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Vol. 73/No. 47      December 7, 2009

 
Letters
 
Fort Hood I
The Militant says, “The killing of 13 soldiers and wounding of 30 others at Fort Hood November 5 revealed the degree to which the administration’s policy of ‘diversity’ in the military led it to ignore the obvious signals from Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan … that he was planning an Islamist-style terrorist attack. Obama’s first comment after the slaughter of defenseless workers in uniform was that no one should ‘jump to conclusions.’” [See “Openings today to build the communist movement” in the November 23 Militant, which reported on the November 7 public meeting in New York City sponsored by the Socialist Workers Party and Young Socialists].

What is meant by Obama’s “policy of ‘diversity’”? Also, is it negative that Obama attempted to steer public opinion away from anti-Muslim conclusions, or away from the argument of Bill O’Reilly and others that “this was a terrorist act”?

Thomas Smith
Raleigh, North Carolina

Fort Hood II
Is there a different policy of the Obama administration from what has been developing in the military since Truman’s desegregation of it?

The “War on Terror” has inspired vigilante attacks against Arabs and Muslims. I understand Obama’s comments on “not jumping to conclusions” in this context, and I don’t understand why this should be a focus of criticism.

David Wilder
Cleveland, Ohio

Fort Hood III
On the incident at Fort Hood, I do not doubt the suspect planned a terrorist attack. However, is it accurate to refer to such attacks as “Islamist-style”? Does “Islamist” not imply that Islam advocates such actions? Would it not be more accurate to characterize the attacks as “jihadist”?

Bob Cantrick
Toronto, Ontario

The letters column is an open forum for all viewpoints on subjects of interest to working people. Please keep your letters brief. Where necessary they will be abridged. Please indicate if you prefer that your initials be used rather than your full name.

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Related articles:
Fort Hood and army ‘diversity’  
 
 
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