Curmudgeon's Corner

Shoot Some Soldiers...Grow A Beard?

Posted by Al Campbell on Aug. 25, 2012

Political, Quality of Life, U.S., People Making A Difference

U. S. Army Major Nidal Hasan has grown a full beard since his shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas.

You will remember that he is charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder and with 32 additional counts of attempted premeditated murder.  He is subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, as are all who wear the uniform of one of the branches.  He has grown a full beard signifying, apparently, his Muslim faith.

He chose not to use that beard signifying his faith until after he did what has caused him to be locked up for many months as this trial inches forward.  He chose to pose as a serious solider, a Major actually, and a psychiatrist whose charge was to help soldiers rather than to kill or attempt to kill soldiers.

Major Nidal is subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) unless and until he is no longer considered a member of the armed forces.  That code has some pretty clear language as to what constitutes proper military appearance, and a full facial beard is not one of the things that are permissible under the UCMJ.

Nidal apparently is ‘exercising’ his religious freedom instead of abiding with the directives of the UCMJ.   A full facial beard is simply not permissible.  If this were an Orthodox Jew, would that religious sect’s hairstyling choice be permissible?

The prosecutorial team correctly, in my opinion, has sought that Nidal be ‘forcibly shaved’ before the trial begins to avoid the “distracting and disruptive sideshow” that they claim is “flagrantly disrespecting the Army”.  Believe it or not, a military appeals court found that to remove Nidal’s beard would violate his religious freedom.

I cannot believe how politically correct the military seems to have become when it comes to the possibility that we might violate the rights of a cold killer who plotted to kill as many soldiers as he could before he was taken down.  So far as I am concerned, this man has no rights; he abrogated those rights when he pulled the trigger killing the first of the 13 people who died at his hand. 

Some will remind me that he has yet to be convicted, but there are sufficient eye witnesses to assure that conviction is but a formality; this is truly, again in my opinion, a travesty of justice that flies in the face of what this man ought to be suffering.

Col. Gregory Gross, the trial judge in the Courts Martial proceeding has rightly ordered that Nidal be shorn of his facial hair, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, the panel of four civilian judges appointed by the President has made a mockery of the UCMJ for a Muslim killer of 13 people with their stay of the trail. 

Nidal has nothing to lose by playing these games, and we’re aiding and abetting that romp through the judicial wonderland that would never be permitted if this weren’t something people fear will cause Muslims to hate us.  Too many of them already do, as Nidal showed by his actions.