Boston Blame Game
By Matthew Vadum
As speculation continues to rage over who bombed the Boston Marathon, the Left has been doing its best to paint its enemies in the Tea Party as the likely perpetrators without any evidence whatsoever.
Some left-wing commentators hedged in their statements, acknowledging that nobody knows for sure who was behind the attack, the first bombing of a U.S. target since 9/11, but those pundits tended to receive little media attention.
Obama senior advisor David Axelrod refused to let this crisis go to waste. He acknowledged there was very little hard evidence at the moment but went on to suggest on TV that the deadly bombing at the marathon’s finish line Monday had something to do with people who are upset about taxes.
“And I’m sure what was going through the president’s mind is — we really don’t know who did this,” Axelrod said. “It was Tax Day.”
MSNBC talking head Chris Matthews blamed those on the Right, stating incorrectly that, “Normally, domestic terrorists, people tend to be on the far right.” Rep. William Keating (D-Mass.) played along on the TV show, also suggesting the bombing could have something to do with Tax Day.
“Now, we have an international event, the marathon, the oldest marathon,” Keating said. “And we also have Tax Day, April 15, so we don’t know if that’s the kind of symbol a domestic terrorist might use as well.”
While former Congressman Barney Frank (D-Mass.), architect of laws and financial regulations that are contributing to the downfall of America, didn’t speculate about the identity of the bomber or bombers, he did use the bombing as an opportunity to argue in favor of big government.
He praised the “seamless cooperation” by authorities in Boston as they deal with the aftermath of the attack. The retired socialist demagogue smeared those on the Right by intimating that conservatives want to abolish first-responder services — or something.
“Again, I never was as a member of Congress one of the cheerleaders for less government, lower taxes. No tax cut would have helped us deal with this or will help us recover. This is very expensive. At a time like this, no one thinks about saving pennies.”
Frank did not point out that no matter how big the government gets, Americans will never be completely safe from terrorism.
While it’s possible the bombing is the fruit of a right-wing terrorist plot, this seems unlikely.
Right-wing terrorist attacks have been rare in the U.S. in recent years while Islamic and left-wing terrorist activity (including animal rights and eco-terrorists) have been on the upswing.
Anarchists tried to blow up the GOP national convention in Minnesota in 2008.
The violent “Occupy” movement has inspired waves of violence in the U.S. and worldwide. Last year Occupy Wall Street-affiliated activists tried to bomb a bridge in Cleveland and two Greenwich Village OWS supporters were arrested after being found in possession of high explosives.
Which brings us to Timothy McVeigh, a bogeyman who is frequently raised in discussions of domestic terrorism. Executed in 2001 for bombing the Oklahoma City federal building in 1995, he was not right-wing, despite relentless media propaganda to the contrary.
McVeigh didn’t say much about his personal beliefs but he was an agnostic who described science as his religion and an animal rights supporter. He attempted to join the militia movement but was rejected. He said he planted bombs because he was outraged by the federal government’s grotesque mishandling of the 1993 Waco siege. Although the Left paints McVeigh as a racist, most of the 76 dead in Waco were minorities so it doesn’t seem like an atrocity a racist would be incensed by.
In any event, a Heritage Foundation report from a year and a half ago found that 40 terrorist plots in or aimed at the U.S. had been foiled since Sept. 11, 2001. Almost all of the 40 were instances of would-be Islamic terrorism.
“While all categories of terrorist attacks against U.S. targets at home and overseas have been declining steadily since 2005, thwarted plots have more than doubled during the same period, showing that terrorists continue to plan to harm the United States and its people.”
Of course the Heritage report does not include the 2009 jihadist massacre at Fort Hood reportedly perpetrated by self-described “soldier of Allah,” Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan. The Obama administration continues to dishonestly label the Islamist killing spree “workplace violence.”
Much to the chagrin of Islamist apologists and Tea Party haters, there is at least some reasonable evidence that the attack could have been jihad-related, the much more realistic threat America faces.
Counter-terrorism expert Larry C. Johnson said that the bombs, reportedly pressure cookers containing ball bearings, were about “a six” on a scale of zero to 10 in terms of quality.
“This means somebody did the prior planning. They knew how to develop the devices. They were able to set the timers in such a way they didn’t detonate beforehand and detonated close enough to each other. This has been a hallmark of al-Qaeda.”
There may also be a Saudi connection to the bombing in Boston.
Saudi visa student Abdul Rahman Ali Alharbi was hospitalized after being injured in the blast on Monday. Saudi Arabia is one of the world’s most significant terrorist-producing nations and was home to 15 of the 19 9/11 hijackers. According to the often-conflicting media reports accumulating, first Alharbi was a “suspect,” then he was downgraded to “person of interest,” and finally to “witness.” But in the circumstances this doesn’t mean Alharbi is cleared of all wrongdoing.
Investigators reportedly hauled away bags of his possessions after searching his apartment.
Witnesses don’t normally have their homes searched or their personal belongings far from the crime scene seized by police. No matter what words they use, investigators appear to still be interested in Abdul Rahman Ali Alharbi. Time will tell if he has any connection to the events in Boston.
And it is important to note that even if the Boston bombing ends up having nothing to do with jihad, it’s clear from the attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, last September 11 that Islamists still seek to do great harm to innocent Americans. We can’t afford to let our guard down.
Meanwhile, officials intercepted an envelope yesterday that tested positive for the super-lethal poison ricin at the U.S. Capitol’s off-site mail-processing center in Washington, D.C., CNN reports.
The letter was addressed to Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.).
As Congress deals with highly contentious gun control and immigration bills, the Left, which is always anxious to blame its enemies for everything bad that happens in America, will undoubtedly admonish any jumping to conclusions about this attempt on a Republican lawmaker’s life.
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