I read with great interest your comment (the one before m60a3 tank) regarding muslims. It is so refreshing to find at least one person who doesn't view everyone who is muslim with distrust and varying levels of condemnation for the actions of the few. Allah is about peace and love the same as Jesus in the christian faith. Allah is not about death and destruction. There are extremists in every faith and I have met plenty in the christian faith. As things stand in my own life I would far more happily go to a mosque than a church. I find much more sincerity amongst the those of the mulim faith than the those of the christian faith. Walk in the peace of God and Allah my friend....

I wonder if this man was muslim when he joined the armed forces...Or did he adapt the muslim faith afterward. He must have
known the time may very well have come one day when he would have to fight against other men of the same faith...
He wasn't drafted into the service as thise men were during the Vietnam era. The service was a choice he made. To turn a gun on people he may or may not have even known was an act of cowarduce abd I don't think Alah had anything to do with it...lt has really shook some of the men and women who were on this base and thought they were safe.

Amen, brother. That was exactly the point I was trying to make in pointing out that this will weaken our effectiveness on the field of battle. Our troops need to focus all their attention on the enemy they can see in their sights. Wondering if the man or woman at their side is trustworthy brings back the doubt that we had to contend with in Southeast Asia 40 years ago. "Who do I trust?" has to be the furthest thing on the mind of a soldier in combat.
Rest and get well, old friend. Peace in our time!

In this case my brother, I should be in bed. However in response and agreement with you I find myself. We are giving our freedoms away faster than most know. If we forbid or start watching others; simply based on the religion they practice, what have we become? What we have become is what this great country was founded for, to prevent oppression of a king. Our rights, his rights to worship who and when we choose. Further more what right do we have as a nation to listen to private phone conversations, looking for catch words in emails, and to have men, excuse me "enemy combatants" on foreign soil held in the name of "national security" It is said we are fighting the enemy on his ground so we don't have to fight them on our ground. I am sorry if I seem to be all over the place but this flu and fever are not letting me think as I should. I will write more later when my mind can keep a train of thought. In ending just let me say this, when you find yourself in a fire fight if your have to look to see who is on your right and left shoulders, your already dead; for the enemy is in front of you...
Peace in our time
Mark

In our politically correct nation, where you are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law and have the right to free speech, all that law enforcement could legally do was watch this guy until he did something arrestable. Also, singling him out for special surveillance or treatment was out of the question because that would be considered profiling.

While this man’s actions were appalling, and the loss of life and injuries to the innocent horrific, even more damage has been done to the United States military and the population in general. He is a Muslim and shouted “Allahu akbar” while carrying out his attacks. Unfortunately this will only serve to cast suspicion upon all Muslims, both in the armed forces and in the civilian population.

From a military point of view you have to literally trust the man or woman on either side with your life. Muslims serving honorably and faithfully will be viewed with suspicion and distrust and that will only serve to reduce the effectiveness of our combat arms. You cannot devote all of your attention towards carrying the fight to the enemy when you have doubts in your mind about the intentions of your fellow soldiers. This makes you a less effective combatant while the enemy isn’t hampered by those doubts and can devote all of their attentions towards their goals; killing you.

From a civilian standpoint we already have enough suspicion, mistrust and in some cases hatred of Muslims in this country and that will only be aggravated by this heinous attack. Hate groups will use this to fan the flames of distrust, suspicion, bigotry and hatred and I fear that President Obama’s already monumental task of trying to repair the damage done to our nation by the Bush regime will only be that much harder simply because of his name and ancestry.

As a result of this monstrous act in Texas I fear that our nation will be further divided than it already is. We all need to work together to heal the wounds of our nation and to move forward. Incidents like this only make that united effort all the more impossible to achieve.

For every Muslim who commits an atrocity such as this there are thousands upon thousands who want peace as much as anyone. Unfortunately, they will be judged by this maniac’s actions and not by their own. Many of you know that my first network invitation came from a young man living in Pakistan. He and I are very good friends and he calls himself my “little brother”. He is a devout Muslim while I am a born again Christian. We both agree that our religious beliefs both aim towards the same goal; peace, love and freedom for all mankind. We pray for each other’s families, for each other’s nations and for our shared world. We also know that no matter the name we use, God or Allah, the deity we each pray to wants the same things.

God, and Allah, help us all.

