And he chose the muslim responsible for the atrocity.
Posted on 04/14/2014 6:26:17 AM PDT by kristinn
During last week's memorial service for victims of April 2 Fort Hood shooting, President Barack Obama spoke about the lingering hurt from the previous attack on the base in 2009. "Part of what makes this so painful is that we've been here before," Obama said. "This tragedy tears at wounds still raw from five years ago. Once more soldiers who survived foreign war zones were struck down here at home, where they're supposed to be safe." Yet, when victims of the first Fort Hood shooting invited the president to see those wounds up close, he refused, without explaining why.
The morning of the memorial, retired Staff Sgt. Alonzo Lunsford, who was shot seven times during the 2009 Fort Hood rampage, requested that the Obama meet briefly with victims and their families while he was on base. Lunsford's letter, which was addressed to the president's Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, also described survivors' disappointment with how they had been treated:
"As you may know, the President and high-ranking members of the military promised me, my family and the other Fort Hood terror attack survivors that the federal government would "make them whole." After more than four and one-half years, however, the government has yet to make good on this promise.
"We believe that if the President could hear, first-hand, our plight and our mistreatment at the hands of his bureaucracy, that he would take the steps needed to set things right. Therefore, we ask for ten minutes of his time."
In the years since Maj. Nidal Hasan opened fire in a crowded Fort Hood medical center, killing 13 people and wounding another 32, victims have struggled to get medical care and financial benefits. This is largely because of how the incident has been labeled. Although Hasan is an avowed jihadist with ties to Al Qaeda, the Pentagon considers the attack to be workplace violence rather than terrorism or combat. Thus victims aren't eligible for many benefits and honors available to soldiers wounded or killed in action. (For more on this topic, see How the Obama Administration Failed the Victims of the First Fort Hood Attack.)
In 2012, nearly 150 Fort Hood victims and their family members filed suit against the Department of Defense, seeking compensation for their suffering and lost benefits. But the case has bogged down, and the Senate has balked at passing legislation that would give victims of the 2009 shooting the same benefits as soldiers killed or wounded in combat or terrorism attacks.
Lunsford and other survivors had hoped that a personal meeting might persuade the president to intervene and break the logjam. "Right now, he only knows our stories second hand," Lunsford says. "We wanted to meet with him face-to-face so he could look us in the eyes and see our pain. That's the only way he's really going to understand our situation." According to their lawyer, Reed Rubinstein, roughly two dozen victim and their relatives were planning to attend. But they didn't hear back from the White House until the day after the memorial, when McDonough sent a brief reply:
"After receiving your letter yesterday, and consulting with the White House Counsel’s office, we forwarded your letter to the Departments of Justice and Defense, who are leading the government’s efforts to ensure the victims of the 2009 shooting receive the justice and benefits they deserve. Unfortunately, we were unable to meet your specific request for a meeting with the President yesterday."
White House spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden declined to say why the president had demurred, but Lunsford isn't surprised. "Honestly, I expected to get that kind of response," he says. "The last five years has been so full of disappointments, it's not like I'm sitting around holding my breath."
You can read the entire exchange between Lunsford and the White House below.
He ran off to attend a Democratic Party fund raiser. And no he did not share the proceeds with the victim’s families. Obama is vile.
And he chose the muslim responsible for the atrocity.
Mother Jones reported this!?
Wow this piece is from Mother Jones?
WH should be a gun free zone.
Well, perhaps during the next national tragedy on his watch, he can give the victims of both shootings “a shout out,” just like he did for Joe Medicine Crow.
Believe it or not, a long (long) time ago, that magazine actually had some balance. They took shots at anyone deserving them - right or left. They were much more towards the libertarian side of things, with a strong distrust of big government. Then - I’m guessing it was about 15 -20 years ago, they moved solidly into the bubble-headed left column. Who knows, perhaps they are trying to drift right.
I would not ask the sob for a drink of water if I was dying of thirst.
They should’ve used benign deception. Invite the President to Fort Hood to receive some sort ofaward. Make sure there is a large gaudy medallion and purple velvet sash to drape over his skinny shoulders. While he makes his acceptance speech, cut the Pres. mic off. Then have the Foot Hood survivors, plus Fox News commandeer the whole damn meeting.
“We believe that if the President could hear, first-hand, our plight and our mistreatment at the hands of his bureaucracy, that he would take the steps needed to set things right. Therefore, we ask for ten minutes of his time.”
Dreamers all. God bless them, and their families, but this man is taking steps that don’t include setting anything right. He’s a Communist puppet with a heart filled with hatred of anything American, and especially those that sacrifice for America.
Mother Jones is reporting this?? I wonder why.
When deciding how to best use taxpayer dollars this administration considers only one thing - will it net democrat votes.
Unfortunately for the Ft Hood shooting victims the DNC statistics say that military community just isn't fertile ground.
You wanna meet with Obama? You need to say that all you want to do is bask in his reflected glory and he'll show up. Otherwise, if you want him to actually take responsibility for anything, fugetaboutit.
He'll be glad to sell you a ticket to a fund raiser....
That will always be the memory I have from that day.
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This guy and his minions are vile.
The wounds are "still raw from five years ago."
The wounds raw from five years ago?~!
The wounds will always be raw for those affected. The survivors weren't given their benefits or even a little bit of respect - how about easing those wounds.
B. Hussein O. feels no raw wounds for Ft. Hood military, then or now.
Likely, Ft. Hood will only be part of a chapter in his 3rd autobiography.
Someone will probably even have to remind him of Ft. Hood.
-— WH should be a gun free zone. -—
I like it. It would make a great protest sign. “Bey Obama, why isn’t your White House a gun free zone?”
He ran off to Houston to TWO different campaign fundraisers hosted by Texas trial lawyers (the ilk of the biggest political donors in the state).
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