Here are four brief synopses or profiles of American terrorists, three of whom are similar crazies, and the fourth, perhaps the craziest of all, stands out uniquely.

ERIC RUDOLPH: aka the Olympic Park Bomber. He was an anti-abortion, anti-gay religious extremist and white supremacist who killed three people, injuring approximately 150 others with the following terrorist acts: (a) bomb at the '96 Atlanta Olympics, (b) bomb at an abortion clinic in 1/97, (c) bomb at a gay nightclub 2/97, and (d) bomb at an abortion clinic in 1/98. His mother had instilled the ideology of survivalism in him at a youthful age. He later became identified with the fringe group known as Christian Identity. An Army vet, he spent five years at-large hiding in the Appalachian wilderness, where he remains a folk hero to some deluded locals. He was finally caught while scavenging for garbage out of a can in Murphy, N.C. in May, 2003. Avoided the death penalty by pleading guilty and received five consecutive life sentences which he is now serving as inmate #18282-058 in ADX Florence, the supermax federal prison in Colorado.

TIMOTHY McVEIGH: another white supremacist who often quoted and alluded to that biased literature. He bombed the federal building in Oklahoma City on 4-19-95, killing 168 people, injuring 450, the most heinous act of domestic terrorism prior to 9/11. Nineteen children in the day care center were numbered among his victims. For this the US Army vet, winner of a Bronze Star in the Gulf War, showed no remorse, referring to the victims as "collateral damage." His motive was to get back at the federal gov't for what he perceived to be its crimes at Ruby Ridge and the Branch Davidian complex at Waco. He had been an NRA member and spent a lot of his time prior to the bombing following the gun show circuit. On 6/2/97 he was found guilty and ultimately executed by lethal injection at the age of 33 on 6/11/01.

PAUL HILL: a quintessential example of what too much religion can do to someone. Hill was a defrocked Presbyterian minister and fanatical pro-life activist connected to the Army of God, a radical anti-abortion group supporting use of force as morally justified to protect the unborn. Hill used a shotgun at close range to kill a doctor and his companion as they exited a Pensacola abortion clinic. A third person was seriously injured in the 7/29/94 incident. Hill exhibited not one iota of remorse, viewing his action as defensive rather than retributive. He received the death sentence on 12/6/94 and died by lethal injection on 9/3/03.

TED KACZYNSKI: aka the Unabomber. This guy stands out in the terrorist crowd. He had a 167 IQ, a degree from Harvard, and a Ph.D in mathematics from U. of Michigan. He passed through high school in ten years, skipping two grades. After two years as an ass't prof at U.C. Berkeley, he suddenly and inexplicably resigned and moved to a remote cabin in Montana with no running water and no electricity. From 1978 thru 1995, he mailed 16 bombs in packages to various targets, including airlines and universities, eventually killing three people and injuring 23. The dead included the owner of a computer rental store; an advertising exec; and a timber industry lobbyist. Under the threat of more bombs, his so-called "Unabomber Manifesto" was published on 9/19/95 by the NY Times and the Washington Post. A 35,000 word paper, it asserted that "the Industrial Revolution and its consequences have been a disaster for the human race" which will naturally lead to the end of human freedom. He called for a revolt against technology. The FBI spent huge sums and many years trying to identify and find Kaczynski. Eventually he was caught only because his estranged brother recognized his writing in the manifesto when it was published. Once caught, he was found to suffer from paranoid schizophrenia, but was found competent to proceed nevertheless. He pled guilty on 1/22/98 (his subsequent move to withdraw his plea was denied) and he received a life sentence which he is now serving as inmate #04475-046 in the same supermax federal prison as Rudolph.

How many more potential American terrorists, do you think, may be out there lurking among us?

Comments:

This is horrifying. It was just a fluke that Timothy McViegh was caught so promptly. I worry about militant evangelicals. They don't recognize any viewpoint but their own.

We now list over 1,000,000 Americans as potential security threats. Would any of these four killers have made this list? How many killers are identified on the list?
What would prevent a mad Democrat from making up a new list? He could use the Military Commissions Act to declare WASP Evangelicals as enemy combatants, for example.

comment by miker on July 19, 2008 12:58 PM ()

As a math guy, you should be able to count higher than that... a lot higher.

reply by looserobes on July 19, 2008 3:05 PM ()