Obama's Fort Hood Visit: Comfort the Bereaved, Confront the Realities of Islamist Violence

From the Austin-American Statesman, "At Fort Hood, Preparations for a Presidential Visit: Focus Shifts to Counseling, Healing." Also, at the Dallas Morning News, "Obama's Fort Hood Visit Part of Presidential Tradition of Offering Comfort":

When Barack Obama stands today before the mourning children, spouses and comrades of those cut down last week at Fort Hood, he will confront one of the most delicate and painful duties a president undertakes.

Only a president can offer the condolences of a nation. In a moment of crisis and sorrow and anger, only a president can soothe raw emotions, allay fears, elevate a senseless act into a call to action, and offer the assurance that – as his aides put it Monday – no stone will be left unturned.

This is by far the biggest test of Obama's ability to fulfill the role of consoler in chief.

The Fort Hood massacre is the worst single tragedy on his watch. And – because the victims and the shooter were soldiers, and because the suspect is Muslim and Obama has put such a premium on repairing relations with the Muslim world – the expectations on him, as commander in chief, are especially high.

But see the New York Daily News, "Fanaticism Hits Home: Blame Islamic Extremism for the Carnage at Fort Hood":

It is increasingly apparent that the mass murder at Fort Hood by Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan is the latest in a line of attacks or attempted attacks by Americans radicalized by fanatical Muslim ideology.

Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, is not just a man troubled by the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, traumatized by veterans' wrenching stories and unhappy about being deployed to the war zone.

Although he may have been all those, Hasan is also a man who followed twisted religious beliefs into revolt against the nation of his birth.

That Hasan began his rampage, according to witnesses, by saying "Allahu Akbar," or "God Is Great," is relevant to his crime.

So is the fact that Hasan's classmates say he had expressed anti-American views, justified suicide bombings and contended that Islamic law trumped the Constitution.

So is the fact that Hasan reportedly appeared pleased by the shooting death of a recruiter in June and was heard saying, "Maybe people should strap bombs on themselves and go to Times Square."

Hasan is the latest dot to connect in a picture of homegrown radicalization.

Check the examples at the editorial, and here's this from the conclusion:

There has been no rush to judgment about Hasan's demons. But it has become clearer that he was swept along by the perversion of Islam - repeat, perversion - that has justified violence.

America must wrestle with these realities, lest naivete leave us vulnerable to more of the same.

The president needs to address these realities, or else the visit will do nothing to prevent further attacks of the same kind.

God bless to all those who are grieving and recoving in this time of crisis and danger.