The Silent Majority

As many already know, there was an attack by Major Nidal Malik Hasan on the soldiers at Fort Hood. 12 were killed. As a few days have passed and the Obama Administration has had some time to respond, I have some thoughts on what I believe are unfortunate signs from the current President, the military and what needs to happen from the American Muslim Community.

The facts are clear with no room for debate. Major Nidal Malik Hasan’s terrorist actions are despicable and unjustified, but I find President Obama’s words a complete mystery. He urged Americans not to, “jump to conclusions” about this attack. In the days that followed, he talked about “answering questions” concerning the attack but never mentioned a response.

Let’s compare that with his words to Americans concerning Sergeant Crowley, who simply responded to a break in and acted in accordance with the law. He said that the Cambridge Police, “acted stupidly”, even though he (the President) admitted he didn’t have all the facts. So we shouldn’t “jump to conclusions”, Mr. President? You mean, like you did, when you said that Sergeant Crowley acted “stupidly”? So we are giving terrorists the benefit of the doubt but not the men and women of the Cambridge Police Department? We have all the facts necessary to condemn Major Nidal Malik Hasan but mustn’t “jump to conclusions”; however, we can simply assume that Sergeant Crowley acted “stupidly” when we don’t have all the facts? There is something seriously wrong with the Presidents reaction to both events.

Furthermore, why hasn’t the President talked about a response to this terrorist attack? Naturally, we do want questions answered, but answering questions is only one part of the equation. Those answers are meaningless unless there is an appropriate response.

The military is also baffling. According to the New York times, “He (Major Nadal Hasan) vocally opposed the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and seems to have moved toward more extreme religious beliefs in recent years.” Well, what was he doing in the military then? There was no one forcing him to join, no one demanding he enlist. In fact, just last Friday, there were about 15 people in Longfellow Square (in Portland, Maine) protesting the war. I’m sure Major Hasan would have fit right in. What geniuses do we have in the U.S. Military who don’t see this as a problem? You don’t see me running around the teachers lounge at lunch saying, “I don’t believe in education” and protesting the fact that I’m a teacher, do you?

General Casey said, “A diverse Army gives us strength”. No, I’m sorry, General, it most certainly does not and you should know better. A well-trained, well-equipped Army that knows it’s objective and can achieve it gives us strength. I don’t care if the military is all homosexual, white, black, latino, asian, from Mars or a mix of all the above. The purpose of the military is to kill people and destroy the enemy. Anyone who isn’t up for that task shouldn’t join, and I don’t care who is in the military as long as they get the job done.

Finally, I know the President and General Crowley don’t want there to be a backlash against the Muslim population, either within the military or in the United States. Give Americans some credit. I trust that Americans will make the right decision when their leaders act responsibly and echo the beliefs and desires that most Americans want. The only thing that I want, and suspect Americans want as well, other than Major Nidal Malik Hasan and his collaborators (if he had any) be brought to justice, is an appropriate response from the Muslim community. I know that it must be difficult for many Muslims to deal with the questions that they are facing right now. Fanatical Islam presents a problem for them as well and they may be ashamed or embarrassed. But all Americans are looking for is a statement that says, “thats not us”. We condemn Nidal Malik Hasan (and other terrorist actions) and do not agree with his or choices or the choices of others who participate in terrorist activities. That’s it. If the American Muslim community would simply communicate that, this conservative will be your ally and defender.