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casingpoint wrote:

This wasn't...Islam's fault

As I noted before, it's only Islamic terrorism when it happens in foreign countries. Here, it's just a "cowardly act." Right

Coming to yuor neighborhood: http://www.khouse.org/enews_article/2009/1535/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

As Americans, freedom of religion is one of our countries founding principals. I am not Muslim, and certainly not supportive of Jihadist theology. I do understand your point, and I do agree that, at least by my definition, the Fort Hood shooting does count as an act of terrorism. I know others would dispute that label. Still, I personally wouldn't blame Islam for this incident anymore than I would blame Christianity for the actions of the guy who kidnapped Elizabeth Smart. These are individuals who are using God to justify their actions. The same is true in the middle east, only the problem is obviously much deeper rooted and more pervasive. I know it is hard to separate the religion from the actions, but we must. People can pray to whoever they want to, but they can't go out and commit atrocities and say "it's not my fault, it was God's will". Regardless of his motivations, the Major is a murderer and I hope he is dealt justly.

This is certainly a complicated issue. Good points have been made both for and against allowing the troops to be armed. Bottom line is that it is very hard to stop a guy on a suicide mission. Be it a shooter, bomber, whatever. When a guy decides he is going to die in the process of killing "the enemy", this creates a whole new security problem. We are not used to this in the western world, though it is frequent in the middle east. This wasn't Fort Hood's fault, or the commander's fault, or the gun's fault, or even Islam's fault. One guy decided to kill a bunch of people and planned to die in the process. There are certainly lessons to be learned, including not allowing active duty military to have on-line discussions with people or organizations who represent themselves as enemies of the U.S. I hope that this individual is tried and executed quickly, although I do understand this won't be the case.

frazzled wrote:Sorry stupid question #2. Why do they have civilians instead of having troopers perform guard duty?

There is a big difference between being a solider and being a law enforcement officer. The training, goals and missions of each is very different. While most police departments like to hire new recruits with military experience, this is because veterans tend to be disciplined, mature, understand chain of command and know how to take orders, not because they are trained in police work, with the exception of MPs of course. This situation would not have been solved by better security. Our troops need to have the same right to carry and defend themselves as the rest of the population. To have trained soldiers gunned down because they don't have access to their weapons is criminal.

[/quote]
So if you handload our own ammo, could make it AP? its gotta be more complicated than that right? I guess the Cartels are getting it from their contacts in the Mexican Military or as the Dems would say "The Gun Show loophole" [/quote]

That is an interesting question, and one I never thought about. I guess the answer would be yes. There are guys here a lot more knowledgeable than I on subjects such as these, but all that is happening here is the manufacturer is taking a really small bullet and pushing it very fast. I believe around 2200 fps or more. The sporting ammo is just a lighter load, so logic would suggest that a knowledgeable hand-loader could replicate a full power load and get the bullet back up to speed.

As far as the Mexicans, they get their full power ammo from China and Russia along with the vast majority of weapons they are using. Despite what the media and leftist politicians would have us believe, they are not getting their AK47s, FNs and korean made hand grenades from straw buyers in the US. As if guys who are running a billion dollar industry can't buy guns by the boat load from the Chinese, and are forced to buy them one at a time from U.S. citizens!!! That is about the biggest bunch of nonsense I can imagine. Mexico has some of the strictest gun control laws in the world, and look at the violence down there. So naturally, the left wing wants us to believe that putting the same gun control over here, would not only make us safer, but make Mexico's failed policy actually work.

The FN Five-seveN is a popular pistol here on the border. The are expensive, but not illegal. The ammo is pretty widely available, you can even get it at Cabelas. FN sales it as a military pistol with the capability of piercing body armor, but that is only with full load 5.7x28mm. In the US, these rounds are not for sale. You have to get what they term "sporting" rounds which to my understanding are water downed 5.7x28mm. The inability to legally use full scale 5.7x28mm makes it, in my opinion, a curiosity weapon. Very cool, high capacity, and unique, but probably not more deadly than what any of us are currently carrying in our belts right now. They are hugely popular with the Mexican cartel in Juarez specifically because of their armor piercing capabilities with the real ammo. It is not exactly on my short list, but I guess I better pick up one before they make it illegal.

This has certainly been a tragic 24 hours and my heart goes out to the victims. I am going to try not to lose sight of the big picture here. At the end of the day, this was a fanatic who was angrily attacking a soft target for political or religious reasons. He happened to choose a military base, as I presume he believed it would make a strong political statement. He is not the only angry, disturbed individual out there who is more than happy to die to force his misguided views on all of us during this time of war. The next soft target will likely not be a military base, but a school, a mall, a restaurant or a church. Now is not a time to panic, or for fear mongering, but to be alert, wise and vigilant. I will be heading to the range tonight, to polish my skills. I will make an extra effort to notice the people around me, and note anyone who is acting out of place or unusual. I will try not to take anything for granted. If I am at the location of the next soft target attack, I will hope that it is God's will and not mere chance, and I pray that I will respond quickly and effectively. And if a couple of you guys just so happen to be there too, I won't complain!

wheelgun1958 wrote:He was a Psychologist (shrink).

Oh, well that explains that. Disregard my previous post.

I am surprised to hear this guy was a doctor. I know that hate can live in anyone, but usually the folks who devote their lives to healing don't go out and do things like this.