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May they rest in peace. May God help us all.
We are not the one-size-fits-all culture that we so fervently believed we were. We must recognize that now. Dozens of people are dead or seriously injured because of our insistence that all Americans agreed with these wars. Most do not. Right or wrong, justified or not, we made a mistake in judgment in so many areas concerning how far we could tear at the fabric of our common culture without it shredding. This will be discussed for a hundred years or more. Questions are many, answers are few. But one thing is certain, we must all quietly retire to inside ourselves and question everything about our culture. Things will never be the same again here. Here is the story from the Associated Press.
Here is a news line from AOL News concerning the shooter Major. Nidal Malik Hassan, U.S. Army who is a psychiatrist. Although originally reported as dead, he is alive with four bullet wounds and is on a respirator. He is from here in Virginia. The story is here. Here is the story from the Washington Post concerning the major. He was 39, a devout Muslim who prayed often at the Muslim Community Center in Silver Spring, MD who wanted an Army discharge and was being deployed overseas to Iraq soon. Here is another string on that story from other Post writers. Here is a related story from the Post relative to the strain of constant deployments from units at Fort Hood and the suicides that this has induced among the troopers. That story is here. May they rest in peace. May God help us find our way in this most difficult time as a nation. CWO3 Tom Barnes, USCG (Ret.)
What can I say that has not already been said? Here is the news of the shootings at Fort Hood yesterday afternoon. I will not say anything about this horrible tragedy other than it is obvious now that we all need to step back and reevaluate the entire situation relative to the wars in Western Asia from top to bottom. It is clear that our basis for what so many of us believed about America, her armed forces and our commonly shared value system as a people and a nation was incorrect.
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Short URL: http://www.veteranstoday.com/?p=9272
Posted by Veterans Today on Nov 6 2009, With 0 Reads, Filed under 9/11. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
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From the Post story: “Those who treat the mentally wounded, including doctors such as Hasan, are not immune from the symptoms. It is not uncommon for therapists who treat patients for post-traumatic stress disorder to experience some symptoms vicariously after hearing account after account of the horrors of the battlefield.” And it is not uncommon for mental health professionals to take psychiatric drugs themselves . I have direct knowledge of this from my eight years in the system. As one psychiatric nurse at VAMC Boston told me, “Everyone has to take something.” The VA’s own studies show that drugs are of no value in the treatment of PTSD, and now the use of drugs for all symptoms of “mental illness” is being called into question by psychiatrists courageous enough to speak truth to the power of Big Pharma. Peter Breggin MD author of “Toxic Psychiatry” and Grace E. Jackson MD author of “Drug-induced Demetia, the perfect crime”, are two notable examples of such honor and courage in the mental health profession. Psychiatric drugs have been used by our enemies, who were quick to recognize their effects, in the training of suicide bombers for at least ten years.
I’m sorry, that does not give this man the right to do what he did,…13 deaths and 32 wounded. I have friends that have PTSD, I am 30% and have been in two wars and in two branches. Nobody twisted his arm to enter the Army, pay for his education, intern at Walter Reed. He knew what he was getting into from the get-go. He wasn’t in that long either. Sorry, what he did does not excuse him in any respect.
No, he certainly did not have any excuse for what he did, just as a drunken driver who kills or injures others cannot use alcohol as an excuse. It may well turn out, however, that he was under the effect, or the withdrawal effects, like so many other killers and those who have killed themselves, of those worthless and toxic psychiatric drugs that most of the public still believe to be “medication”.
I am somewhat puzzled by the amount of people killed and wounded. With two revolvers or pistols (not sure at this time) that is an awful amount of lead to be throwing around with that many individuals hit. I am an expert, or was, a a number of weapons including a .45 and 9MM and to me, in my opinion, to do this one would have to have an awful amount of luck. Unless, there was some friendly fire.
Just got out of the Wright-Patt Hospital for a false alarm heart attack and ruling out reaction to N1H1 flu shot when this hit.
Sure as hell gave me second and third thoughts, and I’m not a Muslim. However, I am a Retired Major who has opposed the war(s) from get go, not really for any moral, ethical, or religious reasons, but simply because the American people have never been committed to being part of well THE WARS!!!
