Orlando: Not Foreign Fighters or Homegrown Terrorists--Just A Radical Islamic Terrorist

As the full impact of the attack in Orlando sets in, it is time to review the fundamentals. Most of this article was published two months ago but the essence remains critical and applicable. Today television anchors and commentators on the news networks pontificate about the group identity of Omar Saddiqui Mateen, the shooter who caused in excess of 100 casualties. Whether allegiance was pledged to ISIS, al Qaeda, or any other organization is not germane. Mateen was a radical Islamic terrorist, who like, Syed Rizwan Farook in San Bernardino, intentionally perpetrated violent acts against citizens of their country.

The similarities in these cases are apparent and of concern. These two men were American citizens by birth. They had been raised and educated in this country and appeared to have assimilated into our society. Both Mateen and Farook had been employed for several years in positions of trust and passed background checks. It appears that it was later in life that they became disenfranchised and sought violent reprisals against innocent civilians. Their weapons of choice were assault-style rifles supported by semiautomatic handguns.

More...