General George Casey, the Army’s top officer, is concerned that diversity will become a casualty of the Fort Hood tragedy.
The religious beliefs of suspect Major Nidal Malik Hasan, a Muslim Army psychiatrist, have led to speculation about motive in the shooting rampage that killed 13 people.
“I’m concerned that this increased speculation could cause a backlash against some of our Muslim soldiers. And I’ve asked our Army leaders to be on the lookout for that,” Casey told CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Asked on NBC’s “Meet the Press” whether Muslim soldiers are conflicted in fighting wars in Muslim countries like Afghanistan and Iraq, Casey said: “I think that’s something that we have to look at on an individual basis. But I think we as an Army have to be broad enough to bring in people from all walks of life.”
The bottom line is the military benefits from diversity, he said.
“Our diversity, not only in our Army, but in our country, is a strength. And as horrific as this tragedy was, if our diversity becomes a casualty, I think that’s worse,” Casey said.
President Barack Obama also mentioned military diversity in his Saturday radio address which was focused on Fort Hood. 
Veterans Day is a chance to honor Americans who served in battlefields all over the world, Obama said. “They are Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus and nonbelievers.”
“They reflect the diversity that makes this America. But what they share is a patriotism like no other,” Obama said.
Photo credit: Reuters/Jessica Rinaldi (Casey at Fort Hood after shooting), Reuters/Jim Young (Obama leaving podium after remarks about Fort Hood shooting)
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[...] before “drawing conclusions.” Our army’s own top officer, General George Casey, thinks more Ft.-Hood-type attacks would actually be better than if our troops’ [...]
- Posted by Blessed with freedom? Thank a soldier. « Thoughts Of A Conservative Christian[...] before “drawing conclusions.” Our army’s own top officer, General George Casey, thinks more Ft.-Hood-type attacks would actually be better than if our troops’ [...]
- Posted by Blessed with freedom? Thank a soldier. | Lux Libertas - Light and LibertyI disagree with most of the posters here. What Hasan did was evil, and there is no justification for it. But that doesn’t mean we ought to take it out on Muslims. Don’t let a few bad apples spoil the bunch. For every Hasan like nut there are many more Muslims who love America and being American. All you people talking about Hasan should familiarize yourselves with another name, one that most of you probably have never heard before and would just assume forget because it doesn’t fit with your world view.
Cpl. Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan. He was an American soldier, a patriot and a Muslim, he died for his country as bravely as any of the others who gave their lives. He was 14 when 9/11 happened and he signed up to serve to prove Muslims loved America too. He gave his life for that. Thousands like him risk their lives on the same principle.
His death meant just as much to his mother as any of the 13 heroes we lost at Fort Hood. Should his sacrafice be forgetten/ignored because a treasonous nut like Hasan decides to go out in a blaze of hatred?
Were there warning signs overlooked, yes! Was Hasan a victim of discrimination after 9/11, maybe so, but no amount of discrimination justifies killing dozens of people who have done you no wrong. Hasan’s goal like that of other terrorists claiming the mantle of Islam to justify their actions was not merely to kill Americans, but to sow the seeds of hatred upon which they feed.
The fact that Hasan was a terrorist whacko doesn’t make it right for us to go out and declare all Muslims a threat. Which is what the anti diversity nativists here seem to be advocating.
We should learn from the Hasan case, but we should also remember those like Cpl. Khan who made the ultimate sacrafice for America. His death and what died fighting for should count for more than the whims of a murdering lunatic zealot like Hasan.
May Cpl. Khan, the heroes of Fort Hood and all our heroes who died to defend us rest in peace. And may Maj Hasan and every nut like him roast slowly on spit in hell forever.
- Posted by James[...] Perhaps the most nauseating PC emission came from General George Casey, the army
- Posted by Where Are The Purple Hearts? Some Truths About Fort Hood - Trackpads Community[...] So Wright agrees with General George Casey: [...]
- Posted by Augean Stables » How not to analyze the Fort Hood Attack: Robert Wright explains how the “left” is rightI would give up all the diversity (whatever it means) just to have one of the 13 killed returned to this world safe and sound. This General is a general ass+++ and should be forced to retire as he has retired his common sense already. Since we are all different individuals that is diversity enough. The word is an empty vessel into which each person pours his own meaning. A meaningless concept used by people to cover a lack of intellect.
- Posted by StateofmindCasey is stupid army officer who has never had orginal thought in his life. should be fired by Gates now.
- Posted by diversty forall[...] President Obama warned, “We don’t know all the answers yet, and I would caution against jumping to conclusions until we have all the facts.” General Casey, Army Chief of Staff, echoed the president’s warning. He went on to declare, “And as horrific as this tragedy was, if our diversity becomes a casualty, I think that’s worse.” [...]
- Posted by OpinionEditorial — Blog — Profiles in CowardiceGen. Casey is an idiot. Cover your a**, right General??? Lack of diversity worse than 13 people being mordered?!?! You’re a disgrace to the uniform you wear.
- Posted by JimWish I could ressurect General Patton for a while and let him have a few with General Diversity Casey, would be interesting.
- Posted by JLeeEvery mass-murder shooting in the last couple decades has been tied to the perp being on psych medication or under the care of a psychiatrist. People need to look past the PR of Big Pharma and the Psycho-pharmaceutical industry and realize the true cause. They’re making billions being “legal” drug-dealers and these mass-murders and suicides are just collateral damage to them.
Hasan was a psychiatrist, with easy access to all these poisons with their black-box label warnings of suicide, depression and ideas of murder and killing. This is a no-brainer if someone would only look. But it’s easier for the bigots and racists to assign cause elsewhere, which solves nothing.
- Posted by John GaltThe Army is there to get rid of the enemies of our Liberty: any tyranny must stop. Jihadists are now self-declared enemies of the United States, and so must be quarantined, or
- Posted by Ireneotherwise, prevented from practicing the violent form of Islam. Any Imams who teach must be filmed/recorded in lieu of being deported to Yemen or Saudi Arabia.
This is serious; this is war; our people are in danger of more attacks like this one while paper generals “dither” about what made this demon-possessed person commit such
a heinous act. Christians know; martyrs have suffered under Islam for centuries and now imitate Christ’s passion with their own in Kosovo, from Jihadist Iranian and PLO pretending to be “kosovars” (whatever that is)! God help us and give us strength!
“Our diversity, not only in our Army, but in our country, is a strength. And as horrific as this tragedy was, if our diversity becomes a casualty, I think that’s worse,”.
General Casey, would you say the same thing if the coffins that Hasan filled contained (God forbid) your family members?
Could you be that coldly - no insanely - insensitive to the sheer terror and blood curdling horror Hasan put members of your own family and all the other victims and their families through? Not to mention the very real damage to the nation you are sworn to protect against all enemies?
Were you not a gelded, hypocritical, PC coward, you would be standing up first and primarily for those who Hasan slaughtered instead of some political construct meant to make you and those like you feel good about yourselves.
General Casey, this is one former Air Force officer who demands that you resign immediately. You are a disgrace to the United States Army and to our nation as a whole.
- Posted by Dr. DeanCasey should resign in disgrace
- Posted by LHLdhimmitudeGeneral Casey is a buffoon general rising to the top because of PC political views. Wrong about Afhanistan and Irqaq, wrong about this and wrong for the position he holds. Diversity has no place in the Army. In Boot Camp/Basic, the break a recruit, strip him/her of all individuality and civilian habits and train the recruit the Army way of doing things. Does being Muslim, Jew, Protestant matter when changing a tire, field stripping a weapon, or completing a fitness report? No. There’s only one way, the Army way.
- Posted by MiBu