Fort Hood review may challenge political correctness up the ranks

Such revelations in the wake of the Fort Hood rampage have angered and concerned conservatives and liberals alike.

“The cold, hard truth is political correctness has not only run amok, it is now clearly responsible for a murder rampage on our turf at one of our top military bases,” writes the columnist David Ruthenberg at Oklahoma’s EnidNews.com. “That is terrorism, and PC thinking made it possible.”

Liberal scribe Joel Mathis at RedBlueAmerica agrees. “As much as it pains liberals like me to admit it … political correctness probably played a role in letting Maj. Nidal Hasan continue his career in the Army,” he writes.

Mr. Mathis acknowledges that the inability to weed out individuals ends up reflecting on all members of a particular faith, or minority: “If there is a danger in being so polite and committed to diversity that you can’t recognize a genuine threat … there is an opposite problem: Seeing every Muslim … as a probable threat.”

The Army leadership has been careful to make sure there’s not a backlash against Muslims.

Three days after the massacre, Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey asserted that, “as horrific as this tragedy was, if our diversity becomes a casualty, I think that’s worse.”

Many have applauded General Casey’s stance.

“The U.S. military is justifiably proud of its role in leading the way in integrating its work forces, ahead of those in the private sector,” writes the editorial board of the Louisville, Ky., Courier-Journal. “The tragedy of Fort Hood should not be compounded by losing sight of this value.”

Others have called for Casey’s resignation. This includes Linda Chavez, director of the Center for Equal Opportunity, a conservative think tank opposed to affirmative action.

“I have to say that if this diversity rationale as so articulated by Gen. Casey is to be understood then what we are really saying is that protecting diversity is more important than protecting lives, even the lives of those who defend the freedoms we enjoy,” Chavez said at a Federalist Society conference this week. “And if that’s the case, then the world has gone mad.”

President Obama’s review comes on top of at least two congressional investigations into the Fort Hood massacre. A big question for many Americans will be whether the “flaw in the system,” as the President put it, could be political correctness itself.

See also:

Fort Hood: If Nidal Malik Hasan talks, will he live?

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