God and Country

US Army PFC Naser Abdo, arrested last week on charges he was planning to blow up a restaurant and kill Soldiers near Fort Hood, Texas, was defiant at his court appearance.

Abdo…refused to stand up during Friday’s hearing when everyone in the court was asked to rise for the judge.

As he was being led out of the courtroom, he yelled out “Iraq 2006″ and the name of the 14-year-old Iraqi girl who was raped and murdered in 2006 by a U.S. soldier. He then shouted: “Nidal Hasan Fort Hood 2009.”

Organizations that had previously supported Abdo in his objector application have now disavowed him:

“If any of these allegations are true, any sort of violence toward anyone goes completely against what a conscientious objector believes,” said Jose Vasquez, executive director of Iraq Veterans Against the War.

Another group, Read more…

Private First Class Naser Abdo has reportedly been arrested by Texas police near Fort Hood, Texas.  Abdo wasn’t assigned to Fort Hood; he was assigned to Fort Campbell in Kentucky.  The Army said Abdo was AWOL from Fort Campbell.

Local police indicated they had interrupted a “terror plot“ in their arrest of PFC Abdo.  He was reportedly found with guns, gunpowder, and the makings of a backpack bomb.  The arrest was made possible by a tip from local gundealer Guns Galore.  Clerk Greg Ebert said the staff of the store was concerned because Abdo was purchasing large quantities of gunpowder — while asking questions about how to use it.  Guns Galore is reportedly the same store where Maj Nidal Malik Hasan purchased his firearm.

According to AP reports, Abdo has admitted to planning an attack at Read more…

US Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan, accused in the Fort Hood massacre in 2009, has been arraigned for military trial.  His civilian lawyer, retired Colonel John Galligan, reportedly “took a leave of absence” from the case.  FoxNews implied his departure might have been related to his lack of security clearance.  Galligan has been vocal about Hasan’s “mistreatment” to date:

“I have consistently argued that Major Hasan has not been treated fairly. I maintain that belief,” Galligan said Wednesday.

Col. Gregory Gross, the military chief circuit judge, scheduled the trial for 5 March 2012 in response to the defense’s request for a delay.

By that date, the baby killed in the rampage would have been about 2 years old.

It is not uncommon for military members and their families to meet regularly with people who share their faiths (despite occasional resistance to those meetings). Marines at Camp Pendleton have met for breakfast and atheists have gathered at Fort Hood.

In Hawaii recently, an article on the local chapel at Wheeler Army Airfield noted “Brown Bag Buddhists” have been meeting to learn about the Eastern religion.  The Read more…

Fort Hood recently hosted its “Freedom Fest.”  No, not the Fort Bragg atheist event that temporarily used the same name; this was the Independence Day celebration.  By all accounts it was a rousing success.  Due to fire bans across Texas, Fort Hood had one of the only fireworks displays in the region.  Around 100,000 were expected to have attended.

In the past, some have taken issue with the US military having “Christian” musicians or bands at similar events.  Apparently, they are concerned about exposing troops and their families to edifying or God-honoring lyrics.

Few people seem to have any problem when the opposite is the case.  The musical act at Fort Hood’s Freedom Fest was Read more…

In a fairly under-covered foiled terrorist attack, the Associated Press notes Abu Khalid Abdul-Latif, also known as Joseph Anthony Davis, and Walli Mujahidh, also known as Frederick Domingue Jr., have both been jailed pending their trials for planning an attack on a Seattle military recruiting station.

The two were arrested June 22 in an FBI sting after they arrived at a warehouse garage to pick up machine guns Read more…

Update:  An article at the Army Times documents the “challenges” of Hasan’s defense team, given the weight of evidence against him.

US Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan, currently charged with murder for the massacre at Fort Hood nearly two years ago, will face the possibility of the death penalty when his case goes to trial.  From the official DoD release:

Fort Hood Commander Army Lt. Gen. Donald M. Campbell Jr. will refer the capital murder case against Army Maj. Nidal M. Hasan to a general court-martial for trial, officials at Fort Hood, Texas, said today…

The court-martial in the Hasan case is authorized to consider death Read more…

According to a variety of websites (including his own Facebook page), US Army PFC Nasser Abdo was granted status as a conscientious objector.  (His case was previously noted.)

