Author: Rachel Kaplan
The shootings in Fort Hood are a great tragedy. Thirteen people have died and 30 have been injured from Army psychiatrist Major Nidal Malik Hasan’s shooting rampage on Nov. 5 at the Fort Hood army base in Texas. What seems to be a black-and-white case of good versus bad, however, is actually a complicated scenario involving racial prejudice and the effects of war on American soldiers.
Soon after the incident, articles and blogs started appearing that identified Islam – Hasan’s religion – as a probable reason for the shootings.
Before the evidence came out that opened the possibility of linking Hasan to a radical Imam and showing his possible support of suicide bombers, there was no way of knowing whether or not he committed the Ford Hood murders because of his religion.
Without proof, there are many potential explanations for Hasan’s behavior, which leaves open the real possibility that it was Hasan’s experiences as a Muslim in the U.S. army that provoked him to commit such an atrocious act.
In truth, there is still no way to know. Hasan is Muslim, but there is no definite way for anyone to know that his faith had any connection with his killing spree. Even if one were to ask him now, the real answer could not be uncovered. The trauma of his role in the army could just as well have led him to commit such acts.
The United States is currently fighting two wars, both in countries where the primary religion is Islam. According to the Huffington Post, a friend of Hasan’s from the military base remembered Hasan telling him that he believed the war on terror was actually a war against Islam.
As an American soldier, where would Hasan get these ideas from? It is possible that they came from radical Imams and others who support terrorism. But it is also possible that Hasan formed these ideas through his experience in the U.S. military.The emotional strains of being in the army are severe, as soldiers who are in a war zone experience great traumas. Hasan has never been in a war zone himself, but has counseled soldiers when they returned from Afghanistan.
Soldiers’ mental distress rates are exceedingly high. As a 2008 RAND Corporation study found, almost 20 percent of soldiers who return from fighting in Iraq or Afghanistan suffer from symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or major depression.
The mental health of American troops is declining, as there were 140 suicides reported in 2008 and there are expected to be even more in 2009, according to the Army Times. This does not only apply to troops on active duty as, according to the Los Angeles Times, since the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, more army suicides are accounted for among base personnel than any other army post. This trauma and suffering experienced by troops could also have affected Hasan’s actions.
Although homicide and suicide are different acts, both stem from some kind of personal discontent. By dealing with the trauma of what soldiers went through in war, Hasan was probably more aware than most of the high levels of depression and PTSD, as he was personally influenced by them through his work with emotionally damaged soldiers.
As trauma and depression can lead to suicide or homicide, Hasan’s experience as a military psychiatrist could have led him to the state of mind where he had the potential to murder.
Following the 9/11 attacks, there was a period when there was heavy bigotry against American Muslims. Hasan, who counseled soldiers returning from Afghanistan, most likely had to listen to people tell him about the fighting in Afghanistan.
It is not difficult to see how, as a Muslim, this could feel like an attack on your own people. According to the UN mission in Afghanistan, in the first six months of 2009 alone, there were over 1,000 civilian casualties. If you identified with this region, how would it make you feel?
I am not in any way justifying Hasan’s actions. What he did was an immoral act. But if we feel the need to jump to conclusions, there are other conclusions to be reached besides “Hasan is a terrorist.” Being part of a minority is difficult enough, and that, combined with his role in the war against his own people, could simply have been too much for Hassan.
Rachel Kaplan is an undeclared sophomore. She can be reached at kaplan@oxy.edu.
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