Tuesday, November 25, 2003 :::
Michael Ledeen speculates on an al-Qaeda connection to Muhammed and Malvo. Now, I think Ledeen knows an awful lot about a few things, which in many ways contributes to his credibility, but he also comes across as a man with a hammer who's found a screw to wail on.* I think there's something quintessentially western about this pair; their killing seemed less earnest than that of the standard middle eastern terrorist, and more insouciant; it didn't seem to me as though they were killing people because they felt to do so would further God's plan, but because nothing good was on television and killing strangers was a way to pass the time.I've hardly been studying the sniper case, and I'm working from an impression here; it may be that they took their Islam in a more Pakistani Islamist way than they did in the manner of a screwed-up teenager saying, "If I join this religion, I get to kill people?" That's not my impression, though.
I suppose I ought to clarify that if I suggest some screwed-up teenager would think, "If I join [Islam], I get to kill people?" doesn't mean I think his thinking Islam encourages or permits this is any less screwy than his finding it an attraction. These sorts of disclaimers typically go without saying, but I thought this particular post read a bit more insistent on being misunderstood. (I've been reading a book about the Simpsons recently, and have been reminded that many people are offended by the show when Homer says something about something they hold dear. Before you watch the show, it's worth remembering that Homer is an idiot, and if he says something against something you hold dear, it's probably a compliment. The same is true of the snipers.)
* Ledeen strongly believes we're basically fighting Iran right now in Iraq. This seems plausible to me, but I'm withholding judgment at this point. That Osama is in Iran seems even more plausible, if also reasonably likely to prove false.
::: posted by dWj at 5:26 PM