Two days later, his discharge was put on hold as he was charged with possession of child pornography as a result of 34 images on his government-issued computer.  The criminal investigation has reportedly been going on for months; Abdo claims the charges are part of a continuing pattern of discrimination.

As discussed previously, Michael Weinstein has remained silent during Abdo’s application for discharge (even after Abdo became his “fan” on Facebook) — despite the Read more…

Chaplain (MajGen) Douglas Carver, outgoing US Army Chief of Chaplains, led his final National Prayer Breakfast at Fort Hood on April 19th.  He focused on the topic of trust.

[Carver] asked the audience to trust in God, as they trust in each other, and as the American public trusts in them.

“Nothing in all of creation can separate you from the love of God,” Read more…

A youth ministry group was responsible for the design and creation of a 1,200 pound bronze statue that will soon grace the US Army Chaplain’s School in Fort Jackson, SC:

The statue was designed and created by a group of Fort Hood kids and teens under the direction of Steve Carter, who runs [Fort Hood's Chapel Ministry] Bob’s Diner, a middle and high school youth ministry group. Weekly Arts Nights are held at the “diner,” where youth explore and create music, drama and art in a faith-based environment.

Carter noted one of the purposes of the design was to highlight the “immediacy” of the Chaplaincy.  The statue captures a moment immediately after a battle, in which a Chaplain is able to comfort a grieving Soldier.  As has been noted before, Chaplains are literally on the front lines of US military conflicts, serving those who serve.

Read more about Bob’s Diner.  Photo credit: Rachel Parks, Fort Hood Public Affairs.

Various news outlets are reporting that the US Army has decided to punish military officers who expressed concern about Maj Nidal Malik Hasan’s behavior and officership — yet continued to give him glowing performance reports.

The Army announced…it will punish nine officers in connection with the Fort Hood shootings for “leadership failures relating to the career of Maj. Hasan.”

The Army statement indicates the officers may still get “due process” in responding to the “severity” of the action against them.

There may be a tragic irony in officers being punished for “failures” that led to Hasan’s conduct — when Hasan himself has yet to even be put on trial.  Most websites still say “alleged” with respect to Hasan, giving deference to the mantra of “innocent until proven guilty.”

As previously predicted, the case of US Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan has been recommended for a general court martial authorized to impose the death penalty.

The convening authority will make the final determination.

Hasan is charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder in the Nov. 5, 2009 attack on troops readying to deploy to Afghanistan.

Multiple news sources reported on the attack in Frankfurt, Germany, that killed two US Air Force airmen and seriously wounded two more.  Said President Obama:

“I’m saddened and I am outraged by this attack that took the lives of two Americans and wounded two others.  I think the American people are united in expressing our gratitude for the service of those who were lost.  I want everybody to understand that we will spare no effort in learning how this outrageous act took place and in working with German authorities to ensure that all of the perpetrators are brought to justice.”

The Airmen were reportedly USAF Security Forces in transit from Lakenheath Read more…

As noted at the Christian Science Monitor,

A Senate report on the Fort Hood attack suggests that the Army failed to heed warnings about the prime suspect because it was wary of singling out a devout Muslim.

The article and report seem to implicate that a fear of being accused of racial profiling may have discouraged pursuing what should have been “red flags.”  (This has long been discussed.)  The Senate solution:  Call it what it is.

The enemy — Islamist extremists — must be labeled correctly and explicitly, the report said, in order for the military Read more…

Former Department of Defense Inspector General Joseph Schmitz has reportedly written a letter to Senator Dianne Feinstein (Chair of the Intelligence Committee) highlighting concerns with Chaplain-vetting in the US military.  He particularly emphasized the Islamic Society of North America and Louay Safi, whose direct role with the US military has been discussed here before.  (The investigation of Safi by NCIS was apparently handed to the Army, who dropped it because he was a civilian.)

Interestingly, this is not the first time this issue has been raised.  In fact, the Army’s report on the Fort Hood massacre made similar implications.

Via the Army Chaplaincy blog and FoxNews.