Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey Jr.'s chief concern in the wake of the Fort Hood attack seems to be not protecting American soldiers from death at the hands of a jihadist in their midst, but preventing a "backlash" against "diversity".
Consider his comments on the Sunday morning talk shows, whether on CBS, NBC, ABC, or CNN, where he told interviewer John King on State of the Union: "This was a kick in the gut." Yet his main concern is not justice but political correctness.
He dismisses the fact that the Army completely missed all the warnings in the case of fanatic Islamist and self-described Palestinian as well as Virginia-born U.S. Army psychiatrist Major Nidal Malik Hasan. He spent no time arguing that the Army needs to do more, instead worrying that Americans might "jump to conclusions now based on little snippets of information that come out." And frankly, I am worried -- not worried, but 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. It would be a shame -- as great a tragedy as this was, it would be a shame if our diversity became a casualty as well.
This theme Gen. Casey echoed in all of his interviews.
It is safe to assume that Hasan saw his planned massacre as a religious act. It is unsafe to assume otherwise. It is this same politically correct tripe that allowed Hasan to fire more than 100 rounds of ammunition into his fellow Americans, despite numerous indications that there was a problem, despite an ongoing investigation into Internet postings all pointing to a religiously inspired hostility toward America's military operations and his fellow troops.
The failure of command is that no one removed Hasan from his position. Gen. Casey's Army was afraid to appear to be discriminating against a Muslim.
In fact, despite being so odd that he could not fulfill his duties to see patients, no one demanded a full psychiatric evaluation of Hasan.
Hasan yelled "Allahu Akbar" — Arabic for "Allah is Greater" — just before opening fire. It is safe to assume that he saw his planned massacre as a religious act. It is unsafe to assume otherwise.
There are about 3,000 Muslims on active Guard and reserve duty. No one in authority, not even Gen. Casey, believes there is significant discrimination against them, now.
Unfortunately, there was reverse discrimination. His fellow students complained to the faculty at the military's Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences 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.
Americans are not easily consumed with hatred. Even after September 11, 2001, the citizens of the US did not rise up in hatred and call for the wiping out of all Muslims or even a war on religion. In fact, Americans reached out to Muslims and tried to learn about and show acceptance of their religion.
Of course, there are always outliers. I have no doubt, having known soldiers, that there may have been taunts, teasing, and outright racism. Probably in about the same proportion as in society at large, or possibly less, due to the Army's efforts to stamp out anything which threatens multiculturalism.
Racism is not yet dead, but Muslims in America are not the most highly targeted religion.
According to FBI statistics, Jews are nearly eight times as likely to be victims of religiously motivated hate crimes as Muslims are. In 2007, the last year for which figures are available, 133 such crimes were reported against Muslims, compared with 1,010 against Jews.
But Americans have been taught and the majority believe that coexistence is the ideal. Our schools teach it, our newspapers teach it, our entertainments teach it, even our churches and synagogues teach it.
Islam teaches the opposite.
Here are some quotes from the Qur'an which make this clear: - Fighting is obligatory for you, much as you dislike it. (Surah 2:216)
- Believers, do not make friends with any but your own people... They desire nothing but your ruin... You believe in the entire Book.(Surah 3:118)
- Seek out your enemies relentlessly. (Surah 4:103-)
- Believers, take neither Jews nor Christians for your friends. (Surah 5:51)
- Make war on them until idolatry shall cease and Allah's religion shall reign supreme. (Surah 8:36)
- ...make war on the leaders of unbelief... Make war on them: Allah will chastise them at your hands and humble them. He will grant you victory over them... (Surah 9:12)
- If you do not fight, He will punish you sternly, and replace you by other men. (Surah 9:37)
- Believers, make war on the infidels who dwell around you. Deal firmly with them. (Surah 9:121)
- Muhammad is Allah's apostle. Those who follow him are ruthless to the unbelievers but merciful to one another. (Surah 48:29)
Pakistani jihad leader Beitullah Mehsud claims that "Allah on 480 occasions in the Holy Qur'an extols Muslims to wage jihad. We only fulfill Allah's orders. Only jihad can bring peace to the world." He specified that his jihad - struggle in Arabic - was an offensive military operation.
