It's official: President Donald Trump said Thursday that the execution of the terrorist-traitor Army Maj. Nidal Hasan will not be live-streamed. Trump's order overrides Secretary of War Pete Hegseth's earlier decision to make the death-by-firing-squad viewable by the public.
"Nidal Malik Hasan, a former U.S. Army Major turned traitor, is a very bad and evil man, who killed 13 people, including a pregnant soldier, who died, along with her unborn son, and injured, very seriously, 32 more innocent people," Trump posted to Truth Social earlier today.
"That said, the execution may be viewed in person by the immediate families of the victims, if they so choose. They deserve to witness JUSTICE!" he concluded.
You can read Trump's entire post here, where he also noted that "With all of that being said, I think streaming the execution for all to see might have been a strong deterrent for the World to witness how America deals with Terrorists and SCUM like Hasan but, many very good and well meaning people would rather not watch him die."
Fair enough, I suppose. While I was leaning against watching, simply because I've seen enough death, it sure would have been nice to have the option available. Anybody not wanting to watch never had to.
Hasan's December 3 appointment with a military firing squad remains unchanged.
And Another Thing: On a recent Right Angle, Bill Whittle reminded viewers that Nazi war criminals convicted at Nuremberg were horrified to learn that they would be hanged like common criminals instead of facing firing squads like proper soldiers. But the whole point was that they had surrendered that dignity by going along with a monster like Hitler. Live-streamed or not, Hasan deserves to be hanged, too.
Since I remained undecided right up until POTUS canceled the livestream, let me give you both sides from military veterans with opposing viewpoints.
First, let's go to anonymous milblogger and retired Navy officer CDR Salamander, who posted last week that "there are a whole host of reasons why Hasan’s execution should not be live-streamed." Sal argued that since he is "a traitor and an illegal enemy combatant from the violent jihad school of radical Islam," a public execution "gives him what he wants," which is "attention for himself and his cause."
"As this is going to be live, this gives him a chance to send a message and to make himself out to be a hero and a martyr. He does not deserve the opportunity, the honor, or the dignity."
Sal finished with a suggestion for a raffle for 50 live witnesses, "Then let’s carry out the plan of the day."
Just as thoughtful was active duty Army Lt. Col. "InfantryDort," who wrote last week that "The safest people in history have developed the strangest contempt for the very mechanisms that made them safe." He added, "The hypocrisy of the soft West is wanting consequences to exist somewhere, somehow, without ever having to look at them."
"Public execution after due process is righteous, moral, and has a deterring effect."
Please note that while they disagree about the livestream, both Sal and Dort want to see Hasan filled with bullets.
Then there's my old pal, Townhall colleague, and Army veteran Kurt Schlichter, who noted with his usual insouciance, "I guess supporting the public execution of a Muslim mass murderer strikes a lot of tofu Christians as insufficiently winsome."
In the end, Hasan was one of the military's own, and he's their responsibility — and with that comes the decision whether to livestream or not. Ultimately, that choice rests with the commander-in-chief, should he decide to exercise that authority and override the Secretary of War's preference.
That's exactly what Trump decided to do, and like Hasan's execution seven weeks from today, it would seem to be final.
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