The Fort Hood Massacre

Yesterday’s breaking news about Major Nidal Malik Hasan mowing down 13 soldiers and wounding 31 more was nothing short of shocking. Hasan, a Muslim, was born here in the US and joined the military before 9/11. He went to Virginia Tech and was in ROTC. He was a psychiatrist at Walter Reed Hospital before being transfered to Fort Hood.

Nidal Hasan’s cousin, Nadir Hasan, said that Maj. Hasan was very upset at being deployed to Iraq and got into a number of confrontations about it. He also made statements that we should not have been in the Middle East at all and even hired military attorneys in an effort to fight his deployment. It’s unusual behavior to say the least by someone who had been a member of our military for over 8 years. He knew that being in the military meant a deployment would happen eventually, but when the time came he fought it every step of the way.

We also learn this morning from the Associated Press that he may have yelled “Allahu Akbar” before he started shooting.

Put all of this together and we can get some idea of what this man’s motivations may have been.

NBC in Chicago reports on a different story: President Obama’s reaction to the shooting:

President Obama didn’t wait long after Tuesday’s devastating elections to give critics another reason to question his leadership, but this time the subject matter was more grim than a pair of governorships.

After news broke out of the shooting at the Fort Hood Army post in Texas, the nation watched in horror as the toll of dead and injured climbed. The White House was notified immediately and by late afternoon, word went out that the president would speak about the incident prior to a previously scheduled appearance. At about 5 p.m., cable stations went to the president. The situation cled for not only his trademark eloquence, but also grace and perspective.

But instead of a somber chief executive offering reassuring words and expressions of sympathy and compassion, viewers saw a wildly disconnected and, inappropriately light president making introductory remarks. At the event, a Tribal Nations Conference hosted by the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Indian affairs, the president thanked various staffers and offered a “shout-out” to “Dr. Joe Medicine Crow — that Congressional Medal of Honor winner.” Three minutes in, the president spoke about the shooting, in measured and appropriate terms. Who is advising him?

Anyone at home aware of the major news story of the previous hours had to have been stunned. An incident like this requires a scrapping of the early light banter. The president should apologize for the tone of his remarks, explain what has happened, express sympathy for those slain and appeal for calm and patience until all the facts are in. That’s the least that should occur.

I heard the president’s remarks on Sirius radio while I was driving in my car, and when I heard his light banter as the news story calls it, I thought at first that he hadn’t heard about the shooting yet. He cracked jokes and the crowed burst out laughing.  But then he abruptly changed his tone and made his comments about the shooting.  I have to say I also was kind of struck at how odd it was that he did his normal “comedy” routine first.

This will only fuel the argument that Obama is simply over his head and doesn’t understand the gravity of his position as president of the United States.