Bloodthirsty Liberal

What story? You know, the one about the army psychiatrist who was distressed about fighting Muslims and begged for a discharge, but the mean old army wouldn’t let him go? So he pulled a nutty and went on a rampage? Or, in NPR-talk, have you heard the narrative about the army psychiatrist that became so distressed listening to war stories, knowing that he was about to be sent to fight his co-religionists in either Afghanistan or Iraq, no one is quite sure, (developed PTSD, only the P stands for Pre), begged for a discharge because he didn’t feel that as a devout Muslim he could support a war which is fought in a Muslim country, was denied his request, and finally, tragically, succumbed to his illness and double-tragically engaged in violence. Phew! Long sentence, but I needed to include all the nuance.

Quietly, on the inner pages of the newspapers, the story is crumbling

The Army psychiatrist accused of killing 13 people last week at Fort Hood, Texas, did not formally seek to leave the military as a conscientious objector or for any other reason, an Army official said, despite claims by one of his relatives that he had.

It is unclear whether Major Nidal Hasan made informal efforts to leave through his immediate superiors, and if so how his chain of command at lower levels might have responded.

And as for the media medical invention, Pre-Post Traumatic Syndrome Disorder (PPTSD), it is based on the idea that Dr. Hasan was providing counseling services to wounded troops returning from Afghanistan and Iraq. This is unlikely because typically psychologists and social workers do counseling; psychiatrists handle medications. They work in a team.

That’s not to say that Dr. Hasan was distressed. Obviously something is wrong with someone who decides to murder 13 human beings. Obviously. But the narrative that has sprung up around him doesn’t help to explain any of it.

- Aggie