The Moussaoui Connection

Flopping Aces has been all over this story from Day 1. The number of connections between the bomber, Joel Henry Hinrichs III, and Zacarias Moussaoui is growing quite disturbing. They both attended the same Islamic mosque in Norman, Oklahoma. That should send up a red flag considering that the terrorist plots against the US all appear to have commonalities:

The 1993 WTC bombers (Sheik Rahman as spiritual leader) had links to the 2000 millenium bomb plotters, who in turn had connections to the 2001 9/11 attackers. There is a web of links between the terrorist involved in the various attacks on the US, and there are focal points. Could Oklahoma City be one such focal point (Jersey City being another)?

Yet, the FBI doesn't believe that Hinrichs had any ties to any extremist groups, Islamic or otherwise.

And it appears that Hinrichs' bomb used TATP, which is the same material that Richard Reid, the shoe bomber, attempted to detonate while on board a plane. Oh, and Hinrichs sought to purchase ammonium nitrate in significant quantities just four days before the Saturday incident from a store that no longer carried it.

Ammonium nitrate, for those who forget, was the explosive used in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that resulted in the murder of 168 people at the Murrah Federal Building. Some folks still have questions as to whether there were others involved in the conspiracy to blow up the building besides McVeigh and Nichols. Early reports from the day of the bombing had mentioned Islamic terrorists but those accounts were quickly dismissed as McVeigh was arrested driving out of Oklahoma City with a truck that lacked a license plate.

Hinrichs' roommate in Oklahoma, a Pakistani student was apparently questioned by the authorities according to OU President Boren.

Meanwhile, the national media is not covering this story as noted by Mark Tapscott.

Finally, if Hinrichs was just a disturbed guy who decided to kill himself with a bomb 100 yards from a crowd of 84,000 people instead of simply putting a bullet through his temple, slashing his wrists or some other traditional way of doing away with himself, why is the FBI and the Joint Terrorism Task Force now the lead agency in the investigation?

Once again, there are substantial stories that are completely overlooked by the national media. Why? If this was a simple suicide, the FBI and Joint Terrorism Task Force would not be involved. Clearly they think that something more serious is ongoing. Tapscott thinks that OU may be a focal point because of the petroleum engineering program at the school that attracts large numbers of students from the Middle East.

Michelle Malkin has more. ESPN is reporting that the University has not made any changes to security procedures and consider the plans in place sufficient. That's comforting. Though it's curious that other news outlets are saying that security will be tightened. Which is it?

UPDATE:
Zombie has tried to piece together the puzzle of Hinrichs and how ended his life on a bench near the Oklahoma University football stadium. Charles at LGF has more.

Technorati: terrorism, suicide bomber, hinrichs.