tagged w/ ft hood
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He makes a lot of sense. These things seems to pop up in batches whenever the government needs a distraction or an escalation.He makes a lot of sense. These things seems to pop up in batches whenever the... more
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Someone clue me in here. Are the people in our intelligence agencies complete idiots?
It’s November 10th, 2009, the day before Veterans Day. President Obama visits Ft. Hood to mourn with those military families who lost friends and loved ones at the hands of a domestic “terrorist,” who just happens to be a Muslim and who committed this crime so close to Veterans Day and while Obama is on the brink of making a decision to send tens of thousands more troops to the war in Afghanistan (against Muslims) amidst very strong public opinion to get out of that war. Well it was strong, until this shocking “terrorist” act took place. http://stopwar.lafilmonline.com//?p=166
This is absolutely amazing. We have the most well equipped military and intelligence agencies in the world and yet they can’t stop known terror suspects with simple box cutters who even trained in U.S. flight schools - they can’t stop those guys from hijacking five planes and crashing into the Pentagon and the twin towers; and they can’t stop this guy Hasan, who they have known evidence on as well with his relations with a known terrorist sympathizer and they even employ him on a military base.
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There are those who question the whole legitimacy of 9/11 as a purely terrorist act. There were no aircraft engine parts found at the Pentagon on 9/11. Instead they found what appeared to be a hole in the building made by a missile. Some demolition experts believe the twin towers were destroyed with explosives by demolition experts - like our highly trained military who specialize in such things perhaps? There are questions about flight 93 that crashed in a farm field in Pennsylvania, supposedly headed for Washington D.C. piloted by U.S. military trained “Muslim terrorists” (Was it shot down by the military as is standard military policy when a hijacked aircraft becomes a threat, especially a threat to national security?). Why was there so much media analysis of what happened on that flight, which we couldn’t possibly know of for certain, to the point where a Hollywood movie was made depicting such nebulous speculation and conjecture in vivid high definition detail?
Now we have this highly suspicious terrorist act by Hasan, where we know he was thwarted and harassed to the breaking point, and we know he had an internal conflict between his ethnicity and people versus his military service, while working for a military that slaughters innocent Muslims with extreme ethnic prejudice (if you were a white guy working for an Arab army that did this to Americans, do you think you’d have a few internal conflicts too? How about a few dead collaterally damaged Texan babies? Want to work for those guys?).
Yet our military with its vast resources can’t figure this stuff out until after a great American tragedy happens, coinciding with Veterans day and on our American soil - all the talking points of making a case for war against a foreign enemy. What a great photo op for Obama at Ft. Hood the day before Veterans Day. Can you think of a better commercial for going to all out war?
Naomi Kline’s book The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism (http://www.naomiklein.org/shock-doctrine), points out ever so clearly the history of the United states government in using disasters to make a case for war, not only in our country but first in South American countries which were the proving ground for this policy. And we see this happening over and over again. Here we are with Obama on the brink of sending ten’s of thousands more troops off to fight and die in vain for a war without end, without purpose, without strategy. A war that targets innocent civilians because our crack cutting edge military can’t figure out the difference between civilians and terrorists, and in the process of killing the innocent, proliferates more terrorism.
It is very highly likely, in light of this historical fact, that our intelligence agencies employed persons from the Muslim connections that Hasan had, to his neighbors that harassed him to his wit’s end, with the sole purpose of perpetuating and coercing him to commit these crimes, so that they would have an awesome ongoing news story (one that will now last for months since they went to extreme measures to keep him alive) to make a case for perpetual war in Afghanistan and to sway public opinion away from it’s current sentiment against staying in Afghanistan.Someone clue me in here. Are the people in our intelligence agencies complete idiots?... more
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Americans imagine a simpler world, and then they make rules based on this imagination. Because the Constitution represents a time honored set of rules-with the added weight these rules are supposed to actually exist-Americans demand “their constitutional rights” and believe these rights will be given to them. Like any good movie this demands a suspension of disbelief-because the rich and powerful regularly escape the bounds of these rights, responsibilities, and (most importantly) the restrictions. Willful blindness is a necessity for belief in the sanctity of old documents. These creeds, drawn up in a different time, with different problems have to be “interpreted” to create relevance. But there is a consequence for depending on interpretation. First, anyone gaining the privilege of interpretation can see what he wants in the old words. But secondly, there are consequences to any decision; and there is no now that we have defended ‘our rights’ we can go home and sleep soundly knowing we have protected democracy. There is no happily ever after.
