Suspect, devout Muslim from Va., wanted Army discharge, aunt said

[joeycola]

Source: WPost




Suspect, devout Muslim from Va., wanted Army discharge, aunt said




The Muslim Community Center in Silver Spring where Maj. Nidal M. Hasan used to pray. 'He was a very quiet and private person,' said Arshad Qureshi, chairman of the board of trustees at the mosque.
The Muslim Community Center in Silver Spring where Maj. Nidal M. Hasan used to pray. 'He was a very quiet and private person,' said Arshad Qureshi, chairman of the board of trustees at the mosque. (Gerald Martineau - The Washington Post)


By Mary Pat Flaherty, William Wan and Christian Davenport
Friday, November 6, 2009; 7:31 AM

He prayed every day at the Muslim Community Center in Silver Spring, a devout Muslim who, despite asking to be discharged from the U.S. Army, was on the eve of his first deployment to war. Yesterday, authorities said Maj. Nidal M. Hasan, a 39-year-old Arlington-born psychiatrist, shot and killed 13 people at Fort Hood, Tex.


In an interview, his aunt, Noel Hasan of Falls Church, said he had endured name-calling and harassment about his Muslim faith for years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and had sought for several years to be discharged from the military.

"I know what that is like," she said. "Some people can take it, and some cannot. He had listened to all of that, and he wanted out of the military, and they would not let him leave even after he offered to repay" for his medical training.

An Army spokesman, Lt. Col. George Wright, said he could not confirm that Hasan (pronounced Hass-in) requested a discharge.

As authorities scrambled to figure out what happened at Fort Hood, a hazy and contradictory picture emerged of this son of Palestinian immigrants, a man who received his medical training from the military and spent his career in the Army, yet allegedly turned so violently against his uniformed colleagues. Hasan spent nearly all of his professional life at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in the District, caring for the victims of trauma, yet he spoke openly of his deep opposition to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/06/AR2009110600907.html?hpid=topnews

[dugaresa]

1. it is really pretty apparent that the Army ignored all the warning signs

1. A sensitive person who was exposed to harrassment about his background and religion
2. A person who was dealing daily with the havoc of war via his patients
3. A man who perhaps was concerned that he would be in a war zone with people who shared similarities in ethnic background and shared his religion, who he would have to treat as hostiles.

He asked and probably begged to not be deployed.

He did everything he could within his own mental framework and the Army ignored it all.

So I have to ask, why?

In the end he is still to blame for his actions which were horrific and given what I have read so far, his actions make no freaking sense. A sensitive religious man who kills over a dozen people?

But this could have been prevented, the Army could have discharged him and presented him with a big ole bill for his medical training and I bet he would have been a lot happier.

[Dreamer Tatum]

2. What would the body count need to be before some of this is his fault?

I've got a few questions of my own:

1. Why wasn't he a conscientious objector?
2. Why did he have to shoot anyone other than himself?
3. Why couldn't he have run away to Canada?

I get the stress angle, but there are too many examples of soldiers who just walk away rather than mow down 40 people. Fuck this asshole.

[uberblonde]

3. Do we know that he gunned down 40 people?

"Officials are not ruling out the possibility that some of the casualties may have been victims of "friendly fire," that in the mayhem and confusion at the shooting scene some of the responding military officials may have shot some of the victims."

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/gen/ap/US_Fort_Hood_Shooting.html

[Dreamer Tatum]

4. So again, where's that cutoff? nt

[Hansel]

57. The cutoff is preventing more people in the future from being murdered

by a mentally unstable man because the Army screwed up. I would prefer that one of those people on the slabs not be my step-son or nephew. So the Army brass needs to get their sh*t together and fix this so it doesn't happen again.

[marshall]

63. On the other hand, they can't call in all Muslim soldiers for special review

That's like stopping African Americans who happen to be walking through an affluent neighborhood. Sure, it might garner a few arrests and prevent a crime or two (as would any such review regardless of race) but would the loss in personal freedom be worth it?

