The Spin Begins

The Fort Hood tragedy is already being considered a terrorist attack. Walid Phares, Ph.D, writing for Fox News, had this to say:

What happened at Ft. Hood is not about being frustrated by America's foreign policy or exacting revenge for racial slurs. Nor is it about simply being a Muslim-American serving in the military or about being a member of any faith. The murders at Ft. Hood are about the radicalization of individuals by an extremist ideology -- jihadism -- which fuels acts of terror. The main question we should be asking is when did Hasan become radicalized and who indoctrinated him? Everything else will fall in place once we have these answers. Moreover, this would allow us to detect other potential terror acts that may be in the making.

"Who indoctrinated him?" Dr. Phares realizes the shooter, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, was trained and employed by the most deadly and efficient killing machine in the world, right?

No matter. For the next few weeks the talking heads will be focusing on the terror angle, especially because of reports like this:

Soldiers who witnessed the shooting rampage at Fort Hood that left 13 people dead reported that the gunman shouted "Allahu Akbar!" -- an Arabic phrase for "God is great!" -- before opening fire, the base commander said today.

Lt. Gen. Robert Cone said officials had not yet confirmed that the suspected shooter, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, made the comment before the rampage Thursday.

In the end, it won't really matter why this psycho shrink went on a shooting spree. That this might have been yet another example of "spontaneous jihad syndrome" is a seed that has already been planted. The intent is to shift the public's attention away from the horrors of war and their effects on those directly involved. Instead, look for this to be used as an excuse to intensify the "war on terror" both at home and abroad.