The fact that Officer Kim Munley didn't shoot Hasan is being chewed over AD NAUSEUM.

[Are_grits_groceries]

The factual account of what happened and the attendant uproar by Gawd and everybody is now obscuring the main story.

People were killed and wounded. In addition, there was heroism exhibited by many people not the least of which involved the takedown of Hasan.

I don't believe the people who reported what they saw were intentionally pushing a certain storyline. In chaos like that, what people observe may differ wildly. Eyewitness accounts can be notoriously inaccurate. The sight of Munley who is short and female probably caught the eye of a lot of people as she ran toward Hasan with her gun out. They may not have taken in the ending of the shooting.

Somebody else with a different viewpoint saw the actual ending. The reports were filtered back to the people in command, and probably to others. This is where the hot mess began. If those in command heard 2 differing accounts, they should have issued a basic statement crediting BOTH officers until they could sort it out. As soon as they realized their story was in error, they should have issued an account of what really happened.

Courage isn't a zero sum game. The fact that she didn't ultimately shoot Hasan and bring him down doesn't detract from what she did. In addition, Sgt. Todd deserves to be recognized for his heroics. They weren't going to mount Hasan's head on a wall like it was a 12 point buck, but that's what part of the argument sounds like.

A myth around Munley had been created, and those in charge were loathe to correct it. They should have immediately, and issued a statement that acknowledged both officers. There was a way to word a statement that wouldn't sound like it was dismissing what Munley did while actually giving Todd the credit he deserved. Now it seems to some that Todd is wrongly trying to push the heroine away and get all the attention.

Neither Munley nor Todd deserves to be in this position. The MSM would love to get a soundbite with one knocking the other. They are on the same side, and the onus should be on someone with a high rank to step up and try to set the record straight and acknowledge both of them. The story has gotten out of control, and you can't unring a bell. However, you can try to ring one much louder ONCE.

The media in all forms is now chasing around about coverups and conspiracies. This is their bread and butter. Who said what to who and decided what when and where and why? Those in command can't get ahead of the story, but they can make a definitive statement. After Tillman, they lack some credibility, but this is a much less tangled story that they can unwind. It happened in broad daylight in view of a lot of people, and not in some out of the way place where the story can be controlled.

This part isn't the effing grassy knoll. Give them both credit for what they did and do it now.

I repeat. Courage is not a zero sum game.

[BunkerHill24]

1. Regardless of who shot whom, there is always a hero who shot the Indian

....that's how we grew up...drama based Hollywood. The Cowboy always wins!

[DainBramaged]

2. What this debate does is (yet again) question the military role in this

and why the stories are contradictory, nothing more.


Somewhere amongst all of the bullshit is the truth.

[Are_grits_groceries]

3. IMHO this particular story

isn't nearly as convoluted as it is being made out to be. I believe the military role was a mess because they didn't talk to all the people involved and eyewitnesses before they started giving Munley all the credit.

They are so loathe to correct themselves that they make matters worse, and leave Munley and Todd to deal with it. That leads people to believe that there is major cahooting going on.

I have no idea about Hasan's story before the shooting and who knew what, when, and where. That is the true hot mess. IMHO people are trying to make this incident as involved as that part of the story, and I just don't think it is. The real story is what happened to Hasan before. The shooting was the end of a terrible tale.

[MrsBrady]

4. Oprah had on both of them a couple of days ago.

She (Munley) shot first, the suspect then turned and shot Munley....and he (Todd) finished the job;

They are both responsible for taking him down. They both arrived virtually simultaneously to the site.
That's what they both said in the interview.

They both seemed uncomfortable with the term "hero".

[RaleighNCDUer]

5. They may be uncomfortable with the term, but the simple fact is they

ran toward the gunfire instead of away from it.

That makes them both heroes.

[imdjh]

7. I agree with you. (A glass of water for Mr. Grainger.)

[Captain Hilts]

10. They ran 'to' the chaos, not 'from' it. Both acted bravely. nt

[Bitwit1234]

6. You are correct what they both did took courage

Do you think there were many people who would draw their gun and advance on a guy with an automatic pistol. Munley did. AND maybe she helped distract him, she was sever ly wounded while the other office could get in a good shot. This was team work. And team work is what saves lives. In my book they were both heroes. She drew fire from the victims and Todd took him down. It is a shame that congress can't work like that.

[femrap]

8. I don't watch MSM.....

so did a crime lab test the bullets found in Hasan? And they were ALL from Todd's gun? Is that right?

[sattahipdeep]

13. Something smells here.

Perhaps the FBI could send me those rounds, and we could get some third party experts to identify where those bullets came from?

[femrap]

14. When Todd came forward....

I thought, 'Of course a woman can't get credit for this.' If the tests were done at Ft. Hood, I can't see the military giving a woman credit for the hits. Now if the police department ran the tests, maybe she would.

I guess we'll never really 'know.' P U !!!

[Captain Hilts]

9. It sounds as if both Munley and Todd acted bravely. They ran to the chaos, not from it. nt

[rucky]

11. The Army has managed this story poorly from day one.

absolutely no control.

[TorchTheWitch]

12. and when they do report with control it pisses people off

automatically accusing them of trying to hide the "truth" and control the story. They reported what they knew when they knew it and because what they reported was all messed up goes to show that the military is no perfectly controlled and organized entity performing in perpetual lockstep. It was a very chaotic situation and it shouldn't surprise anyone that the instant reporting was also chaotic.