The second amendment of the constitution of the United States is in the news more often than other members of the Bill of Rights. The founding fathers are often cast as guaranteeing the right of every citizen to have a gun. This is a willful interpretation of their words and more importantly, a misinterpretation of their motives, even their psychology. A factor missing from modern analysis is the psychology of leaders of a small weak country, having won a war more by circumstance and reluctance on the opposition’s part, wrote a document reflecting the possibility the war of independence would not be the final war, and the next war might not have favorable circumstance-they could lose. With a possible loss, perhaps in the offing, they codified “rights” such as maintaining a militia-which would be acceptable to the British as a ‘keeping order’ efficiently in the hinterlands of the vast new nation. These militias would be key to another, further, war of independence. Codified rights would be less likely to be struck down. Efficient means of keeping order and protection for the expanding borders would appeal to the British. This was the greater reality of the 2nd Amendment. The founding fathers viewing the modern interpretation of their writings would be shocked and horrified. The loss of ruling power by the men with property would be terrifying. Every citizen armed-Never…
But it is the adherence to old documents and the psychology of the past that should give great pause. We honor the constitution because it gives a sense of order. Without this wall against circumstantial morality the country could veer in any direction and the country could be lost. A bill could be introduced to restrict and control an industry, only to be affected by lobbyist and rewritten to codify the demands for profit by that very industry(like the Cable Bill). So to maintain any illusion of control-we worship the constitution and feel this frees us from any consequence-as if the founding fathers were omniscient for all times and circumstances. Americans forget that any moment of crisis the first thing tossed are the constitutional rights of someone seen as less deserving. Lincoln, FDR, bush, all violated the rights of citizens and were allowed to do so because of the “good motive justification.” So the “Rights” so fervently believed in and used as a banner by so many-are simply canceled with some justification. Any rule or law that allows for excuse is a suggestion not a law-but this also is ignored.
But what if the Constitution is viewed as inviolable law? There are still consequences to every decision. What if the second amendment really meant for every American to have a gun? Is this a stable order for a country? There is an obvious price to pay for an armed citizenry. First problem is, there will have to be a large manufacturing industry to provide the guns. When the market is satisfied-every American has a gunAmericans imagine a simpler world, and then they make rules based on this imagination.... more
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Hasan likely suffered from secondary PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) in listening to the many troops' horrid stories of war as they came to him after returning from war. Fort Hood Private Michael Kern who knew of Hasan tells of his own problems dealing with his killing a child, and how stories like this had to effect Hasan.
Watch the video: http://www.democracynow.org/2009/11/9/when_the_war_comes_homes_iraq
Hasan had tried in vain to leave the military but there was no way once you are deployed as the private says.
Hasan's cousin tells Amy Goodman, "About a week before the incident, he hired a lawyer in order to leave the Army, get married, and live his life. But they rejected his request and asked him to go to Afghanistan. This was the biggest shock for him. So, there’s another reason why he did what he did, not just because of the harassment of the soldiers. There is another reason."
An independent journalist and author Dahr Jamail describes how the military pressures troops to "suck it up" and not admit to any PTSD, which indicates the problem is a "rampant problem." According to Jamail, "And even those that do get help and go get treatment, they find themselves being put back into action anyway. As of last year, more than 43,000 soldiers already listed as medically unfit to be deployed were deployed anyway. We have a situation right now in Iraq where 12 percent of combat troops in Iraq, and then over in Afghanistan 17 percent of combat troops in Afghanistan, are already on psychotropic meds to help them sleep at night and because they have PTSD and severe depression. And this is just that we know of. So, they’re encouraged not to talk about it, not to get help. And then when they do, they simply don’t tend to get the treatment that they need."
Private Kern went on to say that he didn't think anyone at Ft. Hood saw Hasan's religion as the problem, "And even those that do get help and go get treatment, they find themselves being put back into action anyway. As of last year, more than 43,000 soldiers already listed as medically unfit to be deployed were deployed anyway. We have a situation right now in Iraq where 12 percent of combat troops in Iraq, and then over in Afghanistan 17 percent of combat troops in Afghanistan, are already on psychotropic meds to help them sleep at night and because they have PTSD and severe depression. And this is just that we know of. So, they’re encouraged not to talk about it, not to get help. And then when they do, they simply don’t tend to get the treatment that they need.:
Hasan's lawyer requested he not be interrogated until further investigation and doubts there can be a fair trial in light of Obama's Tuesday visit and public statement made by the post commander.
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Retired Col. John P. Galligan said he was contacted Monday by Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan's family and was headed to an Army hospital in San Antonio to meet Hasan.
"Until I meet with him, it's best to say we're just going to protect all of his rights," Galligan said. "There's a lot of facts that still need to be developed, and the time for that will come in due course."
"You've got his commander in chief showing up tomorrow," Galligan said. "That same kind of publicity naturally creates an issue as to whether you find a fair and impartial forum, whether that's in the military or even if it were in a federal forum."
Hasan, 39, is accused of opening fire on the Army post on Thursday, killing 13 people and wounding 29 before civilian police shot him in the torso. He was taken into custody and eventually moved to Brooke Army Medical Center, where he was in stable condition Monday and able to talk, hospital spokesman Dewey Mitchell said.
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But Hasan has not yet been charged. Meanwhile the AP reports that a 9/11 terrorist contact praised Hasan's actions, which exacerbates the widespread hatred toward Hasan and is exactly the kind of reporting that makes for this issue of him being unable to get a fair trail.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ihGepAkECGoDagETVBMpPb3w7Y3gD9BS96PO2
Military justice experts agree that this trial will be a long complicated proceeding. His physical and mental health will first have to be evaluated and will likely cause a delay of many months. He will be tried under the military justice system, not civilian law, unless there are findings that he was operating as an international terrorist, in which case he'll be transferred for federal prosecution under ant-terrorism laws.
