Apropos of this story's vanishing from the MSM, it may interest you that Thomas Friedman's generally well-regarded think tank/private intelligence service Stratfor devotes today's "Daily Terrorism Brief" to the strange demise of Mr. Hinrich. Subscription only, but a brief quote: "Coincidences are rare in counterterrorism, however. A blast occuring less than 100 yards from a stadium packed with over 84,000 people certainly has the hallmarks of a terrorist attempt." Indeed.

This strongly reminds me of the public and media reaction to the Washington Sniper (I work in DC). As soon as it became apparent what was happening, a very perspicuous friend with a military background diagnosed this as the terrrorist equivalent of the "walk-in" in intelligence work--the unsolicited volunteer--while the media and police continued to pursue the conventional profile of a serial killer (white, male, indigenously American). And of course, that's exactly what the snipers turned out to be.

I suggest Hinrichs is in the same general mold--malcontents adapting the radical terrorist ideology du jour to their personal pathologies, rather like the epidemic of pointless anarchist violence around the turn of the last century. (The Shoebomber was probably another.) We have to face the fact that this ideology that combines world-transformation with self-immolation will continue to exert a powerful attraction for some elements in our society. So far, we seem to be trying to avert our eyes to judge from how this story's been treated.

Also, just want to say how much I appreciate the way you just throw a cold bucket of pure reason on everything. One of my favorite blogs.

Best wishes.

"while the media and police continued to pursue the conventional profile of a serial killer (white, male, indigenously American). And of course, that's exactly what the snipers turned out to be."

Umm, you might want to check this bit out again.

Mick, I had the same reaction at first, but I think you need to ignore the parenthetical bit, which only explains what the police were looking for:

As soon as it became apparent what was happening, a very perspicuous friend with a military background diagnosed this as the terrrorist equivalent of the "walk-in" in intelligence work--the unsolicited volunteer.... And of course, that's exactly what the snipers turned out to be.

I take Anne's comment to mean that sometimes people don't fit the profile because they've consciously adopted a pattern of behavior.

I didnt mean that to suggest it refuted her argument, and I probably should have said so in my post. Just pointing it out is all.

Sorry, my comment was rather poorly worded on that point. What I meant to say was that the snipers turned out to be what my friend predicted--"walk-ins" inspired by a radicalism developed outside the US, in contrast to the home-grown serial killer pathology that was the initial focus.

Anne, thanks for coming. I appreciate the kind words!