The Trump Administration still refuses to label Mohammed Alshamrani, who killed 3 people on Friday in Penascola Florida a terrorist, even though he appears to have posted a manifesto on Twitter that showed a clear ideological motivation.
The Trump Administration still refuses to label Mohammed Alshamrani, who killed 3 people on Friday in Penascola Florida a terrorist, even though he appears to have posted a manifesto on Twitter that showed a clear ideological motivation.
The Trump administration appears to fear any violent action by the Saudis be linked to terrorism.Alshamrani's tweetRight before his attack Alshamrani sent a tweet. It is reproduced here.
A recent article reports on the tweet: "ABC7 reported that authorities are trying to verify the “online screed” which rants about American mistreatment of Muslims and may have been penned by the shooter.
It expresses “hatred toward Americans” and dismay at U.S. support for Israel, according to the television station. AFP reported that the online comment (which was in the form of a tweet), called the United States a nation of evil."One FBI official has already said that the investigation is of what is considered a terrorist incident: "“We are, as we do in most active-shooter investigations, work with the presumption that this was an act of terrorism,” said Rachel J. Rojas, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s office in Jacksonville."
A recent article notes: "The Saudi student who fatally shot three people at a U.S. naval base in Florida hosted a dinner party earlier in the week where he and three others watched videos of mass shootings, a U.S. official told The Associated Press on Saturday."
Contrary to some evidence US officials claim attacker acted aloneOne of those who attended the dinner party actually filmed the Penascola attack while another two Saudis on the base were watching from a car. In spite of the fact that another Saudi was there to film the event. In spite of this US officials are claiming that Alshamrani acted alone and insist that no one else was arrested. This contradicts earlier reports that a number of Saudis were held at the base.
US fails to hold Saudi Arabia accountableA recent article argues: "Holding Saudi Arabia accountable has been something that US governments have long resisted, with evidence of Saudi officials’ complicity in 9/11 long a closely-guarded secret. Even after that went public, the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi fueled outrage, but the administration took the position that financial interests in selling the Saudis weapons outweighed this." Trump has been particularly vigorous in defending the Saudis and has stressed the importance of Saudi Arabia to the US.The Pentagon has made it clear that the attack will in no way have any effect on Saudi troops remaining on US bases in the future.
An alternative motivation for the attackSome media reports even suggest a convenient alternative explanation for the attackA recent article notes: "The mass shooter who murdered three sailors and wounded eight at a US Navy base was infuriated after an instructor dubbed him "Porn Stash", according to a report.
Saudi Air Force's Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani, 21, lodged an official complaint about the embarrassing nickname used by an instructor to mock his moustache."The article does caution readers that officials have not yet drawn any connection of this to the shootings and points out thatRojas of the FBI considers it a terrorist incident. The moustache incident is not mentioned in Alshamrani's tweet. In the appended video it is claimed that the FBI has not called the attack one of terrorism as yet.
