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The
news
of the shooting at the El Al ticket counter at Los Angeles
International Airport had barely gotten out over the wires before
the Israeli government was already
characterizing it as a terrorist action – in spite of
initial reports that the shooter may have been a disgruntled former
employee. This also contradicts the statements of local, state,
and federal officials, who say there is no evidence that this
was a terrorist operation. At this moment [Thursday, 7:44 p.m.],
Matt Drudge is running
the following squib:
"Argument
between two people that spun out of control; A Mexicana supervisor had overheard
the gunman having a heated argument at the El Al counter, apparently involving
his documentation. Soon afterward, the shooting started..."
Terrorism?
We don't know yet. But that didn't stop Foreign Minister Shimon
Peres from vowing that Israel would "track
down" the perpetrators. A statement issued by the Foreign
Ministry said Peres "is certain that Israeli and American
security forces will succeed in searching for and capturing the
organizers (of the attack)." The Israeli Transport Minister
laid responsibility for the attack on "organizations, primarily
extremist Islamic organizations," that "are planning
to hit Israeli targets outside (the Jewish state). And an airport
is a preferred target."
All
this before the assailant, who was killed along with two others in the
incident, has even been identified. How
do they know it's terrorism?
The
Israelis went into spin mode even before the gunman was identified
as Hesham Mohamed Hedayet, a 41-year old Egyptian who entered
the country in 1992 and has been living in Irvine, California.
Yet we still don't have enough information to determine whether
this was an isolated shooting, perhaps the result of a personal
grudge – maybe just the random act of a lone nut – or a terrorist
operation organized by Islamist radicals. But the Israelis seem
to have already made up their minds.
To
call this "jumping the gun" is being charitable: wishful thinking is
more like it – and it is positively ghoulish. | 