Hasan enlisted in the U.S. Army in order to get a free medical education, not because he was a patriotic American. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 he realized he was more sympathetic to the radical Islamist enemy than to the defense of the United States of America. Thus, after his education was completed—and he no longer had any use for the military—Hasan sought a lawyer to help him get out of his service commitment by claiming anti-Muslim harassment.

Hasan saw the Army as an educational meal ticket, not an organization where he could proudly serve his country—because he considered “Palestine” his country. (Although he was born in Arlington, Virginia, Hasan listed his nationality as “Palestinian” on documents he filled out at his local mosque. His parents were from Jordan; there is no nation called Palestine.)

Because Hasan’s anti-harassment charges were minimal at best and fictitious at worst, he had little luck getting quietly discharged. The U.S. military has close to zero tolerance for discrimination, and is one of the most politically-correct institutions in the United States. If Hasan was being “picked on” by someone he could certainly get that individual reprimanded, but that would not earn him a “get out of jail” card. In trying to provoke anti-Muslim harassment against him, all Hasan succeeded in doing was annoying and frightening his fellow Army doctors. As is sometimes the case in the Army, he was “disposed of” with a promotion and a transfer to Fort Hood—enabling his superiors to get him as far away from Walter Reed Medical Center as possible. At Fort Hood, Hasan escalated his outrageous behavior to prompt anti-Muslim “harassment” he needed to justify his request for a discharge—but that backfired when he was instead ordered to the war zone.

Hasan’s master plan had collapsed, and he realized he was a failure. He saw only one way out, a way that would transform him from failure to hero: an act of jihad, to kill as many American soldiers as he could before they could be sent to Afghanistan to kill followers of his beloved Islam.

Ironically, the killing spree was ended when Hasan—a man who refused to have his picture taken if women were also in the photograph—was brought down by a female police officer. Hasan expected to die a martyr, and instead now has to endure the Muslim shame of having been overpowered by a woman.

Some apologists will argue that Hasan “snapped.” That is irrelevant. The events proceeded the way they did because his allegiance was to Islam and the Palestinians, not the United States of America. Hasan’s act was not only one of terrorism, but of treason. If you do not like one, choose the other. The death penalty is warranted in either case.

Don Fredrick

November 12, 2009