*This article was originally published in The Topeka Capital-Journal, June 18, 2016.
For the next few months, we will receive daily updates about the life of Omar Mateen — the man responsible for the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history and the worst domestic terrorist attack since 9/11. Although no one wants to grant him the posthumous infamy that so many mass murderers crave, it’s already too late. I probably didn’t need to tell you who Mateen was — his name is a fixture on front pages and television screens around the country.
As the information comes in, some of our assumptions about Mateen may need to be modified. However, given what we know and what we’ve seen in countless attacks from Orlando to Beirut, it’s time to have an honest conversation about the malignant forces that routinely inspire young men to slaughter as many people as they can.
About 20 minutes into the shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Mateen called 911 and declared his allegiance to the Islamic State. While this isn’t proof of an operational connection between Mateen and the terror group, it tells us what was on his mind as he massacred 49 people and wounded 53 others. According to FBI director James Comey, the agency is “highly confident” that Mateen was “self-radicalized” online. Another official was blunter: “He consumed a hell of a lot of jihadist propaganda.”
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