Is Fort Hood A Harbinger? Nidal Malik Hasan May Be A Symptom of a Military On the Brink

[tekisui]

Source: Newsweek

What if Thursday's atrocious slaughter at Fort Hood only signals that the worst is yet to come? The murder scene yesterday afternoon at the military base in Killeen, Texas, the largest in the country, was heart wrenching. Details remained murky, but at least 13 are dead and 30 wounded in a killing spree that may momentarily remind us of a reality that most Americans can readily forget: soldiers and their families are living, and bending, under a harrowing and unrelenting stress that will not let up anytime soon. And the U.S. military could well be reaching a breaking point as the president decides to send more troops into Afghanistan.

It's hard to draw too many conclusions right now, but we do know this: Thursday night, authorities shot and then apprehended the lone suspect, Major Nidal Malik Hasan. A psychiatrist who was set to deploy to Iraq at the end of the month, Hasan reportedly opened fire around the "Readiness Center" at Fort Hood, where troops are prepared for deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. And though this scene is a most extreme and tragic outlier, it comes at a time when the stress of combat has affected so many soldiers individually that it makes it increasingly difficult for the military as a whole to deploy for wars abroad. In an abrupt news conference, Lt. General Robert Cone, the top commander at Fort Hood, said in response to the shooting, authorities would "increase the security presence" on the military base. On the surface, it seemed like a logical enough plan. But it makes one wonder how much any kind of lockdown will either get at the root causes of soldier stresses or better prepare them for more battle.

more: http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/thehumancondition/archive/2009/11/06/is-fort-hood-a-harbinger-nidal-malik-hasan-may-be-a-symptom-of-a-military-on-the-brink.aspx

[LynnTheDem]

1. October 2009; record suicides among US troops.

The drinking, the drugs, the spousal abuse, the rapes, the murders...

It's what happens to people in situations like George W. bUsh created.


And it's only going to continue...for many, many years to come.

[JohnnyLib2]

2. Here's one reference on workplace violence per se.

http://humanresources.about.com/od/healthsafetyandwellness/a/workviolence_2.htm

[maxpower]

3. That's what I fear is happening

I hope I am wrong. End these wars now!!


Peace,
Max

[Jennicut]

4. Hasan never went to war but was obviously effected by treating the soldiers that did.

The very sad thing is, someone who treated them may now add to their stress because of increased security measures.
I think the military is stretched to the limit right now. It will only get worse.

[SIMPLYB1980]

5. I love how people can't wait a few days to use the

death of people to their political advantage. Reminds me a lot of republican tactics.

[tekisui]

6. Political advantage? More like recognizing the reality.

[SIMPLYB1980]

7. So do you think you have all the facts?

And you are the only one to know what the "reality" is at this point?
:eyes:

[tekisui]

8. You have got to be kidding me!

The statistics are out there, this just adds to the wealth of data. Bury your head if you want. The wars are breaking our military.

[SIMPLYB1980]

9. You don't have the facts none of us do, and

your sick need to use the killings of yesterday to support your agenda without knowledge of the facts just shows how far off the deep end you have gone.

[tekisui]

10. Bury that head. It is warm in there, isn't it?

[SIMPLYB1980]

12. LoL! Not putting my head in the sand at all.

Just waiting until more facts are out before I start jumping to conclusions.

[T Wolf]

14. IF the ultimate outcome is a "broken" military that is less able to carry out the policies

of the corporate-controlled government, how is that a bad thing?

The US is so militarily-aggressive because (1) we go and destroy other countries, thus minimizing the impact of war on Amerika and Amerikans; (2) as long as the casualties (Amerikan only because other humans don't cont) are low, the population doesn't suffer any consequences of supporting (or at least, not opposing) the wars; (3) the corps that run the US can and do use the military as their "muscle" to exploit the rest of the planet.

Anything that diminishes the capability of the US to continue these wars of capitalism is good. Would people rather wait until (if) the rest of the world decides to slap us down like they did to Nazi Germany?

[dionysus]

27. are you comparing us to Nazi germany?

[T Wolf]

31. Not yet in our policies. But yes in the idea of the international community rising up

and eventually uniting against a rogue nation - the US.

Now, I am not too optimistic that the rest of the world has the will (or military power) to actually do anything about our military (and other) offenses, but it might eventually happen.

And in that event, I would hopethat the US military is so "broken" that we have to change our ways and rejoin the community of nations as a partner, not continue our imperial assaults.

