Yesterday, on the largest American military base in the world, a uniformed officer shot and killed a dozen people and wounded 31 others. Apparently the shooter was a Muslim and an army psychiatrist who had often denounced the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and dreaded ther idea of being forced to go himself.
If the US cannot protrect its soldiers on its own bases where can it p-rotect them ? Furthermore just the other day in Af;ghanistan a rogue Afghan officer murdered six British troops.
Shouold we – military and civilians – give up more of our freedom so that our safety can be better assured?
Is there a co- relation between safety and freedom?
What do you think?
There is a correlation between one’s security and minding one’s business. The westerners have no business in Iraq nor in Afghanistan. We want Bin Laden, good, we also want other bigwhigs. Have we invaded Serbia to get Mladic or Somalia to get Bashir? Will we invade Israel to get those responsible for massacres in Lebanon and Gaza? Of course not they have no oil and are not on a planned pipeline route.
There is never perfect safety and never perfect freedom. The first is limited by random acts of madness and the latter by the impact one’s freedom could have on the lives and welfare of others.
The background of this incident is still coming in, but as I understand it from what I’ve read from various sources, Hassan’s being a Muslim was only incidental and only became a factor at the last moment, when he realized he was going to be posted to a war zone he didn’t want to be in, part of an occupying force he disagreed with, opposing other Muslims..
His track record of having psychiatric problem goes back ‘way before his current posting to Hood. He was already having problems at his previous post.
Why was he in the military to begin with? He should have been released long ago.
Yes Janus, I totally agree with you about the individual concerned. It only highlights the deep doodoo we got in.
It’s beginning to look as though Hassan is gaining more sympathy than enmity:
http://www.ivaw.org/membersspeak/joint-statement-under-hood-caf-and-fort-hood-chapter-iraq-veterans-against-wa