First and foremost, let me add my prayers to the millions of others offered for the families of those who were slain yesterday. A murderer’s bullets can end life, but they cannot injure the faith and love that illuminate and transcend it. No one at Forth Hood died alone yesterday, none of their survivors grieve alone today, and no one they loved will take another lonely step, in all the days between now and the hour when they can hold each other again.
We have learned a few things about the murderer. His name is Malik Nadal Hasan. He was a major in the U.S. Army, who was about to be deployed to Iraq. He is a Muslim, who has evidently spoken and written in praise of suicide bombers. He is a coward, who shot a pregnant woman in the back. We need to learn more about him. Part of that investigation will involve interrogating him, before his execution. Any political figure who seeks to interfere with that interrogation should be removed from office immediately. The American people should demand no less.
The Internet was buzzing with wild speculation about the events at Fort Hood, even while they were unfolding. This is perfectly understandable. I think we should focus our thoughts on the victims in the first chaotic hours after such a tragedy, and wait for hard information to become available. I’m encouraging concentration and discipline, not wagging my finger at people who were understandably angry, frightened, or curious. Anger is only useful when focused, and focus requires knowledge.
Focus also depends on logic. We don’t know if Hasan acted entirely on his own, a random lunatic riding the lightning of politics or religion into murderous evil. Finding the answer to this question is imperative. Even if he was acting alone, you can bet the enemies of America will be studying his attack with great interest. We should study it with equal care. Security is only achieved through the relentless quest to improve it. Ignoring the role of Hasan’s religion in his murderous rampage would be as foolish as declaring every Muslim an accessory to his crime. Logic requires both the courage to open our eyes, and the serenity to avoid being distracted by illusions. A serious attempt to protect America from its enemies cannot be conducted by anyone who pretends they don’t exist… or who sees them everywhere.
To state the obvious, no one who speaks approvingly of suicide bombers has any business setting foot on a military base. Our commitment to religious tolerance and freedom of speech does not require us to expel our common sense. It would be great if all the deranged murderers who see themselves as warriors of jihad would come forward to meet the armies of the West in honorable open battle, so we could shovel them into the same hole where we buried the Nazis, and get on with our civilization. They won’t do that, so the battle will be longer and messier, and its heroes will include fearless policewomen, as well as gallant soldiers.
The emerging media spin that Hasan suffered from some kind of “pre-traumatic stress disorder,” symptomatic of an overstressed military, is an insult to the soldiers who serve with honor and distinction around the world. It’s also a disgraceful attempt to turn murder victims into sandbags reinforcing a political narrative. Some media outlets, notably Fox News’ Shepard Smith, were bizarrely reluctant to reveal Hasan’s name, supposedly to “keep people from jumping to conclusions.” Note to the media: nothing makes people jump to conclusions faster than withholding information to keep them from jumping to conclusions. Refusing to name the perpetrator of a Mumbai-style shooting rampage does not make anyone back slowly away from the nice Lutheran lady running the local hot dog stand.
We should honor our heroes, as well as keeping tabs on our enemies. The police officer who took down Hasan is named Kimberly Munley. She was wounded in the exchange of fire. Her courage, skill, and quick thinking saved lives. I hope you will join me in wishing her a speedy recovery.
Some have called President Obama’s weird reaction to the shooting his “My Pet Goat” moment, an allusion to the book George Bush was reading to a group of children when he learned of the World Trade Center attacks in 2001. This would be a fair comparison if someone had run up to Obama during his presentation, and whispered the news in his ear. He had full knowledge of the incident, and still chose to yammer on for a couple of minutes before mentioning it in passing. He also managed to make a fool of himself by incorrectly identifying someone as a Congressional Medal of Honor winner in the process. The subject of this remark, Dr. Joe Medicine Crow, was awarded the Medal of Freedom by Obama himself. If carelessly confusing high honors is no big deal, I hope the President won’t mind if we occasionally refer to him as “Senator Obama” from now on.
Leadership requires an understanding of duty, a high degree of judgment, the ability to react quickly to changing circumstances, and a willingness to take a commanding position in the face of controversy or uncertainty. The President who handed his signature domestic policy to Nancy Pelosi, dithered for days before condemning Iran’s dictators for gunning protesters down in the streets, ducked out of the Berlin Wall commemoration, lies incessantly to his constituents about his agenda, and blames his problems on his predecessor with childish consistency did not begin showing any leadership yesterday. Barack Obama has a uniquely queasy way of being disappointing.
Incredibly, Keith Olbermann continued his remorseless campaign to humiliate MSNBC by using his infantile “Worst Person In the World” segment to chastise Rupert Murdoch last night. I don’t know how many innocent people Murdoch has gunned down in cold blood, but I’m pretty sure the Fort Hood killer has a higher body count. I don’t know why his employers insisted on keeping Olbermann around after his spittle-flecked “mashed up meatbag” insult tirades, but this is even worse.
If MSNBC wants to be an all-liberal network and serve as the Democrat Party’s official media arm, that’s fine – they’re a lot more honest, or at least transparent, about it than most other “news” networks. Liberal politics do not require them to waste valuable airtime on the obsessions of a mentally and emotionally unstable idiot. There are thoughtful liberals who can act like an adult. If MSNBC had a shred of decency or news judgment, last night would be Olbermann’s farewell broadcast. Send him back to wherever he was hiding on Election Night 2009, and let someone with at least a high-school student’s understanding of the world take over. Enough is enough.
