In its 1000-word Friday report covering the guilty verdict handed down to Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the Army psychiatrist who went on a shooting rampage at Fort Hood that killed 13 and wounded 32, nowhere will you find the words “Islam,” “terror,” “terrorism,” or “Allah Akbar.” You also won’t find the words “al Qaeda” or “Anwar al-Awlaki.”
Other than a brief mention of the fact that the prosecution’s argument was that Hasan’s “mission was to kill as many soldiers as he could as part of a jihad to protect ‘my Muslim brothers’ from American soldiers deploying to Afghanistan,” readers of the New York Times would not even know Hasan is Muslim.
What readers of the Times don’t know, though, is that prior to committing the worst mass-murder in history at an American military base in November of 2009, Hasan exchanged upwards of 18 emails detailing his plans with Anwar al-Alwaki, a top al Qaeda cleric. And while the Times eats up a few paragraphs detailing Hasan’s actions during the murder-spree, one detail left out is that Hasan was screaming “Allah Akbar!” as he gunned down nearly 50 unarmed people.
The Times, however, does describe Hasan as a “quiet, soft-spoken defendant,” and someone “who turned on the very soldiers he devoted much of his 15-year military career to help[.]”
The Times’ editorial choice to play down the blatant Islamic terror angle mirrors that of the rest of the media and President Obama. In order to ensure another successful domestic terror attack doesn’t besmirch a Democrat president’s record, the Obama administration chose to classify the Fort Hood massacre as “workplace violence” instead of a terror attack.
The media, as you can see, have been only too eager to assume their favorite position of complying with whatever marching orders Obama hands them.
But there is a very real and tragic consequence to this deceit. Other than truth, the other victims of this White House/mainstream media cover-up are Hasan’s victims. The decision not to classify a terror attack as a terror attack denies the wounded and dead soldiers (and their families) important benefits and acknowledgements:
It denies these victims cost-free VA health care for five years, as they would receive for combat injuries.
It denies them cost-free counseling and critical mental health services.
It denies them tax-free disability benefits and Combat-Related Special Compensation.
It denies them eligibility for the Purple Heart and its related benefits.
Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC