by

John Wright

As of 10/21/2002, an assassination team has killed nine people and seriously wounded three people in the metropolitan Washington, DC area. Whether we call that team snipers or any other name is irrelevant. The only relevant fact at this time is twelve shootings within two weeks committed brazenly but with great planning and finesse, such that our police forces, including the FBI, have been left looking foolish and ineffective. Likewise all the talking heads on television who carry the name "profiler" or "forensic psychologist."

This reality is a significant departure from what we see on TV cop shows and read in popular novels. Basically, the assassination team is committing a series of "perfect" crimes, i.e., crimes done with a level of professionalism that clearly exceeds the capability of law enforcement to stop them. I find this fact both amusing and troublesome for two reasons. First, it demonstrates that the effectiveness of police organizations is predicated on the expectation that they will be more intelligent that the criminals. Second, the public is exposed to "entertainment" that consistently promotes the success of police efforts, and that is now seen to be a hoax.

Most criminals are so dumb that it doesn’t take much of a police effort to smoke them out. Most citizens are so naïve that they expect criminals to be caught and prosecuted quickly, based on the ridiculous models of performance shown on television shows. The sad truth is that police forces in general hire individuals who are not bright enough to get better jobs. That fact became public knowledge a few years ago when an applicant in the Boston area was rejected based on doing too well in the entrance exam and later being found to have an IQ in the range of 130. We learned that the expected IQ for police candidates was 104, which placed the standard weakly above average intelligence. There will be exceptions to that fact, but if you are wise you will realize that most career police ascending to levels of Sargeant, lieutenant, detective or even captain are generally not all that bright.

We capture most criminals because they also are not very bright; indeed, in the battle of wits police are brighter. The police are further aided by the fact that most criminals repeat poorly planned and executed crimes, such that getting away one or more times is simply "dumb luck," and sooner or later the criminal will, through repeated exposure, come up short and be nailed. It is simply a matter of probability. Sooner or later a roll of the dice will produce "snake eyes."

The crimes of the moment are not of that category. The only common fact is in the repetition. In all other respects, the killings are now obviously the mark of a professional hit team, of the variety created by organizations like the CIA. These people are trained to operate in foreign environments, remain invisible, and kill repeatedly without being caught. The question is: Who is behind the killings and what is their motive?

I concluded after the first five killings, which occurred within one day, that the basis was terrorism. I was not confident in my conclusion, but at that time I noted the ability of the team to get away and thought about how terrorists want to destabilize the USA. Virtually no one agreed with me. As more killings occurred, the surrounding facts made it ever more obvious to me that the perpetrators were simply too good to fit any of the dumb ass profiles we were given on television.

I considered the byproducts of these attacks on our unarmed citizens, and realized that true destabilization would be achieved if the assassination team proved that our police forces cannot protect our citizens. We see much evidence of that now with school closings and people choosing not to shop or dine. The local economy is very adversely affected, and that is the true motive of the planners behind the killings. In their minds, the ideal result is for the citizens to lose patience with the police and then demonstrate and revolt.

I am not at all happy with the refusal of police and media to promote the terrorist/assassination team possibility. I may be wrong, but how much more evidence will it take for our police organizations to admit that they are outclassed? How soon will our federal government come clean and lets us know what they really believe? At what point do we citizens question our own naivete?

Lest we forget, teams of assassins can be hired by terrorist organizations. The assassins can look like you and me and be thoroughly embedded in one or more of our communities as "respectable" citizens or residents. One or more may even be employed locally. Thus, we cannot go on an Arab search and imprison mission, for it is most unlikely that the assassins are of middle-eastern origin. They are simply hired killers who look just like us.

As I look down the road, I see the net impact of these killings as causing total commitment on the part of common citizens to military solutions to terrorism. We will learn that the basis of the killings is terrorism and destabilization and we will be out for blood. It will be interesting to see how our federal government responds, particularly if we cannot identify a specific payer. Now I am very deeply concerned, as I see a potential citizen approval and subsequent congressional approval for major war on multiple fronts.

We are being taunted to act rashly in a global environment. Our choice of response has long-term and irreversible consequences. At this point, I really don’t have any idea what we will do, but I doubt that we will take a moderate or conciliatory position with our enemies. Life as we have known it is about to change radically. I hope I am wrong.

FOOTNOTE: I was wrong about the hit team being hired as terrorists, but I was right about the level of professionalism in the approach. The basis was hatred of a racial variety here at home. The police were neutered until the perpetrators chose to identify themselves. Their methods were homegrown and completely effective, and I knew one of the victims. My conclusion about the events prepping our citizens for commitment to military solutions for other potential terrorist type activities was and is obviously on target.

JW