Nesten fire år etter Fort Hood-massakren, hvor major Nidal Malik Hasan – en amerikanskfødt muslim med palestinske foreldre – skjøt ned og drepte 13 personer og såret mer enn 30, er saken kommet opp for en militær domstol.

Hasan, som forsvarer seg selv og risikerer dødsstraff, sa innledningsvis at han var gjerningsmannen, men presiserte at det var en stridshandling i en krig mot islam, hvor det er ofre på begge sider:

In an opening statement that took little more than a minute, Major Hasan, seated and speaking quietly, said that there was death and destruction on both sides, but that the evidence presented by the prosecution would show only one side.

He described himself as being on the wrong side of a war against Islam, and seemed close to offering an apology when he said, “We the mujahedeen are imperfect Muslims.” He added, “I apologize for any mistakes I’ve made in this endeavor.”

In a 2011 jailhouse statement given to Al Jazeera, a satellite broadcasting network based in Qatar, he pledged allegiance to the Islamic fighters known as mujahedeen and thanked them for “serving as role models on how Muslims should stand up against tyranny and aggression.”

Til tross for at han ser det på den måten, altså med et klart definert fiendebilde, er han bemerkelsesverdig nok kun tiltalt for drap, og ikke for terrorisme.

Despite the evidence of Major Hasan’s self-radicalization, Army prosecutors do not have to prove that he was a homegrown terrorist. He faces not terrorism but murder charges, and prosecutors have to prove only that he acted with intent and premeditation.

Prosecutors could have incorporated federal terrorism charges into the case, but chose not to. Experts in military law said such a move would have unnecessarily complicated the case, because no American soldier has been prosecuted for terrorism offenses.

Begrunnelsen lyder merkelig, vikarierende, og i beste fall som et eksempel på minste motstands vei. Ville en terrorismeanklage være ensbetydende med ukomfortable politiske implikasjoner?

New York Times: Fort Hood Defendant Says ‘I Am the Shooter’