Fort Hood Test
The massacre committed recently by a Muslim major of Arab descent on one of the largest American military bases is actually a new test for Obama. And his reaction will not be observed only by the American people, for the whole world in general, the Arab and Islamic world in particular, are going to act as judges as well. The “in particular” mention of the Arab and Muslim world is attributed to the fact that they were both addressed in the measured speech Obama gave at Cairo University.
Basically, Obama’s historical speech in Cairo aimed to explain that America’s attitudes are changing after the Bush era. The days following 9/11, when Islam and Muslims were regarded as the one and only enemy of America, are going to end. Let those bitter days when former American President George Bush Jr. left no stone unturned to associate terrorism with Islam and Muslims to the extent that he waged a military, political and psychological war on them, dubbed the "Crusades," be gone.
So, we have here a shooting tragedy in which Nidal Malik Hasan, the Arab and Muslim American psychiatrist, opened fire on his colleagues in Fort Hood, Texas. They were all supposed to join American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
As for Obama administration's options, we have just two so far: first, this accident could be regarded as the deed of a mentally disturbed American major who suffered under pressure. We can cite here the American student, also pressured to death, who shot his colleagues in a school’s playground or hall a few months ago, injuring or killing many of them. In that incident, the victims’ toll surpassed that of Fort Hood. The other option is that the Obama administration tackles what happened according to the theories and policies of President Bush. That is, to view Nidal Malik Hasan as a symbol of Islamic fanaticism and Arab terrorism.
Indeed, some American media began to propagate the idea that the American major was saying “Allahu Akbar” [God is the Greatest] during the shooting. In this sense, it is expected that a new American campaign will be launched on Islam, Muslims and Arabs, who will be depicted as bloody terrorists and fanatics once again. To be right about this, American public opinion may already be fit for it.
Accordingly, the core of Obama’s address to the Islamic and Arab world is now an object up for a test. We have nothing to do except for wait for the decision of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Barack Obama!
Basically, Obama’s historical speech in Cairo aimed to explain that America’s attitudes are changing after the Bush era. The days following 9/11, when Islam and Muslims were regarded as the one and only enemy of America, are going to end. Let those bitter days when former American President George Bush Jr. left no stone unturned to associate terrorism with Islam and Muslims to the extent that he waged a military, political and psychological war on them, dubbed the "Crusades," be gone.
So, we have here a shooting tragedy in which Nidal Malik Hasan, the Arab and Muslim American psychiatrist, opened fire on his colleagues in Fort Hood, Texas. They were all supposed to join American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
As for Obama administration's options, we have just two so far: first, this accident could be regarded as the deed of a mentally disturbed American major who suffered under pressure. We can cite here the American student, also pressured to death, who shot his colleagues in a school’s playground or hall a few months ago, injuring or killing many of them. In that incident, the victims’ toll surpassed that of Fort Hood. The other option is that the Obama administration tackles what happened according to the theories and policies of President Bush. That is, to view Nidal Malik Hasan as a symbol of Islamic fanaticism and Arab terrorism.
Indeed, some American media began to propagate the idea that the American major was saying “Allahu Akbar” [God is the Greatest] during the shooting. In this sense, it is expected that a new American campaign will be launched on Islam, Muslims and Arabs, who will be depicted as bloody terrorists and fanatics once again. To be right about this, American public opinion may already be fit for it.
Accordingly, the core of Obama’s address to the Islamic and Arab world is now an object up for a test. We have nothing to do except for wait for the decision of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Barack Obama!
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