Systemic militarisation of mental health and counterterrorism policies: How institutional failures enabled Fort Hood’s mass shooting and its delayed justice
Original framing: “Trump approves firing squad execution for Fort Hood attacker Nidal Hasan” — Al Jazeera
The Fort Hood shooting must be understood within the broader historical context of the U.S. military’s treatment of Muslim and Arab service members post-9/11, which includes the militarisation of mental health care and the weaponisation of counterterrorism protocols. Historical precedents, such as the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing and the 1999 Columbine High School massacre, reveal how domestic extremism is often met with punitive measures that fail to address systemic causes. Additionally, the military’s use of firing squads dates back to the Civil War and has historically been applied disproportionately to enslaved and marginalised groups, reinforcing cycles of violence and impunity. The case of Hasan also echoes the broader pattern of how the U.S. security state has conflated mental illness with terrorism, a trend that gained momentum after 9/11 and has led to increased surveillance and stigmatisation of Muslim communities.
The Fort Hood shooting and its delayed justice are not isolated incidents but symptoms of a deeply flawed system where the U.S.
military’s militarisation of mental health care, weaponisation of counterterrorism protocols, and punitive justice culture create fertile ground for violence. The approval of Hasan’s firing squad execution by the Trump administration is not merely a moral decision but a symbolic reinforcement of a system that prioritises control and vengeance over healing and accountability. Historical precedents, such as the military’s post-9/11 surveillance of Muslim service members and its use of firing squads as a tool of social control, reveal how institutional biases and structural failures enable such tragedies. Cross-culturally, approaches to justice that emphasise restoration over retribution—such as those used in Indigenous peacemaking circles—offer a stark contrast to the military’s punitive paradigm, highlighting the potential for systemic change. To break this cycle, the military must demilitarise mental health care, adopt restorative justice models, dismantle counterterrorism policies that target marginalised groups, and invest in community-based healing programs that address trauma holistically. Without addressing these systemic failures, the risk of repeating such tragedies—and the violence they perpetuate—remains unacceptably high.