My heart goes out to the families, friends and comrades of the four Marines murdered today in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The FBI is treating it as a case of terrorism. (The gunman was also killed.)
“While we expect our sailors and Marines to go into harm’s way, and they do so without hesitation, an attack at home, in our community, is insidious and unfathomable,” Ray Mabus, secretary of the Navy, said in a statement.
Yes.
I’m currently involved in a campaign to elect a Democrat to the Virginia House of Delegates to replace the Republican who currently represents this part of the state. The campaign manager is a young Marine Corps reservist who recently spent two grueling weeks in training in the Mojave Desert of California. (Yes, there are Democratic Marines.) I have nothing but respect and appreciation for him and all those who volunteer for such duty, and nothing but burning contempt for those who would do them harm.
Update: Here’s more on the murderer, a Kuwaiti-born Muslim. He was arrested in April for DUI.
Further update: A proud Muslim Marine veteran mourns the deaths of his brothers-in-arms in Chattanooga– a reminder of how vast the differences are among Muslims about the meaning of Islam.
