FH Upfront Statement: Like all peace loving Americans, we condemn violence and believe civil disputes, political or otherwise, should be fought with words, not weapons.
As of this writing, here are the facts that law enforcement has made public about the recent mail bombings:
- Pipe bombs were mailed to offices and homes of nine people associated with Democrat and left-wing politics: Barack Obama, Bill & Hillary Clinton, Eric Holder, Maxine Waters, John Brennan, Joe Biden, George Soros, Robert De Niro.
- All of the bombs were mailed in manilla envelopes and addressed similarly, implying a single source.
- None of the pipe bombs exploded. In fact, experts say they were purposely designed NOT to function, implying an attempt to terrorize, not kill.
It is our hope that the deranged, mentally ill and/or evil perpetrator(s) will be caught quickly and punished severely, setting an example that America will not tolerate such heinous acts of terrorism against our democracy.
While we’re confident U.S. federal and local law enforcement will find the culprit within days or even hours of this posting, we are tempted to do our own bit of sleuthing by considering what type or category of terrorist this mail bomber might belong to.
We break down the terrorist possibilities by type (with historical example), purpose, who benefits politically (considering we are less than two weeks from a major election), and odds the perpetrator falls into this category …
RELIGIOUS EXTREMIST
Bruce Edwards Ivins was an American microbiologist, vaccinologist, senior biodefense researcher at the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), Fort Detrick, Maryland, and the key suspected perpetrator of the 2001 anthrax attacks , which involved the mailing of several letters proclaiming “Death to America … Death to Israel … Allah is Great”, and contaminated with anthrax, to the offices of U.S. Democrat Senators Tom Daschle and Patrick Leahy, as well as to the offices of ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, the New York Post, and the National Enquirer. On August 6, 2008, the FBI and DOJ concluded that Ivins was likely solely responsible for “the deaths of five persons, and the injury of dozens of others, resulting from the mailings.” Ivins’ motivations were not proved, though the DOJ suggested he may have harbored a grudge against pro-choice Catholic senators Daschle and Leahy. Ivins was a devout Roman Catholic. The Frederick News-Post made public several letters to the editor written by Ivins dealing with his religious views. Ivins was also pro-Jew and anti-Muslim, as he once praised a rabbi for refusing a dialogue with a Muslim cleric. On July 29, 2008, Ivins died of an overdose of Tylenol with codeine in an apparent suicide after learning that criminal charges were likely to be filed against him by the FBI
Purpose? Punish individuals / groups like pro-choice politicians, liberal news media and Muslims for religious disagreements.
Who benefits? Democrats … Left leaning voters would fear the extreme religious right and vote against Republicans.
Odds? Medium … The intended victims are very similar to Ivins’, but the mail bomber intends on terrorizing, not killing, and the victims do not appear to have an obvious religious connection.
RIGHT WING EXTREMIST
Interestingly, when referencing Wikipedia, a reliable but usually left-leaning source of information, there was not one single example of a right-wing extremist terrorizing / killing a Democrat politician in the 2001 – 2018 time period. We considered the January 2011 shooting of U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords and eighteen others by Jared Lee Loughner in a supermarket parking lot in Arizona. Six people died, including federal District Court Chief Judge John Roll; Gabe Zimmerman, one of Giffords’ staffers; and a nine-year-old girl, Christina-Taylor Green. Loughner, a 22-year-old Tucson man was arrested at the scene and indicted on 49 counts. Loughner was originally found to be incompetent due to a paranoid schizophrenia condition, but was later judged competent. He pleaded guilty to 19 counts and was sentenced to life in prison. Following the shooting, some criticized the use of harsh political rhetoric in the United States, with a number blaming the political right wing for the shooting, but investigators found Loughner hated all politicians regardless of their affiliation.
Purpose: Terrorize individuals / groups like Democrat politicians and liberal news media and actors over political disagreements.
Who benefits? Democrats …Left leaning voters would fear the extreme political right and vote against Republicans.
Odds? High … While the dearth of historical examples creates some doubt the perpetrator is a right-wing extremist, it is still a highly plausible possibility.
LEFT WING EXTREMIST
James T. Hodgkinson was a home inspector in Belleville, Illinois, Bernie Sanders supporter and left-wing political activist. On June 14, 2017, at a Republican congressional baseball practice in Alexandria, Virginia, James Hodgkinson opened fire with a semi-automatic rifle on 24 Republican members of Congress. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana and Tyson Foods lobbyist Matt Mika were shot and taken to nearby hospitals, where they underwent surgery. Also shot were Crystal Griner, a U.S. Capitol Police officer assigned to protect Scalise and Zack Barth, a congressional aide. Officers from the Capitol and Alexandria Police shot Hodgkinson, who died from his wounds later that day. The Virginia Attorney General concluded the shooting was “fueled by rage against Republican legislators,” and “an act of terrorism.”
Purpose? Kill political opponents.
Who benefits? Republicans … Right leaning voters would fear the extreme, violent left and vote against Democrats.
Odds? Low … The mail bomber targeted Democrats, not Republicans, and intended to terrorize rather than kill. (However, see ‘False Flag’ category below.)
FALSE FLAG
In September 1999, four Russian apartment bombings in Moscow, Buinaksk, and Volgodonsk killed 300 persons, terrified the Russian public, and propelled Vladimir Putin to power. Russian investigative authorities said there was a “Chechen trail” and, on this basis, launched a new invasion of Chechnya. Putin, at the time the prime minister, was put in charge of the war and gained overnight popularity as “defender of the nation.” In March 2000, he was elected president. People were suspicious, though, as the bombings were too convenient for Boris Yeltsin and his corrupt entourage. Most everyone outside of the Russian government became convinced the bombings were a ‘false-flag’ attack when a fifth, unexploded bomb was discovered in the basement of an apartment building in Ryazan, southeast of Moscow, and local police arrested three persons who turned out to be not Chechens but agents of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), their version of the United States’ FBI and CIA.