[C_Lawyer09]

77. The Army didnt screw up

A psychopathic murderer screwed up. You do realize this is real life right? You are speaking like a simpleton with no life experience.

[Pavulon]

39. Those deaths would be his responsibility..(nt)

[dugaresa]

6. did you read my post ? All I stated was that they ignored the warning signs

but the blame is still his.

In hindsight (which is typically 20/20) it may have been better to have just discharged him, so I can't see why the Army didn't look at his case and not see a potential problem.

[gorfle]

7. I mostly agree, but...

I mostly agree with you, but...this could very well go down as the first violent, armed resistance to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Rebellions don't just "happen". It's a bell curve that builds to critical mass. Hasan may have just been an outlier.

[RaleighNCDUer]

15. Actually, I think this has more in common with the Ft Bragg soldier

who opened up on the parade ground a few years back. Of course, they blamed that on PTSD, but stress is stress.

[C_Lawyer09]

75. William Kreutzer

It seems nobody remembers this. Everybody was as up in arms about the acts perpetrated by this white Christian Sergeant, as they rightfully are about the Muslim Major. Fact is, we'll never be able to fully prevent catastrophes such as this, but this is why the Army conducts all manner of fairly constant and mandatory training today. Very differently than when I first joined in 1988.

[man4allcats]

13. +1

The guy was a jerk. There were other options open to him. When I was in the service I knew plenty of people who were looking for an early out. I was one of them. A number of them found one, but none of these people included the slaughter of a bunch of innocents as part of their early exit strategy.

[Kindigger]

14. My thoughts

1. He wanted to serve his country. When he joined there wasn't a war going on. He liked his job. His mind separated the military part from the job part--until now.

2. a. Asking to be let out wasn't working so he doing a 'suicide by cop'. b. If his victims were targeted they may have been people he blamed for not giving him a discharge. c. If it was random he may have had some crazy idea that he was saving them from a fate worse than a quick death.

3. He's an American. He liked being an American. He liked the job he had before they turned his life totally upside down.

[Gin]

71. what you said......I agree

[YouTakeTheSkyway]

83. Well said.

[leftynyc]

21. He could have used those guns

to blow his own brains out also. Instead, he chose to be a mass murderer. I have zero sympathy for him.

[dugaresa]

33. I have no sympathy for him, I just wonder why the Army keeps people who are so very determined to

get out and especially when they fit this guy's profile.

I don't know how many people apply to be discharged early but I don't think it is a lot in comparison to the overall enlistment numbers.

[leftynyc]

41. He was a doctor

One who used the governments money to get educated. That narrows the pool down quite a bit.

[Igel]

47. They don't let them out because they need them.

In his case they invested time and effort in him, not just money. And they invested them in *him*, not somebody else.

So they could let him out and have him repay the money. But the time and effort? Would that provide the Army with a new psychiatrist? Would the soldiers who were deprived of a counsellor just said, "Oh, well"?

They could have trained somebody who wouldn't have sought a discharge but they didn't because they thought they had one, based upon what Hasan had said.

[Gin]

72. they paid for his education....and want a return on the investment..

so the basturd gave them one.....I wouldn't want to be him.

[pecwae]

43. I wish he had just started with himself

and spared so many others.

[ShortnFiery]

26. It makes you wonder how many OTHER disenfranchised and loner military types are out

there on HAIR TRIGGERS? :scared:

The thought of a Medical Doctor, a Psychiatrist who has taken the Hippocratic Oath could mentally de-compensate and commit such horror is beyond comprehension. It makes NO SENSE.

[inna]

48. my thoughts exactly. nt

[C_Lawyer09]

80. loner military types?

Probably the same amount as non military loner types. Look at Ted Bundy. Your generalization doesn't make sense.

[mamaleah]

51. Do we know he "begged" to not be deployed?

How about manning up and refusing to go and accepting the punishment which probably would have been a court martial, dishonorable discharge, and loss of pension? Was that too much for the coward?

