This guy was born in the US, raised in the US, joined the Army right out of high school in 1988 and has been in ever since. Despite whatever "red flags" we think may or may not have been thrown up in the past 6 months or whatever (nothing is confirmed), I really don't think there was any reason to expect something like this. For those of you who think this is somehow the Army's fault for letting him hang around, or for letting Muslim Americans join the military, or whatever you're trying to say, I'd really be interested in your thoughts on what they should have done. Keep in mind this is America.
[Devil'sAdvocate]What's so terrible about keeping a closer eye on the soldiers who share the same ancestry/religion/culture as the enemy?[/Devil'sAdvocate]
I think the military needs to address this. There are about 15,000 Muslims in the military, probably about 1% of the total. My first guess when this happened was that is was probably a Muslim. That sounds so racist, but what should be a 1 in a 100 chance, is more like 50-50. We need to consider, Muslim + Anti-War rhetoric + Disgruntled = Major Warning Sign. People in the military are in charge of a lot of weapons a heck of a lot more powerful and destructive than a handgun, so it could be a lot worse next time. Too much political correctness is going to get a lot of young American men and women killed.
15,000 Muslims in the military, one guy loses it, and you want to do what exactly? This is America. Plenty of Italian- and German-Americans fought bravely in WWII, plenty of Asian-Americans (since we're painting that broad a stroke) fought bravely in the Korean and Vietnam wars, and by your account 15,000 Muslims are fighting bravely in the wars in the Middle East. But since this one guy lost it we should do what exactly? No one is even really saying... kick them out? Assign a white guy to follow them around? Implant a LoJack? Ridiculous. It's not being PC. It's about being American and respecting the equal rights of American citizens. It's what America is, and it's why the great great great majority of these Muslims came here and are proud to fight.You know, I was an Arabic linguist in the USAF, and I will tell you 100%, the best linguists in our DoD, military or civilian, are Arab Americans who serve our country with nothing but pride and dignity.