That said, my last experience with the Air Force at least was one where I had to call a Medical doctor (could care less what rank she was they don’t give a crap about mine), a head nurse (civilian contract), and a Airman tech on the carpet for being incompetent, violating two patients rights, dignity, and privacy so on and os forth. Heck, that was an Air Force Hospital that rarely see an Army or Marine combat Vet. (That’s another beef I have with the war(s) the lack of shared sacrifice even between the services).
When this story broke, my first response was Oh, Shit I should have kept my mouth shut or they’ll put me in the luny bin just to shut me up.
Now all I see is the spin being place on it by the media and damage control instead of getting at the heart of the problem. What could have been done to prevent such an incident of more importantly what can be done in the future?
Thus far, what I read continues to point towards the Major being right in his assessment about the war(s) being Christian CRUSADES, but extremely wrong in his approach to it. There is Courage to Resist, quite a few enlisted people and a few officers have dones so knowing the war(s) are CRUSADES against Islam (with Muslin taking the place of Communists), however none of them open fire on any military base to prove their point they simply QUIT with many paying the price.
The latest I saw from AP the chief instigator that most mainstream media follows is biased, one-sided, and inflamatory against Muslims in the service period:
Some saw trouble ahead with Fort Hood shooter
I’m just gonna point out the parts that bother me from a WO this needs more clarificaton stand point!!!
In retrospect, the signs of Dr. Nidal Malik Hasan’s growing anger over the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan seem unmistakable.
– people who worried his increasingly strident views were clouding his ability to serve the U.S. military
What the hell does strident views mean? Was he a Muslim extremists or not? Or simply an officer (Mustang at that like me) who did not believe in what he was fighting for. As most will say, this does not and should not let him off the hook for murder no more than a Christian Lieutenant, Captain or Major going into an Iraqi or Afghan village and ordering a massacre should god forbid that ever occur again. (VT. Ed)
- Dr. Hasan raised eyebrows with comments that the war on terror was "a war on Islam" and wrestled with what to tell fellow Muslim solders who had their doubts about fighting in Islamic countries.
Note: It is now the Obama administration, and Obama’s Pentagon or I think so for even that is doubtful given it is run by Bush holdovers, including Generals and Admirals. Let’s see the Pentagon’s reaction to an Executive Order from the President allowing the mainstream media access to how our troops train to fight Muslim extremists.
Point is: IS THE WAR ON TERROR A WAR ON ISLAM OR MUSLIM EXTREMISTS? Either way folks it IS A WAR ON ISLAM regardless what positive spin President Obama places on it.
That is the first investigative question being conveniently ignored.
Wait there’s more, check out the line of questioning and responses the reporter gets or frames to direct the story instead of report it. Major Hanafin. "The system is not doing what it’s supposed to do," said Dr. Val Finnell, who complained to administrators at a military university about what he considered Dr. Hasan’s "anti-American" rants. "He at least should have been confronted about these beliefs, told to cease and desist, and to shape up or ship out."
What is missing here? What follow up questions or additional information should the reporter have gotten?
1. Dr. Finnell is evidently military, so what rank is he, how many other military physicians not born in America feel the same way (keep in mind the vast majority of professional medical personnel in America (a) would never join the military unless they had not other recourse to and education, and (b) even within our Armed Forces their is a significant number of foreign born doctors. If any doctor regardless if he or she is treating heart patients, cancer patients, or PTSD patients really felt as Dr. Finnel does? AP uses one example of one super patriotic physcian to make a point and what is their point?
2. Anti-American rants? If I were the investigative reporter I would have asked Captain or Major Finnell exactly what did he mean by "anti-American" rants, was Dr. Hasan not commissioned as an American? That said, Dr. Finnell may have been onto something despite his professional ethnocentrism (for those of you with a GED like me ethnocentrism is a belief that your ethnic group, culture, society, or religion is superior to others put another way – YOU ARE AN ARROGANT SOB!).
However, regardless what one thinks of how Officer Finnell’s views are projected by the media, he does bring up a very valid point: Why didn’t military authorities do anything to discipline Dr. Hasan early on such as a reprimand, court marshal, allow him to resign his commission, what have you? Sure beats having a Conscientious Objector go on a shooting rampage! That said, why didn’t Dr. Hasan file an official CO application even if it would have been disapproved. Word to the wise if you truly feel the way Dr. Hasan feels about the wars by all means fill out a CO application and find some way to pay your tuition back. Don’t let your ethical, spiritual, and moral feelings go the other other way. Major Hanafin.
