File this under, “Irony can be pretty ironic sometimes.”
The Department of Defense, which was ultimately responsible for ALL ongoing military policies, has issued a scathing report on the Fort Hood jihadist attack.
Among its findings is that its own commitment to the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) is “inadequate,” resulting in “inconsistent” (read NONEXISTANT) cooperation with the FBI.
According to that report, the JTTF knew, well in advance of Major Hassan’s terrorist attack, that Hassan was in communications with an al Qaeda sympathizer and recruiter, but that was not reported to DOD or the military.
It also found that, “Commanders and supervisors do not always receive information about individuals who may commit violent acts.”
REALLY?!
Why?
The answer is that personnel are dissuaded from alerting superiors of such a threat for fear of ruffling “racial sensitivities,” thereby jeopardizing their own career advancement.
Yet another finding was that, “DOD policy prohibiting certain supremacist or extremist behavior is "unclear" and "limited" when it comes to individual behavior.” TRANSLATION: While the DOD, as an extension of the U.S. government takes white supremacist behavior seriously, it is tepid, at best, when dealing with similar behavior from other groups...that has to (and WILL) change.
But will it change before it’s too late? THAT is the million dollar question.
The report also makes the shocking revelation that “the DOD does not have a comprehensive cyberspace counterintelligence program to alert authorities to "non-foreign intelligence" on potential threats.”
OK, I’ll bite; WHY NOT?! None of this makes ANY sense in today’s world. This isn’t 1970, it’s 2010! It would seem that many of the DOD’s policies are like Bozo the Clown fans – “Stuck on some clown from the 60’s!”
What this report does NOT appear to address is the personal responsibility up and down Major Hassan's chain of command.
There is another report that recommends that a number of individuals who failed to report Hassan's erratic behavior be relieved of duty or disciplined. The list reportedly includes commanders and officers at Walter Reed, where Hassan had worked as a staff psychiatrist counseling soldiers with PTSD returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan .
According to ABC News the U.S. Army reported that “the reports are still sitting on the Army Secretary's desk while Army lawyers struggle to determine what legal hurdles must be cleared.”
Kinda figures, doesn’t it? They DO have the current overly litigiousness of the contemporary American society covered, just not the “political correctness run amok,” aspect.
No comments:
Post a Comment