Fox Freaks Out Over Suggestion That Tucson Shooter May Have Engaged In Terrorism

Palin Attacks Obama Administration For “Essentially Equat[ing]” Loughner To Someone Who “Did Yell Out Allahu Akbar.” From the March 6 edition of Fox News' Justice with Judge Jeanine:

JEANINE PIRRO (host): Here's a sound of P.J. Crowley speaking for the Obama administration. Take a listen.

P.J. CROWLEY, State Department spokesperson (video clip): We are looking into the individual who shot our service members. We're looking into his relationship with others. I don't know that we've made a judgment yet on whether it was someone acting alone or somebody acting in concert with others. [BREAK IN VIDEO] Was, you know, for example was the shooting of Congresswoman Gabbie Giffords a terrorist attack? I mean, you have to look at -- you have to look at the evidence and look at the motivation. Then you make a judgment.

PIRRO: Alright Governor, there you have it. They absolutely refuse to call this terrorism. Even though the shooter shoots two airmen on a military bus yelling Allahu Akbar.

PALIN: Right.

PIRRO: And why is he so afraid -- why is the administration so afraid to admit that this is terrorism?

PALIN: Why is the administration so naive in assuming the American public is going to accept a comment like P.J.'s that essentially equates a crazed maniac in Arizona, shooting Gabbie Giffords to this terrorist who tried to and was successful in gunning down our servicemen overseas as he did yell out Allahu Akbar? This is, to me, I think reflective of remember the incident at Fort Hood where it took weeks and weeks and weeks for the Obama administration to finally admit that there was a terrorist involved there.

PIRRO: But why do you think, Governor, he's afraid to call it terrorism? I don't understand why the reluctance to be objective about what's going on.

PALIN: His world view, our president's world view certainly seems a bit different than I believe than most Americans. Because Judge, I think if you ask most Americans on the street, if someone was hell bent on killing one of our military personnel, yelling Allahu Akbar and had terrorist ties, if you can't see that clearly as a terrorist, then we've got some things quite askew in our administration. [Fox News, Justice with Judge Jeanine, 3/5/11]

Huckabee: If Loughner Had Said “God Save The Queen,” It Would Have Been “British Terrorism, But He Didn't Say That.” From the March 5 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends Saturday:

DAVE BRIGGS (co-host): A gunman shouts “God is great” in Arabic, and then kills two U.S. airmen at an airport in Germany. But the Obama administration will not call this an act of terrorism, even comparing it to the tragedy in Tucson.

[...]

MIKE HUCKABEE (Fox News contributor): I think as long as we understand that the person screamed out, you know, “Allahu Akbar” and indicated that it was, in fact, because of the presence in Afghanistan, you kind of have a pretty good indication that this is jihadism. And why are we so afraid to call it that? I mean, that's an enemy we face. To compare it to Phoenix, or to Tucson doesn't make any sense to me, because, you know, if Jared Loughner had come out and said, you know, “God save the queen,” we could have said that this was, you know, some type of British terrorism. But he didn't say that.

ALLYSON CAMEROTA (co-host): Could we? But I mean, could we? This is where I get confused, and I'll just admit it, governor. How do you know when somebody is a homicidal maniac or a terrorist when they act alone? It's whatever's going on in their own crazed head.

HUCKABEE: You don't know that very moment. But once you start putting the pieces together, that a person has been to meetings, that a person has been on the internet and Facebook and he's given all of these indications about connections to jihad, then, you know, it's kind of hard to ignore that. With Jared Loughner, as you put the pieces together, you realize this guy is insane. He is a stark raving lunatic. So you can say it's not an act of terrorism; it's an act of lunacy. [Fox News, Fox & Friends 3/5/11]

Carlson: “It's Insulting For P.J. Crowley To Compare The Shooting Of Gabrielle Giffords And Ask Reporters There, Is That An Act Of Terrorism?” From the March 4 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends:

GRETCHEN CARLSON (co-host): It's amazing that this administration will not call it what it is. I think it's insulting for P.J. Crowley to compare the shooting of Gabrielle Giffords and ask reporters there, well is that an act of terrorism? That's apples and oranges. That guy was a loon who went on a shooting rampage. He had an obsession with Gabrielle Giffords for two or three years before it happened. Completely different situations. That guy right there, Jared Loughner. It's insulting to compare that to an act of terror. [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 3/4/11]

In Fact, U.S. Officials Repeatedly Described The Incident As Tied To Islamic Extremism, Terrorism

WSJ: “U.S. Official Said Early Indications Suggested That The Shooting Was A Terrorist Assault And Not A Random Act Of Violence.” In a March 3, 2011, article on the shooting, the Wall Street Journal reported:

A lone gunman killed two American servicemen and wounded at least two others on a U.S. military bus outside Frankfurt Airport in what officials described as a possible terrorist attack.

[...]

A U.S. official said early indications suggested that the shooting was a terrorist assault and not a random act of violence. German police said they had no evidence of a terrorist motive but couldn't rule one out. A senior military official in Washington said the suspect has “some kind of Islamic ties, but we do not know exactly what those are or how deep they are.” The official said it was too early to tell if the suspect was aligned with Al Qaeda or localized Islamic organizations in Kosovo, a former Yugoslav territory that is majority Muslim. [The Wall Street Journal, 3/3/11]

NYT: American Military Official: “There Is Enough Information...To Indicate That He Identifies With Islamist Terrorist Ideology.” A March 2, 2011, New York Times article reported:

An American military official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that the United States was not ruling out terrorism, although it was unclear if the suspect was acting alone or with partners. “I don't know if he's tied to a group,” said the official. “But there is enough information at this point to indicate that he identifies with Islamist terrorist ideology.” [The New York Times, 3/2/11]

Fox News: U.S. Officials Investigating 'Substantial Evidence That Uka Has Links To Islamic Fundamentalist Groups.'" A March 3 FoxNews.com article reported, “U.S. officials confirm that the suspect was extremely active on the Internet, specifically Facebook. They say they are looking for any potential contacts with the American cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who is seen as the new generation of digital jihadist.” From FoxNews.com:

U.S. officials tell Fox News that German authorities are investigating “substantial evidence that Uka has links to Islamic fundamentalist groups in Germany.” Officials also say evidence supports the view, so far, that Uka did act alone -- which he stated -- but no final conclusions have been reached. [FoxNews.com, 3/3/11]