I'm in agreement with Mr Cochran's assertion that the far more dangerous terrorists are "born here, raised here, brainwashed on radical Islamist propaganda in their communities here, and then [travel] overseas to learn how to attack their fellow Americans." Such "real" terrorists need networks to facilitate their radicalization, training and deployment. After all, the pack is a more effective and deadly killer than the lone wolf.
And while the lethality of the loner cannot compare in magnitude to the network, the value of a Mohammad Taheri-azar to the Jihadist cause should not be underestimated.
As such, I must, one, disagree with Mr. Cochran's characterization of Taheri-azar as a "nutcase" who turned "himself in on a 911 emergency call" rather than, say, detonate a car bomb in the midst of his targets and, two, encourage bloggers to examine more closely what, in my estimation, appears to be Taheri-azar's underlying motive: Killing disbelievers "to avenge the deaths of Muslims around the world" would land him in an American court where, acting as his own attorney, he would endeavor to teach us all "more about the will of Allah."
"Then fight (0 Muhammad SAWS) in the Cause of Allah, you are not held responsible except for yourself, and incite the believers (to fight along with you), it may be that Allah will restrain the evil might of the disbelievers. And Allah is Stronger in Might and Stronger in punishing." (Quran 4:84)
...Jihad today is compulsory on the entire Ummah and she will remain in sin until she produces her sons, her wealth and her power to the extent of being able to wage Jihad and defend against the evil of the disbelievers upon all the Muslims in Palestine and elsewhere. It is obligatory upon the believers to wage Jihad in order to establish the Truth and eradicate Falsehood, to the utmost of their abilities.
...So know that targeting the Americans and the Jews by killing them in any comer of the Earth, is the greatest of obligations and the most excellent of ways to gain nearness to Allah.
What is germane to the argument of whether or not the attack was terrorism is Taheri-azar's failure to kill. But, really, does it matter to anyone beyond the victims and their families whether the result was hit-and-run or murder? He still gets his day in court to instruct the kuffar on Allah.
Yes, sometimes an alive Jihadist is more valuable to the Ummah than a martyred one.
Mohammad Taheri-azar just gained his jihad street cred and the Islamists just gained a valuable propaganda tool. It makes no difference whether he's in the Khumeinist or bin Ladenist camp.
***
In a 911 call after his hit-and-run strike, Taheri-azar summarizes in one sentence Ayman Zawahiri's statement of a day later.
Taheri-Azar: “I wrote it all...I explained it in a one page letter. It's in my bedroom in University Commons apartment.”
911 Operator: “Ok. And I understand that the reason you told me you did this is in your bedroom but can you tell me why you did this?”
Taheri-Azar: “It's really to punish the government of the United States for their actions around the world.”
In his most recent statement, portions of which were broadcast by Al Jazeera on Saturday, Ayman Zawahiri blasted the United States for its actions around the world, accusing it of "stealing the Muslims' oil...in the biggest robbery in history," and of "occupying our land...insulting us and our religion and Quran and our prophet," warning Hamas against the American game called the "political process" in Palestine and Iraq and condemning the mistreatment of prisoners at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison by the US army.
Here's some of what we learn: Taheri-Azar thought about some kind of attack for two years and planned Friday's operation (that's right, I'm calling it an operation) for two months. Such planning, combined with the religious motivation of the attack, constitutes terrorism, not the act of a "nutcase" who snapped.
Gee, Mr. Cochran, are we still "trivializing real terrorism?"
Update on Wednesday, March 8, at 12:51 AM EST:
The fact that Taheri-azar armed himself with pepper-spray and a knife to fight off anyone who "trapped or threatened" him during his operation and the way he calmly alerted the authorities to his location after carrying it out supports my theory: He wanted his day in court to lecture the disbelievers. That was his plan all along.
When the letter he left in his apartment is made public it will, I believe, substantiate this theory. Posted
7:59 PM
by Robert
In a 
In his most recent 
