Fort Hood and Self-Medication

The world has either gone stupid or gone insane over the last 50 years, or maybe it was always insane.

I remember My Lai.

Lt. William Calley almost certainly had some sort of psychological breakdown. Yet a lot of people were truly outraged that the massacre was investigated and that charges were filed: The Nation: The Calley Affair (Contd.).

It is fairly clear that military psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan also had some sort of psychological collapse. If he were non-Muslim and non-Arab, people would say he went "postal."

Hasan was not some fanatic Islamic jihadist as Christians and Jews United for Israel tries to imply in the email

• that is the first element in the Press Release section of this blog entry and
• that slanders Tarek Mehanna along with many other Boston-area Muslims.

I have been truly amazed by all the press releases distributed from Muslim organizations condemning the Fort Hood attack and declaring it un-Islamic.

I remember no such flurry from Christian organizations after the details of the My Lai massacre became public, and of course anyone trying to discuss the pre-meditated either malicious or cold-blooded Israeli attack on the USS Liberty is almost invariably accused of anti-Semitism.

When Nidal Malik Hasan joined the army, he was not particularly religious although he may have become more religiously Islamic with the increase in anti-Muslim hostility during the Bush administration period.

Hasan was having problems, received a bad review, disagreed vehemently with US ME policy, and did not want to be deployed to Iraq. He seemed to be having a reaction to dealing with the traumas of soldiers returning from Iraq.

Here are the articles on which I base my summary above.

• Army Doctor Held in Ft. Hood Rampage
• Fort Hood shooting: a murderous society's latest outrage
• Fort Hood shooting: victims' families speak of 'unfathomable' betrayal
• Two from Wisconsin dead, three injured in Fort Hood shooting
• Gunman kills 12, wounds 31 at Fort Hood
• Ft. Hood Investigators Focus on Motive

Here is the speculation.

Major Dr. Hasan was a psychiatrist that was almost certainly profoundly depressed. He probably self-medicated to treat the depression. Getting doses right the first time is hard. Maybe he became more depressed and resorted to alcohol or some other additional drug. It is a recipe for a suicidal or murderous psychotic episode. Some combinations of such drugs and alcohol cause depressed blood flow, which might explain why he survived multiple gun shot wounds.

At this point complete information about Hasan's blood work could be most informative.

Press Releases

We Almost Had a Fort Hood in Boston By Charles Jacobs and Ilya Feoktistov November 6, 2009

Boston Jewish Advocate * November 5, 2009 Home-grown terrorists? By Charles Jacobs and Ilya Feoktistov Two weeks ago, a Sudbury resident, Tarek Mehanna was arrested on terrorism charges. According to the FBI, he and his friends had sought terrorist training in places like Pakistan, and together they plotted to machine gun random shoppers at a local shopping mall here in New England. The images these reports evoke (blood, panic, screams at a mall near you) bring to mind scenes from last year's Mumbai massacre in India where other young men, trained and sent by the Pakistani Lashkar-e-Taiba terror group, gunned down innocents with automatic weapons in public places. Apart from the method of murder, and the request for Pakistani training, could there possibly be any other connection between an arrest in Sudbury and the massacre in Mumbai? Why would a seemingly successful American teenager seek terrorist training in Pakistan? On paper, Tarek Mehanna seems an American success story. Born here to the family of an Egyptian immigrant chemistry professor, he was raised in the Boston suburbs and earned a doctorate from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy. A practicing Muslim, Mehanna taught science and religion at Alhuda Academy, which adjoins the Worcester Islamic Center. But it was at the Islamic Center of New England in Sharon, according to The Boston Globe, that Mehanna met Ahmad Abousamra, with whom the FBI alleges he plotted the terrorist attack. Abousamara, too, seemed to be headed for an American middle class life. He attended Stoughton and Xaverian Brothers high schools and he was on the dean's list at Northeastern University. His father, an immigrant from Syria, was a prominent doctor at Mass General. But somewhere along the way, Abousamra appears to have become a radical. According to the affidavit filed by FBI, he believed that his religion justified killing American shoppers "because they were Kuffar" (non-believers). According to the FBI, Abousamara sought terrorism training in Pakistan with Lashkar-e-Taiba, though he was rejected because he was an Arab and not Pakistani. Shortly after the FBI first questioned him, Abousamara fled to Syria. His father, Abdul-Badi Abousamra, was a prominent leader in the Muslim community. In 1994, he joined the Islamic Center of New England, becoming its president in 1998. The older Abousamra's passion lay with educating the center's youth. He established two schools there: the Islamic Academy of New England and Al Noor Academy. Shortly after he became the center's president, he hired Hafiz Mohammed Masood, then a dropout from Boston University's economics program. Masood served as the Imam at the center and taught at its schools. Masood was eventually arrested and deported for immigration fraud, at which point it was revealed that he was the brother of Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, the founder of Lashkar-e- Taibah. After the Mumbai attacks, the Times of India cited its sources as saying that Masood, together with his Worcester-based brother Hafiz Mohammad Hamid (who was also deported for immigration fraud) were here to live "as imams and preach and raise funds for jihad." (There is an interesting side story about Masood: He came to the aid of the Sharon Jewish community and helped them wash off a swastika from their synagogue, thereby winning the hearts of many local Jews who defend him to this day.) As for Abdul-Badi Abousamra, he became the vice president of the Muslim American Society's Boston branch, which runs the largest Islamic center in the northeast at its Roxbury location. The society is controversial: according to federal prosecutors, it is the American face of the Muslim Brotherhood, the oldest radical Islamic organization in existence and the origin of groups like Al Qaeda and Hamas. Abousamra left for Detroit in early 2007, shortly after his son was interviewed by the FBI. We do not know enough to fully understand the web of relationships among entities in the Middle East, in Pakistan, some of the newly established American Islamic institutions and the recent FBI arrests. The facts seem to be calling for more questions. What happened to these young men? Is the historically moderate Boston Muslim community being radicalized? What is being taught in Islamic schools and centers? Who is funding these efforts? Stay tuned. Charles Jacobs is president and Ilya Feoktistov is research director of the Americans for Peace and Tolerance.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

