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Fifth Column |
Maj. Hasan's Islamist Life |
2009-11-20 |
This article by Daniel Pipes is the best summary I've seen on Major Hasan and his background. As the Pentagon and Senate launch what one analyst dubs "dueling Fort Hood investigations," will they confront the hard truth of the Islamic angle? Despite encouraging references to "violent Islamists" by Sen. Joseph Lieberman (Independent of Connecticut), chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, there is reason to worry about a whitewash of the massacre that took place on Nov. 5; that is just so much easier than facing the implications of a hostile ideology nearly exclusive to Muslims. Indeed, initial responses from the U.S. Army, law enforcement, politicians, and journalists broadly agreed that Maj. Nidal Hasan's murderous rampage had nothing to do with Islam. Barack Obama declared "We cannot fully know what leads a man to do such a thing" and Evan Thomas of Newsweek dismissed Hasan as "a nut case." But evidence keeps accumulating that confirms Hasan's Islamist outlook, his jihadi temperament, and his bitter hatred of kafirs (infidels). I reviewed the initial facts about his record in an article that appeared on Nov. 9 but much more information subsequently appeared; here follows a summary. The evidence divides into three parts, starting with Hasan's stint at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center: He delivered an hour-long formal medical presentation to his supervisors and some 25 mental health staff members in June 2007, the culminating exercise of his residency program at Walter Reed. What was supposed to be on a medical topic of his choosing instead turned into a 50-slide PowerPoint talk on "The Koranic World View As It Relates to Muslims in the U.S. Military" that offered such commentary as "It's getting harder and harder for Muslims in the service to morally justify being in a military that seems constantly engaged against fellow Muslims" and the "Department of Defense should allow Muslims [sic] Soldiers the option of being released as 'Conscientious objectors' to increase troop morale and decrease adverse events." One person present at the presentation recalls how, by the time of its conclusion, "The senior doctors looked really upset." Then followed Hasan's record at Ft. Hood: His supervisor, Captain Naomi Surman, recalled his telling her that as an infidel she who would be "ripped to shreds" and "burn in hell." Another person reports his declaring that infidels should be beheaded and have boiling oil poured down their throats. Finally, Hasan's extracurricular activities revealed his outlook: He designed green and white personal business cards that made no mention of his military affiliation. Instead, they included his name, then "Behavior Heatlh [sic] Mental Health and Life Skills," a Maryland mobile phone number, an AOL e-mail address, and "SoA (SWT)." SoA is the jihadi abbreviation for Soldier of Allah and SWT stands for Subhanahu wa-Ta'ala, or "Glory to Him, the Exalted." These symptoms in the aggregate leave little doubt about Hasan's jihadi mentality. But will the investigations allow themselves to see his motivation? Doing so means changing it from a war on "overseas contingency operations" and "man-caused disasters" to a war on radical Islam. Are Americans ready for that? |
Posted by:Alaska Paul |