There is something both pathetic and infuriating about the head-scratching and obfuscation going on in the wake of the Ft. Hood massacre. “What could be the motive?” mull the chin strokers in the Washington Post forum. The editors caution that we shouldn’t be “jumping to conclusions” about the role of Major Hasan’s Muslim beliefs and then they proceed to tip-toe around the facts:

One of the most obvious questions as investigations go forward is whether the FBI or military authorities missed an opportunity to prevent Maj. Hasan from acting. The Associated Press reported that the suspect came to the attention of law enforcement at least six months ago because of Internet postings that praised suicide bombers. Other reports said that he had been counseled because of poor performance while training as a psychiatrist, that he had been resisting a deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan, and that he had been trying to leave the military. Were disgruntlement and threatening behavior taken seriously enough?

But puleez. The Post’s own report tells us:

Six months ago, investigators came across Internet postings, allegedly by Hasan, that indicated sympathy for suicide bombers and empathized with the plight of Muslim civilians killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a federal official briefed on the situation. The official, and another source, said investigators never confirmed whether Hasan was the author of the postings and did not pursue the matter.

Didn’t pursue the matter?

And then we learn: “Friends and acquaintances said Hasan had been increasingly agitated over the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and he reportedly said the U.S. ‘war on terror’ was a ‘war on Muslims.’ Officials have seized Hasan’s computer to determine his role in the blog posts and other writings.” It seems he even had a PowerPoint presentation. (”Val Finnell, a classmate of Hasan’s at the Uniformed Services University in Bethesda a few years ago, recalled a presentation that ’started out with a semblance of a health issue but his PowerPoint turned into his view that the war was against Muslims. He brought that up throughout the year.”)

Listen, ignoring reality and feigning indifference to the views and behavior of Major Hasan is how we wound up with 13 dead and 30 wounded, right? Perhaps we should be candid for once. The American people can figure this one out — and those who continue to play dumb will earn only their contempt.

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This entry was posted on Saturday, November 7th, 2009 at 9:42 AM and is filed under Contentions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.