Duty Or Dishonor

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I’m sure like many readers of American COP, I recently awoke to disturbing news carried by all of the mainstream media: An independent investigation into the 2009 Fort Hood massacre revealed that the FBI seriously dropped the ball. Specifically, the Bureau ignored Army Major Nidal Hasan’s connections with known and suspected Islamic terrorists. Hasan brutally murdered 13 US soldiers and wounded 23 others in November 2009. The question in the minds of many was how such a person could have continued to serve as a military officer when he was known to have exchanged e-mails with extremists like Anwar al-Awlaki.

I no sooner finished reading the various media accounts, which summarized the verdict of the independent investigation, when I received e-mails from readers of this column asking me to devote column space to what one of them described as, “the greatest abandonment of law enforcement responsibility” in his lifetime. The independent investigation concluded political correctness deterred what would and should have been normal FBI practices and procedures when dealing with a “fellow traveler” such as Hasan. In short, the Bureau was so afraid of being criticized for focusing on a Muslim they failed to alert military authorities to the fact an Army officer could very well have been a threat to his fellow soldiers.

Fundamental Failures

Those who read this column on a regular basis know I vehemently object to political correctness within contemporary law enforcement. I don’t know if the FBI requires its agents to read the Law Enforcement Code of Ethics before they graduate from Quantico or not. If not, they should. And if they do, they should take it seriously. As law enforcement officers, our fundamental duty is to protect mankind and we simply cannot do that by putting our heads in the sand, nor can we do it by being cowardly in our approach to the job.

Political correctness in our profession always has negative consequences. Generally, those consequences are poor morale within the agency and less than appropriate service to the public. In this case, political correctness indirectly, but very clearly, cost 13 innocent human beings their lives. By its failure to act on actionable intelligence for fear of being criticized, the Bureau failed in its duty to the American public. There’s simply no other way to put it. Historically, law enforcement has been above politics and playing favorites depending on who holds a particular political office at a particular point in time. It’s clear in this tragic case politics won over duty, and the results were both dishonor and death.

US Haters Club

Since history cannot be changed and there’s no do-over that can restore life to the Fort Hood victims, I’d hope the FBI has learned a lesson; political correctness will yield to the basic responsibility the Bureau has long had and, in the past, met in a generally acceptable fashion. However, given the political climate of today I’m not at all sure much will change. Even more, since the political agenda of our current leadership impacts all federal law enforcement agencies, I’m concerned about something with far greater and more serious consequences than Fort Hood — the political correctness of the Department of Homeland Security when it comes to the issue of “OTM” (other than Mexican) illegal immigrants coming into the country.

In her meant for public deception role, DHS Secretary Napolitano denies the Border Patrol is encountering many illegals from countries which harbor terrorism, and from countries which have publicly declared their desire to inflict harm on the US. Yet, information from reliable sources within the Border Patrol, as well as that gathered by the media, especially along the US-Mexico border, it’s quite clear Napolitano’s words are anything but true.
By Jerry Boyd