[paulsby]

53. i have yet to see any confirmation AND i have seen numerous denials about his harassment

iow, there are no "official" reports that he was harassed because of his muslim faith or anything else.

there are numerous agencies one can report such harassment to. all the articles i read say they deny any such reports exist.

does that mean he was or wasn't harassed? no

it means he apparently didn't feel a reason to report alleged harassment. people are assuming it happened.

[riderinthestorm]

79. My sister, a psychiatrist, also doubts the harassment charge against the hospital personnel.

Hassan's aunt is the only person we know of that is making that charge. We don't have any supporting information for that charge.

After speaking to my sister, she says it's pretty hard to imagine any reputable hospital (and Walter Reed is one of the best) allowing one of their doctors to be harrassed, taunted and repetitively called a "sand jockey" or "camel jockey". Not only is it unprofessional but there are many avenues to prevent that kind of harassment. Until there are other credible sources of information other than Hassan's aunt, I'm skeptical of this.

[totodeinhere]

58. We need to do more to try to prevent this sort of thing.

However, I'm afraid that all of the preventive measures in the world won't be able to stop every potential shooter who snaps like this guy apparently did. And as you said, nothing justifies murdering innocent people. If he were harassed for being a Muslim, this needs to be investigated and those who did the harassing need to be punished for that. But the shooter also needs to face the full force of the law for what he did. Also, let me express my sincere condolences to all of the shooting victims and their families.

[C_Lawyer09]

76. Field Grade Officer

I'd have a much easier time empathizing with a horrific crime perpetrated by a 20 year old twice deployed Private than an undeployed middle aged officer. Believe it or not, the UCMJ quickly and harshly punishes those whom are guilty of disrespect, especially of a commissioned officer.

[Historic NY]

5. Well his only discharge now will be when he dies at Levenworth..his life is over.

[Name removed]

8. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[sufrommich]

9. What an asshole statement. nt

[patrick t. cakes]

10. the new john brown.

doubtful.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

11. In what nation?

Thirteen GI's are dead.

Go to hell...

[Botany]

12. enjoy your stay

[izquierdista]

16. Nah, egg makes such a good face mask

In a normal place, there would be enough blowback from this for many, many people to re-evaluate what they did, are doing, or should do in the future. However, in this dysfunctional country, all you will hear are the jeers of those whose pride is wounded.

[cali]

20. WOW. It doesn't get anymore fucking clueless than your idiot statement.

[leftynyc]

23. Fuck that

He's nothing but a mass murderer and if there is a hell, I hope he burns.

[TheCML]

24. wtf?

What a sick disgusting comment. Tell that to the family members of who this monster murdered in cold blood.

[ShortnFiery]

29. No way! Massive fail. If anything it will whip up more hatred for Muslims. n/t

[martymar64]

89. And when innocent american muslims are murdered, the cops will do nothing

Hell, they will probably join in on the killing. Claim they were "resisting arrest".

[sinkingfeeling]

17. Doesn't match with what his cousin said yesterday, does it? He said Maj. Hasan wasn't that

devout.

[atreides1]

18. Perhaps

But who here doesn't show one side to an aunt, and another to a cousin?

[ShortnFiery]

30. Yes, in fact, I heard that he was non-practicing. Something here STINKS! n/t

[Historic NY]

65. you don't go around in traditional garb...

and talk about Friday prayers. CNN has him wearing such at 6:30am at the local convenient store. The clerk was also muslim.

[woo me with science]

81. Obviously the CIA incapacitated him and dressed him for the photo. nt

[no_hypocrisy]

19. The obvious being ignored.

He was persecuted because he was a Palestinian and a Moslem.

Remember 9-11, right?

"Not an American".

White RW Christian militants in the ranks of the military, persecuting anyone not like them and w/o punishment.

