In the U.S., a Shooting on a Military Base Revives Debate on Iraq

For hours, television news stations expressed disbelief that this shooting was one of those killings that occur regularly in the United States, the work of a mad shooter. “This type of tragedy does not happen on a military base,” noted former NATO Commander General Wesley Clark, when the death toll of the shooting on the Fort Hood military base in Texas had already reached nine. For several hours on Thursday, November 5, commentators favored the theory of a terrorist attack, underscoring that two “suspects” had been arrested by the base’s military police, and that the perpetrator of the shooting had “an Arab-sounding name.”

When it was confirmed that the shooter was wearing a military uniform, the media exhibited great caution: the uniforms could have been stolen. It took hours for Americans to accept the idea that this “mass murder on a military installation,” according to General Barry McCaffrey, former Drug Czar under President Clinton, was a political act. It was the work of a broken solder, bruised by the psychological damage caused by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was a psychiatrist who had treated the most seriously wounded veterans at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington and who was, in turn, going to leave for the front.

Major Nidal Hasan, 39, chose, for his act, the preparation center where soldiers leaving for Iraq and Afghanistan take care of their last formalities. He opened fire at 1:30 p.m., killing twelve people and wounding 31 more. With two handguns, he then moved towards a room where a graduation ceremony was taking place, with 600 people in attendance. “Thanks to the quick reaction of several soldiers, they were able to close off the doors to that auditorium,” affirmed General Bob Cone, Base Commander, specifying that a civilian had been the first to fire on the aggressor, putting an end to the massacre.

“Petrified By the Idea of Leaving”

Wounded, Nidal Hasan was arrested. Born and raised in Virginia, son of immigrant parents hailing from a small Palestinian city near Jerusalem, the young man joined the army after high school, against his parents’ wishes. The military then enabled him to complete university and medical school, where he was trained to become a psychiatrist.

According to the New York Times, citing some of those close to him, Nidal Hasan began to have doubts about his military career several years ago when soldiers harassed him because of his origins. He also expressed serious skepticism about his potential departure for Iraq or Afghanistan. As one of his cousins, Nader Hasan, emphasized, Nidal had treated soldiers returning from these two countries suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, and at Fort Hood, and so he knew all too well the realities of war. “He was mortified by the idea of having to deploy,” Mr. Hasan confirmed. “He had people telling him on a daily basis the horrors they saw over there.”

The event provoked a wave of shock in the country just at the time when public opinion is questioning American military commitments. President Barack Obama expressed his condolences to the families of the victims. Congress observed a moment of silence.

Fort Hood is the largest American Army base in the world. It houses some 65,000 soldiers and civilians. It is through here that nearly all soldiers pass before taking off for Iraq. In June, Commander Rich Lynch explained on CNN that he was trying to reduce the stress to which soldiers were subjected. Fort Hood is the base that has been most affected by suicides since the start of the war. Nearly 75 soldiers have ended their lives since March 2003 – nine of these since the beginning of the year.