Major Nidal Hasan Say He Was Protecting Taliban Fighters

For John, BLUF:  The Government picking "workplace violence" as the offense to charge has always seemed strange.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

We all remember Army Major (and psychiatrist) Nidal Hasan, don't we?  He is the chap who is alleged to have shot up a crowd in the Soldier Readiness Processing Center at Fort Hood, back on 5 November 2009.  It is hard to believe it was so long ago and we still haven't had the trial.

There is a story at Yahoo News, from the AP, by Reporter Angela K Brown, which tells us that in his defense, Major Hasan wishes to plead that he was protecting others.  The lede:

FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) — An Army psychiatrist charged with gunning down Fort Hood soldiers said Tuesday his defense would show that he was compelled to do so because deploying U.S. troops posed an imminent danger to Taliban fighters.

Well, it is good to see that Major Hasan, if he was the shooter, had his priorities in the right place.  He wanted to protect tribal fighters in Afghanistan who wish to take the nation, including its women, back to the 8th Century.  And in doing that he felt he had to take down American fighting men.

As someone I know noted:

Now that he has declared himself to be an enemy combatant, can those he killed and wounded get their Purple Hearts and other compensation?

That is to say, can we change this, finally, from workplace violence to domestic terrorism?

Regards  —  Cliff