The military is designed to be singular and uniform. Anything that deviates is deviant in their mindset. More than ostracizing. Harassed and hazed. Tortured.

And whatever he went through had to be extreme. He rose to the rank of major and yet subordinates were ignoring his rank and persecuting him. A healer, a doctor who murders.

How long do you think you could last in such an environment.

[ShortnFiery]

31. Yes, didn't a Muslim Army Officer at GITMO who was a Chaplin get brought up on BOGUS charges ...

and harassed until he resigned his Commission?

I hope KO or Rachael do some investigative reporting on this. And also, as an aside, INVESTIGATE why the KY police are still pushing that "suicide" conclusion with that census worker who was found tied up. :(

[no_hypocrisy]

37. That was James Yee. I heard him speak a year ago.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Yee

[Babyserendip]

70. James Yee...is amazing...i saw him speak in Ohio...he shoud be running for congress - let him know.

...in all this ...i cant help but escape the notion that the American people are truly powerless under the military industrial (now TV media) complex just like Eisenhower warned.

The American people need to revolt...in all its words and meanings....as the power-masters (and yes they are power-masters) are just thriving off the idea of having clashes of civilization etc. ....WE bailed out THEIR banks....WE are fighting THEIR profiteering wars.......>WE vs. THEM (literally no more than 1000 people at the top plus 5000 minions).

Obama made a mortal mistake imo in bringing Hillary in (i knew it then and am confirmed now)...as we saw last week...she will do everything in her power to wreck his intended international peace seeking goals....and there is a reason why... In hindsight he woudl have won without Hillary as so many disaffected Rockefeller/anti-religion/anti-war republicans jumped ship.....but he wanted to make "sure" he got in...and for that their was a price...

On the bailout...why didn't Obama hault the bank bail out and instead bail out the American homeowner....the effect would have been to save the banks, save the American people, and give the American consumer new found confidence and equity to keep on buying. When such a dereliction of duty occurs people will try to rationalize away the action...but the fact is that is exactly what happened when there was a much more simpler solution that would have helped all of America and our faith in it....

See billionaire Thomas Petterfy's appeal to the US Government (Obama) to bail out the homeowner...not the banks: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/31/business/31NOCERAPLAN_Peterffy.html

[leftynyc]

90. Perhaps you need some sleep

Your arguments are moronic and you sound deranged.

[Freddie Stubbs]

22. Couldn't have been that devout if he murdered all of those people

[ShortnFiery]

32. I want those guns traced. This story is NOT adding up as of yet. n/t

[Pavulon]

40. What part. This asshole started shooting

and may or may not have set up a crossfire with people trying to stop him where others were killed. Either way he is responsible for each dead body and injury.

[proteus_lives]

55. Wow, reaching.

Blame the army, blame the war, blame bush, blame America.

You'd rather blame everybody else rather the piece of shit that pulled the trigger.

[The abyss]

68. "This story is NOT adding up"

We had shots fired at Kouma Village & Liberty Village residence quarters.

We had shots fired at a graduation ceremony.

We had shot fired at the base PX.

We have one gunman dead and another hold up and firing at base or civilian police.

We have a gunman in custody while SWAT is supposedly firing on a barricaded sniper.

Then, finally, we have one wounded psychiatrist that also happens to follow the Muslim faith that just happened to be the single cause behind all the dead and wounded.

Yep, I agree, something doesn’t smell right.

[sofa king]

35. I'm not so sure about that.

Most religions--especially Islam and Christianity--make exceptions to the no killing rule when the interests of the religion, and especially that religion's power, are threatened. When your bullshit religion is on your side, all bullshit is permissible in the name of that religion.

The examples of Mohammed in the Koran and the hadith go even farther than that, encouraging the use of false treaties against enemy nations. Nearly every time Yassir Arafat reached an agreement with the Israelis, he made sure to remind the Palestinians of Mo's treaty with the Quraysh tribe, which was made in apparent earnest and then broken when it became expedient to do so, because the Quraysh were infidels unworthy of honest discourse. That, in my opinion, is the major reason why the Palestinians do not have a true country of their own now, because they could never keep that ace far enough up their sleeve to be completely forgotten.

