Political correctness was not why Hasan was retained

The full-bore media and blog frenzy about the motivations of Ft Hood's shooter suspect, Maj. Nidal Hasan, is fully underway. After Ft Hood's commanding general told The Today Show that Hasan was the shooter and that Hasan shouted "Allahu akbar," "Allah is great," while firing, I posted that he was unwittingly setting the stage for Hasan's acquittal, if Hasan is ever brought to trial. The repeated media and blog pronouncements that Hasan is guilty are also potentially poisoning the potential prosecution, with reporting missing the usual words such as "alleged" shooter or "accused" killer much more frequently than normal.

But the Constitution hasn't changed. Hasan presently has only been named a suspect. He has not actually been accused or charged with anything. Like anyone else, he enjoys the rights to enter into trial, if there is a trial, with the full presumption of innocence which the government must overturn beyond reasonable doubt.

One one side of the frenzy, the commentati are clear that Army commanders turned a blind eye to Hasan's reputedly-increasing Islamic radicalism because of political correctness. For example, Jerry Pournelle:

Political correctness was the cause of the Fort Hood Massacre, and we ought not forget that. The fact that someone could go through -- at government expense -- an undergraduate education with ROTC, then medical school at a US military institution, and remain a traitor to the United States is a significant warning. A very significant warning that the idea of Political Correctness has consequences we can't afford. Corruption of the Legions is one danger the Republic cannot endure.

On the other side, commentators are running away from the idea that Islam had anything to do with the shooter's motives; Chris Matthews, for instance, saying that "we may never know" whether the shooter's religion was a factor.

Dr. Helen demands to know why Hasan was not investigated long before this week. After all, it is reported that he left a trail of anti-American statements that came to federal authorities' attention at least six months ago, although in fairness it is not certain that this Nidal Hasan was the author, his name being more common that Westerners might imagine. So, asks Helen,

Was it political correctness and concern for his Muslim heritage that kept officials from looking further into his mental health? Was the army so desperate for a psychiatrist (there is always a shortage) they didn't dare do anything?

So was alleged killer Dr. (Maj.) Nidal Hasan given a pass because the Army 's policies and commanders are so cowed by political correctness that they simply turned a blind eye to his reported, increasing Islamic radicalism?

I think there was less PC at play in continuing Hasan's career than you think. I don't mean "none," but low enough not to be a major factor. He was most likely given a pass because he was a doctor who by all accounts performed his physician duties well. And the Army is short of doctors, in some specialties critically short.

[T]here just aren’t enough military doctors to go around. So many MDs have been deployed to war zones that coverage back home — for military family members, retirees, and garrisoned troops — has been spread awfully thin.

I spoke to one Army doctor the other day - a chief of family practice at a good-sized facility. Let’s call him Dr. Jonah. He oversees about a dozen doctors, each with at least 21 patients per day.

Which sounds like a lot - until you consider that he’s got a patient base of over 18,000. Which means that diabetics or hypertensives — who should be seen at least four times annually– are only seen once a year. "There are women who haven’t gotten pap smears in years, who go without mammograms for years," Dr. Jonah says.

"The people that the government promised would take care of their health care are not getting nearly the coverage they need," he sighs.

There are Army doctors in my church, near Ft Campbell, and they've told me the Army is short. My second son wants to go to medical school after he graduates college (he's a senior now). I asked one of the Army doctors what he needed to do to get the Army to pay for it.

"First, get accepted to an accredited medical school," he answered.

"Then what?" I asked.

"That's pretty much it."

The NYT reports that Hasan tried to get released from active duty, claiming he was being harassed because he was a Muslim. "But the Army, which had paid for his education and was in great need of psychiatrists, refused, family members said."

According to the AP, Va. Tech. says that Hasan was never enrolled in ROTC there. As an honors graduate in biochemistry from the university, he had no problem getting accepted in the Army's "become a doctor on our dime" program.

The reason Hasan never came under military scrutiny for his increasingly-radicalized Islamism I think had much less to do with political correctness than with the Army Medical Department's fear of losing a doctor, who by all accounts performed his medical duties well, and not having a replacement.