The bombing of a military recruitment center keeps getting stranger and stranger. The eight Congressional Representatives from New York City all received a copy of a picture of the targeted office, showing deliberate premeditated intent to hit the recruiting center. They also received a letter, but it contained no threat:

Eight House Democrats were mailed a letter and photo of a Times Square recruiting station in Manhattan before it was bombed this morning, according to House insiders.

The letter did not contain any specific threats against the lawmakers or the site, but the U.S. Capitol Police and the FBI are now investigating the matter.

With the late reporting today suggesting that the perpetrator could also have been responsible for two earlier bombing attacks against the Mexican and British consulates, it seemed that the choice of target may have been coincidental. Now we’re back to seeing this as a deliberate choice for the bomber. Reports from the earlier bombings didn’t include any communication with the targets, so this attack looks like some kind of political message — but what, we don’t yet know.

Stay tuned.

UPDATE: The content of the letters is now known, and it is an anti-war rant:

Police are investigating letters that arrived Thursday at Capitol Hill offices containing a photo of the Times Square military recruiting office before it was bombed and including the claim “We Did It.”

The manila envelopes contained a photo of a man standing in front of the recruiting station, according to a Democratic aide who spoke on condition of anonymity because the matter is under investigation. The photo was the kind commonly sent as a holiday greeting card.

The message on the card: “Happy New Year, We Did It.”

The envelope also contained a packet of approximately 10 sheets of paper that seemed to be a political manifesto railing against the Iraq war and a booklet. The aide didn’t know what the booklet was.

So it was in fact an act of political terrorism by some fringe anti-war activist. Of course, someone else had to have taken the picture, which indicates at least one accessory to the attack.

UPDATE II: Michelle notes that there may have been more than eight recipients of the letter; the FBI and the Capitol Hill postmaster is investigating it.

UPDATE III: Now MS-NBC says the letters are just a coincidence:

Law enforcement officials tell NBC News they believe they have identified the man who sent letters to several Capitol Hill offices that contained a photo of the Times Square military recruiting office before it was bombed and the words “We Did It.”

The letters, which arrived Thursday and at first glance appeared to take credit for Thursday’s pre-dawn bombing, are not believed to be connected to the blast, officials said.

The alleged letter-sender was being questioned, but there was no indication he committed any crime, officials said.

Why do they think it’s unrelated?  The man signed the letters.