The Seattle establishment "goes Canadian."
smartest gink [John Derbyshire]
Steve Sailer on the Seattle shooting: "Anti-Semitic terrorism ... another job Americans just won't do!"
Not Terrorism Related, and Certainly Not Islam Related [Andy McCarthy]
Kathryn, the Post-Intelligencer story is so typical of what happens in a society and a government which default from the ideology part of an ideological war.
A Muslim man walks into not just any building in Seattle — not even just any identifiably Jewish location in Seattle — but into the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle, whose mission since 1926, according to the website it maintains, is to "ensure Jewish survival and to enhance the quality of Jewish life locally, in Israel and worldwide."
The Muslim man has obviously not only carefully chosen the target but cased the place. There's a security system, so he waits until someone attached to the Federation enters using her access code, then he pounces, forcing his way through the open door. He brandishes a large caliber, semi-automatic handgun. He announces that he's a Muslim angry at Israel. Then he randomly, wantonly opens fire — shooting six women, one of whom is pregnant, one of whom is killed.
So what happens? The police don't even want to admit that he's Muslim ("You could infer that," the police chief tells the reporters who press this patently relevant question). And the FBI insists it's not terrorism.
Now, it could not conceivably be more clear that it is terrorism. If the FBI is saying they can't link him to any known terrorist group, that doesn't mean it's not terrorism. It's too early in the investigation to have run down whether the guy has ties to known groups; even if he doesn't, not all terrorism is committed by known groups (sometimes the acts of terror are how we get to know them); and even if he is acting alone, federal law recognizes the concept of lone-wolf terrorism.
It is terrorism because it is a sneak attack — in this case against civilians — which is motivated by a purpose to affect government policy and/or further a political/social/religious cause. The shooter was not there to rob the register or kill someone he knew over some private dispute.
This is militant Islam in action, but we don't want to think or talk about Islam, so we'll pretend that the fact he's a Muslim is irrelevant ("terrorists come in all shapes and sizes" is the official PC postion of government), and if we can't attach a known group to the shooter we'll close our eyes to the fact that he might have reason the understand that his religion impelled him to act.
On November 5, 1990, at a hotel in Manhattan, Sayyid Nosair murdered JDL founder, Rabbi Meir Kahane, as the latter finished a speech. The chief of detectives for the NYPD immediately pronounced that the homicide was the work of a lone gunman. No meaningful investigation had yet been done into Nosair's background, and the police could not quickly connect him to any known terrorist organization. It turned out that he had been a member of a nascent jihadist militia with connections the Egypt's Islamic Group (Gama'at al Islamia) for several years. Two years later, from his prison cell — which militants flocked to because the Kahane murder turned him into a hero in what they saw as an ongoing jihad — he helped plot the bombing of the World Trade Center.
As I tried to argue the other day, those who don't — or won't — learn from history are condemned to repeat it.
Meet Naveed Afzal Haq [Andy McCarthy]
The Seattle Times (h/t Robert Spencer at Jihad Watch) has more background on Naveed Afzal Haq, the man who yesterday shot six women, one fatally. We learn that his father was a founder of a local Islamic center; he was more studious and serious than the average high school kid; he has a pending indecent exposure; he is licensed to carry a concealed weapon; he is single, childless and may currently be jobless; his landlady thought he had recently gone to Pakistan; and he often talked with a neighbor about guns, politics and his disdain for President Bush. Details here:
A law-enforcement source identified the arrested suspect as Naveed Afzal Haq, 30, who until recently had lived in Everett, and said Haq apparently has a history of mental illness.
Court records show Haq has a charge of lewd conduct pending against him in Benton County.
The shooting came a day after the FBI had warned Jewish organizations nationwide to be on alert after Hezbollah leaders in Lebanon and al-Qaida's second in command urged that the war raging in the Middle East be carried to the U.S. However, the law-enforcement source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said there is no evidence Haq was involved with any group.
"He said he hates Israel," said the source, who is part of the Seattle Joint Terrorism Task Force, which was called in to help investigate the shootings.
David Gomez, the assistant special agent-in-charge of the Seattle FBI office, said there is "nothing to indicate he is part of a larger organization.""We believe he is a lone individual with antagonism toward this organization," said Gomez....
Haq's parents were shaken by the news that their son was in custody for the shootings, said Haq's Kennewick defense attorney, Larry Stephenson."I talked to his father, and his mother is crying, and they don't know what is going on," Stephenson said. "They are very, very shook up. They haven't been able to reach their son."
Haq had been charged with misdemeanor lewd conduct in Benton County for allegedly exposing himself in a public place in Kennewick, Stephenson said. He declined to elaborate. The charge is punishable by up to a year in jail.
The case had been scheduled to go to trial in Benton County District Court on Thursday, but was postponed.Stephenson said he does not believe Haq is married or has children. Stephenson said he did not believe Haq had a job.Haq went to college, Stephenson said, but he declined to say where.
Asked if Haq had any mental-health issues, Stephenson said he couldn't comment. "I'm really not OK to discuss that," he said.
Haq's father, Mian A. Haq, was a founding member of the Islamic Centre of Tri-Cities in Richland, said center member Youseff Shehadeh. He described the younger Haq as a loner who attended holidays at the center but was barely involved in recent years.
Naveed Haq's parents moved into a new suburb in Pasco less than three years ago after living in nearby Richland for more than a decade, said Maureen Hales, a neighbor.Mian Haq was involved in an Islamic center in Richland, but he did not discuss his religion with his neighbors, said Hales.
She said she had not seen Naveed Haq, but found his parents and his younger brother, Hasan, to be "quite enjoyable." The two families exchanged food, and Maureen Hales said she watches the Haqs' house when they're away.
Naveed Haq lived in an apartment building at 2924 Nassau St. in Everett until about two weeks ago, when he abruptly left, said tenant Chris Richey. The landlady told Richey that Haq was heading to Pakistan. Richie often talked with Haq about guns and politics, though little stuck out. Richey said Haq didn't like President Bush.
Haq told Richey he owned a .45-caliber handgun, which he kept locked up in safety deposit box.
The law-enforcement source said Haq had a license to carry a concealed weapon."There was something strange about him," Richey said. "There was something about him I didn't like."
A friend, Andres Atencio, 29, a real-estate agent in Maple Valley, said he lost touch with Haq after high school. He described Haq as studious and friendly."He was pretty much just a normal guy. He was a little more toward the academic side than the average high-school person," Atencio said. "He was the kind of guy when you talked to him he was always laughing ... not outgoing but not reclusive either."
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