Purpose: Commit an act of terrorism against your own people / party to create fear in the general public that your enemies are responsible and should be defeated / destroyed.
Who benefits? Democrats … If a Democrat operative mailed non-functional pipe bombs to Democrat legislators and partisans, they would create the false impression of right-wing terrorism and persuade people to vote Democrat.
Odds? High … We hope we’re wrong, and we admit this is conspiracy mongering, but could this bomb mailing be a dastardly October surprise by left-wing zealots who will do anything to win?
MALIGN FOREIGN ACTOR
Vladimir Putin makes his second appearance on this list, which shouldn’t be surprising, considering Russia has no qualms about murdering its political and media detractors and has demonstrated ad infinitum its interest in meddling in US elections. Russia will do anything they can, while typically arranging plausible deniability, to sow dissent and foster chaos within our political system. We can’t discount the possibility that Russian FSB agents sent the recent mail bombs.
Purpose: Sow dissent and foster chaos in U.S. elections.
Who benefits? Russia … and maybe Democrats. If one wanted to divide America even further than it is already, then one would help Democrats take over Congress.
Odds? Medium … If you believe Russia meddled in the 2016 Presidential elections (and we do), why not believe they are meddling again in the 2018 Congressional elections?
COMMUNIST REVOLUTIONARIES
William Charles “Bill” Ayers is an American elementary education theorist and a leader in the counterculture movement who opposed US involvement in the Vietnam War. He is known for his 1960s radical activism and his current work in education reform, curriculum and instruction. In 1969, he co-founded the Weather Underground, a self-described communist revolutionary group with the intent to overthrow imperialism, that conducted a campaign of bombing public buildings (including police stations, the US Capitol Building, and the Pentagon) during the 1960s and 1970s in response to US involvement in the Vietnam War. Later in life, Ayers explained what he was trying to accomplish: “The Weather Underground went on to take responsibility for placing several small bombs in empty offices … We did carry out symbolic acts of extreme vandalism directed at monuments to war and racism, and the attacks on property, never on people, were meant to respect human life and convey outrage and determination to end the Vietnam war. Peaceful protests had failed to stop the war. So we issued a screaming response. But it was not terrorism; we were not engaged in a campaign to kill and injure people indiscriminately, spreading fear and suffering for political ends.
Purpose? Extreme vandalism to terrorize and draw attention to a political cause.
Who benefits? Republicans … If a communist is behind the bomb mailings, people may assume it was coordinated with the Democrats.
Odds? Low … While this could be another ‘false flag’ angle, it is unlikely in our opinion.
ANTI-GOVERNMENT TERRORIST
Timothy McVeigh was an American domestic terrorist who perpetrated the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, which killed 168 people and injured over 680 others. Per his Wiki page, McVeigh, A Gulf War veteran, sought revenge against the federal government for the 1993 Waco siege, which ended in the deaths of 86 people—many of whom were children—exactly two years before the bombing; the 1992 Ruby Ridge incident; and the United States’ foreign policy. He hoped to inspire a revolt against the federal government, and defended the bombing as a legitimate tactic against what he saw as a tyrannical federal government. He was arrested shortly after the bombing and indicted for eleven federal offenses, including the use of a weapon of mass destruction. He was found guilty on all counts in 1997 and sentenced to death.
Purpose? Kill mass numbers of people as revenge for perceived Government overreach and oppression.
Who Benefits? Unknown.
Odds? Low … The mail bomber does not intend on killing, does not have a beef with the entire government (just Democrats), and has not made a statement against a particular government action or policy.
ANARCHIST
Theodore John Kaczynski, also known as the Unabomber, is an American domestic terrorist, former mathematics professor, and anarchist author. A mathematics prodigy, he abandoned an academic career in 1969 to pursue a primitive lifestyle. Then, between 1978 and 1995, he killed three people and injured 23 others in an attempt to start a revolution by conducting a nationwide mail bombing campaign targeting people involved with modern technology. In conjunction, he issued a social critique opposing industrialization and advancing a nature-centered form of anarchism. Kaczynski was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison without potential for parole.
Purpose? Kill specific people associated with modern technology.
Who benefits? Unknown.
Odds? Low … The mail bomber does not intend on killing, does not have a beef with modernists, and has not made a statement against a particular industrial or government policy.
CRIMINAL CULT
Charles Milles Manson was an American criminal and cult leader. In the late 1960s, he formed what became known as the Manson Family, a quasi-commune in California. Manson’s followers committed a series of nine murders at four locations in July and August 1969. In 1971, he was convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder for the deaths of seven people, all of which members of the group carried out at his instruction. Manson was also convicted of first-degree murder for two other deaths. He served out his life sentence in a California State Prison and died at age 83 in 2017. Manson was an unemployed ex-convict who had spent half of his life in correctional institutions for a variety of offenses. Before the murders, Manson believed in what he called “Helter Skelter“, a term he took from the Beatles’ song of the same name to describe an impending apocalyptic race war. He believed the murders would help precipitate that war.
Purpose: Pour gas on an already red hot political fire to create chaos and cause the two mainstream political parties to destroy each other.
Who benefits? Unknown.
Odds? Low … But isn’t it conceivable that there might be someone as crazy and evil as Manson who could try to start a political war (instead of a race war) by similar means?
In which category do you think the mail bomber resides?
[For further study, we recommend reading the START National Consortium for the Study Of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism report entitled: Ideological Motivations of Terrorism in the United States. ]