LI FENG/CHINA DAILY

Given the horrendous mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, it is natural for one to inquire why the shooter targeted so many innocent people.

Obviously, this massacre is an act of terrorism. Omar Mateen, the perpetrator, claimed the highest number of casualties in amass shooting in the United States. Thus far, the US government has been busy trying to find out if Mateen was associated with any terrorist group. The fact that intelligence officers again failed to foil such a terror attack may have an impact on the US presidential election.

The motive behind the attack will decide if it was merely an individual terror attack or an organized act of terrorism. Even though Mateen pledged his allegiance to the Islamic State group before gunning people down, his true motive is still under investigation. But no matter what the outcome of the investigation, the US government will not feel easy.

If the 29-year-old Mateen is proven to have launched the attack on instructions of the IS, it will expose a major loophole in the US' "war on terror", because American intelligence failed to intercept and prevent the dastardly act. And if his was a "lone wolf" attack, the US will still feel frustrated for not being able to prevent an individual from gunning down so many people out of hatred.

If Mateen was driven by the IS, his was not only a terrorist act; he was also a terrorist. Given his ethnic background(his father migrated from Afghanistan), presumptive Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has linked it to radical Islamic terrorism, which US President Barack Obama and presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton would be hesitant to echo.