FT. Hood: An act of Terrorism

Imagine if you will, a police officer sitting in his patrol car on his city streets. This police officer is a decorated gang task force member, well known in his department as a man that has done serious damage to the gangs that prey upon his city. He has been recognized for his efforts and is considered a hero for the work that he does. As he sits in his car, a lone gang member sneaks up behind him, pulls a pistol, and shoots this officer in the head, killing him instantly. Quickly, the perpetrator is captured and taken to jail.

Almost immediately after the shooting, the Police Chief is on TV stating that this gruesome murder is not gang related. Never mind the fact that the man in custody for the crime is a well known for pro-gang speech, wearing gang colors, sports numerous gang tattoos, nor that witnesses to the crime state that the criminal shouted "This is for putting my brothers in jail!" right before the shooting. The police chief still declares that the shooting was not gang related.

Just a short time after the police chief makes this declaration; the Mayor of that city goes to a neighborhood well known as the turf of a specific gang and gives a press conference stating that he will personally ensure that there are no repercussions upon the neighborhoods inhabitants due to this crime. That the criminal was alone and it can't be proven that he had any direct ties to the gang to which the Mayor is now speaking. That the members of this gang should feel safe knowing that all major parties believe that this killing was not gang related.

As you read this story, do you get a feeling that this is farfetched story, one of pure fiction? Well, it's not that much different from what is happening at Ft. Hood now. Almost immediately, less than 30 minutes, after the coward Nadal Malik Hasan butchered 13 American soldiers and wounded 30 others, US officials were on TV declaring that this massacre was not terror related. There is absolutely no way that anyone could have known if it was, was not, terror related in such a short time frame, so why were they so quick to declare it not? Now, as we learn more about this man, we have every reason to think differently.

Never minding the fact that Hasan proudly declared that he was a Muslim first, American second. Foregoing proof that Hasan publicly defended, even stated that he admired, suicide bombers, or that they have emails showing him communicating with Al Qaeda, our leaders cannot admit that this was an act of terror. Ignoring testimonies that this man, charged with the well being of our returning soldiers, often advised these soldiers to convert to Islam and counseled them that they were fighting an unjust war, this man was left alone to commit this crime. Our leaders state that there are no direct ties to terrorists’ organizations, so therefore, this cannot be an act of terror, but we need to look no farther than the words of Nadal Hasan himself to see that it was. Witnesses and neighbors state that Hasan was handing out Koran's that day and stating that he was going to do "God's work" and, just prior to the shootings, he was heard yelling "Allahu Akbar". This is proof that the man who committed this heinous act was doing so in the name of a cause, a cause that is supported by Jihadists around the world, which is to kill infidels in the name of Islam.

My goal here is not to dissect the past and find any person other than Nadal Malik Hasan responsible for these crimes, but to hopefully open the eyes of America to learn from its mistakes. In order to address and resolve an issue, we must first admit that there is one. We can no longer deny that we are involved in a war on terror, a war in which our enemy seeks to completely and utterly annilate us. A war in which there is no middle ground, no compromise, no ending other than to see us, and our way of life, destroyed. Call this cowardice what it was, an act of terrorism, not a "Man Made Disaster". Doing anything other than speaking the truth only emboldens our enemy and causes harm to this country.

Our leaders use word games to down play the threat against us in an effort to dispel prejudice, but by not speaking truthfully, they are only expanding and proliferating the bigotry. By not being honest, these acts lead people to fear any, and all, associated. Not all Muslims are terrorists, but a large majority of terrorists are Muslim. We must face that fact and attack it head on. We are not interested the modern Muslim, but instead, those that are extreme Islamists and Jihadists. Our leaders must draw that line and openly seek to show where that line lay. If you are Muslim who practices your faith, we have no concern with you. However, if you are a Muslim that openly preaches death to infidels, the heroism of suicide bombings, or associate with known extremists, then you are our targets. We will be coming after you to prevent attacks on our citizens. It is the government’s mandate, its goal, to protect its citizens, but being afraid to call out, and honestly speak against, those that do us harm, does an even greater harm. When our leaders go to radical Islamist nations and state that we will ensure that there is no backlash resulting from these crimes, then our enemies grow stronger, knowing that they can attack us at will.

We are at war and our enemy is causing damage! It's time to do your job and protect your citizens, not pander and bow before the threat of political correctness. The greatest threat an enemy can do is to damage those that protect us and this is exactly what happened at Ft. Hood. Our enemy struck a blow to our protectors. They have instilled a fear in a place where our soldiers should find comfort. This is a time for our citizens to stand up for, and protect, those that offer their lives for our freedom. We must demand that our leaders do their jobs and protect our country. We must demand that our leaders stop playing the word games, falsely apologizing for our country, and pandering to our enemies in hopes of a non-violent resolution. We have been attacked, multiple times, and our citizens and soldiers have paid for those attacks in blood. We can no longer ignore the obvious, in that there are people who hate us for our way of life, and we must come to the defense of our freedom. We can no longer worry about "hurting the feelings" of our neighbors when our very safety, and sovereignty, are at stake!! This country cannot afford to go back to a pre-9/11 mentality. We cannot forget that there are those that wish to do us harm, simply because of our freedom, and we must have the courage and the fortitude to stand up for our beliefs.