Could the Beltway Sniper be part of an organized domestic terrorist initiative?  The thought is chilling, but suppositions mount up after awhile, coincidences in operational methods seem to be too coincidental.

MILNET presents a review of the possibilities surrounding the events that might lead one to believe we are in the throes of a well organized and evil effort to terroize the American people.

If one were to be totally paranoid, this new terror initiative began with the Anthrax envelope attack in September of 2001.  The coinincidences of attacks occuring right along with the attacks using jetliners on September 11, 2001 might also lead the paranoid analyst to conclude the terrorism is foreign inspired and led.  However, let's put that aside for the moment.  In fact, we'll assume their is little if any foreign terrorist involvemen for the purposes of the majority of this analysis.  A final section will pickup on the possible Foreign Connection.

The analysis will focus on four areas:

1. The Common Factors
2. The Sniper Possibilities (including a chilling scenario)
3. What's Next
4. The Foreign Connection

The Common Factors

Assuming the Anthrax attack was domestic in origin, then it would be easy to use this as the beginning of a domestic terror effort. The attacks have much in common with the Beltway Sniper events.
 

1. No identification of the Terrorists has been made
2. Their attacks are chosen for the ability for the attackers to remain anonymous
3. The likelihood of at least one fatality is high
4. The impact of their attacks is extremely high - maximum terror with nationwide repercussions and mass media frenzy
5. The costs of the attack appears to be low
6. The attacks are so simple as to be almost trivial
7. The attacks can be carried out by one or two individuals
8. More attackers could easily be used to confuse investigators (i.e. multiple, irreconcilable identifications by witnesses)
9. A maximum impact despite low number of dead
10. High stress for regions directly "in the line of fire"
11. Could easily be the acts of U.S. citizens and for various domestic terrorist causes
12. After a panic sticken period, the attacks stopped

The Sniper Possibilities

At this point the analysis must turn to clear speculation.  There are two recent events, that if are found to be related to the Sniper attacks would also support both the domestic terrorist or the foreign terrorist theory.
 

• The discovery of a white box truck with a spent cartridge by rental cleaning crew
• The location of the rental agency near an airport

• Was the rental executed with false identification and credit cards?
• Did the false identity match an identity of a passenger recently arrived and departed from that airport?

A Scenario

The following is a valid scenario for how an organized domestic terrorist organization would execute the sniper attack
 

• The sniping team(s) arrive in Washington, D.C. area.  They rent a small white Chevy Astro Van and perahaps one or moe other vehicles and drive to motels along the beltway.  Once there, they rent rooms and then fan out to cruise possible attack sites looking for:

1. Rapid access to major beltway freeways
2. Target areas where random choice is plentiful -- i.e. shopping malls, large customer volume stores, gas stations, schools
3. Target areas that support shots from well covered areas 50 to 100 yards away
• Once their targets areas are found, they carefully plan out their attacks using a shooting van and a spotter van.  Perhaps these shooting teams consist of only three members per team -- box van driver, box van shooter, Astro van spotter and driver.

• The plan is executed:
1. the spotter van takes a position to make sure all is clear.
2. Then the box van pulls into position.
3. The driver leaves the box van but remains close by, perhaps with earphone and radio contact.  
4. The shooter sets up on a seated rest, a table in the van (or at lying rest, sprawled out on the floor of the box van).
5. Once ready to shoot, he notifies the spotter via his radio
6. The spotter IDs the target ocer radio and the box van driver moces to the box van and rolls up the door.
7. The shooter takes his single shot and the driver lowers the door.
8. The Sniper safes the weapon (and if a folding table was used, folds the table) and braces for the getaway.
9. The spotter in the Astro van and the box van leave in different directions before anyone has even thought to look around.
10. On days where multiple attacks are desired, more than one box van and Astro van have been rented.
11. When the terrorists feel truly threatened, they pack up and leave the way they came

The Follow Through

The plan would call for a discrete moment where the terrorists fold up their tents and flee.  Once composite sketches of their operational vechicles are released or when composites of the operational team are released, then its time to close up shop and head home.  The rentals are returned, perhaps the box van is sprayed with room deodorant to remove the smell of gunfire.  The terrorists board a plane and vanish.

Left behind would be scraps of useless evidence and puzzled law enforcement.
 

What's Next

What other forms of attack could such an organization hope to use with similar results?  Here's a list in two categories, the mysterious and the suiciders:

Mysterious

• Bombs in shopping bag
• Bombs in rented or stolen vehicles
• Chemical dispersion weapons in shopping bag
• Poisons or bio-toxins  in water systems
• Letter bombs
• Bombs on aircraft or buses
• Bio weapons left behind on aircraft, buses or taxis
• Small aircraft dropping bio, chemical or explosives from altitude randomly

• Suicide bombers wearing explosives
• Suicide bio terrorist infected with Small Pox, Plague or other transmittable disease
• Suicide hijackers of aircraft, buses, or taxis

As the reader can see, our open society is extremely vulnerable to this kind of terrorism.
 

The Foreign Connection

An Islamic Extremist organization would enjoy impacting American society in this manner, hoping to create hysteria and eventually severely impacting the openness in the U.S.  This could lead to creating a mindset similar to the Israelis, a mindset that the Islamic extremists obviously believe is in their favor.

How would a foreign terrorist organization implement this kind of terror?  Four ways actually:

1. Recruit U.S. citizens who believe in the Islamic extremist view and feel the U.S. has done nothing good for them
2. Infiltrate members into U.S. society as sleepers and then call on them to attack at some later time
3. Send members into the country directly to perform the attacks
4. Recruit domestic terrorists by pretending to support their cause and giving them the plan, finances, and tools to do the deeds

© Copyright, 2002, Michael Crawford, MILNET