So I believe that the bottom line to a true believer of the Islamic or Christian faiths is, "God is on my side, and you're screwed." All those other rules are designed to govern the good behavior of followers toward the church itself, and don't apply when opportunity knocks.

[bighart]

42. Please explain where and how

"Christianity--make exceptions to the no killing rule when the interests of the religion, and especially that religion's power, are threatened. When your bullshit religion is on your side, all bullshit is permissible in the name of that religion."

I am unaware of any such exceptions.

[sofa king]

50. I would refer you to Crusades I - IX as a start.

After that you can look into the role of the Vatican during the Holocaust, the Maronites, the Conquistadores, and so on.

[bighart]

52. You are referring to instituions, not the religion.

I find no exceptions in the new testament to give excuse to killing in the name of religion. What teachings of Jesus excuse one for killing if it's done in the name of God?

[sofa king]

60. Ay, there's the rub.

For it is the institutions which govern the affairs of humans on earth, not the guy with the lesson plan. And, historically, the institutions don't give a damn what Jesus, or Mohammed, or anyone else said if what they said gets in between the institution and its power.

This guy was undoubtedly taking his lessons from his own institutions, too.

[bighart]

62. I respectfully disagree.

The teachings of Mohamed do say it is okay to kill in defense of your faith. The teachings of Jesus do not.

[sofa king]

25. I thought officers can resign their commission at any time.

In which case, the "discharge" line is either an egregious reporting error, or what he was really looking to do was evade deployment without resigning.

[ShortnFiery]

27. No, they are obligated to serve their contract time. After that they can submit their resignation.

I'm beginning to QUESTION the military's story on this. I just can't wrap my head around a Psychiatrist killing people. It makes NO SENSE. :shrug:

[sofa king]

36. But surely his contract has already expired, no?

Unless he was commissioned as a Major, he must have served long enough to be promoted, what, as many as three times?

[nsd]

54. He only started his internship in 2003.

Doctors are commissioned as captains. So he had been promoted only once, quite recently, to major. The Army paid for both undergrad and med school for this guy. He had a long way to go before his commitment was up.

[sofa king]

61. Aha! Thank you for correcting me.

That's helping me sort this out a little better. Have a nice day!

[kestrel91316]

66. Well, he was caught and shot in the act of chasing down and shooting

at a fellow soldier. And HOW MANY EYEWITNESSES SAW HIM SHOOT???????

You are seriously deranged if you think he is being framed for this. It makes absolute sense if you listen to the stories about him from his COLLEAGUES.

[Psephos]

69. The definition of an irrational act is that it makes no sense.

There are scores of witnesses to this. The man shot over 40 people, one after another, almost methodically.

A female traffic cop ran to the scene, confronted Hasan while he was shooting people, and engaged him in a gunfight. She was shot through both legs but continued her assault and was able to immobilize Hasan and stop the killing.

The "military story" of this that you question is irrelevant. There are hundreds of stories at all levels of involvement here, and they are all in agreement. There are 13 dead people. There are 31 more with gunshot wounds. They have no questions about the "military story."

Hasan's job title means squat. Catholic priests who abused little boys are a good example of the fallacy. So is Bernard Madoff, former chairman of the NASDAQ stock exchange.

[Blue_Tires]

28. i thought he was still working off his enlistment to pay for medical school?

and maybe he'd be on the hook for the bill if he resigned?

[FarCenter]

34. He offered to pay the Army back for the medical school

[Peace Patriot]

38. I lost a very close loved one to the Texas Tower sniper in 1966, and this is my opinion of

random, apparently motiveless, mass killers: They are not responsible for their actions. They have suffered a psychotic break. This is NOT normal human behavior--randomly shooting dozens of strangers. It is psychosis. And we waste a whole lot of time, grief and vast expense trying people--and jailing and executing them--who should be confined to a hospital and healed if possible, and kept in humane confinement if not possible.

