Dear friends:

The official position is that Virginia Tech mass murderer Cho Seung-Hui was not an Islamic terrorist.  That may be true; however, there are some very interesting aspects to the case.

At the least, it seems clear that his modus operandi emulated Muslim terrorists, and he was driven by their same hatred of America.

Here are some interesting similarities:

1.  As do Islamic terrorists, he made a video of himself before his murder/suicide spree.

2.  As do Islamic terrorists, he was dressed in battle garb while he openly brandished his weapons. 

3.  As do Islamic terrorists, he railed against Western culture, part of his hatred.  A blogger says the videos "instantly reminded me of the taped testimonials suicide bombers leave behind to justify their crimes. It looked so familiar -- an angry young man dressed in battle clothing preaching a message full of hate in front of a drab background.  I have seen many of these videos over the years in the Middle East.  The attackers always stress a desire to battle injustice and moral turpitude; they all believe they are avengers of the righteous.  The videos are also replete with religious references. Cho's message seems little different."

National Review columnist Jerry Bowyer says: "Envy, deep and powerful, comes through it all. Resentment against our society. Christianity, capitalism, and sports all take their hits. This was a man who hated the American regime ­ our very way of life. And he took a Muslim name to register his discontent ­ Ismail, the preferred Arab spelling of "Ishmael," Abraham's first son, the disinherited son who took second place to the wealthy Isaac."

4.  As do Islamic terrorists, he vented his hatred by brutally taking the lives of innocent people, with no mercy.  In our day, this is the almost exclusive trademark of Islamic terrorists.

5.  On the video, his hateful demeanor and voice were identical to Islamic terrorists' videos.  It sounded just like them.  It was like an Al Qaeda video.  The similarity was spooky.

6.  On the video package he mailed to NBC, he used the return address name of "A. Ismail."  Plus, he had "Ismail Ax" scrawled in red ink on one of his arms.

Ismail is the Arabic spelling of Ishmael, son of Abraham.  Ishmael is the ancient father of the Arab people.  The name Ahmed is frequently associated with Ismail among Arabs. Type "A. Ismail" in Google and you will get 77,800 hits.

A blogger says, "I typed the named Axmed in Google and guess where it took me to? It took me to the Uzbek (as in Uzbekistan) Wikipedia where the name Ahmad is spelled always in there as Axmad.... Central Asians cannot say the Arabic letter which represents the 'light H' so they substitute it with the hard 'kh' or the 'x'.

7.  On his radio program last night, Michael Savage shared a shocking revelation.  He said Cho's parents lived in Saudi Arabia for ten years before they came to the U.S.  I have not been able to confirm that.  Sometimes Savage can be reckless with the facts, but sometimes he is right on.  This is an interesting one.  If true, Cho would have to have been a small child in Saudi Arabia, but Islamic brainwashing begins with very small children and it could have influenced him.  Again I say -- if true.  This has not been confirmed.  Also if true, it will probably be censored by the government and mainstream media to avoid offending Muslims and our oil-producing "friends."  Cho came to the U.S. in 1992 at about age 8, and his parents worked at a dry cleaners in suburban Washington.

8.  A news report revealed that the next door neighbor of Cho's parents in Virginia is a Pakistani.  It is only speculation, but perhaps this person influenced the young lad's anti-American feelings and tendency toward jihad.

CONCLUSION:

Cho Seung-Hui was obviously insane, and it is doubtful that he was an official Islamic terrorist or member of Al Qaeda.  However, that same spirit controlled him and he was no doubt greatly influenced by the irrational mind set, attitudes, cruelty, and style of Islamic terrorists.  The source of this influence is not clear but may be revealed in the days ahead.