[FarCenter]

11. No, it's probably just being in Killeen, Texas

[Autumn]

13. I really hope the media keeps talking

about the stress of multiple deployments and how the military may be reaching the breaking point. That might be the tipping point we need for the people to call for an end to both wars.

[TwilightGardener]

15. What war stress? The murderer just fucking didn't want to deploy. And he wasn't a soldier, in a

combat sense--he was a doctor--it's not like he'd EVER be on the front lines with a rifle in his hand. I don't think this makes any sort of larger statement about anything. He was simply a very conflicted, pissed-off individual who took out his rage on others.

[tekisui]

17. When the mental health provider is mentally unstable,

I think it points to a larger issue. The mental health of our soldiers before, during and after deployment is inadequate.

[TwilightGardener]

19. This was not typical pre-deployment stress. This guy had all sorts of issues.

So, no, it can't be used to prop up whatever political agenda DUer's have in mind. I'm as anti-Iraq and pro-military as they come on this website, but this was just a bad brew with one guy.

[T Wolf]

18. Wrong. Evidently he has spent most of his time dealing DIRECTLY with the stress produced

by this obscene war - in the form of soldiers who are so fucked by the war that they need psychiatric help.

To say that he has not actually killed anyone himself and therefore does not have a right to be affected by the war is simply ignorant.

[TwilightGardener]

21. I doubt that was a factor, having read the reports on him. Seems like

he was upset for having been harrassed for being Muslim, and very upset about having to go to Iraq. That's what his mother said.

[dugaresa]

23. to be honest putting an American of Middle Eastern/Muslim background in a position

where he would have to treat people who killed Middle Eastern Muslims seems a bit odd to me.

I am not saying that he perhaps was not good at what he did, however imagine a soldier who comes back and is showing signs of PTSD and he is directed to this fellow.

I think that perhaps that returning soldier may either sensor what he says about his feelings or might just lay it out on the table.

Imagine scenarios where the soldier says:

"Doctor, I lie awake at night thinking about my buddy Joe. I can't help but relive his death over and over again, I hate those (expletive) muslims, they are animals" "We are there to help them and they are so ungrateful. etc"

Now imagine this over and over again?

I agree he should have gone to Canada but people suffering from mental illness are rational enough to think that way. His family was also very successful and productive, I can't imagine them telling him to shirk his duties.

[TwilightGardener]

25. I think his religion had a lot to do with it--in the sense of his being

very, very conflicted and always having to defend himself, or listen to Muslim hatred from other soldiers. So I agree with you on that. Just a very poor fit for the military.

[RaleighNCDUer]

30. No shit - you have to wonder how a guy with PTSD responded when the

psyche guy he was sent to see looked exactly like the people who were just trying to kill him and he was just trying to kill.

And to put a psychiatrist in this position is absurd - anybody who has any contact with the world of counseling and psychiatry quickly learns that the psyche guys go into that profession in an attempt to figure out their OWN problems. Sometimes, they succeed.

When he said "I can't go to Iraq" the brass should have LISTENED. If anybody knew if he was up for it, it was him.

[Statistical]

16. What utter drivel.

If the shooter was a PTSD scarred multiple tour veteran then yeah it would be a valid point.

The shooter killed soldiers as an act of terrorism to stop them from deploying.
He is no different than the terrorist who tried to shoot up Fort Dix or the soldier who rolled a grenade into the tent on the eve of Iraq invasion.

Are soldiers been stretched to the breaking point? Personally (having been deployed twice and knowing guys going back for third time) I do think they are however using this incident to illustrate that point is a classic example of square peg in round hole.

[slackmaster]

20. The word "Harbinger" causes a Pavlovian reaction in me every time I read or hear it.

Now I'm hungry.



K&R

:kick:

[chrisa]

22. Heh. n/t

[slackmaster]

29. Charles Krauthammer's column in the paper this morning has "harbinger" in it too

My fate is sealed.

[Iggo]

24. War without end, baby.

They never factor in the soldiers' humanity.

Only whether and how long the public will put up with it.

[conscious evolution]

26. Does anyone here

think its wierd that a soldier disturbed about the killings and murder goes on a killing spree?
There is more to this than meets the eye.

[TwilightGardener]

28. I don't think he was disturbed about anyone else's experiences, except his own.

[Echo In Light]

32. In my estimation it isn't shocking that those who are broken down, only to be built back up to KILL

... end up flipping the fuck out