U.S. Muslims Condemn Attack at Fort Hood
CAIR calls shootings cowardly and inexcusable

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 11/5/09) - A prominent national Muslim civil rights and advocacy group tonight condemned an attack on Fort Hood military base in Texas that left at least 12 people dead.

In a statement, the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said:

“We condemn this cowardly attack in the strongest terms possible and ask that the perpetrators be punished to the full extent of the law. No religious or political ideology could ever justify or excuse such wanton and indiscriminate violence. The attack was particularly heinous in that it targeted the all-volunteer army that protects our nation. American Muslims stand with our fellow citizens in offering both prayers for the victims and sincere condolences to the families of those killed or injured.”

Along with innumerable condemnations of terror, CAIR has in the past launched an online anti-terror petition drive called “Not in the Name of Islam,” initiated a television public service announcement (PSA) campaign against religious extremism and coordinated a “fatwa,” or Islamic religious ruling, against terrorism and extremism.

SEE: CAIR’s Anti-Terrorism Campaigns

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

- END -

CONTACT: CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail: ihooper@cair.com; CAIR Communications Coordinator Amina Rubin, 202-488-8787 or 202-341-4171, E-Mail: arubin@cair.com

Press Release:
ADC Appalled by Attack on Fort Hood, Community Urged to Take Safety Precautions

Washington, DC | November 5, 2009 | www.adc.org | The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) is appalled by the attack that took place earlier today against soldiers and others at Fort Hood, Texas. Preliminary news reports have indicated that a rogue Army Major Malik Hasan and two others shot and killed at least 12 people and injured numerous others.

ADC President Mary Rose Oakar said, "This attack is absolutely deplorable. ADC has been consistent and on record in condemning any attacks aimed at innocents, no matter who the victims or the perpetrators may be. Such violence is morally reprehensible and has nothing to do with any religion, race, ethnicity, or national origin. ADC urges the FBI and law enforcement agencies to make every effort to see that justice is served." Oakar continued, "ADC also calls upon law enforcement agencies to provide immediate protection for all Mosques, community centers, schools, and any locations that may be identified or misidentified with being Arab, Muslim, South Asian or Sikh as a clear backlash has already started. The actions of a few should not invite a backlash on innocent members of any community and we urge law enforcement and others to keep that in mind.

Additionally, due to these tragic developments, ADC is releasing the following advisory statement to members of the Arab, Muslim, South Asian, and Sikh American communities. ADC feels it prudent to issue this advisory statement due to the potential of a backlash against these communities and given the historically documented acts of hate-motivated violence including vandalism against these communities.

ADC would like to emphasize that it is issuing this advisory based on experiences in the community in recent years, and purely as a precautionary measure. ADC presents these suggestions for the consideration of the Arab, Muslim, South Asian, and Sikh American communities, to be evaluated by each family and individual according to their own best judgment and in the context of their own situation and relationship with their local community. ADC urges everyone to exercise common sense and rely on their own best judgment, but offers the following as suggestions should the need arise:

1) IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW IS PLACED IN PHYSICAL DANGER BECAUSE OF YOUR ETHNICITY, RELIGION, OR NATIONAL ORIGIN:

Call the police (dial 911 in most communities)

Contact the local FBI office, It is the FBI's job to investigate hate-motivated crimes and specific threats of violence. A list of FBI field offices is included on our website, please see: http://adc.org/fbi_field_office.htm

If the threat is imminent, go to a safe location such as a police station or church.

