Reporter Jim Nesbitt takes your questions about the UNC Pit attack -- was it terrorism? -- and what's going on with wildfires in the Triangle.

This discussion took place at 11 a.m. Tuesday, March 21, 2006, and is now closed.

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Moderator: Welcome back, Jim. Let's start with the UNC Pit attack. Some people call Mohamed Reza Taheri-azar a terrorist; others say he was a loner looking for attention. You recently interviewed three terrorism experts, what was the concensus?

JN: The consensus among those three terrorism experts is that Taheri, although he doesn't seem to be affiliated with any terrorist group, expressed motivations that echo those of Middle East suicide bombers and the 9/11 hijackers. In open court, he said he intended to kill people to avenge the killing of Muslims by the U.S. government, will defend himself with the aid of Allah and sees a future trial as a forum for instructing people about the will of Allah.

Moderator: So if Taheri-azar is considered a terrorist, why does he only face state charges at this point?

JN: Probably because federal agents haven't found a link between Taheri and a known terrorist group. But the terrorism experts say this is old-school thinking. The days of top-down terrorist organization sponsored by a rogue state are over. In the Internet age, lone operators can plug into a Web site for indoctrination, instruction on how to build a bomb and a feeling of belong to something larger without leaving home. This is a blurry line that makes it hard for law enforcement.

What the experts say about Taheri is akin to what I've written about concerning home-grown terrorists like Timothy McVeigh. They tend to be lone wolves and disaffected people who find a cause to latch onto via the Net instead of an organiztion. What the experts worry about is a lone wolf already living in the U.S. getting recruited by a terrorist group that can provide money and training. Only a matter of time, they say, before this happens.

Moderator: What do the experts say law enforcement can do, if anything, to prevent this type of crime? Or is ideology the real issue?

JN: Ideology, religion and culture are the main motivations. Again drawing from the example of home-grown terrorists from the Far Right fringe, you have folks like former Texas Klansman Louis Beam preaching "leaderless resistance," and advocating that people wanting to commit an act of violence cut themselves off from groups they belong to before doing so. That makes it tough on law enforcement, but some agencies are monitoring Web sites and trying to track down folks who might be motivated to commit an act of violence. Of course, there's a thorny civil liberty problem here.

One more point on the terrorism front. It's been said that Taheri wasn't a devout Muslim -- if he were, he wouldn't have commited this act. The experts say this misses the point -- what matters here was his willingness to act on his motivations not the level or perfection of his religious practices.

Moderator: Switching gears, you've recently written about how this year's wildfire season is keeping area firefighters busy. What's causing the blazes?

JN: The root causes of the blistering start to North Carolina's 2006 wildfire season are a moderate drought that's making fuel on the forest floors -- dead leaves, pine straw, fallen logs and such -- tinder dry, the high wind conditions of early spring and long stretches without rain.

Moderator: How much help are we getting from the rain today?

JN: It will provide a temporary respite from wildfires for the next few days, but forecasters and foresters say we've had a dry winter and spring that will cause blazes to resume once we dry out in a few days.

Moderator: What can people do to prevent wildfires?

JN: They need to be aware that wildfires aren't a rural problem and take action to make their homes less vulnerable to blazes. Simple stuff like stacking firewood well away from the house, planting shrubs like highly flammable wax myrtles away from the house, keeping gutters clear of dry leaves and pine straw, clearing out at least 30 yards or more between the house and the surrounding woods and getting rid of flammable cedar shake roofing. Google the Firewise communities site for detailed information on how to make you house safer from wildfires. These folks also advocate strict rules against open burning of trash and debris -- which is the number one cause of wildfires.

Moderator: Thanks for your time, Jim.

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