The Murderer Is Silent

Twenty-two-year-old Jared Loughner, who will face the death penalty in the U.S. for the murder of six Americans and an attempt on the life of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, has rendered an invaluable service to those who dream about ways to quickly strip America of its peace and financial strength. In other words, it is a gift for the enemies of “the American way of life.”

American intelligence agencies tried to do everything within their power to minimize the consequences of the bloody event in Arizona. On Jan. 8 in the city of Tucson, Loughner seriously wounded Congresswoman Giffords with a shot to the head, and began to shoot in cold blood everyone who happened to be close to the politician. On Jan. 10, law enforcement agencies announced that the murderer acted alone. That same day, it became known that a member of the House of Representatives from Illinois, Danny Davis, had turned to police after receiving a letter consisting of a short but very alarming message for all Americans: “Danny Davis is next.”

After that, it became decidedly clear to many in Washington that the bloodshed in Arizona will lay a heavy burden not only on the minds of Americans, but also on taxpayers’ wallets. Amidst a continued worsening of practically all marks and indicators of the American economy, this situation is an additional reason to cast doubt on whether the White House will be able to quickly pull the country out of the recession, at the very least.

After all, how are American intelligence agencies now obligated to act? They must strengthen the already multi-layered (and therefore costly) security for all public U.S. politicians. Taking into account that we are talking about thousands of people, the expenses for security measures are formidable.

It is unlikely that the shooter Loughner intended to do such deep harm to the country, in which he has felt himself to be an outcast for a while. But without a doubt, a result of the Arizona incident will be its negative influence on the overall American economic statistics for the year 2011. There is no doubt that for officials in Washington, the fight against the aftereffects of the Arizona shooting has become one of the main priorities of the new year. U.S. President Barack Obama took the situation under his direct control. He came out with an official statement: “All of us are still grieving and in shock from the tragedy that took place. Right now the main thing we’re doing is to offer our thoughts and prayers to those who’ve been impacted, making sure that we’re joining together and pulling together as a country.” Obama telephoned Patricia Maisch and Roger Sulzgeber, ordinary Americans who were the first to attack the shooter as he was reloading his gun. On Wednesday, the president will visit Tucson in order to participate in a ceremony in memory of the victims. It seems very likely that Obama will visit Congresswoman Giffords on that day.

Local doctors are calling it nothing but a miracle that the Arizona politician was saved. After all, the bullet went into the back of Giffords’ head and exited a little above her brow, striking a section of her brain that is responsible for speech. Nevertheless, not only is the woman alive, but she is already pleasing the doctors with her positive progress. They have begun to bring her out of an induced coma. Returning to consciousness, she does not just understand speech, but she is even responding to simple commands by medical personnel, such as raising two fingers on her left hand.

Meanwhile, the murderer Loughner was refused bail yesterday. The next court hearing begins on January 24. Experts are certain that the process will be completed no earlier than summer of the next year and that Loughner will not avoid a death sentence.

Such a prospect evidently does not scare the criminal himself. According to police, Loughner is refusing to cooperate with the investigation and has not uttered one word in the interrogations. When he appeared before the judge, he looked absolutely calm, stating that he understood the law and is aware of the charges. But the murderer’s parents are in anguish. According to their neighbors, the Loughners are “devastated. It’s really bad right now.”