The shocking news cycle this week surrounds the mass murder spree on Fort Hood, a U.S. military installation in Texas.
The perpetrator, who murdered 13 and wounded thirty, was a U.S. military officer, a psychiatrist, who appeared at an on-base processing center filled with soldiers, and started rapid fire with two guns, yelling Allahu Akbar, an arabic term, meaning “God is Great.”
What we in the general public know about this gunman and events is from reports in the news. However in a short period of 24 hours, the free press has researched and flushed out an amazing amount of information.
It is reported Major Hasan, the killer, was 39 years old, unmarried and no children. He was a devout outspoken Muslim, born in the United States and educated here to the tune of millions of taxpayer dollars. He had spent the past several years at Walter Reed Hospital, counseling military returnees from Iraq and Afganistan wars. And only recently reassigned to Fort Hood Army base in Texas, but on orders to serve a tour in Iraq or Afganistan. To be deployed there in about a month.
Reports are he had openly verbalized his opposition to orders of reassignment in one of these wars. Many reports from colleagues, classmates and acquaintances, how he made no bones about his position of opposition to this country and his empathy for the Muslim terrorists in other countries. He was outspoken in his views, with a reputation of anti-Americanism.
Despite his criticism of this country, he did not want to leave its borders to follow military orders of reassignment to a Muslim country. And had even retained legal counsel to attempt to have his orders changed. It’s being revealed through the news that Major Hasan openly verbalized his hostility towards the values and principles of Americanism.
Here we have a military officer, drawing a major’s pay-scale check every month, an individual whose training and education were paid for by U.S. Government taxpayer monies, who openly voiced his resentments and hostilities against the United States and the military.
All of this in defiance of and contrary to his sworn oath to uphold the Constitution, and defend this country from enemies within and abroad. HE is the enemy within, and according to many reliable firsthand reports, stated his position on numerous occasions.
This is a profile of a man charged with an assignment to counsel returnees from the wars in Iraq and Afganistan. To assist in de-briefing and de-compression of fighting men and women subject to these war-torn areas, many serving more than one tour of duty.
News reports reveal he had disbursed his personal belongings in his apartment, indicating he was well aware of his plans to leave and commit his heinous acts, with no expectation of returning to his residency. Indicative of a terrorist mind-set to mass murder and sacrifice their life to accomplish their mission of destruction.
The President goes on the air and makes a speech warning Americans, “not to jump to conclusions?” What does this mean? When in the face of all the news about this man, including his openly stated position of opposition to this country and pro-Muslim views, defines him as a home-grown active terrorist.
If it walks like a duck, has webbed feet, quacks and wobbles like a duck we call it a duck. Conversely, when a man openly opposes this country, openly speaks in support of Muslim terrorism, openly resists an assignment to fight for this country, buys two powerful guns, loads them, walks into a building filled with unarmed American soldiers, and starts a mass killing spree, the President warns us “not to jump to conclusions.” He’s the Commander-in-Chief, who described the event as “horrific,” but tells the American people not to jump to conclusions!!!
As heinous as Major Hasan’s planned mass murder attacks were, an equally disturbing fact is his position as a military officer, his openly stated position, his length of time in the military, his job as a counselor, and the tolerance his superiors had for this individual, whose history and profile, was contrary to the oath he had sworn to uphold.
What is wrong in a chain of command in the military which does not recognize nor act upon all the glaring signs of a terrorist which culminated in this mass killing, right in the middle of a military base? Is there a notion of “don’t jump to conclusions” so pervasive in the chain of command, there’s a blind eye and ear, refusal to face the facts of ones’ behavior?
Following this horrific event we begin hearing news reports about so many suicides committed by soldiers returning home from these wars. Reports of many acts of abuse perpetrated by those returning from war. Acts not made public before this event. Could all of this be an absence of accountable counseling, by such personnel as Major Hasan?
Having been married to a military officer returning from tours of duty in places like Korea, Viet Nam and Burma, I’m familiar with some of the stress endured by soldiers returning home. I have written other articles about the “brain-washing” techniques many are subjected to, and the work of Dr. Meyer in Tokyo whose job was counseling and de-briefing of returning military personnel. The highly skilled techniques required to re-orient fighting soldiers back into society, after months and years of life in the trenches, living with the horrors of all they witnessed and endured.
In this connection, it seems so in-humane to re-assign a returning soldier to a medical facility, like Walter Reed, where Major Hasan practised for six years, as a counselor. A military doctor, whose entire background, as reported in the news, is one of anti-Americanism and hostility towards this country. One openly empathetic with Muslim terrorism. One whose ideology, would not appear to be empathetic nor conducive to proper counseling, to assist in counseling positive to re-orientation back into society upon return from war. Could this be one of the reasons for the high suicide rate among returnees?
From my point of view, and I daresay the point of view of all decent moral Americans, the returning soldier is entitled to the best trained psychiatrists and psychologists in the field of counseling, to de-compress and de-brief from the experiences of war.
Obviously such is not the case, as revealed in recent news reports about Major Hasan, and his past six years as a counselor at Walter Reed, assigned to counsel returning soldiers. His belief system, mindset and behavior, contradicts his ability to give proper counseling to these returning patients of war.
In view of recent events and all that is now being revealed about Major Hasan, beyond his acts of killing and injuries at Fort Hood, the question is, what is the extent of damage he may have perpetrated on others as a result of his incompetency as a counselor this past six years in a military hospital? Furthermore, are there others in the field of counseling, who may be of a similiar mind-set? What kind of oversight do the military doctors have over those psychiatrists and psychologists assigned to assist returning soldiers?
Is there a greater enemy from within than we ever imagined? Will there be an investigation into what is actually happening in military hospitals, which allowed the likes of Dr. Hasan to practice his methods of counseling on young returning American soldiers? It seems irrational and impractical to assume Dr. Hasan would conduct counseling sessions contrary to his openly stated stance, defiant of his oath, in closed-door, one-on-one counseling sessions.
Instead of an admonition not to “jump to conclusions,” those in positions of authority should be held accountable to look at the conclusions of the suicide rate among returning soldiers and find out why. It is self-evident Dr. Hasan’s aim and purpose was destructive killing of innocent unarmed military personnel. Reported evidence shows that his actions were not some spur of the moment “snap,” but a well-thought plot and plan to kill and destroy American soldiers. The end result of a pattern of thought and belief as evidenced in his history and profile. It is his pattern of actions and speaking, which was apparently ignored.
Interesting that so much about who he really was, could be exposed within 24 hours of his horrific acts, and yet lo all his years in the military, no-one addressed his obvious problems that he revealed in open rhetoric. This irresponsibility by those in superior positions, calls for accountability.
Let FREEDOM RING
JUST ME
AC
email: annecleveland@bellsouth.net
