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
Retired Air Force Colonel Martha McSally became famous several years ago for suing the Department of Defense over the Islamic abaya. While stationed as an A-10 pilot in Saudi Arabia, she was required to wear the abaya when she went off base to avoid offending the local Islamic population.
Congress intervened before the suit was adjudicated and, in its role of creating the rules and regulations for the US military, prohibited the required wear of the abaya in Saudi Arabia.
Writing in the Washington Post, McSally now says members of the US military’s “female engagement teams” in Afghanistan are being “encouraged” (read: required) to wear an Islamic scarf again. She has a somewhat contradictory take on their wear of the Islamic garb: on one hand, she “applauds” the women for doing “whatever it takes to win this war.” On the other, she feels wearing the Islamic garb is a surrender to all that is wrong with the culture in which they are fighting: Read more
Several news organizations are reporting the Said Musa (alternatively, Sayed Mussa) has been released from prison. An Afghan convert to Christianity, he had been told he was to be hanged for abandoning Islam, with the full support of the Afghan government.
The exact circumstances of his release are unclear:
Mr. Mussa…was released…after prosecutors determined there was insufficient evidence to go forward with the case, said Gen. Qayoum Khan, the detention center director. But…a senior prosecutor involved in the case, speaking on condition of anonymity, said he was released only after agreeing to return to Islam.
Musa appears to have left the country, as did the last public convert to Christianity threatened with execution in Afghanistan. Other Christian converts — as many as 26 were arrested at the same time as Musa — reportedly remain jailed.
A US Air Force Academy press release on its National Prayer Luncheon highlighted the “many faiths” represented at the event. Key speaker Lt Clebe McClary spoke of his Christian faith, but he emphasized motivation, resilience, and self-worth:
Lieutenant McClary introduced his audience to a few acronyms they might not have heard of previously. Three examples included PRIDE: “Personal Responsibility in Daily Effort,” FIDO: “Forget It and Drive On,” and PATCH: “Positive Attitude that Characterizes Hope.”
“Life’s tough. You know that better than I do,” he said. “Are you going to get bitter, or are you going to get better?…”
The lieutenant also challenged people to think about Read more
The story of the Afghan convert to Christianity sentenced to die for leaving Islam has picked up more steam as Christian leaders from John Piper to Rick Warren have called for action.
John Piper tweeted…”Mr. President, speak wisely and boldly, in private if necessary, for Said Musa, imprisoned in Kabul.”
On Sunday, Rick Warren, named as one of the top 20 Twitter celebrities by Forbes, brought attention to how the media has underreported Musa’s story.
“Media CLAIM to champion free speech but if they really did, they’d report these stories everyday,” Warren told his 245,653 Twitter followers.
Warren linked to an article questioning the Presidential intervention over the threat of Koran-burning in Florida, but the Read more
The Air Force Times profiles Chaplain (Capt) Sharior Rahman, who is one of two Islamic Chaplains in the US Air Force. (The other is Chaplain (Capt) Walid Habash; it is unclear what became of Chaplain (Capt) Abdulah Hamza Al-Mubarak, who was the Air Force’s first Islamic Chaplain and served at the Air Force Academy until a few years ago.)
Rahman serves at Lackland AFB — gateway for all enlisted recruits — and 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