Mark Steyn connects some dots on Nidal Hasan. For example, did you know this?:
As a student, some who knew Nidal Malik Hasan said they saw clear signs the young Army psychiatrist -- who authorities say went on a shooting spree at Fort Hood that left 13 dead and 29 others wounded -- had no place in the military. After arriving at Fort Hood, he was conflicted about what to tell fellow Muslim soldiers about the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, alarming an Islamic community leader from whom he sought counsel."I told him, 'There's something wrong with you,' " Osman Danquah, co-founder of the Islamic Community of Greater Killeen, said on Saturday.
Danquah assumed the military's chain of command knew about Hasan's doubts, which had been known for more than a year to classmates in a 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 written complaint.
Well, sure. Here's what the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said today:
"Our diversity, not only in our Army, but in our country, is a strength. And as horrific as this tragedy was, if our diversity becomes a casualty, I think that's worse," Casey added on NBC's "Meet the Press."
Yes, it would indeed be even worse if the Army stopped being so afraid of being seen as discriminatory that it took seriously Muslim nuts among the ranks who spout anti-American propaganda. If we retreat even a millimeter from Holy Diversity because of this, the terrorists will have won.
You've got to read Steyn's post to see the august company Hasan kept recently, and where he was invited to share his expertise. As Steyn puts it, "That's quite the company for a deranged misfit loner whacko of no broader significance."
UPDATE: Just posted on the New York Times:
A former classmate in the master's degree program said Major Hasan gave a PowerPoint presentation about a year ago in an environmental health seminar titled "Why the War on Terror Is a War on Islam." He did not socialize with his classmates, other than to argue in the hallways on why the wars were wrong.The former classmate, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of working for the military and not being authorized to speak publicly, said that some students complained to their professors about Major Hasan, but that no action had been taken. "It didn't cross my mind that he was dangerous," the former classmate said. "He's a chubby, bald guy. He wasn't threatening."
Dr. Aaron Haney, who was a year ahead of Major Hasan in the residency program, said there were many people at Walter Reed who expressed opposition to the wars.
How many of them expressed opposition to the wars in terms used by Islamist organizations, and terrorists? Never mind, nothing to see here, just chant the word "diversity" long enough and all will be well.
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This country is in serious trouble if our own military sees all these obvious signs of trouble and does nothing while letting a dozen+ people get killed and dozens of others injured. What has happened to our military, that lame "diversity" speeches override safety?
Diversity is great and this nation should be welcoming toward all who want to put their lives on the line for this country but I have to say that those who thought their commendable quest for diversity within the military required them to ignore the very real warning signs spewing out of this particular assailants mouth were dead wrong. Anti-American invectives, and pro-jihadist speech have no place in the armed forces (and no place in a U.S. police force and no place in the judiciary, etc. etc.) This guy should have been reported to the FBI.
John, I'm sorry but that's just too much common sense for our times.
It is great that the military is focused on the contributions that patriotic Americans of the Islamic faith can make to our armed forces. There is a simple line that needs to be drawn, and we have seen it for years in relation to all kinds of demographic groups. Thugs will use whatever excuse they have to justify being thugs: Irish thugs blame it on the British hanging their grandfather, Italian thugs blame it on discrimination against their mother or nephew by Anglo-Americans, black thugs blame it on their great grandfather's enslavement, even if they are robbing, raping or murdering an elderly woman their own color who has the same family history, Christian thugs say the Bible told them to do it, and Muslim thugs say they are doing it for Islam. All we need to do is make it clear that while we can do many things to correct past oppression, and guard against mindless prejudice, thugs will be treated as thugs, and demography will not be accepted as an excuse. If the officers responsible for filing reports understand that, and if the would-be thugs understand that, then the problem will be quickly solved. (I suspect CAIR would have a problem with this, but that's too bad. In American, we elect Muslims to congress from Christian-majority districts, and swear them in on a Qu'ran from Thomas Jefferson's library, but we don't allow anyone to be thugs and use Islam as an excuse.)
Bringing back the draft would be a good idea, because people would think twice about being rah-rah for what might have looked like an easy war, knowing their own sons and daughters would be drafted. But, considering the anti-draft agitation provoked by the Vietnam War, where millions of Americans thought our government was wrong to send troops there, perhaps we should have a national referendum which says "Shall we institute universal conscription and declare war, or, shall we do neither?" Vote, yes or no, and then live with the consequences. Rotating a small number of volunteers into a war zone, then back to civilian life, then back to the war zone, then back to civilian life, is a recipe for insanity.
Gerard Nadal
We need high lethality and all-out hunt and kill operations, using overwhelming firepower and special forces units.
The beatings will continue until morale improves. And we will continue fighting in the streets of Afghanistan until the citizens stop opposing being randomly bombed and killed!
When existential threats arise, the nation retains the right to call upon its citizens, without distinction (the PC crowd ought to applaud that) to go and meet that threat with force of arms.
Despite your attempt to make the wars we're currently fighting even more unpopular, we're not having a draft. Although that is, at this point, looking like the only way to actually get people to end this war.
Although I'm not sure what 'existential threats' have to do with Iraq or Afghanistan at this point. Iraq never had any al Qaeada people, and the Taliban is hardly going to let them back into Afghanistan.
We ultimately have two options: Winning or Losing.
And these options look like what, exactly? By any reasonable criteria, we've already won both Iraq and Afghanistan. In like 2004.
You're a coach saying to his team 'We can get out there and win this one' fifty-six hours into a game, and a lot of players have started looking at the rules and saying 'This game doesn't appear to have any victory or loss conditions, or any endgame at all.'
If the contest never ends, is there actually an option of winning or losing? Aren't the only the options 'continuing to play' vs 'stop playing'?
Siarlys Jenkins
perhaps we should have a national referendum which says "Shall we institute universal conscription and declare war, or, shall we do neither?" Vote, yes or no, and then live with the consequences.
We did. It was the 2006 Congressional election. The Democrats won.
And they proceeded to, you know, not actually get us out of the war, but this is because the Democrat in Congress are blundering idiots who have trouble pouring piss out of a boot with instructions on the heel.
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