Jumping Away From Conclusions At Fort Hood

Do we have permission to think for ourselves yet? If not, then when will our betters grant us that permission?

Shortly after Major Nidal Malik Husan’s one man terrorist attack at Fort Hood Texas, President Barack Obama warned us all against premature conclusions. “We don't know all the answers yet. And I would caution against jumping to conclusions until we have all the facts.”

That’s fair advice. No one would argue in favor of a premature conclusion. And as if to set a good example, Obama Approved Legitimate News Organization host, Chris Matthews, declared that “we may never know if religion was a factor at Fort Hood.”

You mean, that part about Hasan chanting “Alahu Akbar” (Allah is great!) as he murdered soldiers wasn’t a clue? Or the story about Hasan celebrating when US servicemen are killed by roadside bombs isn’t a tipoff? And when Hasan learned in 2003 that a Muslim soldier in Kuwait had gone on a rampage and killed several of his fellow servicemen, he cheered. Is that consistent with anything else we’ve learned?

Now, let’s look at a brief history of “premature conclusions.” When late term abortionist Dr. George Tiller was assassinated in Kansas 6 months ago, the New York Times jumped immediately to the conclusion that principled opposition to late term abortions created a climate that contributed to the murder.

Of course, believing that abortion, especially late term abortion, takes a human life is a completely reasonable position. What else is a pregnant mother going to give birth to – a frog? In truth, if there was the slightest chance that abortion would kill a whale or a polar bear fetus, many of the same people who now favor human abortion would suddenly become pro-life.

But after the Fort Hood atrocity, the New York Times adopted the Matthews’ willful ignorance approach: “It is unclear what might have motivated Major Hasan. He seems to have been influenced by a mixture of political, religious and psychological factors.”

Other Obama Approved Legitimate News Organizations rushed to premature conclusions. Both Time and Newsweek magazines concocted extravagant, totally unsupportable theories for what might have set Hasan off. Newsweek invented a bizarre new combat related disorder. You’ve probably heard of post-traumatic stress disorder. How about pre-traumatic stress disorder as an explanation? Somehow the anticipation of combat stress (in someone who is no danger of experiencing combat) could result in symptoms similar to those who actually experience extreme combat stress.

Not to be outdone, Time Magazine speculated that, in the course of treating soldiers who actually are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, their experiences somehow rubbed off on Hasan. I suppose we could call this second hand post-traumatic stress disorder. Why not? The whole second hand smoke thing worked, didn’t it?

Time magazine even speculated that Hasan had suffered anti-Muslim discrimination and had finally cracked.

These premature conclusions are all okay. They fit the “blame America first” narrative favored by the left and do not point to politically uncomfortable conclusions. I rather expect that the official investigation will come up with similar nonsense.

It’s worth pointing out that both Time and Newsweek have given up any pretense of objectivity and are now competing to remake themselves as The New Republic for the barely literate.

The problem is clear. Hasan was dangerously radical and should not have been wearing the uniform. In all probability the United States Army did not discharge Hasan because it feared that the enforcers of political correctness, such as the Times, MSNBC, Newsweek and Time Magazine, would condemn the Army for religious intolerance. Even after the murders there was an effort to paint Hasan as the victim. In fact it’s quite likely that Hasan’s religion spared him from being discharged. Two years ago, Hasan’s supervisor at Walter Reed Army Medical Center evaluated Hasan as dangerously incompetent.

Whether some spokesman for the Council on American Islamic Relations shares Hasan’s violent predilections is not pertinent. Hasan believed that he was doing Allah’s will and he had as role models a great many other jihadis who have elected to interpret the War on Terror as a war on Islam or who have embraced that often preached doctrine that unbelievers (Christians) should be exterminated.

Many Muslims have died fighting for America in this war. Their sacrifices should not be tarnished by coddling extremists who do not share their values.