OK, so is there enough evidence for us now to proclaim that Nidal Malik Hasan performed a terrorist act when he shot the soldiers at Fort Hood?
OK, you may not have believed early reports that he shouted "Allahu Akbar!" as he begain firing. Or that he wrote "We love death more than you love life" when referring to people he consider true Muslim's.
But it is no longer possible to deny that he had contact with the al Qaeda recruiter Anwar al-Awlaki who later praised Maj Hasan's actions. Nor is it possible to deny that he had "more unexplained connections to people being tracked by the FBI" than just radical cleric Anwar al Awlaki.
You may call him a lunatic, but what makes him any more of a lunatic than the suicide bombers that he revered?
What is inexplicable is how a muslim Islamist, whose investigation for contacting the likes of Anwar al -Awlaki, could have concluded that his exchanges with the terrorist recruiter was deemed benign contact.
How is any conversation with a terrorist recruiter benign let alone conversation with a known al Qaeda recruiter and a known Islamist serving in the US Army.
But the weeding out of others who are like Hasan will be much more difficult when you have the Army's top guy saying "I'm concerned that this increased speculation could cause a backlash against some of our Muslim soldiers. And I've asked our Army leaders to be on the lookout for that,"
How about being on the lookout for more traitors in military uniform. The bad part is that Maj Hasan made no secret of his afinity for Jihadists and it is at least likely that he was not reported because "Army leaders would be on the lookout" for people who seemed to be prejudice against muslim soldiers.
It is very true that the direction from the top military brass needs to be balanced. We do not want a witch hunt. But at the same time we can not afford another Hasan either in a war zone or at home.
But General Casey does not seem to be able to strike the right balance. His direction comes down on the side of political correctness which is detrimental to the welfare of our troops and our country.
General Casey should be replaced by someone who can strike the right balance.
