A Modern Woman's Perspective On The Kingdom of God on Earth


February 14, 2013

REFLECTION: Fort Hood Shootings

     I am writing this post on Tuesday afternoon, before the State of the Union address to the American people.  It is my understanding that, within the audience tonight, will be carefully selected victims of gun violence.  They have been chosen to enhance this Administration's agenda of gun control.  I am anticipating that justice will be demanded for those killed and harmed by the various acts of madmen.  If I am wrong, and the victims are not highlighted, then I apologize for the inaccuracy of my statements.  But I will not make an apology for the rest of this post.
     In November of 2009, Major Nidal Hasan committed jihad at Fort Hood, just outside Killeen, Texas.  In the aftermath, 13 lay dead, and 29 were wounded.  Kimberly Munley was the police sergeant, who along with her partner, Sgt. Mark Todd, managed to shoot Hasan and stop the murders.  They were subsequently honored as heroes at that year's State of the Union address.  They and the other victims were promised by their Commander-in-Chief that they would be taken care of.  They have been gravely disappointed.
     As you probably know, the mass murder was initially listed as a "terrorist attack", but has been officially designated as "workplace violence."  This is not only an egregious act of injustice to the victims, but is appallingly absurd.  There is ample evidence that Hasan was in contact with known Al-Queda leader Anwar al-Awlaki prior to the attack.  Couple that with witnesses who said Hasan shouted "Allahu Akbar" as he opened fire on soldiers being processed for deployment to Afghanistan, and it sure sounds like a picture-perfect snapshot of jihad to me.  Yet, investigators in the FBI and U.S. Army somehow determined that Hasan acted alone and they found no evidence of links to terrorist groups.
     To label this as workplace violence is a slap in the face to our military.  Hasan did not have a bone to pick with those particular soldiers that day; he probably didn't even know any of them personally.  He was waging a holy war against all American military on behalf of his twisted religious ideology. But it gets even worse.  By refusing to designate his heinous acts as "combat related", the Military can deny the victims Purple Hearts, which means the Fort Hood victims are receiving lower priority access to medical care as veterans, and a loss of financial benefits available to those who injuries are classified as "combat related."  This is shameful!
     Victims were forced to find civilian doctors to treat their medical needs, as if they had only been injured in a car accident.  By denying them access to VA medical care, financial hardship is just the tip of the iceberg.  You can imagine the cases of PTSD that will go untreated and undiagnosed.  And to add insult to injury, the Secretary of the Army, John McHugh claims to be unaware of any complaints by Fort Hood victims.
     So the victims have been forced to form an alliance and sue Secretary McHugh, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, and former FBI Director Robert Mueller for Wrongful Death, Assault and Battery, Due Process Violations, Civil Conspiracy, and Negligent and Intentional Misrepresentation, among other injuries.  You can read the entire lawsuit here, but among the most prominent complaints is that "Ironically, the very same government defendants who gave Hasan preferential treatment because of his ethnicity and religion, have given his victims -- the soldiers and civilians who were casualties in the Fort Hood terror attack -- inferior and degrading treatment relative to the soldiers and civilians injured in other terrorist attacks."
     It is shocking that they have to resort to filing a lawsuit to receive the proper care and honors that they are entitled to.  The Government asks them to don the uniform for us and then abandons them in their hour of need?  Meanwhile, Hasan continues to receive paychecks, and his medical expenses are paid by the military.  This is indefensible and immoral!  Now I fully understand why heroes such as Chris Kyle feel compelled to donate their own financial means to help their fellow soldiers.
     So, as I finish writing this post, just hours before the State of the Union Address, I fully expect to hear the President talk about Sequestration, and the threats from the Middle East and North Korea.  At the heart of all those issues lies the state of our military.  It is obvious that they are not being honored or protected.  It is our duty to stand up for them as they have stood for us all these long years of war. They deserve better than they are getting.  Make your voices heard.

Job 19:7    "Though I cry, ‘Violence!’ I get no response; though I call for help, there is no justice."

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