Here is another passage, from Surah 3:119: "When they meet you they say: 'We, too, are believers.' But when alone, they bite their finger-tips with rage."
Honestly, does this sound like Christians, Jews, or Muslims?
In historical context, it might have been Christians or Jews who felt this way. When these words were written down in the years after Mohammed's death, the Christians and Jews that most Muslims were likely to meet were oppressed, second-class citizens.
"Fight against such as those to whom the Scriptures were given," says Surah 9:27, "Until they pay tribute out of hand and are utterly subdued." The utterly subdued might well have shown one face in public and another in private. The alternative was death.
But death is no deterrent to Islam. Humiliation is far worse.
It is the overwrought sense of humiliation which drove Hasan to murder.
Not all Muslims are like this. I doubt the majority of the Army's 3000 Muslims are prepared to turn their weapons on their fellow soldiers, even if they are conflicted about turning them against their fellow Muslims.
Hasan was a Muslim who could not get a date from a mosque dating service. He rejected all the women, imposing too many conditions.
After arriving at Fort Hood, he was conflicted about what to tell fellow Muslim soldiers about the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, alarming Osman Danquah, co-founder of the Islamic Community of Greater Killeen, from whom he sought counsel.
"I told him, 'There's something wrong with you,'" Danquah told The Associated Press on Saturday. "I didn't get the feeling he was talking for himself, but something just didn't seem right."
What worries me is that the military does not even know how its Muslims feel. it is afraid to find out for fear of appearing discriminatory. Yet Muslims are not alone, and not all of them are murderers.
Danqua himself is a retired US Army first sergeant and Gulf War veteran. Twice this summer, Hasan asked him what to tell soldiers who expressed misgivings about fighting fellow Muslims. He reminded Hasan that these soldiers had volunteered to fight, and that Muslims were fighting against each other in Afghanistan, Pakistan and the "Palestinian territories."
Do not believe that religious Muslims are not prohibited from killing Muslims. The terrorists in Afghanistan and Iraq have killed far more believers than infidels. This is usually the case.
According to his official PLO biography, Yassir Arafat killed six people. All were Muslims. Most were Palestinians.
This year alone, Palestinian Arabs violently killed 210 of their own — including 9 women and 20 children. This compares to 254 Palestinian Arabs violently killed by each other in 2008, and 618 in 2007.
The so-called Religion of Peace is awfully violent and has been since Muhammed's day.
Denying this is a disservice to the Muslims themselves.
The emotional problems do not stem merely from fighting co-religionists. Hasan's conflict comes from deeper psychological damage. It happens when a US soldier defines himself not as an American, but as a Muslim, first.
Hasan's family came from Jordan, but he was born in Virginia, raised in the US, educated by the military. Yet he described himself as a Palestinian. He identified first with his faith, then with his country.
And he had deep emotional scars which were visible to classmates, friends, people at his mosque, family members, casual acquaintances, and even the FBI. Yet the self-imposed blindness of those concerned more about diversity than safety doomed Hasan and his victims.
"Ultimately it was Brother Nidal's doing, but the command should be held accountable," said Victor Benjamin II, 30, another former member of the Army who had befriended Hasan at the mosque. "G.I.'s are like any equipment in the Army. When it breaks, those who were in charge of keeping it fit should be held responsible for it."
And pretending that his religion exempts a G.I. from fundamental fitness checks is worse than stupid: it is dangerous.
On Thursday, the toll of political correctness added 13 dead and 38 wounded. At least 17 victims remained hospitalized with gunshot wounds, and nine were in intensive care late Saturday.
Gen. Casey's concern that political correctness be preserved will ensure that the toll grows.
For more on the nature of Islam, check out this reading list.
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