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When I got the familiar vibration from NY times telling me that "Ford Hood Shooter Is Sentenced to Death by Military Jury," I didn't really think much of it, but as I inconspicuously looked it up during an especially boring lull between lectures, I realized that this is a big deal. According to NY Times, "The last execution there was in April 1961, with the hanging of John A. Bennett, an Army private convicted of the rape and attempted murder of an 11-year-old Austrian girl." It's been over 50 years since someone has been executed at Fort Leavenworth, the "intellectual center of the army." This got me thinking about military corruption/crimes in general and didn't get much other than radical claims.
I kind of lost interest at the ALL CAPS TITLES IN FLUORESCENT YELLOW so I came back to this specific case. Maj Nidal Hasan, former military psychologist, isn't really greedy corruption (money, sexual relations, etc.,) its more martyrdom for a religious cause, and in my opinion, I think it's scary that the people that are supposed to protect us from the US' perceived "enemy," might be the enemy.
A view from a non US perspective
NBC news with a little history on capital punishment
4 comments:
I believe that in an army as big as the United States, there are bound to be soldiers that agree with the Army’s decisions. One might argue why join the Army if you do not agree with them, but there are new issue that may not have been present when Hasan joined the Army. I also believe that this is an isolated incident as there may be a few soldiers that disagree with the Army, but it would be extremely rare for someone to act on them in the fashion that Hasan did.
It's mortifying, the level of corruption in all aspects of our supposed "role models" in American society. Not just our protective and nation-serving army, but in our supposedly "by the people for the people" legislation as well! Either way, I feel like the corruption is inescapable, so the real issue becomes is it a pill we must yield and just swallow, or is the issue pivotal enough that we begin yelling a little louder than we have been...
I agree with Alex in that it is quite frightening that people in our own army can be criminals but I dont think this specific case should be a reason to distrust the US Army in general. Just like every other organization or group, it is pretty impossible to account for everyone and it is nearly impossible to predict when something as tragic as this can happen. I do agree though with the unsettling feeling that we must all have gotten when someone who is a supposedly trained professional takes the lives of so many others who were only trying to protect our country.
Cristina makes a good point in saying that this specific case does not represent all of the U.S. Army. I also agree with the previous comments in regard to corruption's inevitability. However, I feel that as severe and horrific as this case is, this is not an ideal example when discussing corruption within the military. Hasan was acting in the name of a religious cause, and I feel that his actions have less to do with corruption within a job system and more to do with his own personal beliefs and unsound mind.
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