If he remains in military custody it's unlikely he'll get the death penalty since the military justice system's lengthy appeals process has effectively thwarted all executions since 1961.
Hasan has not yet been charged with any crime either civilian or military. Richard Durbin, chief of the criminal section for the U.S. Attorney's Office in San Antonio declined to comment on Sunday.
Because of the high publicity the Army will offer his defense a "wide latitude."
The Houston Chronicle reports the following:
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“We're in for a long haul,” said Scott L. Silliman, a retired career JAG officer in the Air Force who now directs Duke University Law School's Center on Ethics and National Security....
What's likely to occur is a court-martial under Article 2 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, to punish offenses allegedly committed by a man wearing a U.S. military uniform against other military personnel on a military base. The Army's Criminal Investigation Division is responsible for recommending charges, prompting the military equivalent of a grand jury, known as an Article 32 hearing, where both prosecutors and defense can present evidence.
Those results would be reviewed by base commander Cone, who would decide whether to convene a court-martial. The 12-person jury would be composed of officers higher in rank than Hasan – lieutenant colonels and above.
Under the rules of military justice, Hasan is permitted to have a lawyer present during interrogation, but former military lawyers say that the Army psychiatrist cannot be questioned by Army Criminal Investigation Division agents until doctors formally deem him medically and mentally able.
“A doctor would have to certify that the suspect is competent to decide whether to remain silent, speak to investigators or ask for a lawyer,” Silliman said. “He would have to be able to make an intelligent and informed decision before waiving any of his rights.”
....One military justice expert also predicted that an insanity defense is unlikely. Silliman said the standard for an insanity defense under the Uniform Code of Military Justice is that the suspect “cannot comprehend the wrongfulness of his actions.”
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Hasan's family demands that he be allow to speak to a lawyer before investigators or any mental health evaluation.
The Chronicle also reports that the trial will likely be moved from the Ft. Hood location because of the "climate" there and the large number of local victims.
Image: Kileen prepares for Obama's visit Tuesday
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/6710592.htmlHasan likely suffered from secondary PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) in... more
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A chief spokesman for the pro-life, far-right organization, American Family Association, has called for the purging of Muslim soldiers from military ranks in the wake of the tragic killings at Fort Hood.
"As soon as Muslims give us a foolproof way to identify their jihadis from their moderates, we'll go back to allowing them to serve."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/09/conservative-group-time-t_n_350945.htmlA chief spokesman for the pro-life, far-right organization, American Family... more
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The BBC reports that Muslims in the U.S. military now fear more harassment above that which they already are accustomed due to the recent shooting at Ft. Hood by a Muslim soldier.
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It is not clear exactly how many Muslims serve in the 1.4 million-strong US armed forces, as recruits are not required to state their religion.
We have a diverse armed forces, and whatever their religion our troops have a part to play, and they play it very well says Lt Col Nathan Banks Army spokesman.
According to the Pentagon, there are 3,572 Muslims in active service. However, some Muslims in the military say the real number is as high as 20,000.
The US government has made no secret of the fact that it would like to see more people from Arab and Muslim communities joining the armed forces.
More American Muslim troops on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan has long been seen as a vital part in helping the US in its missions to win hearts and minds in those countries.
"They are a great asset to the army," Lt Col Nathan Banks, army spokesman for the Pentagon, told the BBC.
"When they do deploy they help facilitate a lot of our missions. American Muslims in the army work hand in hand with local Muslims, and we welcome that."
He said the army did not foresee heightened tensions within its ranks as a result of Fort Hood.
"This was an isolated incident. Our hearts go out to everyone affected by this, but the army will stay strong. We have a diverse armed forces, and whatever their religion our troops have a part to play, and they play it very well."
But anti-Muslim sentiment is being felt as a result of the shooting. The Arab-American Institute - which condemned the massacre - said it had received at least one threatening phone call, and expected more.
One soldier at the Texas base admitted the coming days would be tough for his Muslim colleagues.
"They've taken it hard due to the fact that it kind of puts a negative light on them and makes people distrust them," he told the BBC.
"Because everybody is going to look at them [and think]: "Well, you're probably going to pull something like this. And it's a sad fact that that will happen".
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8347586.stmThe BBC reports that Muslims in the U.S. military now fear more harassment above that... more
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LINK: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091108/ap_on_re_us/us_fort_hood_hasan_s_condition
A U.S. Army spokesman says the man authorities say went on a shooting spree at Fort Hood has been taken off a ventilator but still remains in intensive care at a military hospital.
Spokesman Col. John Rossi told reporters on Saturday at Fort Hood that he is not sure if Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan is able to communicate.
Hasan was shot during an exchange of gunfire during Thursday's attack. The military moved him on Friday to Brooke Medical Center in San Antonio, about 150 miles southwest of Fort Hood. Army officials have said Hasan is "not able to converse."
Thirteen people were killed and 29 others wounded in Thursday's attack at Fort Hood.LINK: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091108/ap_on_re_us/us_fort_hood_hasan_s_condition... more
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