If you feel threatened in your home or community, move to a friend's house, or a hotel for as long as necessary.

Contact ADC to file a complaint by emailing the ADC Legal Department at< legal@adc.org > or by calling (202) 244-2990.

2) IF YOUR PLACE OF WORK, PLACE OF WORSHIP, OR SCHOOL IS IDENTIFIED OR CAN BE MISIDENTIFIED WITH ARABS AND/OR MUSLIMS:

Make sure the location has an open line of communication with law enforcement.

Make sure you know all the exits to your building.

Make sure the location has a current emergency plan that is defined and can be implemented should the need arise.

3) IF YOUR CHILD CAN BE IDENTIFIED AS ARAB OR MUSLIM, OR MAY BE CONFUSED FOR BEING OF MIDDLE-EASTERN ORIGIN:

Make sure you discuss the events with your children and that they feel comfortable speaking with an adult if they face harassment by others.

Make sure your children know what steps to take to avoid confrontation with other students.

Work with your children's school to implement an anti-discriminatory policy.

Click on the following link for a list of the FBI Field Offices across the country: http://adc.org/fbi_field_office.htm

ADC would like to emphasize that it is issuing this advisory based on experiences in the community in recent years, and purely as a precautionary measure. ADC presents these suggestions for the consideration of the Arab, Muslim, South Asian, and Sikh American communities, to be evaluated by each family and individual according to their own best judgment and in the context of their own situation and relationship with their local community.

NOTE TO EDITORS: The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), which is non sectarian and non partisan, is the largest Arab-American civil rights organization in the United States. It was founded in 1980, by former Senator James Abourezk to protect the civil rights of people of Arab descent in the United States and to promote the cultural heritage of the Arabs. ADC has 38 chapters nationwide, including chapters in every major city in the country, and members in all 50 states.

The ADC Research Institute (ADC-RI), which was founded in 1981, is a Section 501(c)(3) educational organization that sponsors a wide range of programs on behalf of Arab Americans and of importance to all Americans. ADC-RI programs include research studies, seminars, conferences and publications that document and analyze the discrimination faced by Arab Americans in the workplace, schools, media, and governmental agencies and institutions. ADC-RI also celebrates the rich cultural heritage of the Arabs.

___________________________________________________
Contact: ADC Legal Department, legal@adc.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ISNA Condemns Attacks on Fort Hood Soldiers and Expresses Condolences to the Victims and Their Families

(Washington, DC – November 05, 2009) The Islamic Society of North America condemns in the strongest terms the attack on soldiers at Fort Hood, resulting in the murder of at least a dozen soldiers and the wounding of many others. We express our deepest condolences to the victims and their families.

Although many details of the shooting are unknown at this time, it appears that the attack was led by a career soldier, Major Nidal Malik Hasan. The soldier who led this attack was either mentally unstable, or was motivated by a perverted ideology for which there can be no justification.

ISNA is proud of the many Muslim men and women who serve loyally in the United States military. We are grateful for the sacrifices made by all US soldiers, who represent the religious, racial and ethnic diversity of America, to defend the Constitution and our national security. ISNA, a faith endorser of US Muslim military chaplains, is proud of the service they provide, offering comfort and support to people of all faiths and beliefs. Just today, ISNA's chaplain endorser, Dr. Louay Safi, conducted a workshop at the US army base in Fort Bliss, Texas.

ISNA will be holding a press conference with national Muslim leaders to address this incident tomorrow morning. Time and location will be announced later tonight.

For more information, please contact

• Imam Mohamed Hagmagid Ali, Vice President of ISNA at 571.437.4734 or 571.437.9566
• Louay Safi, ISNA's Director of Communications and Leadership Development and Chaplain Endorser at 317.679.6350

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

U.S. Muslim Group Urges Calm, Unity After Fort Hood Shootings

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 11/5/09) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) tonight reiterated the Muslim community’s condemnation of today’s deadly shootings at Fort Hood in Texas and urged the nation to remain calm and unified as Americans nationwide react to the tragic events.

At a news conference tonight on Capitol Hill, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said:

“We reiterate the American Muslim community’s condemnation of this cowardly attack. Right now, we call on all Americans to assist those who are responding to this atrocity. We must ensure that the wounded are treated and the families of those who were murdered have an opportunity to mourn.

“No political or religious ideology could ever justify or excuse such wanton and indiscriminate violence. The attack was particularly heinous in that it targeted our nation’s all-volunteer army that includes thousands of Muslims in all services. We again offer our thoughts and prayers for the victims and sincere condolences for the families of those killed or injured.

