tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6868054365184232844.post1992153693887524138..comments2010-01-30T17:42:52.036-08:00Comments on Beastin' in the Middle East: Hasan's Religion Irrelevant: A Story for Veteran's Daynancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03258696572865113823noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6868054365184232844.post-17133654432040376952009-11-19T23:56:36.013-08:002009-11-19T23:56:36.013-08:00Colin -
From the Associated Press 11/6: "Sol...Colin -<br /><br />From the Associated Press 11/6: "Soldiers reported that the gunman shouted "Allahu Akbar!" — an Arabic phrase for "God is great!" — before opening fire Thursday, said Lt. Gen. Robert Cone, the base commander. He said officials had not confirmed Hasan made the comment."<br /><br />Aaron - you're right, he was bron in the states, but dude was definitely Palestinian.<br /><br />Becca - here here!nancyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03258696572865113823noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6868054365184232844.post-60754955518697367002009-11-13T12:42:26.538-08:002009-11-13T12:42:26.538-08:00..."let's take advantage of things that m......"let's take advantage of things that make this country livable." Well said.<br /><br />Just the fact that Hasan snapped and massacred 13 other people, regardless of his religious identification, should alert everyone in this country about the demon that haunts our troops - PTSD. We seem to do such a wonderful job of saluting our troops, throwing flowers at them, wasting bullets in gun salutes and saying goodbye to them.... But collectively as a country we seem to have never learned how to support them upon their return. What will it take for us to learn how to develop awareness to the suffering of others, and to set a care system in place? Should we ask Monsanto to begin injecting our GMO's with compassion?<br /><br />Nidal Hasan's identity as a Muslim soldier should not be viewed as unfortunate or tragic, but today it seems to be just that, because his identity as a Muslim is armless prey, down upon which religious extremists in our own country can swoop, all the while bashing and fuming against one out of many religious groups in the world that it simply does not understand.Rebecca Halehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03268356571631465699noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6868054365184232844.post-33745968275583465382009-11-11T20:47:21.338-08:002009-11-11T20:47:21.338-08:00just a side note, Nidal Hasan was born in American...just a side note, Nidal Hasan was born in American, and is of Jordanian descent. The mainstream question on this incident are were his actions a terrorist attack based on religious extremism or did he just reach a breaking point because of racial prejudice and snap, killing 13 people.<br />Either way his religion is important and focal point....be it him killing in the name of Islam or killing because he was pushed over the edged by his peers because he was a Muslim.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6868054365184232844.post-61022178920820175892009-11-11T20:27:25.109-08:002009-11-11T20:27:25.109-08:00To be fair, an eyewitness solder said on CNN today...To be fair, an eyewitness solder said on CNN today that Hasan screamed "Allahu akbar" as he opened fire, and recently leaked information revealed that he had been in frequent communication with a hardline anti-American cleric over the past two years. On top of his inappropriately-delivered "Muslims shouldn't have to serve overseas" presentation, I think it's hard to say that his specific religion was irrelevant to his actions. Perhaps, though, he fell back on that religion as a coping mechanism to deal with the military's culture of dissuading admission of mental weakness/illness. <br /><br />Interestingly, some military personel (one on Diane Rehm today; can't remember name) are positing that it is *because* Hasan is Muslim that he wasn't investigated more closely after expressing strong anti-involvement sentiments. According to the guest, since 9/11 military brass has been treading on eggshells with Muslim soldiers so as not to seem like they're singling them out or promoting intolerance of Muslim-Americans.<br /><br />Regardless of all that, the military culture is inherently fucked, especially when it comes to the treatment of veterans. Since 2001, more veterans and soldiers have died by suicide than operations in Iraq and Afghanistan combined. Nuts!! And yet so many D and R conservatives continue to oppose GI and other veteran-support bills while paying lip service to empty slogans like "support our troops." Happy Veterans Day indeed!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com