Adm. James A. Lyons, Washington Times, July 12, 2011

Today, the mind-numbing disease of political correctness has so infected the American military leadership that it is a threat in itself. The political correctness mentality was the principal reason why Fort Hood’s alleged murderer, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, was not cashiered out of the Army after a shocking June 2007 PowerPoint presentation he gave as part of his psychiatric residency program. In that presentation, he reportedly warned his Army colleagues and supervisor at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center of “adverse events” that would occur if the Army did not accept the precepts of Islamic Shariah law and grant Muslims serving in the Army conscientious objector status.

He went on to describe what he meant by adverse events, citing previous cases of Muslims murdering their fellow soldiers, spying against the United States, deserting their units and refusing to deploy. None of his fellow doctors or his supervisor reported his remarks, most likely out of fear of being labeled a bigot or racist, which in today’s military could end one’s career.

Now it seems the Army has embraced Maj. Hasan’s position in an incredible decision made last month by the secretary of the Army to grant conscientious objector status to Pfc. Naser Abdo. He is a 21-year-old soldier, a member of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Ky., who refused to deploy to Afghanistan, claiming that Shariah law prevented him from killing other Muslims.

{snip}

By acceding to the dictates of Shariah, the Army has tacitly endorsed an absurd position that in effect sanctions Muslim service members to kill non-Muslims but forbids them to kill Muslims. Further, it is an unbelievable basis on which to classify them as conscientious objectors.

When Pfc. Abdo enlisted, he stated he initially believed that he could be a soldier and a Muslim at the same time. What changed his vision? He stated that his understanding of Islam “changed” as he went through training ahead of a planned deployment to Afghanistan. He worried whether going to war was the right thing to do.

{snip}

By granting conscientious objector status to Pfc. Abdo, the Army is tacitly accepting a key tenet of the Islamic doctrine of jihad, as embraced by al Qaeda and other terrorists groups, which states that any incursion by non-Muslims into the Islamic lands makes it the duty for all Muslims to fight the “occupiers.” This view is shared by Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who has challenged American efforts in Afghanistan as “unwelcome outsiders,” in effect, occupiers.

The U.S. military is the finest in the world. It represents the best of America. We have many Muslims serving honorably in the U.S. military and their service should not be tainted by Pfc. Abdo’s conscientious objector designation. His discharge from the Army is currently on hold because he has been charged with possession of child pornography. That should not be surprising: Shariah sanctions marriage of girls 9 years old and younger, in effect, legalized pedophilia.

Retired Navy Adm. James A. Lyons was commander in chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet and senior U.S. military representative to the United Nations.