Well that's were you and I differ. I see this as an attack because he was able to accomplish his goal without a hitch, causing maximum mayhem. Doesn't need to be middle easter America haters with smuggled military hardware. To it being a hate crime, while it is possible, one would have to ask "why Brooklyn (Park Slope/Red Hook area) instead of Manhattan"? Better yet, why not his own city he was from (Philly)?