Homeland chief warns against anti-Muslim backlash

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — The U.S. Homeland Security secretary says she is working to prevent a possible wave of anti-Muslim sentiment after the shootings at Fort Hood in Texas.

Janet Napolitano says her agency is working with groups across the United States to try to deflect any backlash against American Muslims following Thursday’s rampage by Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, a Muslim who reportedly expressed growing dismay over the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The shootings left 13 people dead and 29 wounded.

Napolitano was in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday for talks with security officials and a meeting with women university students in Abu Dhabi.

“Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey said Sunday it’s important for the country not to get caught up in speculation about Hasan’s Muslim faith, and he has instructed his commanders to be on the lookout for anti-Muslim reaction to the killings at the Texas post.”

“He says focusing on the Islamic roots of the suspected shooter could “heighten the backlash” against all Muslims in the military.

Casey says diversity in the military “gives us strength.”"

That one policy was enough to completely eliminate the concept of working *together* to resolve issues, as opposed to silently holding your tongue whenever something came to light that wasn’t proper or appropriate.