If this president does nothing else as Commander-in-Chief (and I suspect he will do very little) he should appoint a "blue ribbon" commission to investigate yesterday's massacre at Fort Hood.
Yesterday's horrific slaughter of innocent soldiers and a civilian at a base on US soil was a punch in the stomach for anyone who wears the uniform. It was audacious and outraeous, whether committed by a "lone wacko", as the preponderance of the current evidence indicates, or by a jihaadist (or jihaadists?) set upon reducing force readiness and damaging morale. In its own right, it is deserving of a thorough civilian review.
But there is a larger issue, too: how could the Army and the Department of Defense not have comprehended that the alleged shooter was a danger to his fellow soldiers and their mission?
ANY middle-ranking officer praising homicide bombers and equating them to American heroes who throw their bodies on hand grenades to protect their buddies should have pulled from the line immediately and drummed out of the service. What if he had posted neo-Nazi messages? What if he had advocated the burning of Black churches or Jewish synagogues?
The Army is a gathering of heroes -- men and women who, as someone has written, "write a check to Uncle Sam for the value up to and including their life on earth". But it is also a unabashed bureaucracy rife with politics, careerism and "CYA" and "C My A and I'll Cover Yours" bureaucracy. If the Army has proven anything over the years, it is that the Army-- like most other large institutions sensitive to their public profile ---is horribly equipped to investigate itself. See "Pat Tillman" and scores of other instances where the Army bows to internal -- or external -- political pressure to arrive at a "convenient" answer.
Anyone who knows me knows that there are few others who honors America's service men and women more than I. But when that young guy or gal raises their hand and swears that solemn oath, this country -- we civilians -- need to make sure they have the very best this country has to offer: the best equipment, training, resources and leadership. Here, there's good reason to suspect -- though not to confirm -- that leadership failed to protect our soldiers.
And we need to find out why. And with the very best and most respected civilian investigators this country can muster.
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