Our treatment of such people is just as nuts as the sudden random killers are themselves. We are exhibiting psychosis ourselves, as a society, by not recognizing psychosis when we see it. We are seized by emotions of fear, anger, hatred and the desire for revenge, and lose all perspective not only as to the person who has gone nuts, but also as to what justice really is. Our very justice system then operates from these emotions, and imposes not justice but revenge--and no one is helped by this. No one! The ugly revenge motive just cycles back through our society. Our justice system--in theory, and in its historical development--is based on rational analysis of lawless acts combined with an understanding of human beings. For instance, someone who kills in defense, while under attack, is generally forgiven, though they have broken the law against murder--or a starving person who steals bread, if our justice system is working properly, is not put in jail. A person who randomly and suddenly starts shooting strangers, with no discernible motive, is, by definition, NOT COMPETENT to stand trial.

Through forty years of pain and grief, this is my plea: Try to see this for what it really is, and try to help humanize our justice system.

[Karenina]

44. As always, THANK YOU, Peace Patriot.

Those who have not experienced or acknowledged their own "snapping experiences" are far too fossilized, be they young or old, to receive the organic message of this horrific, yet easily avoided, tragedy.

[gaspee]

56. Thank you for saying that

The vitriol aimed at a man who so obviously suffered a psychotic break coming from DU members is making me very frustrated with the people here. He is no more a mass murderer than a diabebtic who slips into a diabetic coma while driving and takes out a school bus.

I feel great empathy and sympathy for the people injured and killed, but like any one of us can be, they were the victims of wrong place wrong time.

Now I'm sure I will be a target of the hatred based on impotence - but what can you do, eh?

[kestrel91316]

67. We don't know that he suffered a psychotic break. He could just be a

grade A number one asshole who got fed up and lost his temper. I haven't hear word one about him being delusional, but HAVE heard about him being a jerk.

[woo me with science]

85. Or a religious zealot who decided to murder people en masse. nt

[shanti]

45. well, he got his discharge...

the hard way :(

[Tim01]

46. Tough choice. Go AWOL or mass murder. nt

[totodeinhere]

59. That's not a tough choice at all.

There is no justification for mass murder. If he had to go AWOL, so be it. That's infinitely better than murder.

[Peace Patriot]

64. There is no justification for mass murder, and there is no REASON for...

...this kind of sudden, motiveless, mass killing. Does that not tell you something about the murderer--that he has LOST his reason?

Please think it through. We are lucky to be able to do that. He couldn't. This was a psychotic break, from everything I can find out about it. You are arguing with a phantom--that he had a REASON for suddenly mass murdering everyone within reach, and that the REASON was he didn't want to be deployed. But he was not in control of that or any other purpose. His actions, in so far as we understand them, at this point, indicate that he suffered psychosis, a break from reality in which he was in "la la land," UNABLE to think things through, no longer in control of his mind or his actions.

OF COURSE deployment is no justification for mass murdering innocent people! A man like him--highly educated, an officer AND a psychiatrist--couldn't SEE that? You are judging him for not seeing what he COULDN'T see. He was not in this reality.

That's my best guess, and, believe me, I've thought about it a lot since 1966. Our system of blaming, reviling, trying and executing people for acts that only a maniac could commit--like this, random, incomprehensible, sudden mass shootings of strangers--is as sick as the people who go crazy this way. We shouldn't be reviling him for making a wrong decision, when his actions plainly show that he was not capable of rational decisions. But we might want to ask how his latent psychosis went undetected, especially in a trained psychiatric counselor of soldiers, and how the pressures that triggered it might have been prevented.

[woo me with science]

82. By this argument,

nobody who committed a heinous crime should ever be in prison, because nobody in their right mind would ever do that!

