There was a terrible incident at Fort Hood today where a soldier opened fire with several weapons and killed 11 people while wounding 31 others. The post was locked down as emergency services responded to the scene. A civilian DOD police officer shot and wounded the assailant, identified as Major Nidal Malik Hasan, who was initially reported as killed in the gunfight.
Let me start by saying the thoughts and prayers of the Big Dog family go out to those affected by this terrible incident. May God give you strength and comfort and may he welcome with open arms those brave souls who were taken from us.
Barack Obama was informed of this and he spoke to it at a conference on Native American issues being held by the Department of the Interior. I think the words that he spoke were heartfelt and appropriate but I do have a problem with how he addressed the issue.
He arrived at the conference and thanked people for attending and then he had a “shout out” to someone there. He then discussed how important the issues were blah, blah, blah. Then he spoke about Hood.
Perhaps, and maybe it is just me, he should have mentioned the Fort Hood incident first. Would it have been too difficult to say something like; “Before I address the conference I want to talk about the incident at Fort Hood. By now you have heard about the horrific incident where 11 soldiers were killed by a fellow soldier. Let me say a few words about what has taken place.” Then he could say the words that he spoke and then move on to the shout outs.
It seemed to me that the soldiers involved in this incident and the people of Fort Hood were second in his mind and that he gave the shout outs a higher priority. He is supposed to be the Commander in Chief and that role should have guided him to speak of the issue first. Perhaps he is not as qualified for the job as he led us to believe.
Was this incident Obama’s My Pet Goat moment? He was more interested in addressing the attendees of the event than actually addressing the tragedy at hand. Kind of like when the left said Bush was more interested in reading a book to children than responding to the 9/11 attacks.
In any event, there will be lots of questions over the next few days and weeks and perhaps we can sort out what went wrong.
Particular attention will likely be paid to statements Hasan has reportedly made about Muslims rising against occupiers as well as other statements allegedly made with regard to his opposition to the war. His radical views were of concern to others who worked with him in the past.
I am glad he was not killed. We need some answers from him. I also hope he is the first soldier to get the death penalty in quite some time. Nothing would be better than saving this coward from death only to make him face his accusers and then have to contemplate his demise.
Prayers to Fort Hood.
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