Rank unknown Dr. Finnell testifies that Dr. Hasan persistently complained about perceived anti-Muslim sentiment in the military and injected his politics into courses where they had no place.
Note two buzz words here used by the Neocon to shut down debate or even discussion of personal views on the war(s).
1. Is there perceived anti-Muslim sentiment in the military due to the way in which our troops are trained to well kill mostly Muslim extremists with of course collateral damage to well, Islam or is there no shit anti-Muslim views within our military? Put another way I would have asked Dr. Finnel exactly what do you mean by perceived? Is that your perception Dr. Finnell and what is that perception based on reality or what Dr. Hasan has said.
2. The other buzz word is "his or her politics." Think on it. Anything a Neocon or someone who thinks anywhere near that extreme point of view allows discussion on the war(s) as long as it is postive it is PATRIOTIC. However, the very minutes ANYONE (Muslin, Christian, Jew, Hindu, Buddhist, Aethist) questions the war(s) it’s politics. The buzz word used in VA Hospitals and of course on military bases to stiffle any NEOCON dissent was to point at someone and say "don’t talk politics unless there is a clear patriotic, nationalistic, thing to say." "In retrospect, I’m not surprised he did it," Finnell said of the shootings. "I had real questions about what his priorities were, what his beliefs were."
Hold the phone, Dr. Finnel exactly what are your political and religious beliefs, we believe Dr. Hasan took both his relgious and political beliefs to the extremes, but doe that mean you can’t take yours? Well, since we are no shit on a CRUSADE in which we are afraid to implement the draft – hum.
- numerous church services honoring the victims were planned both on the post and in neighboring Killeen.
We hope and pray that the Christian ministers do several things to deflat this situation (1) bring in Muslim clergy who are not extremists to balance any real anti-Muslim sentiment in the communities around any military base. (2) Christian clergy ask their congregations to pray for those killed, but also for those within the military who question what they are doing to make the God given right decision and murder is not the answer.
A government official speaking on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss the case said an initial review of Hasan’s computer use has found no evidence of links to terror groups, or anyone who might have helped plan or push him toward the shooting attack. The review of Hasan’s computer is continuing and more evidence could emerge, the source said.
Put another way, if nothing else is found on his computer nor nothing substantial connecting him to blog posts he allegedly might have made, Dr. Hasan is simply Dr. Timothy McVeigh Hasan. Thus, where do we go from here in screening out other potential Timothy McVeighs in the Armed Forces regardless of their religion.
– A picture has emerged of a man who was forcefully opposed to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, was trying to elude his pending deployment to Afghanistan and had struggled professionally in his work as an Army psychiatrist.
Question needed immediate follow up given the pressure being placed on President Barack Obama to send more cannon fodder to Afghanistan:
How many men and women in our Armed Forces today regardless of religion, political views, service, and so on oppose the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and to what degree? Meaning there are troops who are smart enough to question their purpose in life and goals in Iraq or Afghanistan but also strongly desire a military career (hell I’ve been in their shoes ala Vietnam so I know). They will most likely lay low on their views or be shut down by the right-wing buss words "don’t talk politics."
"I told him, `There’s something wrong with you,’" Osman Danquah, co-founder of the Islamic Community of Greater Killeen, told The Associated Press on Saturday. "I didn’t get the feeling he was talking for himself, but something just didn’t seem right."
Danquah assumed the military’s chain of command knew about Hasan’s doubts, which had been known for more than a year to classmates at the Maryland graduate military medical program. His fellow students complained to the faculty about Hasan’s "anti-American propaganda," but said a fear of appearing discriminatory against a Muslim student kept officers from filing a formal complaint.
- OK, I’ve about had it. AP uses the example of one nationalistic doctor to make a case for most or all physcians at the graduate military medical program complaining to the faculty about Dr. Hasan’s "anti-American" propaganda.
I’m an investigative reporter from Missouri, SHOW ME, exactly how many classmates felt this way about Dr. Hasan? How come their concerns were not documented? It is AP’s journalistic responsibility to prove the contention by providing names of other doctors who did not like Dr. Hasan’s politics or was it his religion they had a problem with?