Chip I have been watching this, also on CNN. He should be hung in my opinion, WE ARE TOO SOFT with these people, if he was being watched why was he allowed to carry a gun, Why were these troops put in danger this way? Im sorry if my opinion is a little blunt but we are loosing enough military personnel at the moment without loosing in in this way, and the way we lost 5 of ours yesterday.

He killed these people because he was tired of being called a "Camel Jockey" and wanted out of the service??? Another whiner who refuses to take responsibility for his own actions by blaming everyone else...He could have got on a plane, flew to Palestine and been AWOL and I'm sure they would have gladly let him out of the service and out of the country!~!

I don't know what more I could say about this---it is a tragedy for sure...but is there any way one can stop this before it happens again? There must have been warning signs that were ignored that might have prevented this act. I hope they sort it out and watch more closely so there won't be a next time.

I just heard a report on CNN saying was born in Virginia, is of Jordanian descent and graduated from Virginia Tech.

He committed these horrendous crimes on a military installation and, if he lives, will be charged and tried under Article 118 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).

Text.

“Any person subject to this chapter who, without justification or excuse, unlawfully kills a human being, when he—”

(1) has a premeditated design to kill;

(2) intends to kill or inflict great bodily harm;

(3) is engaged in an act that is inherently dangerous to another and evinces a wanton disregard of human life; or

(4) is engaged in the perpetration or attempted perpetration of burglary, sodomy, rape, robbery, or aggravated arson; is guilty of murder, and shall suffer such punishment as a court-martial may direct, except that if found guilty under clause (1) or (4), he shall suffer death or imprisonment for life as a court-martial may direct.

Elements.

(1) Premeditated murder.

(a) That a certain named or described person is dead;

(b) That the death resulted from the act or omission of the accused;

(c) That the killing was unlawful; and

(d) That, at the time of the killing, the accused had a premeditated design to kill.

(2) Intent to kill or inflict great bodily harm.

(a) That a certain named or described person is dead;

(b) That the death resulted from the act or omission of the accused;

(c) That the killing was unlawful; and

(d) That, at the time of the killing, the accused had the intent to kill or inflict great bodily harm upon a person.

(3) Act inherently dangerous to another.

(a) That a certain named or described person is dead;

(b) That the death resulted from the intentional act of the accused;

(c) That this act was inherently dangerous to another and showed a wanton disregard for human life;

(d) That the accused knew that death or great bodily harm was a probable consequence of the act; and

(e) That the killing was unlawful.

(4) During certain offenses.

(a) That a certain named or described person is dead;

(b) That the death resulted from the act or omission of the accused;

(c) That the killing was unlawful; and

(d) That, at the time of the killing, the accused was engaged in the perpetration or attempted perpetration of burglary, sodomy, rape, robbery, or aggravated arson.

Explanation.

(1) In general. Killing a human being is unlawful when done without justification or excuse. See R.C.M. 91616. Whether an unlawful killing constitutes murder or a lesser offense depends upon the circumstances. The offense is committed at the place of the act or omission although the victim may have died elsewhere. Whether death occurs at the time of the accused’s act or omission, or at some time thereafter, it must have followed from an injury received by the victim which resulted from the act or omission.

(2) Premeditated murder.

(a) Premeditation. A murder is not premeditated unless the thought of taking life was consciously conceived and the act or omission by which it was taken was intended. Premeditated murder is murder committed after the formation of a specific intent to kill someone and consideration of the act intended. It is not necessary that the intention to kill have been entertained for any particular or consider-able length of time. When a fixed purpose to kill has been deliberately formed, it is immaterial how soon afterwards it is put into execution. The existence of premeditation may be inferred from the circumstances.

(b) Transferred premeditation. When an accused with a premeditated design attempted to unlawfully kill a certain person, but, by mistake or inadvertence, killed another person, the accused is still criminally responsible for a premeditated murder, because the premeditated design to kill is transferred from the intended victim to the actual victim.

(c) Intoxication. Voluntary intoxication (see R.C.M. 916(1)(2)17) not amounting to legal insanity may reduce premeditated murder (Article 118(1)) to unpremeditated murder (Article 118(2) or (3)) but it does not reduce either premeditated murder or unpremeditated murder to manslaughter (Article 11918) or any other lesser offense.

(3) Intent to kill or inflict great bodily harm.

