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Untold Casualties: Fort Hood Partial List
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Individual Terrorism or Not, “From fanaticism to barbarism is only one step” Denis Diderot
The horrors of the recent slaughter at Fort Hood TX represent only a partial list of military victims of Army psychiatrist Major Nadal Malik Hasan. It is a cruel irony that some of the most fragile of combat casualties, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), from the nation’s wars were subjected to the Major Hasan’s puerile counseling sessions. The specter of a psychiatrist openly arguing with his patients suffering from PTSD related to combat service in Iraq and Afghanistan is incredulous. Major Hasan stands in sharp contrast (except for alleged common religious ties) to other physicians who have become mass killing machines in the name of religion. He was educated from medical school to fully qualified psychiatrist within the U. S. Military establishment.
The incident sent us back to the- A Military Guide to Terrorism in the 21st Century. This Training and Doctrine publication surfaces the “putting the dots together” red flags missed or ignored for years. It points out that many Terrorists are not victims of poverty or social distress. His behavior had long ago made him a candidate for separation. His target, troops deploying to the middle-east is discussed at length. Among the most astonishing statements in the media is that of his supervisor at Walter Reed Army Medical Center “He swore an oath of loyalty to the military” actions speak louder than words. We hope that this event sends a message that those who plan to do us harm have no limits to their mendacity..
Major Hasan’s act of violence, however motivated, will have a “Terror Multiplier Effect" (TME) across the nation and within the military healthcare establishment. An American Medical Association (AMA) discussion paper revealed that International Medical Graduates (IMG) populate 24% of the all physicians in training programs for year 2007. The nation’s approximately 800,000 have a significant number of IMGs, 185,000, as written in previous articles.
Physicians (first do no harm) have been associated with modern-day Islamic terrorist groups from their earliest formation. Ayman al-Zawahiri reputed al-Qaeda second in command is a physician. Physicians have been active in a number of world-wide terrorist organizations. Active in recruiting suicide bombers and planning for their devastating attacks, there was little thought that they would become suicide bombers themselves.
The anti-terrorism community was shocked at the rise of International Medical Graduates (IMGs) formerly, Foreign Medical Graduates (FMG) physician suicide bombers in the United Kingdom. A number of these terrorist physicians had either applied for or intended to seek employment in the U.S. The international reaction to these realities, drill-down on background investigations, surfaced additional suspects however, fraudulent certifications and submitted experience records were rampant. We have worked with IMGs for most of our professional careers and have yet to have any doubts about the clinical competence or loyalty of these collegues.
The current Healthcare Reform debates continue. The unintended consequences of unknown, yet to be determined legislation, may have a significant impact on physician manpower demand. The career decisions for retirements and behavior of physician acceptance of future Medicaid and Medicare populations could create a demand for caregivers which current U.S. Medical Schools can’t supply. Experts suggest that by 2020 there will be a gap of 150,000 in supply and demand. Previous posts have addressed many of these issues.
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