DoD: Don’t Call Ft. Hood Casualties Victims of Terrorism
Posted on March 31, 2013 by Dan Zimmerman
“Legislation that would award the injured from the 2009 Fort Hood shooting the Purple Heart would adversely affect the trial of Maj. Nidal Hasan by labeling the attack terrorism, according to a Defense Department document obtained by Fox News.” Because we can’t say a terrorist shouting “Allahu Akbar!” as he shot US soldiers during the War or Terror constitutes terrorism. And here’s their, um, thinking . . .“Passage of this legislation could directly and indirectly influence potential court-martial panel members, witnesses, or the chain of command, all of whom exercise a critical role under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). Defense counsel will argue that Major Hasan cannot receive a fair trial because a branch of government has indirectly declared that Major Hasan is a terrorist — that he is criminally culpable.”
As you’d expect, this isn’t sitting particularly well with the families of the victims.“This is a cynical travesty. What the government has done by making this statement is guarantee that anything done to help the victims will effectively prevent or impair Hasan’s prosecution. There was no reason for the government to put this kind of a statement in writing, even if it were true (which it is not),” (counsel for the Fort Hood families, Neal) Sher said via email.
The DoD’s still taking the position that, rather than moving the battlefield to a US Army base, Hassan’s murders were and act of “workplace violence.” Just another whack-o coming unhinged and going postal as if he’d been just been fired. Which is of a piece with the administration’s continual efforts, since coming to power in 2008, to try other, even more unambiguous terrorists in civilian courts.
By doing so, the army, the DoD and the Obama administration dishonor the Ft. Hood victims and treat the American public like fools.
Fort Hood hero claims White House has ‘betrayed’ shooting victims as dramatic video is released of massacre’s aftermath
Sgt. Kimberly Munley told ABC News the survivors have been ‘neglected’ by President Obama and the government since the 2009 attack. A lawsuit claims the government is wrongly categorizing the attack as ‘workplace violence’ instead of terrorism. Maj. Nidal Hasan is accused of targeting his fellow soldiers and awaits a military trial.
By Erik Ortiz / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Tuesday, February 12, 2013, 2:29 PM
ABC News
A soldier tries to revive a fallen comrade in dramatic video broadcast Tuesday by ABC News taken just after the shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009.
Rescue workers scrambled to save soldiers' lives amid a gunman’s bloody rampage at Fort Hood in 2009.
Dramatic video of the aftermath obtained by ABC News shows a glimpse of the havoc that rocked the Texas military base. The chaotic footage — including soldiers collapsed on the floor in pools of blood — will be broadcast Tuesday night on “World News with Diane Sawyer” and “Nightline.”
Its release comes as heroes and survivors say the U.S. government has failed them.
A lawsuit filed Nov. 5 — on the third anniversary of the attack — alleges negligence and disputes the Department of Defense calling the shooting “workplace violence” rather than terrorism.
RELATED: FORT HOOD SHOOTING SUSPECT APPEALS FORCIBLE BEARD-SHAVING RULING
ABC News
Footage broadcasted by ABC News shows a chaotic scene after the 2009 shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, where a gunman killed 13 people and wounded 32 others.
Such a designation puts victims at a lower priority from veterans receiving medical care and affects their financial benefits because their injuries aren’t considered “combat related,” according to ABC News.
Neal Sher, an attorney for the plaintiffs, told the Daily News that "political correctness" may be keeping the government from labeling the shooting a terrorist act.
Witnesses said the alleged shooter, Maj. Nidal Hasan, shouted “Allahu Akbar” as he fatally gunned down 12 soldiers and one civilian, as well as wounded 32 others. Some of the soldiers were bound for Afghanistan.
Virginia-born Hasan, 42, is awaiting a military trial and could be executed if convicted in the worst mass shooting on a U.S. military installation. His attorneys have said he wants to plead guilty.
Uncredited/AP
Maj. Nidal Hasan, the Army psychiatrist charged in the deadly 2009 Fort Hood shooting, awaits a military trial.
Evidence suggests Hasan had been in email communication with Al Qaeda leader Anwar al-Awlaki, who was killed in a CIA-led drone strike in 2011.
The suit against the Department of Defense, the Justice Department and other government agencies is seeking unspecified damages.
Among the claimants is civilian police Sgt. Kimberly Munley, who shot Hasan during the Fort Hood attack and was struck by gunfire.
She told ABC News that President Obama has “betrayed” the survivors.
TWO POLICE OFFICERS WHO TOOK DOWN FORT HOOD SHOOTER MAJOR NIDAL HASAN, LOSE THEIR JOBS AT ARMY BASE
Alex Wong/Getty Images
Police Officers Mark Todd (l.) and Kimberly Munley, who helped take down the Fort Hood gunman, look on before President Barack Obama's State of the Union address in 2010.
“Not to the least little bit have the victims been taken care of,” she said. “In fact, they’ve been neglected.”
Munley added that the White House used her as a political prop when she sat next to Michelle Obama during the 2010 State of the Union address.
The Army declined to comment about pending litigation but disputed that victims have been neglected.
Sher said the U.S. military knew years earlier that Hasan was a ticking time bomb who supported Islamic extremism and violence — and the horrific attack could have been prevented.
“This was a tragedy that was completely avoidable,” Sher said. “To treat (victims) as callously as they’ve been treated is putting a mountain of salt on very deep wounds.”
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