There is no limit to how far liberals will go in order to avoid admitting the existence of (non-Western) evil and (non-Western) enemies

I’ve been focused on some aspects of the Fort Hood discussion, while others have remained under my horizon, partly from my own choice. In particular, I think I’ve been reluctant to take in the idea, which seems to have been pushed preeminently by the New York Times, that Nidal Hasan committed mass murder because he was suffering from derivative post traumatic stress disorder which he acquired as a result of treating soldiers who had actual post traumatic stress disorder as a result of serving in Iraq. Not only did I not want to take in such an idea, I didn’t want to take in the fact that there were people who actually believed it.

But there are such people. One of them wrote in a letter in the November 7 Times:

To the Editor:

The only thing truly surprising about the tragic rampage at Fort Hood (front page, Nov. 6) is that we seem to be as surprised by it as we are horrified.

Those making the crucial decision about whether to stay and fight or quit the field of battle might ponder the awful, universal truth that the ravages of war extend far beyond that field to wound hundreds of thousands who will never hold a gun or toss a grenade.

Anne Bernays
Cambridge, Mass., Nov. 6, 2009

Posted by Lawrence Auster at November 10, 2009 06:55 PM | Send