And it isn’t even on the table that he could call it a jihad attack, although that appears to be exactly what it was. Why is Esper refraining from calling it terrorism? There needs to be a thorough investigation of Saudi influence in the U.S. government, but who would conduct it that isn’t tainted?
Meanwhile, the Saudis are saying all sorts of reassuring things these days, but the fact remains that the ideology they have inculcated into their people is responsible for this attack. Are they going to address that? Is Trump going to call upon them to do so? If not, then all their words of solidarity are hollow.
“US Defense Secretary Says Too Soon to Label Florida Shooting as Terrorist Act,” Asharq Al-Awsat, December 8, 2019:
US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Saturday it was too soon to label the shooting at the US Navy base in Florida as a terrorist act.
“I can’t say it’s terrorism at this time,” he told a gathering of top US defense and military officials, adding that the investigation needs to proceed. He declined to discuss details of the investigation so far.
Investigations are ongoing in the shooting that saw a Saudi airman open fire at three people at the Naval Air Station Pensacola. Six Saudis were held for questioning.
Federal investigators have not disclosed any motive behind the attack, which unfolded at dawn on Friday when the Saudi national is said to have begun firing a handgun inside a classroom at the base. Three people were killed in the incident. Two sheriff’s deputies were injured, before one of the deputies killed the assailant. Eight others were also hurt.
Saudi officials stressed that such attacks do not reflect the values of the Saudi people….
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, said he has directed Saudi security services to cooperate with US authorities investigating the shooting….