desertgrandma,
Until the man comes out of his coma and is able to be interrogated, any speculation as to his motives can be nothing more than speculation, and I don't think that's very productive - do you? Terrorism is one possibility, yes, but equally so is the possibility that he merely went on a random shooting spree at his place of work, as regretably have postal workers, college students, etc, done so in the past.
Don't you think it would be better to wait for the facts?
I don't know if you read this editorial in the "Dallas Morning News", but I agree with every word of it:
Quote:
As of this writing, the killer's motive is not known – and depending on how much he can or will cooperate with investigators, it may never be – but his name is Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, believed to be in his late 30s. It obviously could prove significant that the murderer was believed to be a Muslim, suggesting the motive might be ideological or religious anger, as opposed to post-traumatic stress disorder or some other psychiatric distress. This wasn't the act of a young and traumatized enlisted man; the mass murderer was an officer – and, indeed, a psychiatrist himself, one about to deploy to Iraq or Afghanistan.
It is tempting, in our collective grief and anger, to jump to furious and intemperate conclusions. Given that this country has been engaged in a war on Islamist terror for most of this decade, it's natural to focus on the killer's religion. ("I wish his name was Smith," an unidentified Army officer's wife told ABC News, and who wouldn't agree?)
Be careful here, and let the FBI and military investigators do their careful and deliberate work. If there was any sort of conspiracy, they will find it – but don't assume the worst.
The Pentagon estimates that roughly 3,000 American Muslims serve in the U.S. military, though they don't have a precise count. Islamic soldiers no doubt get lots of grief serving in a military that's occupying and fighting in Muslim countries, but serve they do – and by choice. They don't deserve to have their patriotism and loyalty questioned because of this.
What they do deserve, as do the rest of us, is a complete examination of this criminal act and a clear resolution on what led to it.
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