(a) Intent. An unlawful killing without premeditation is also murder when the accused had either an intent to kill or inflict great bodily harm. It may be inferred that a person intends the natural and probable consequences of an act purposely done. Hence, if a person does an intentional act likely to result in death or great bodily injury, it may be inferred that death or great bodily injury was in-tended. The intent need not be directed toward the person killed, or exist for any particular time before commission of the act, or have previously existed at all. It is sufficient that it existed at the time of the act or omission (except if death is inflicted in the heat of a sudden passion caused by adequate provocation— see paragraph 44). For example, a person committing housebreaking who strikes and kills the householder attempting to prevent flight can be guilty of murder even if the householder was not seen until the moment before striking the fatal blow.

(b) Great bodily harm. “Great bodily harm” means serious injury; it does not include minor injuries such as a black eye or a bloody nose, but it does include fractured or dislocated bones, deep cuts, torn members of the body, serious damage to internal organs, and other serious bodily injuries. It is synonymous with the term “grievous bodily harm.”

(c) Intoxication. Voluntary intoxication not amounting to legal insanity does not reduce un-premeditated murder to manslaughter (Article 11919) or any other lesser offense.

(4) Act inherently dangerous to others.

(a) Wanton disregard of human life. Intentionally engaging in an act inherently dangerous to another—although without an intent to cause the death of or great bodily harm to any particular person, or even with a wish that death will not be caused—may also constitute murder if the act shows wanton disregard of human life. Such disregard is characterized by heedlessness of the probable consequences of the act or omission, or indifference to the likelihood of death or great bodily harm. Examples include throwing a live grenade toward another in jest or flying an aircraft very low over one or more persons to cause alarm.

(b) Knowledge. The accused must know that death or great bodily harm was a probable consequence of the inherently dangerous act. Such knowledge may be proved by circumstantial evidence.

(5) During certain offenses.

(a) In general. The commission or attempted commission of any of the offenses listed in Article 118(4) is likely to result in homicide, and when an unlawful killing occurs as a consequence of the perpetration or attempted perpetration of one of these offenses, the killing is murder. Under these circumstances it is not a defense that the killing was unintended or accidental.

(b) Separate offenses. The perpetration or attempted perpetration of the burglary, sodomy, rape, robbery, or aggravated arson may be charged separately from the homicide.

Lesser included offenses.

(1) Premeditated murder and murder during certain offenses. Article 118(2) and (3)—murder

(2) All murders under Article 118.

(a) Article 11920—involuntary manslaughter

(b) Article 12821—assault; assault consummated by a battery; aggravated assault

(c) Article 13422—negligent homicide

(3) Murder as defined in Article 118(1), (2), and (4).

(a) Article 8023—attempts

(b) Article 11924—voluntary manslaughter

(c) Article 13425—assault with intent to commit murder

(d) Article 13426—assault with intent to commit voluntary manslaughter

Maximum punishment.

(1) Article 118(1) or (4) -- death. Mandatory minimum -- imprisonment for life with eligibility for parole.

(2) Article 118(2) or (3)—such punishment other than death as a court-martial may direct.

And the shooter is still alive. I think if he lives and he wants to act like he's not american, he should be treated under the same laws of the "An eye for an Eye"....If Thy hand offend thee....cut it off!!

Now they are saying the guy was born in Virginia but claims to be Palestinain....and They had been watching him because of some Internet postings about suicide bombings and other threats, including posts that equated suicide bombers to soldiers who throw themselves on a grenade to save the lives of their comrades he had done....Plus he recieved a poor performance eval at Walter Reed??? They show him walking around a store in traditional white garb hours before the shooting....Walks like a duck, quacks likes a duck....it sure as hell isn't a kitten!!

This is very tragic and sad, and my heart goes out to all involved and the families who have lost their loved ones or were injured.

According to the NBC Nightlly News story on it, the dead shooter was a doctor assigned to the Readiness Center to provide mental health support to the troops. They also said he was about to deploy to one of the war zones but they were getting conflicting reports as to which one.

I heard this at football practice, I can hardly wait to watch the news and hear more. Was there any word on why this happened???

Chip, This act is a horific tragedy. My thoughts and prayers are for the fallen, the injured, and the families. My mind and emotions are in need of time to digest the impact and magnitude of this assult within the confines of Ft. Hood. The profound sadness I feel is too deep to express as is the rage and range of this terrible event.
As ever be well, my friend. Stephen Craig Rowe

Ive just seen this on TV, it very sad and a terrible thing to have happen
Take care
sue

I heard it one minute ago...it is terrible...:-(((((((((