Almost from the start, media "experts" predicted that when the Beltway sniper finally was run to ground, he would turn out to be a paranoid, paramilitary type radiating black-helicopter delusions.
Wrong.
At daybreak yesterday, Gulf War (news - web sites) veteran John Allen Muhammad and John Lee Malvo, a 17-year-old Jamaican, were in custody - and a .223 rifle recovered from their vehicle.
For sure, it's not clear precisely what motivated Muhammad. Or, in fact, that he is what he certainly appears to be - the D.C. sniper. But he converted to Islam 17 years ago and formally changed his name from Williams a year ago - and reportedly was sympathetic to the 9/11 hijackers.
He also provided security several years ago for Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan's odious Million Man March.
Nutsy cuckoo?
Maybe.
Something more ominous?
Perhaps.
But just as it's premature to assign motive to the deadly attacks, it's also too soon to be deflecting responsibility.
Already, voices are being heard to the effect that all Muslims shouldn't be besmirched because Muhammad, a Muslim, allegedly took it on himself to launch a three-week reign of terror in and around the nation's capital.
But nobody is blaming all Muslims - and certainly not Islam itself - for the murders.
Yes, we understand why Faiz Rehman of the American Muslim Council yesterday said: "We'll probably have a backlash. People in a hurry will think that this is just a Muslim thing again. The community really fears it."
But it's hard to ignore certain facts.
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