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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2010

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OPINION

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Feb 8, 10 8:20 AM CST

|NEXT STORY »

FORT HOOD SHOOTING

Army Medicine Failed Hasan, Shooting Victims

Shooter wasn't promoted because it was PC; it was necessity

By Harry Kimball| Posted Nov 13, 09 11:52 AM CST|

(Newser) – Media coverage of the Fort Hood killings has been factually challenged and quick to jump to conclusions about terrorism and political correctness, but the underlying problem is much bigger, Mark Benjamin argues. The real question: Why was alleged shooter Nidal Malik Hasan an Army psychiatrist in the first place? Given his belief that Muslims shouldn't be killing other Muslims in battle, "It’s hard to imagine Hasan being particularly empathetic with his patients."

The catastrophic state of the Army medical establishment is sadly familiar, Benjamin writes for Salon. "Remember the Walter Reed scandal? The horrific treatment of traumatic brain injury and PTSD that has gone on for years?" he writes. "Army medicine has been dropping the ball on these issues for a long time. Given that history, it's not hugely surprising they'd miss warning signs with Hasan and just let him go on being a doctor."

[Images (2)]

[Quotes (1)]

Prescription bottles with Nidal Malik Hasan's name on them fill a shoebox in his Killeen, Texas, apartment Nov. 11, 2009, following an FBI investigation. (AP Photo/The Killeen Daily Herald, David Morris)

This 2003 picture provided by the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences shows Nidal Malik Hasan in his graduation photo when he completed his M.D. degree. (AP Photo/Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

Hasan was a military psychiatrist toiling in an overburdened, desperate Army healthcare system that will hold onto any warm body with a medical degree. - Mark Benjamin

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12 comments

VIEWING:

Fondue
Nov 13, 09 12:17 PM CST

I think Army protocols failed the victims, and us. Reply

| 0 minutes ago

fancygapva
Nov 13, 09 12:29 PM CST

Doctors are notoriously volatile anyway. If he had an occasional tantrum, who is to say that isn't part of the medical culture? One of the things that sort of got me though was that at one point he was seeing only one patient a week. The last time I worked at Mental Health, not long ago, there were productivity requirements. What's up with THAT? Reply

| 0 minutes ago

timeandagain
Nov 13, 09 12:34 PM CST

Islam is a violent religion that has failed us and the world... Reply

-4

IN RESPONSE:

brucealmighty89
Nov 13, 09 1:25 PM CST

And they started the Crusades, right?

IN RESPONSE:

riffran
Nov 13, 09 4:33 PM CST

no they are doing worse NOW, not back in antiquity, and with better weopons

IN RESPONSE:

Nelstorm
Nov 13, 09 6:05 PM CST

I'll be sure to tell the warring Buddhists and Hindus on Sri Lanka that Fox News isn't covering them, so they can do as they please.

-1

IN RESPONSE:

WelcomeTo313
Nov 13, 09 6:35 PM CST

@timeandagain....I fell that way about most religions.

-1

IN RESPONSE:

cunomor
Nov 13, 09 9:02 PM CST

"And they started the Crusades, right?" Actually they did. Over 400 yrs before Crusades you're presumably referring to. Who do you think the Muslim armies took Jerusalem from? Christian Rome. Who did they take most of Spain from? Christian Europe. The Crusades were taken from Islam's playbook. Nice try, but maybe you just don't know your history. The Pope's call for the Crusades was to reclaim what Islam had taken by force. The problem with that is that you cannot defend that action with New Testament teaching. However, Islamic writings contain many justifications of violence and warfare. It boils down to this: If you want to see Muhammed's swords, go the Topkapi Museum in Istanbul and you will find them. If you want to Jesus' swords.....wait, sorry, there aren't any. All religions are NOT the same.

IN RESPONSE:

Cher
Nov 14, 09 4:22 AM CST

Excuse me CUNOMOR A person can explain anything using the New Testament teaching. However, I do agree with you that all religions are not the same. Islam is a violent and hateful religion. I have lived in the middle east and own two Korans which will be burned in my fireplace soon.

IN RESPONSE:

cunomor
Nov 14, 09 7:12 AM CST

"A person can explain anything using the New Testament teaching." Cher, please give an example. I think you mean people can twist teachings in the NT to suit their purposes, which is not exactly the same as what I'm saying about Islamic teachings (Koran included). You've lived in the ME as I have, and you've read the Koran a I have, so you probably know a little about the doctrine of abrogation that is currently causing such widely differing interpretations within Islam. The problem is that no one view can really prove its the correct interpretation. Although if you were going to let history be an indicator the violent Jihadis would have more precedent than any peaceful, internal concepts of Jihad.

IN RESPONSE:

Shannonals
Nov 14, 09 12:05 PM CST

Timeandagain, for someone who doesn't know anyone who practices Islam, you sure talk a good game. Christianity has caused just as much, if not more deaths, the only difference is that when the US wars with a Christian nation, their is no difference made.

IN RESPONSE:

cunomor
Nov 14, 09 12:41 PM CST

"Christianity has caused just as much, if not more deaths, the only difference is that when the US wars with a Christian nation, their is no difference made." Give an example to back that up and I'll give you 10. In fact, take the entire Spanish Inquisition, spanning hundreds of years, and you won't total up even 2 years worth of murders committed by Islamic extremists. That's a fact. If you want hard numbers, go to Jihadwatch.org and from there you can find links to CIA reports for the last several decades. You may not like it, but its the truth.

| 0 minutes ago

View all 12 comments »

medicine • US military • US Army • Walter Reed Army Medical Center • political correctness • psychiatrist • Fort Hood • Fort Hood shooting • Nidal Malik Hasan • Mark Benjamin

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Army Medicine Failed Hasan, Shooting Victims