Terrorist to plead insanity
November 29, 12:46 PM
Denver Race Relations ExaminerRose Conley
After the shooting at Fort Hood, reports of Maj. Hasan having PTSD surfaced quickly as an explanation for his actions. This disorder caused him to become temporarily insane and follow the instructions of Anwar al-Awlaki, a Yemeni-American cleric who Hasan was openly sharing e-mails with for a long time. This cleric urges Muslims to view terrorism as a righteous and noble act. Is insanity a defense or a prerequisite for being a terrorist?
Lisa Miller writes in the November 23, 2009 Newsweek in her article 'Yes, He Is a Terrorist' about the tract '44 Ways to Support Jihad' written by al Awlaki to instruct the reader , 'Jihad today is obligatory on every capable Muslim. So as a Muslim who wants to please Allah it is your duty to find ways to practice it and support it.' Hasan chose to follow that guidance.
Hasan found a way to support Jihad. That he was influenced does not favorably mitigate the extent of his guilt, it serves to validate unequivocably that Hasan is a crazy Muslim terrorist. Not crazy because he's Muslim or Muslim because he's a terrorist , but each component individually combined to ignite the one person responsible for the murders at Fort Hood. Although, his Army superiors may be somewhat culpable.
Records indicate erratic and unsatisfactory performance from Hasan through his training and into his work experience. Why wasn't he fired or removed from duty? Hasan saw only 1 patient per week when his co-workers were seeing many more than that because of his questionable skills. Beyond insane, how long was Maj. Hasan inept and why wasn't something done about it?
The Army should take a look at its practices and procedures to insure that the appropriate action is taken when red flags appear. If it looks like a duck and it quacks like a duck and it waddles like a duck, chances are it is an insane terrorist, duck. It would be crazy to find Hasan innocent by reason of insanity.
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