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Sunday, 8 November 2009

Here is the transcript from President Obama's radio address courtesy of Byron York:

I’d like to speak with you for a few minutes today about the tragedy [why "tragedy" instead of attack?] that took place at Ft. Hood. This past Thursday, on a clear Texas afternoon, an Army psychiatrist walked into the Soldier Readiness Processing Center, and began shooting his fellow soldiers.

It is an act of violence that would have been heartbreaking had it occurred anyplace in America. It is a crime that would have horrified us had its victims been Americans of any background. But it’s all the more heartbreaking and all the more despicable because of the place where it occurred and the patriots who were its victims.

It is also indicative that it was a pre-planned attack on our military.

The SRP is where our men and women in uniform go before getting deployed. It’s where they get their teeth checked and their medical records updated and make sure everything is in order before getting shipped out. It was in this place, on a base where our soldiers ought to feel most safe, where those brave Americans who are preparing to risk their lives in defense of our nation, lost their lives in a crime against our nation.

Soldiers stationed in Iraq, Afghanistan, and around the world called and emailed loved ones at Ft. Hood, all expressing the same stunned reaction: I’m supposed to be the one in harm’s way, not you.

Thursday’s shooting was one of the most devastating ever committed on an American military base. And yet, even as we saw the worst of human nature on full display, we also saw the best of America. We saw soldiers and civilians alike rushing to aid fallen comrades; tearing off bullet-riddled clothes to treat the injured; using blouses as tourniquets; taking down the shooter even as they bore wounds themselves.

The worst of "human nature?" This was just a display of human nature. Becoming a mass murderer could happen to anyone. There but for the grace of God...

We saw soldiers bringing to bear on our own soil the skills they had been trained to use abroad; skills that been honed through years of determined effort for one purpose and one purpose only: to protect and defend the United States of America.

We saw the valor, selflessness, and unity of purpose that make our servicemen and women the finest fighting force on Earth; that make the United States military the best the world has ever known; and that make all of us proud to be Americans.

On Friday, I met with FBI Director Mueller, Defense Secretary Gates, and representatives of the relevant agencies to discuss their ongoing investigation into what led to this terrible crime. And I’ll continue to be in close contact with them as new information comes in.

We cannot fully know what leads a man to do such a thing.

Ah, the mysteries of the human heart. I also notice the President never mentioned Hasan's obviously Arab name.

But what we do know is that our thoughts are with every single one of the men and women who were injured at Ft. Hood. Our thoughts are with all the families who’ve lost a loved one in this national tragedy. And our thoughts are with all the Americans who wear – or who’ve worn – the proud uniform of the United States of America; our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, and coast guardsmen, and the military families who love and support them.

How about American soldiers who really have suffered from PTSD? They are feeling a sharp slap in the face from all the ridiculous speculation that Hasan suffered from "Pre"-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

In tribute to those who fell at Ft. Hood, I’ve ordered flags flying over the White House, and other federal buildings to be lowered to half-staff from now until Veterans Day next Wednesday. Veterans Day is our chance to honor those Americans who’ve served on battlefields from Lexington to Antietam, Normandy to Manila, Inchon to Khe Sanh, Ramadi to Kandahar.

They are Americans of every race, faith, and station. They are Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus and nonbelievers.

Notice how in all the President's speeches now, he groups Christians and Muslims first, and then groups Jews with Hindus.

They are descendents of immigrants and immigrants themselves. They reflect the diversity that makes this America. But what they share is a patriotism like no other. What they share is a commitment to country that has been tested and proved worthy. What they share is the same unflinching courage, unblinking compassion, and uncommon camaraderie that the soldiers and civilians of Ft. Hood showed America and showed the world.

These are the men and women we honor today. These are the men and women we’ll honor on Veterans Day. And these are the men and women we shall honor every day, in times of war and times of peace, so long as our nation endures.

"So long as our nation endures" puts into the mind the idea that America will not long endure. An odd note to end with at a time like this.

Posted on 11/08/2009 8:47 AM by Rebecca Bynum
Comments
8 Nov 2009
Artemis

"We cannot fully know what leads a man to do such a thing."

Of course we can.  We can ask him.  He's sitting in a hospital room.  So ask him.

We can look at what the man did before/while shooting.  He yelled "Allahu Akbar!".  He targeted soldiers who were about to be deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, Muslim-majority nations.  He dressed in traditional Islamic clothing.  As Rebecca suggested, he probably shaved his body hair (would military investigators understand the significance of this, would they know to look for it?).

We can look at the friends and acquaintences he kept.  We can look at prior statements he made to coworkers and students in his classes.

Most importantly, we can look at the mainstream written words of the ideology of Islam.  It's there in black-and-white.  It's available, just for the clicking, on the internet.  Just look, for G*d's sake.

Of course we can fully know what leads a man to do such a thing.  The only way we can possibly avoid knowing is by a willful and intentional act of ignoring all available evidence.  Which is exactly where we're at.



9 Nov 2009
Send an emailTina Trent

So he admitted that the soldiers were defending the United States, which makes this terrorism.  I wonder how that didn't get cleaned from the speech.    



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