Orlando Tragedy: The Vicious Cycle!

(Baonghean) - The bloodiest shooting in American history not only shows the dark side of gun culture in the "land of the free" but also increases the terrifying risk when terrorists develop and operate right in the heart of America. This is also an unfinished challenge that President Barack Obama will find difficult to solve in his remaining term in office.

Portrait of suspect Omar Mateen. Photo: Reuters.

It is difficult to prevent "lone wolves"

Shootings are not uncommon in the US, however, a mass shooting that left 50 people dead and was related to terrorism is worth discussing when the US is the leading country in the global war against terrorism.

In the latest shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, the perpetrator was identified as Omar Mateen, 29, an American citizen of Afghan origin, born in New York and living in Florida. Hatred was considered a potential motive for the attack as Mateen's family confirmed that the perpetrator hated homosexuals.

But that’s not all. Before the attack, Omar Mateen called 911, pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) and mentioned the 2013 Boston Marathon bombers.

Mateen had been questioned three times by security agencies in connection with several terrorism-related incidents but was not under surveillance or investigation before the shooting due to lack of evidence. US officials are investigating Mateen's ties to IS because the shooting bears some similarities to recent attacks carried out by the group in France and Belgium.

Another notable detail is that just hours after the shooting, IS claimed responsibility. However, US officials said there was no evidence that suspect Omar Mateen was an IS member. IS has repeatedly claimed responsibility for terrorist attacks unrelated to them. In the context of this force continuously losing on many fronts in Syria, Iraq and Libya, claiming responsibility could be a "wind blow" for them.

Mateen's family confirmed the perpetrator hated homosexuals. Photo: Reuters.

Until now, many observers still lean towards the possibility that Mateen's attack was carried out in a "lone wolf" style - an attacker acting alone to show support for an extremist group without receiving support from any terrorist organization.

This is clearly an unpredictable danger to the security of the United States because terrorists are living, developing and operating in this country. They are disaffected youths who are "stuffed" with extremist ideas and can easily become cold-blooded terrorists and act like Mateen. And so, controlling these elements is not an easy task.

The President's Failure

After each shooting, a burning issue is brought up: gun control. In a televised address from the White House, President Obama said the Orlando nightclub massacre was a further reminder of how easy it is in America to own a weapon and shoot people.

A recent survey found that the majority of guns used in the 16 most recent mass shootings in the United States (including two used in the Orlando terrorist attack) were purchased legally, under federal supervision.

Although he is a strong supporter of gun control and ownership laws, after nearly two terms, Mr. Obama's efforts have not achieved any significant results, if not to say failure.

During his eight years in office, Mr. Obama had to appear in public more than a dozen times because of shootings. He once called the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, which killed more than 20 children, the darkest day of his term. But now the scale and nature of the massacre in Orlando are many times more serious. However, Mr. Obama will not have many more opportunities to convince Congress to pass the stricter “gun control” laws that he has called for all this time.

It is worth repeating that guns are considered part of American history and culture - a country of immigrants, pioneers of new lands.

However, America has changed a lot in the past 200 years and gun ownership has been and is still associated with crime. The ease of owning personal weapons in America has made guns a tool for extremists to commit crimes.

President Obama speaks about the nightclub massacre in Orlando, Florida. Photo: CNN.

But not everyone is happy with “controlling” weapons, when the gun industry brings a huge amount of revenue to the US economy. The National Rifle Association (NRA), representing the gun industry, is one of the most powerful and influential lobbying organizations in the US. After each shooting, instead of supporting gun control laws, this organization will launch a campaign to support guns with the view that owning weapons is a way to protect against the threat of attack.

Just like that, the story of gun control in the US is like a vicious cycle with no way out and so even though he is a President who "doesn't like violence" as many people describe, Mr. Obama still finds it difficult to implement reforms in gun ownership laws.

Obviously, this bloody shooting in Orlando is a new disaster but poses old challenges that will probably not be easy to solve for the Obama administration or the new administration after 2016.

Thanh Huyen