Al Qaeda Behind Woodburn, Oregon, Bank Bombing? Not Likely

Woodburn, Oregon, has two dead police officers, a damaged bank, and a lot of questions this morning.

Bank Bombed: It Could Have Been Worse

A bomb went off at 5:24 p.m. yesterday, in a bank. It's open till 6:00, and if the place hadn't been evacuated, there would have been three to five employees, and maybe customers, there instead of the police chief, a police officer, a bomb technician from the state police, and two employees.

Cranky Customer? Mad Bomber? an International Conspiracy?

Law enforcement knows a little about whoever set the bomb: "...'That person is very dangerous and that person needs to be found as soon as possible,'...." Putting money where their mouth is, the FBI and ATF put up a $35,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of whoever is responsible.

It's not at all clear who - and what - that is. It could be someone who wasn't satisfied with the service at Woodburn's West Coast Bank.

Or, maybe the target was the Wells Fargo bank, right down the street, and the bomber is directionally challenged. There had been a bomb threat at the Wells Fargo bank, too, and a suspicious-but-harmless package, earlier. So maybe both banks were being targeted.

Actually, there are quite a few possibilities:

1. Dissatisfied customer
2. Someone with a grudge against American banks in general
3. One of the bunch who've
   • Set fire to houses
   • Put spikes in trees
   • Burned a Vail, Colorado, ski resort
4. White supremacists
5. International terrorists

Right now, there's no way to tell. Option 1 is quite possible, and so is #2 - particularly with the high passions raised by the federal bailout of mis-managed financial firms.

Options 3 and 4 are not at all unlikely: Either banks involved might have made loans to 'one of those people,' or a developer of "McMansions."

Option 5 isn't impossible, but I don't think it's all that likely. It's fairly easy to suspect an Al Qaeda link in something like the Mumbai attack. But it's a long way from the World Trade Center to the West Coast Bank in Woodburn, Oregon. The town has a little less than 22,000 people: It sounds like a wonderful place to live, but it's not exactly a high-profile American target.

Terrorism: It's Not Just the Middle East

I've made the point before, that the War on Terror isn't limited to the Middle East ("Terrorism East of Lahore"). And, no group has a monopoly on terrorism.

Enough said.


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In the news:

• "Second officer dies from Oregon bank blast"
  Boston Herald (December 13, 2008)
• "Officer killed, police chief injured in Oregon bank explosion"
  CNN (December 13, 2008)
• "West Coast Bank's Woodburn West Branch is Damaged in Bombing Blast"
  MarketWatch (December 13, 2008)
• "No Suspects or Leads in Deadly Oregon Bank Bombing, $35G Reward Offered"
  FOXNews (December 13, 2008)
• "Bank Blast Kills 2, Injures 2"
  KPTV (December 13, 2008)

Background:

• Community Information
  Woodburn Chamber of Commerce
• "Welcome to Woodburn"
  "Part of the greater 'WWWelcome to Oregon™ ' guide to information and online resources about Oregon"
• "Ecoterrorism Suspected in House Fires in Seattle Suburb"
  The New York Times (March 4, 2008)
• "The Threat of Eco-Terrorism"
  FBI Congressional testimony (February 12, 2002)