Monday, November 9, 2009

US Army Has Been Choosing Diversity Over Security; After the Ft. Hood Jihadist Murder Spree, Will the Army Take Responsibility?

As more stories about the Ft. Hood Islamic Jihadist mass murder come out, one thing is becoming clear – the United States Army has chosen “diversity” and liberal political correctness over the physical security of our country and that of its own soldiers. Anyone watching TV or reading the papers has now seen multiple current or former colleagues of the Ft. Hood Jihadist relate how they were uncomfortable with his often-professed radical Islamic ideology and anti-Americanism, how he had had counseling, but that nothing seemingly was done about him by Army authorities out of fear of appearing anti-Muslim.

Army Chief of Staff General George Casey appeared yesterday on the NBC News interview program “Meet the Press.” Here’s my partial transcript; the clip is available on You Tube.
Host David Gregory: “How did the Army miss this [increasingly unstable guy]?”
Casey: “I don’t want to say we missed this. We’re starting to see [Islam-related] anecdotes like this come out, [but] I worry a little bit about speculation like this based on anecdotes….” After describing how there will be a thorough investigation, the results of which we all should wait for, Casey stated “Right now, it’s way too soon to be drawing any conclusions about what his motivations were.”
Gregory asks about possible anti-Muslim backlash in the Army:
Casey: “Our diversity, not only in the Army but in our country, is a strength. And as horrific as this tragedy was, if our diversity becomes a casualty, I think that’s worse.”
Losing some diversity would be worse than what, General Casey? Eradicating the Army of vocally pro-Jihadist Muslims would be worse than what, General Casey? No statement from Casey about how the Army never has and never will allow liberal political correctness and special sensitivity toward Muslims to endanger this country or service men and women. Not a whit. Only that diversity is all important, trumping security. And Casey calls the Jihadist murder spree a “tragedy,” as if it were a tornado or a flood, something out of the Army’s control.

And this interview was not an aberration. Casey repeated this line of thought on other interview shows (link). His attitude is a disgrace, and helps explain why numerous Army personnel were afraid to forcefully speak up and/or take action against the man who became a Jihadist murderer for fear of Army repercussions against them. A fish rots from the head down. General Casey should resign – he has failed the Army and his country, and his attitude is patently a danger to service men and women going forward.

Linda Chavez writes (link) at Commentary's blog Contentions:
Taken at his word, Casey’s chief concern seems to be not protecting American soldiers from death at the hands of a jihadist in their midst, but preventing a “backlash” against “diversity” …. The statements were offensive on several levels. It’s as if our leaders — civilian and, in this case, military — believed that Americans are a pack of bigots who’ll be beating up innocent Muslims on the streets and vandalizing mosques if given the least excuse. That hasn’t happened, even in the aftermath of 9/11…. From President Obama on down, including the military chain of command, government officials seem to want to squelch legitimate questions about the role that Hasan’s religious views played in his decision to open fire at Fort Hood. That kind of willful myopia will breed suspicion and distrust among the American people and put servicemen and women at risk. And if Gen. Casey truly believes that “diversity” is more important than protecting his troops, he should hang up his uniform.
In WWII, to take just one of innumerable examples, Italian Christians fought Italian Christians, German Christians fought German Christians, and Japanese Americans formed one of bravest combat units in the war. This country should expect no more and no less from service men and women of any ethnic background or religion, including Islam.

Mark Steyn asks (link) at National Review Online the broader question about who the more dangerous enemy of Western culture is, and he doesn’t think it’s a bunch of Islamic Jihadists in a cave in Afghanistan.
So who's nuttier? The [Ft. Hood Jihadist] guy who gives a lecture to other military doctors in which he says non-Muslims should be beheaded and have boiling oil poured down their throats? Or the guys who say "Hey, let's have this fellow counsel our traumatized veterans and then promote him to major and put him on a Homeland Security panel? Or the Army Chief of Staff who thinks the priority should be to celebrate diversity, even unto death? Or the columnist who, when a man hands out copies of the Koran before gunning down his victims while yelling "Allahu akbar," says you're racist if you bring up his religion? Or the Secretary of Homeland Security who warns that the principal threat we face now is an outbreak of Islamophobia? Or the president who says we cannot "fully know" why Major Hasan did what he did, so why trouble ourselves any further?
In the larger context, the Ft. Hood Jihadist murder spree is just part of the ongoing attack on Western culture by the Unholy Alliance (link) of radical Muslims and anti-Western leftists and ultraliberals. It will be a long struggle.

JMG

Related Post: On the Ft. Hood Muslim Terrorist Mass Murder & Military Liberal “Political Correctness”