CNN's Jack Cafferty blasted the Defense Department's report on the
Fort Hood massacre as a "joke" on Thursday's Situation Room, singling
out how there was "no mention in the report of the suspect's [Major
Nidal Hasan] views of Islam." Cafferty also highlighted a recent Gallup
poll that found that "43 percent of Americans admit to feeling at least
a little prejudice toward Muslims."
The CNN commentator wasted no time in criticizing the 86-page report
released by the Pentagon on the Fort Hood shootings: "The Pentagon
report into the massacre at Fort Hood, Texas that left 13 people dead- it's a joke.
No mention in the report of the suspect's views of Islam- none- in
fact, the 86-page report doesn't even once mention Major Nidal Hasan by
name. It lumps in radical Islam with other fundamentalist religious
beliefs, and instead, focuses on things like military personnel
policies and the emergency response to the November shootings."
Cafferty later read a quote from 9/11 Commission member John Lehman,
and continued his attack on the report: "Lehman...told Time magazine
the Pentagon's silence on Islamic extremism- quote, 'shows you how
deeply entrenched the values of political correctness have become,'
unquote. What a shame....The Pentagon acknowledges it did not
focus so much on Hasan's motives, as on what it called 'actions and
effects.' The report says they didn't want to interfere with the
criminal probe into Major Hasan. Garbage."
Before reading his "Question of the Hour," the commentator noted the
Gallup poll: "Meanwhile, a new Gallup poll shows 43 percent of
Americans admit to feeling at least a little prejudice toward Muslims.
That's more than twice as many who feel that way about Christians, or
Jews, or Buddhists, and the same survey finds that Islam is the most
negatively viewed religion. One-third of those surveyed say their
opinion of Islam is- quote, 'not favorable at all,' unquote."
In recent days, Cafferty has "gone rogue," (to paraphrase the title of his favorite subject of ire, Sarah Palin [1]), blasting top Democrats [2] over their secret negotiations to pass a final version of ObamaCare, labeling House Speaker Nancy Pelosi [3] a "horrible woman," and tossing the idea that the Earth's climate could actually be cooling [4]. If it wasn't for his December 2009 endorsement of a global one-child policy [5], you'd think he's becoming a conservative.
The full transcript of Jack Cafferty's commentary, which began 12
minutes into the 5 pm Eastern hour of Thursday's Situation Room:
CAFFERTY: The Pentagon report into the massacre at Fort Hood, Texas that left 13 people dead- it's a joke. No mention in the report of the suspect's views of Islam- none- in fact, the 86-page report doesn't even once mention Major Nidal Hasan by name. It lumps in radical Islam with other fundamentalist religious beliefs, and instead, focuses on things like military personnel policies and the emergency response to the November shootings. This despite the fact that Hasan made no secret of his radical Islamic faith. He allegedly proselytized to his fellow service members, [and] spoke out often against the wars the U.S. is fighting in Muslim counties.
John Lehman, the member of the 9/11 Commission, told Time magazine the Pentagon's silence on Islamic extremism- quote, 'shows you how deeply entrenched the values of political correctness have become,' unquote. What a shame. The Texas congressman, whose district includes Fort Hood, says the report- quote, 'ignores the elephant in the room- radical Islamic terrorism is the enemy,' unquote. The Pentagon acknowledges it did not focus so much on Hasan's motives, as on what it called 'actions and effects.' The report says they didn't want to interfere with the criminal probe into Major Hasan. Garbage.
Meanwhile, a new Gallup poll shows 43 percent of Americans admit to feeling at least a little prejudice toward Muslims. That's more than twice as many who feel that way about Christians, or Jews, or Buddhists, and the same survey finds that Islam is the most negatively viewed religion. One-third of those surveyed say their opinion of Islam is- quote, 'not favorable at all,' unquote.
So here's the question: why would the Pentagon choose to ignore the Fort Hood shooter's ties to Islam in its report? Go to CNN.com/CaffertyFile, post a comment on my blog.
-Matthew Balan is a news analyst at the Media Research Center.