Sean MacFarland
• 1st
Lieutenant General, US Army, Retired; Board Member, Consultant, Speaker
9h • Edited
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-macfarland-45a15721/
This is a terrible idea. I have no problem with executing this man. In fact, when I was CG of Fort Hood, it was my responsibility to approve his death sentence. I also had the solemn duty of presenting Purple Heart medals to those he wounded and to the next of kin of those he killed. But it is fair to ask whether carrying out the sentence at Fort Hood and live streaming it is justice, vengeance, or a mere spectacle for the masses. It also surrenders a piece of the moral high ground we have held up to now in our campaigns against Al Qaeda and ISIS by adopting their barbaric practice of video recording the executions of their prisoners. Once it is aired, it is bound to make it harder for our service members to be seen as “the good guys” in foreign lands. How many insurgents were inspired to attack our troops by photos from Abu Ghraib prison? Worst of all, it will make Nidal Hassan an international martyr. Shooting a hole in the chest of a wheelchair bound paraplegic on live tv will not be a good look for America, no matter who we are shooting. By all means, deliver justice to this man. But do it humanely, with dispassionate professionalism, in seclusion at the US Disciplinary Barracks. This will deliver the necessary punitive and deterrent effects while upholding our reputation as a civilized nation to be admired and emulated. It will also deprive our enemies of a propaganda weapon to use against us.
#forthood,
#nidalhassan,
#militaryjustice,
#hegseth