"I cannot comprehend that the enemy was among us."
So said Jose Padilla, the owner of a Killeen, Texas, apartment once occupied by Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, an Army psychiatrist who is accused of killing 13 soldiers and wounding 29 at Fort Hood on Nov. 5.
A 1998 Afton Central School graduate was among the wounded _ Spc. Matthew Cooke, 30, was shot multiple times in the back at point-blank range while trying to help a soldier who was shot in the head.
Investigators have said they believe Hasan acted alone, despite his communications with a radical imam named Anwar al-Awlaki, whose website encouraged Muslims worldwide to kill U.S. troops in Iraq.
Hasan is recovering in San Antonio, and officials said they plan to have him face trial in a military court, where he could face death.
Speaking to thousands of mourning troops and family members at Fort Hood on Tuesday, President Barack Obama declared, "No faith justifies these murderous and craven acts."
Remembering those who gave their lives for our country or who are serving in defense of it is a theme that should resonate not just on Nov. 11, but every day of the year. This remembrance should not be based on race or creed, but on the uniforms our soldiers wear.
After the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, there was a xenophobic backlash, particularly against Japanese-Americans. Internment camps were set up for those of Japanese descent, as well as Italian- and German-Americans.
But still, in October 1944, more than 800 troops with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, composed mostly of Japanese-Americans, gave their lives in the mountains of France to rescue 217 American forces from the Germans.
"The 442nd, for its size and length of service, is the most decorated unit in the entire history of the United States military," Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Nov. 1 during remarks made before the Japanese American Memorial Fund.
As Padilla said, it is hard to comprehend that a man who would go on to kill 13 soldiers on American soil lived normally among us in society. But the enemy among us is not Muslim. It is extremism.
One of the finest characteristics of our country is its dynamic as a melting pot.
There are many Muslims in America who love our nation, and who are willing to give their lives defending its honor.
We hope the actions of one man do not overshadow this fact, and we urge understanding and resistance against profiling during this tough time in America's history.
