Paying the Price for Political Correctness by J. F. Kelly, Jr.

Virtually every columnist and commentator in the world has now weighed in with a version of what drove Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan allegedly (mustn’t omit that politically correct and legally precise qualifier) to embark on a murder spree at Ft. Hood. Purists argue over whether or not these atrocities constitute terrorism. Well, of course they do. How are they different from the acts of a jihadist suicide bomber who kills innocents in the name of Allah? Too many versions portray the killer as a victim himself who finally snapped under the terrible pressures of this hateful war. “He was one of our own,” was a frequently heard comment. Rubbish! Hasan is a medic, not a warrior; a healer, not a soldier. They are products of different cultures, subject to different standards of discipline and far removed from actual combat. The troublesome symptoms that Dr. Hasan displayed would likely never have been tolerated were he, say an infantry officer. Sure, he may have been traumatized by treating victims of combat violence but if that were the case, he’s in the wrong profession. Maj. Hasan reportedly had compared suicide bombers acting out of religious zeal to military heroes who throw themselves on a grenade to save their buddies. In fact, they may have something in common. Each is willing to give up his life, the one for a cause and the other for his comrades. The former is, of course, a murderer and a terrorist but it is a mistake to reflexively label these suicide acts as “cowardly” as officials searching for something profound to say invariably do. A willingness to sacrifice one’s life is not a characteristic of a coward, which is what makes them so scary. How do you deal with a person who is not afraid to die and who believes that God will reward him for his actions? This is not a victim who snapped because of intolerable stresses. He very obviously bought into radical Islam and coldly and calmly finished his morning coffee and went forth to shoot as many infidel warriors as he could before he himself would be martyred. How many more terrorists like him are lurking among us and what can be done to protect us from them? Please don’t tell me that that kind of risk is the price we must pay to live in a free society. Human life is too precious a price to pay just to avoid the possibility of offending somebody’s sensitivities or violating their privacy. There were warning signs all over the place that even the military physicians in charge of his performance should have been able to recognize. Why didn’t someone blow the whistle? There were plenty of occasions, to wit: the angry tirades over U.S. military forces on Muslim soil, killing Muslims; religious proselytizing; contact with anti-American clerics, .and poor or mediocre performance. Yet, no one acted. Now, 13 are dead and others critically wounded. How, you might ask, with reports of poor performance and bizarre emotional outburst, could he possibly be just recently promoted to major? Because, you may be surprised to know, anyone in the medical corps with a pulse is promoted. Who was Hasan’s reprting senior and how well was his performance documented? These are questions an investigation must answer. We always seem to look for reasons to rationalize acts of violence and terrorism. There are always those willing to find some fault in ourselves. If suicide bombers kill, it’s because they were victims of injustice and devoid of hope, driven to desperate measures by decades of American and Western hostility. It would never have happened if only we had reached out and engaged them. But no amount of engagement or persuasion can prevent a person who believes that he is carrying out God’s will from acting. We must focus on finding them and stopping them first, not winning their hearts and minds. This effort is impeded by the political correctness that permeates our society. It truly is our Achilles Heel in the war on terrorism. Protecting innocent lives is more important than protecting sensibilities. In an age of terrorism, political correctness may prove our undoing. Copyright 2009 by J. F. Kelly, Jr.