Is Muhammad al-Qaida op?

While the prevailing “wisdom” of the day continues to suggest Beltway sniper suspects John Muhammad and John Lee Malvo acted without inspiration – let alone direction – from Islamic terrorists, growing circumstantial evidence suggests just the opposite.

Police are now investigating whether Malvo and Muhammad may be connected to a March 19 shooting at a golf course in Tucson, Ariz.

Jerry R. Taylor, 60, was shot and fatally wounded on that day while practicing chip shots at the Fred Enke Golf Course. He was killed by a single shot to the chest from long range. Muhammad’s sister lives in Tucson. It just so happens Malvo and Muhammad were in Tucson that day.

If that isn’t enough, according to Tucson detectives, Malvo bragged about shooting two men on a golf course last spring. Police are also investigating whether another golf-course shooting, in which a second Tucson man was shot while vacationing in Florida, is connected to the sniper suspects.

Albert Michalczyk, 72, was shot in the chest May 18 at the Glen Oaks Gold Course in Clearwater, Fla. He lived. It just so happens Malvo’s mother worked in Fort Myers, 130 miles from Clearwater, at that time. Malvo was reported as a runaway from Fort Myers a year before.

Golf courses … golf courses … that rings a bell with me.

On Sept. 4, I wrote a news story for WorldNetDaily that began: “An al-Qaida training videotape, captured in Afghanistan, shows Osama bin Laden’s terrorists are not only planning attacks with weapons of mass destruction but are preparing to kill Americans with drive-by shootings and home break-ins, through ambushes of law-enforcement officers and targeted assassinations on golf courses, WorldNetDaily has learned.”

Coincidence?

Maybe. But it gets even more interesting.

In the very heat of the Beltway sniper hysteria, while Muhammad and Malvo were still on the loose, U.S. intelligence authorities through the U.S. Capitol Police warned U.S. senators “that those who play golf may be targets of al-Qaida snipers.”

The senators were told that “al-Qaida snipers might be looming near golf courses, ready to pick them off,” according to Capitol Police Spokeswoman Marcia Krug, as quoted in the Hotline Oct. 21.

A notice circulated to House offices noted “that while the threat does not appear to be connected to the sniper attacks that have gripped” Washington-area residents “with fear, additional information will be provided as it becomes available from investigators.”

The intelligence information regarding the golf-course assassinations had reportedly come from Nizar Treblisi, held in a plot to blow up the U.S. Embassy in Paris.

Even before it was known that Muhammad and Malvo were suspected in the golf-course shootings – even before they were caught – investigators were noticing the similarities between the Beltway sniper killings and those described in the al-Qaida training materials first brought to light by WorldNetDaily and to the information provided by Treblisi. Guantanamo Bay al-Qaida prisoners, specifically questioned in connection with the Beltway sniper probe, told authorities they had received sniper training.

Why have investigators discounted the possibility of a link between Malvo and Muhammad and Islamic terrorists? A couple reasons: They cite the Tarot card reading “I am God.” No Muslim fundamentalist would compare himself to God, they say. In addition, they point out that Muhammad and Malvo appear to have robbed some victims.

But this is so transparent. Wouldn’t it make sense to cover one’s tracks? Wouldn’t it make sense to act like home-bred American psycho serial killers to throw investigators off? Wouldn’t it make sense that the killers wouldn’t advertise their true motives? After all, it took quite a bit of time for Osama bin Laden to take any responsibility for Sept. 11. It’s just not true that Islamic terrorists always claim responsibility for their terrorist actions. They don’t. And if you are willing to commit suicide in the name of Allah, is it so shocking one might lie, deceive and even steal?

There’s no question Muhammad and Malvo were inspired by al-Qaida. Muhammad told friends he supported the terrorist actions on Sept. 11. But it could be the pair were more closely linked with the terrorists than anyone has dared to imagine.