There was an explosion in New York City Saturday night, as Brandon reported here. An improvised explosive device was detonated, injuring 29 people. A second device was found nearby, a pressure cooker connected to a cellphone that had wires attached. Someone made and then detonated an explosive device, and a second device was found. Injuries. Destruction. Chaos.

CALL IT TERROR

That is by definition an act of deliberate terror. Law enforcement and terror experts, not to mention anyone with an ounce of common sense, can agree on this simple factual point. But clearly not among those groups is Mayor Bill de Blasio, who called this attack an “intentional act” but would not call it terror. A guest on CNN this morning really nailed it:

Do you think the media is critical of that? Not especially. Instead they are focused on Donald Trump referring to the explosive device as a “bomb.”

I ask you, which is more troubling? Referring to an explosive device as a bomb, or refusing to call an act of terror an act of terror. You tell me which worries you more.

INTERNATIONAL TIES
So far there is no reported link to terror groups overseas such as ISIS or Al Qaeda. There are no ties reported to domestic terror, to ecoterror, or to any third party whatsoever. This is not to say they do not exist, merely that we do not know them yet. Judging by the countless similar acts with the same cause, the investigators must certainly be looking for ties to radical Islam.

And this event is not isolated. Just in the last few days there have been other incidents.

In Minnesota on Saturday, as in last night on the same night as the IED in Chelsea, a man stabbed eight people after shouting about Allah. He was shot by police officers. None of the stab wounds were life threatening.

In New Jersey, a pipe bomb was detonated near the Marine Corps charity run. There were three devices, only one of which successfully detonated. The pipe bombs were on timers. Police say it is clear the bombs were aimed at the Marine Corps event.

And of course, as mentioned in the above video, we have seen many terror incidents over the last months. Orlando, San Bernardino, Paris, Paris again, the list goes on.

RESPONSIBILITY

It is possible to be circumspect and responsible while still participating in the reasonable process of analysis and theory. We do not have to sit and wait for the government to tell us what something is for it to be that thing. There is a line between laying direct blame, making definitive statements, and simply providing reasonable analysis.

It is not irresponsible for experts or even officials to say that an explosive device detonated in New York City is an act of terrorism. It is not even irresponsible to speculate as to who might be responsible, when there is ample reason to have suspects. Avoiding the word terror is ridiculous. Especially if your reason is that there have been no connections established with organized groups.

As we have stated at RedState many times, terror doesn’t require a phone call. It does not require direct orders or a chain of command. It does not require that they claim responsibility, although they usually do. That’s the way groups like ISIS have designed it. It’s part of the plan.