The tragedy at Fort Hood last week is almost beyond comprehension. Other than the 9/11 attack or maybe the Oklahoma City bombing, I can’t think of a tragedy in my lifetime that just takes your breath away.
The thought of an officer in our Army being able to take two handguns onto a military installation, walk into a crowded building and begin firing on other members of his own branch of service is incomprehensible. And when I say members of the service, let’s remember that many of these servicemen and women were barely men and women, just a year or two from being in places like Long County High School and Bradwell Institute.
And not just military personnel were killed. There were also civilians, civilians who were just as innocent as the young soldiers, civilians who the accused officer was entrusted to protect from harm by other countries.
On Nov. 5, a pathetic person murdered 13 people, ranging in age from 21 to 62. I guess some kid lost a grandpa, too.
Col. Nidal Malik Hasan, 39, has been accused of the crimes.
I am already tired of the spin, attempting to paint this as a man who cracked or a poor psychiatrist who lost it from having to hear too many war stories as he counseled fellow soldiers. Even the next day, I was already tired of everyone trying to deny and ignore the very probable reality — that this was probably a terrorist attack on a military installation.
Folks, lets remember the military and prison are two of the primary places where Islamic terrorist seek membership for their cause.
A colonel who worked with Hasan has already said the shooter told him Muslims in Afghanistan should rise up against the U.S. Army. Also, a former classmate of Nadal said what Americans call the war on terror, Hasan regarded as a war on Islam. Hasan’s own cousin, Nadar Hasan, said his relative had repeatedly said after 9/11 that he did not want to be a part of this war.
And, according to reports, authorities had already gone to the military with information claiming Hasan had written radical blogs, approving of Islamic suicide bombings on American soldiers. Hasan also reported said Muslims should rise up against U.S. soldiers.
There is no debate, according to reports, that Hasan was a devout Muslim who prayed five times a day and went to mosque every day. It also appears he had been trying to get out of the Army because he didn’t agree with the goals.
There is also no debate that on Nov. 5 he calmly took two handguns into a building and, prior to his massacre, he yelled repeatedly, “Allahu akbar,” which means God is great in Arabic.
Folks, this man may have acted 100 percent alone. There may not have been any other radical group in the world that had anything to do with this, but ignoring the probability that this was a terrorist attack isn’t the answer.
Thirteen people were murdered, 30 more wounded, Nadal’s own family is scared and our nation has once more been attacked.
My wife Gina and I have a nephew; PFC Daniel Parnell, who is stationed at Fort Hood. He’s 24. On Nov. 4 he was taking a test in the Soldier Readiness Center. Fortunately, he’s OK. Thirteen others are not. Let’s not ignore the obvious — this was terrorism. Whether it was from a group or not, we may never know.
The thought of an officer in our Army being able to take two handguns onto a military installation, walk into a crowded building and begin firing on other members of his own branch of service is incomprehensible. And when I say members of the service, let’s remember that many of these servicemen and women were barely men and women, just a year or two from being in places like Long County High School and Bradwell Institute.
And not just military personnel were killed. There were also civilians, civilians who were just as innocent as the young soldiers, civilians who the accused officer was entrusted to protect from harm by other countries.
On Nov. 5, a pathetic person murdered 13 people, ranging in age from 21 to 62. I guess some kid lost a grandpa, too.
Col. Nidal Malik Hasan, 39, has been accused of the crimes.
I am already tired of the spin, attempting to paint this as a man who cracked or a poor psychiatrist who lost it from having to hear too many war stories as he counseled fellow soldiers. Even the next day, I was already tired of everyone trying to deny and ignore the very probable reality — that this was probably a terrorist attack on a military installation.
Folks, lets remember the military and prison are two of the primary places where Islamic terrorist seek membership for their cause.
A colonel who worked with Hasan has already said the shooter told him Muslims in Afghanistan should rise up against the U.S. Army. Also, a former classmate of Nadal said what Americans call the war on terror, Hasan regarded as a war on Islam. Hasan’s own cousin, Nadar Hasan, said his relative had repeatedly said after 9/11 that he did not want to be a part of this war.
And, according to reports, authorities had already gone to the military with information claiming Hasan had written radical blogs, approving of Islamic suicide bombings on American soldiers. Hasan also reported said Muslims should rise up against U.S. soldiers.
There is no debate, according to reports, that Hasan was a devout Muslim who prayed five times a day and went to mosque every day. It also appears he had been trying to get out of the Army because he didn’t agree with the goals.
There is also no debate that on Nov. 5 he calmly took two handguns into a building and, prior to his massacre, he yelled repeatedly, “Allahu akbar,” which means God is great in Arabic.
Folks, this man may have acted 100 percent alone. There may not have been any other radical group in the world that had anything to do with this, but ignoring the probability that this was a terrorist attack isn’t the answer.
Thirteen people were murdered, 30 more wounded, Nadal’s own family is scared and our nation has once more been attacked.
My wife Gina and I have a nephew; PFC Daniel Parnell, who is stationed at Fort Hood. He’s 24. On Nov. 4 he was taking a test in the Soldier Readiness Center. Fortunately, he’s OK. Thirteen others are not. Let’s not ignore the obvious — this was terrorism. Whether it was from a group or not, we may never know.