Coming Soon to a Theater Near You: Terrorism?
Dave Aiello wrote, "National Review Online has quickly jumped on the Moscow Theater Attack with an excellent commentary written by Mark Riebling and R.P. Eddy. In it, the authors suggest that the theater attack may be closely related to U.S. intervention in Pankisi Gorge, in the Republic of Georgia, in addition to the more obvious goal of ending the war in Chechnya."
"The article also suggests that the Chechen attack may be preview of attacks outside Russia yet to come:"
The Moscow event is especially portentous because the tactics of Chechen jihadists are regarded by the FBI as a possible indicator of al Qaeda methods in the U.S. This past summer, for instance, after Chechen terrorists bombed apartment buildings in Moscow, apparently by renting rooms and then detonating explosives stored there, FBI Director Robert S. Mueller warned that al Qaeda operatives in the U.S. might attempt this tactic.
If Chechen and al Qaeda operatives do kill from the same playbook, then reconnaissance and planning for a mass-hostage drama outside Russia may already be underway.
Dave Aiello continued, "Imagine how much more press coverage the jihad would have gotten if this sort of attack had been executed at a Broadway or West End theater."