[WriteDown]

91. Good point....

We should cryogenically freeze him and tell him right before he goes under that since he will never technically die, he'll never get his 72 virgins. I like the human approach. :)

[mamaleah]

49. So refusing to go and accepting a court martial was out of the question for the coward?

Instead, murdering others was a much better choice.

[Gin]

73. he has to wait on his 72 virgins....

[NikRik]

74. Percentage of those doing this probably very small,however ....

Being he was a devote muslim and we are heavily engaged in the area of the world where muslim people are at war,this person should have been given a very close look at for his potential of doing something as outragous as his actions ! I believe this is 100% his doing and the symptom of a sick brain. How does he make this type of thing acceptable to his religion the he supposely was so involved in ? I want to know how any politician can now say that fighting for oil in the mid-east is worth the death a destruction of so many lives.The monies we have put into this war could have produced many alternate fuel choices!Once again the milatary industrial complex wins,now using this issuse as a reason the be allocated more of the almighty $ ! I still will never undrstand those who think getting a automatic weapon and killling as many inocent people they can will somehow make things better ,this was a very disturbed mind indeed.
NikRik

[Zavulon]

78. I'm amazed at how many people are willing to make excuses for this guy.

He could have gone AWOL, but instead his decision is to shoot up a bunch of people. A true piece of shit. No excuses.

[mule_train]

84. 'Sorry, I was just here for the Medical Degree & Residency'

There are sooo many things wrong with this story

First of all, why we are at war with 'radical islam' in the first place - had we not carried water for the british in 1953 in the Iran overthrow and installation of the brutal shaw, and one sided support for israel, it's entirely plausable that the middle east might be nothing more than strange people in the middle east we buy oil from, and neither like or dislike, and vice versa

Secondly, if you ARE going to go to war on 'radical islam' is it really that shocking that some islamic members of the army going over there are going to flip out? All the salutes, marching, brainwashing cheers of the military arent going to override the feelings of doing something 180 degrees agaisnt your most devout beliefs - all wekk at the base, all weekend at the mosque - it was inevitable that it was goign to blow in someone, somewhere

third, you can kind of understand why we need free trade, outsourcing and guest workers (H-1b, L1 etc) that BOTH parties support, becasue if opportunity in the middle class were plentiful A LOT LESS PEOPLE WOULD SIGN UP FOR THE MILITARY!!

[sattahipdeep]

86. Think ya know what it's all about?

What did the Major know?

This Gov't Has No Morals Another Rape Case Involving Troops

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gv_I5VcgPcY

http://lavenajohnson.com/

[totodeinhere]

87. Whatever he may have known doesn't justify what he did, period. n/t

[Veruca Salt]

88. "Hasan spent nearly all of his professional life at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in the District,

caring for the victims of trauma"

THAT right there says it all. He had his own version of PTSD and I think that his religion shouldn't be brought into play at all. The same thing could have happened to an atheist or christian or what-have-you. Granted, being a devout muslim in this day and age did, I'm sure, set the pot boiling with what assholish things were likely said to him. They should have let him go when he asked as he had a real case of religious objection. It would be like asking a jewish person to go to war against Israel. That's still a moot point though.

How many did he care for who came back from those wars, wars that he himself was going to be thrust into after seeing the human casualties in that hospital? I do think that's enough to drive anyone batshit.

[TexasObserver]

92. Agreed. But the Army doesn't give a damn about its troops.

They love to say they do, but they didn't even try to treat this guy. They put him into a job that would have driven any sane person into deep depression, and then they harassed and taunted him.

They gave him the low scores and shipped him to Ft. Hood as punishment. They could have let him out, but the army wanted to punish him. There are many petty tyrants wearing scrambled eggs on their visor, and their wield unseen power all the time. Some jackass colonel or above is responsible for not treating this guy better.

Hasan is responsible for himself and all that damage he did. This does not absolve him one bit. But it does mean that the Army has once again proven that it is run by ideologues who put personal vindictiveness above running the army right.