During a discussion on Friday about the recent terrorist attack in Nice, France a guest on MSNBC claimed something absolutely ridiculous. Former United States Intelligence Officer Malcom Nance claimed that both the attack in Orlando, Florida and the attack in San Bernardino, California were not necessarily acts of ISIS terror. He pointed to instances of personal turmoil in the attackers’ lives as evidence that they were driven by other motives.
San Bernardino may in fact have been a hybrid act of terrorism/workplace violence. This Orlando attacker, there are indicators he has psycho sexual problem going on in his mind and acted out and then claimed it was ISIS.
Those comments came in response to speculation from MSNBC’s Steve Kornacki about the motives of the truck driver in France. “Is there any room here for the possibility that, as we say, the guy was having problems in his personal life,” Kornacki asked, pointing to reports that the man was facing a possible jail term. He concluded his question by if the driver could be, “just somebody whose life was out of control and took it out on everybody?”
Nance seems to have forgotten that the Orlando terrorist had a history of declaring allegiance to different radical organizations. There are also stories from former classmates of him praising the 9/11 attacks as they were happening.
Partial transcript below:
MSNBC
MSNBC Live
July 15, 2016
4:12:28 PM Eastern...
MALCOLM NANCE: On the other hand, he could have been enabled. And that means he wasn't a member of an ISIS cell. He was given the resources and given a map or given help with planning to carry out an attack. That would make him --
STEVE KORNACKI: Would you expect if that were the case, if he'd been given some kind of help, would you expect someone would be claiming credit at this point?
NANCE: Well, as we've learned over the last few weeks ISIS doesn't necessarily, or and Al Qaeda don't necessarily take claim right away. What they like to do is to let the fear sink in for a period of time. And then they'll come out with an official video. Now it's quite possible that you may see a video or statement of loyalty coming from him to either Al Qaeda the Arabian Peninsula or to ISIS itself. We don’t know. And that’s— French intelligence are going to be the first to find out, believe me.
KORNACKI: Is there any room here for the possibility that, as we say, the guy was having problems in his personal life. Might have been face something kind of jail term. It's not somebody with any kind of bigger motivation, it's just somebody whose life was out of control and took it out on everybody?
NANCE: But we've seen examples of that. San Bernardino may in fact have been a hybrid act of terrorism/workplace violence. This Orlando attacker, there are indicators he has psycho sexual problem going on in his mind and acted out and then claimed it was ISIS. We don't know yet. We'll have to wait for the evidence to come in.
KORNACKI: Sometimes it's not as neat—
NANCE: It’s never neat.
KORNANCKI: --and simple as it was this or it was not that. Malcolm Nance, thanks for the time.
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