Fort Hood Shooter is a Lone Wolf Terrorist

Last June I wrote a column about how lone wolf terrorists are almost impossible to stop. I predicted that “other lone wolves will emerge in the coming years.” Sadly, my prediction came true, and much sooner than I had hoped. My prediction still stands. Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the Fort Hood shooter who killed 13 and wounded 30 others, perfectly fits the profile of a lone wolf terrorist. He wanted a discharge from the Army after receiving poor efficiency reports. He did not want to deploy to Afghanistan. He claimed he was “harassed” because he was a Muslim. And he voiced opinions that Muslims should not be in the military because the U.S. war on terror was actually a war on Islam. Hasan decided to go on a lone wolf jihad suicide mission and obviously thought he would not survive the event. Through his actions, it’s apparent he made up his mind to die in good standing with Islam rather than deploy to Afghanistan where he would oppose fellow Muslims. That inner conflict, coupled with his crumbling professional and personal life, most probably gave him suicidal thoughts. He reasoned that killing himself was unacceptable because his religion forbids it; but dying in defense of Islam would achieve his goal of committing suicide, and he would receive a higher place in heaven. Surely, the thought of 72 virgins waiting for him must have crossed his sick mind. I hope the 72 virgins that jihad warriors receive turn out to be retired, shotgun-toting American nuns in habits. Hasan is the most recent in a long line of lone wolf terrorists to attack the United States military. Two of the 13 killed at Fort Hood were Navy captains. The last event was the killing of two young soldiers outside a recruiting station in Little Rock, Arkansas by a black Muslim convert this past June. The Army is defenseless against such attacks so long as it allows openly devout Muslims within its ranks. To avoid criticisms of being a racist organization, the Army will allow Muslims to continue to serve, as they should. However, there must be a way the Army can protect itself from soldier-extremists who decide to become jihad warriors. Hasan, born in Virginia, received his taxpayer-funded medical training from the Army. His claims of harassment for being a Muslim are ridiculous. Soldiers don’t harass majors, especially medical doctors and psychiatrists. Any criticisms he received were probably a result of his poor work performance and lack of focus. Despite being “110 percent American,” according to his relatives, wearing a salwar kameez – a popular Afghan garb – to work on occasion was an in-your-face statement to others that he was a Muslim. This simple act of defiance was a clue that this guy was more Muslim than American soldier. The military justice system is swift. By the time he recovers from his four gunshot wounds, inflicted by a female Department of Defense police officer who saved an untold number of lives, the investigation and Article 32 hearing, the military’s version of a grand jury, will conclude. Hasan’s general courts-martial will undoubtedly lead to his conviction, unless his attorneys can convince the court that he is insane. If not, they’ll portray him to the jury as a victim of the Army and its mean soldiers who harass poor defenseless Muslims and send them to faraway places and force them to fight other Muslims. They’ll say he has Pre-Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from counseling many returning combat veterans, which is more nonsense. It will be quite a spectacle to behold. Fortunately, the military justice system has a death penalty; and if convicted, Hasan is the perfect example why it exists. I hope members of the 1st Cavalry Division, stationed at Fort Hood, will be members of his firing squad – to send Maj. Hasan straight to Hell, as he well deserves.