? They're just outside of DC, which would be an obvious target for terrorists.
? It seems very al Qaeda-like to me. The ramming of the planes into the building after hijacking them with box cutters just seems so simple and obvious and hard to prevent, just like going around in a van killing people with a rifle.
? Apparently these were reasonably skilled assassins - one shot was used in most cases. The al Qaeda terrorists seem to have a certain amount of training/skill.
? There appears to be no common victimology like you'd often see from a serial killer. Like Bundy killed young long-dark-haired women, Dahmer killed gay minority men, etc. This seems random, but also very well-planned and "organized," which suggests a rational purpose. Random victims would usually seem to me to be the work of an "unorganized" killer, but these clearly aren't. So what's the purpose? Terrorism would be a possibility here.
There have so far been no descriptions of the "look" of the shooters (arabic or white or etc.).
But it surprises me that I haven't heard the terrorist theory before.
Thoughts?
[ 10-04-2002: Message edited by: groverat ]</p>
Comments
PS - Great sig.
[ 10-04-2002: Message edited by: Moogs ]</p>
That's the only word that comes to mind in response to this utterly moronic theory.
What next? al-Qaeda is responsible for the recent rash of kids being kidnapped? (Or, more accurately, the recent rash of TV news stations deciding it's newsworthy?)
When we can say that crime is virtually non-existent within the United States, and it can be demonstrated that the few times it DOES occur, it's virtually always by outside forces with demonstrable hostility to the United States, THEN this theory might make some sense.
Until then . . . ugh.
Knock, knock.
Who's there?
A terrorist.
Ahhh!!!!
I see nothing to indicate the Maryland shootings were terror-related, but I've often thought about how much more scared I'd be if on 9-11, in addition to the airplanes, one Al-Queda fighter opened fire with a machine gun in a mall in Chicago and one in L.A. for a few minutes before turning it on himself.
Jeff
<strong>Occam's Razor. I'm inclined to believe that it's a schizo who came unhinged. Explains the precision and/or lack of emotion and the apparent random nature of the crimes.</strong><hr></blockquote>But the careful assassination-style nature of the crimes doesn't suggest that. It suggests a careful, planned attack.
I don't know. It's probably not terrorists. But it's not your typical crime, and I keep on being surprised that no one has even mentioned the theory.