At least one US soldier (two other suspects are in custody) went on a shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas today, killing 12 and injuring 31. The slain shooter has been identified as Major Malik Nadal Hasan. What that name means, if anything, we don’t know yet, so let’s not immediately jump to 9/11-type conclusions.
Longer and more frequent deployments, for a shrinking and less-qualified fighting force, means our increasingly stressed soldiers are under more pressure than ever. The Army has already seen PTSD spread among its ranks, its suicide rate skyrocket, and domestic violence (and this is a different type of domestic violence) has also plagued Army bases under the strain of dual wars.
President Obama called the Fort Hood shootings a “horrific outburst of violence.” He added: “It is difficult enough to lose” soldiers overseas, but “horrifying that they should lose their lives at an Army base in the U.S.”