“The motive of the attacker is not yet known. We urge all Americans to remain calm in reaction to this tragic event and to demonstrate once again what is best about America - our nation’s ability to remain unified even in times of crisis. We urge national political and religious leaders and media professionals to set a tone of calm and unity.

“Unfortunately, based on past experience, we also urge American Muslims, and those who may be perceived to be Muslim, to take appropriate precautions to protect themselves, their families and their religious institutions from possible backlash.

“We ask that individuals and institutions review advice on security procedures contained in CAIR’s ‘Muslim Community Safety Kit,’ which is available online at www.cair.com.”

SEE: CAIR Muslim Community Safety Kit

Along with innumerable condemnations of terror, CAIR has in the past launched an online anti-terror petition drive called “Not in the Name of Islam,” initiated a television public service announcement (PSA) campaign against religious extremism and coordinated a “fatwa,” or Islamic religious ruling, against terrorism and extremism.

SEE: CAIR’s Anti-Terrorism Campaigns

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

- END -

CONTACT: CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail: ihooper@cair.com; CAIR Communications Coordinator Amina Rubin, 202-488-8787 or 202-341-4171, E-Mail: arubin@cair.com

In the Name of Allah Most Gracious Most Merciful

Islamic Center of America
19500 Ford Rd.
Dearborn, MI 48128
(313) 593-0000

For Immediate Release
Friday November 6, 2009

Islamic Center of America Condemns Attacks on Fort Hood

The Islamic Center of America outright condemns the atrocious attacks on Fort Hood military base in Texas, that left 12 dead and 31 injured. This inexcusable act of violence must not be tolerated, and the perpetrators should be held accountable for their crime.

Islam in no way accepts such violence and terror. Islam is a peaceful religion with great reverence for human life. Those who perform such acts do not represent the faith of Islam, nor the Muslim American Community.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims, and our fellow citizens who are suffering.

PRESS CONFERENCE ANNOUNCE: Reps. Carson & Ellison to Join MPAC, ISNA & American Muslim Armed Forces & Veterans Affairs Council in Responding to Fort Hood Shootings (Washington, DC - 11/5/09) -- The Muslim Public Affairs Council, Islamic Society of North America, and the American Muslim Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs Council will hold a press conference on Friday morning in response to the fatal shootings at Fort Hood Army Base in Texas. Congressmen Andre Carson (D-IN) and Keith Ellison (D-MN) will join the organizations at the press conference, which will be held at the United Methodist Building in Washington, DC. The organizations today expressed their shock and condemnation of the senseless and appalling act of violence. All three organizations unequivocally denounce the incident in the strongest terms possible and offer their deepest condolences and prayers to the victims and their loved ones. WHAT: National Muslim American Organizations To Denounce Shooting At Fort Hood WHEN: Friday, November 6, 2009 at 10:00 a.m. WHERE: ISNA Interfaith, United Methodist Building 110 Maryland Ave, NE Suite 304, Washington, DC 20002 WHO: Congressman Andre Carson (D-IN) Congressman Keith Ellison (D-MN) American Muslim Armed Forces & Veterans Affairs Council Alejandro Beutel, MPAC Government Liaison Islamic Society of North America CONTACTS: Abdul-Rashid Abdullah, 703-638-8219, islamicendorser@amafandvac.org Alejandro Beutel, 202-547-7701 or 732-513-3701, alejandro@mpac.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Muslim American Organizations Denounce Shooting Incident at Fort Hood

(Washington, DC – November 06, 2009) Earlier yesterday a United States officer in the military identified as Army Major Malik Hasan reportedly shot and killed 12 American soldiers and wounded 31 others at Fort Hood in Texas.

The Muslim Public Affairs Council-DC (MPAC-DC), the Islamic Society of North America Office for Interfaith and Community Alliances (ISNA) and the American Muslim Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs Council (AMAFVAC) completely denounce this barbaric act of violence.

All three organizations unequivocally denounce the incident in the strongest terms possible and offer their deepest condolences to the victims and their loved ones. Further, they hope and expect that law enforcement officials will resolve this matter as swiftly and justly as possible.

Today at 10 am representatives from all three organizations will be holding a press conference in Washington DC. They will be joined by Congressional Representatives Keith Ellison (D-MN) and Andre Carson (D-IN).

The press conference will be held at the ISNA Interfaith office within the United Methodist Building, to discuss the matter further. The press conference address is 110 Maryland Ave, NE Suite 304, Washington, DC 20002.

[CONTACT: Abdul-Rashid Abdullah, 703-638-8219, islamicendorser@amafandvac.org]

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