When Nidal Hasan Reached Out to Al-Qaeda, Why Was Nothing Done About It?

The details surrounding Nidal Hasan’s murderous rampage keep getting more disturbing. ABC reports that Hasan reached out to al-Qaeda:

U.S. intelligence agencies were aware months ago that Army Major Nidal Hasan was attempting to make contact with people associated with al-Qaeda, two American officials briefed on classified material in the case told ABC News. …

It is not known whether the intelligence agencies informed the Army that one of its officers was seeking to connect with suspected al-Qaeda figures, the officials said.

So did the Army know and do nothing? Or did the CIA just never pass along the intelligence? Does it even matter?

It is not like Hasan’s radicalism was a big secret. His calling card had SoA or “Soldiers of Allah” on it. His fellow soldiers were given the Koran. He complained to commanders about being sent to an unjust war.

Hasan wasn’t the “quiet loner” who shocked everyone. Everyone knew about his radical bent and no one did anything. Roger L. Simon already eloquently expressed the answer for why no one spoke. Political correctness kills and this is how:

As a reminder, political correctness is derived from the more intellectually respectable doctrine of cultural relativism (it’s sort of CR’s public “happy face”). In essence, cultural relativism holds that an individual’s beliefs and activities should only be understood in terms of his or her own culture. It’s the ultimate version of “who are we to the judge?” If Ayatollah Khomeini wishes to oppress all the women and homosexuals in Iran, it’s their way. If Mao seeks to knock off seventy million of his countrymen, so be it. Let the Chinese decide. We shouldn’t impose our values.

On our increasingly tiny globe, this theory — when spelled out — is nothing short of preposterous. It fairly invites a return to the mass murdering ideologies of the Twentieth Century — Nazism, communism, etc. — and opens the door wide for Islamism.

Still not convinced it’s the ideology? Still want to believe that this is just some random act of violence caused by an American man who happened to be Muslim and not a designed act of violence fueled by a murderous ideology? Well, these are the words of Anwar al-Aulaqi, Hasan’s one-time spiritual leader, after the mass murder:

Nidal Hassan is a hero. He is a man of conscience who could not bear living the contradiction of being a Muslim and serving in an army that is fighting against his own people. This is a contradiction that many Muslims brush aside and just pretend that it doesn’t exist. Any decent Muslim cannot live, understanding properly his duties towards his Creator and his fellow Muslims, and yet serve as a U.S. soldier. The U.S. is leading the war against terrorism which in reality is a war against Islam. Its army is directly invading two Muslim countries and indirectly occupying the rest through its stooges.

Nidal opened fire on soldiers who were on their way to be deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. How can there be any dispute about the virtue of what he has done? In fact the only way a Muslim could Islamically justify serving as a soldier in the U.S. army is if his intention is to follow the footsteps of men like Nidal.

The heroic act of brother Nidal also shows the dilemma of the Muslim American community. Increasingly they are being cornered into taking stances that would either make them betray Islam or betray their nation. Many amongst them are choosing the former. The Muslim organizations in America came out in a pitiful chorus condemning Nidal’s operation.

The fact that fighting against the U.S. army is an Islamic duty today cannot be disputed. No scholar with a grain of Islamic knowledge can defy the clear cut proofs that Muslims today have the right  — rather the duty — to fight against American tyranny. Nidal has killed soldiers who were about to be deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan in order to kill Muslims. The American Muslims who condemned his actions have committed treason against the Muslim Ummah and have fallen into hypocrisy.

Imagine a Christian preacher praising the killing of an abortion doctor. Just one doctor killed by a warped version of an ideology. Imagine a whole swath of Christendom staying quiet and not condemning the act of one errant believer. And yet, that’s precisely what Americans face today. The whole West is being asked to stay mute before a movement fueled by an ideology that praises murderers, glorifies death, and elevates religion over God, family, or country.

And so the Army, the CIA, the FBI, and the Department of Homeland Security said nothing rather than face the politically correct wrath of the powers that be? Is this the new America we live in, where naming evil cannot be done if it’s a certain kind of evil?

Nidal Hasan’s own teacher viewed his actions as a man fulfilling a mission. It strains credulity that people even dispute this. Yet if this ideology cannot even be discussed as a cause, how can it be dealt with proactively? There will be more domestic acts of terrorism because those who might see potential acts in the making will be afraid to speak up. It simply is not popular to name a radical Muslim as a threat. Thus, these threats roam freely among innocent citizens.

Since the government won’t defend and protect, American citizens need to protect themselves. Leaders in the Army should be working on a way to roll back the Carter-era ban on armed soldiers on base. An armed soldier is less likely to be killed. Nidel Hasan would have been stopped sooner. There wouldn’t be 13 dead and the many injured.

In the meantime, work needs to be done to roll back the politically correct attitudes that allowed this abomination to occur. When the Army is lost to this pernicious relativism, no one is safe.