opie's twisted balls
11-05-2009, 10:37 PM
I've been watching CNN off and on this evening and one of the things that keeps coming up is the topic as to why Hasan perpetrated such an act. There were similar discussions after the events at Virginia Tech, Columbine High School, École Polytechnique (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89cole_Polytechnique_massacre), etc.
I realize that its a natural part of the rationalization in dealing with a traumatic act but at the end of the day does asking (and presumably getting an answer) to the why do anything to prevent a similar event?
Take the situation at Fort Hood. There's going to be a thorough investigation into Hasan's background; as much as possible his state of mind; activities, be they secular or religious, he was involved with; what groups he may have joined prior to the shooting. And of course he'll be facing extended interrogation to hopefully gain first hand information. Lets say for argument sake the information gathered all comes back to something very obvious and benign, that he simply didn't want to be deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan. His islamic faith or any radicalization of those beliefs, the claim that he had been taunted by fellow soldiers or because he was suffering from some variation of PTSD.....none of those were a trigger or the motivation for him killing 12 of what should have been his comrades in arms. Or even if it was something nefarious and that he was an Al Qaeda sleeper agent who'd been carefully groomed and trained to reach a senior command position within the US Armed Forces and then at some point go on a killing rampage.
If the why is found out does it make a difference in terms of preventing similar situations, does it allow for law enforcement & emergency management to have more effective techniques in place to deal with the situations that will inevitably come again or does knowing the why mean nothing?
I realize that its a natural part of the rationalization in dealing with a traumatic act but at the end of the day does asking (and presumably getting an answer) to the why do anything to prevent a similar event?
Take the situation at Fort Hood. There's going to be a thorough investigation into Hasan's background; as much as possible his state of mind; activities, be they secular or religious, he was involved with; what groups he may have joined prior to the shooting. And of course he'll be facing extended interrogation to hopefully gain first hand information. Lets say for argument sake the information gathered all comes back to something very obvious and benign, that he simply didn't want to be deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan. His islamic faith or any radicalization of those beliefs, the claim that he had been taunted by fellow soldiers or because he was suffering from some variation of PTSD.....none of those were a trigger or the motivation for him killing 12 of what should have been his comrades in arms. Or even if it was something nefarious and that he was an Al Qaeda sleeper agent who'd been carefully groomed and trained to reach a senior command position within the US Armed Forces and then at some point go on a killing rampage.
If the why is found out does it make a difference in terms of preventing similar situations, does it allow for law enforcement & emergency management to have more effective techniques in place to deal with the situations that will inevitably come again or does knowing the why mean nothing?