Was it terrorism?

Considerable debate is going on as to whether the Ft. Hood attacks are an act of terrorism.  One of the first quotes I saw, as reported on FoxNews, caught my eye: 

That doesn't add up to the prelude to a terrorist attack, said Carl Tobias, a professor of law at University of Richmond who analyzes terrorist investigations across the country.  "Terrorist attacks are undertaken by people who typically ... have some agenda they want to forward politically, and from what I see in the news, this is just a person acting individually because he doesn't want to deploy overseas," he said. "So I just don't see that angle."

Immediately I was flashed back to 1983 and the Beirut Marine Barracks attacks and the immediate reaction from President Ronald Reagan.  At the time he called it clearly and simply, "deliberate and heinous acts of international terrorism" to an act that was directed to embody political ideology and to create a reaction to the action.  I dont' see this any other way.   Clearly the Beirut bombing was an act of terrorism designed to get our peacekeeping forces away.  It was designed to achieve a political response.   What Major Hassan did at Ft. Hood was exactly the same....and here's why:

Major Hassan had numerous avenues to get out of deploying.  There is a means in which a Concientious Objector can submit a request to be dismissed from their duties.  Department of Defense Directive DoDI 1300.06, May 31, 2007 clearly details the process for which a military member can either be assigned to non-combatant duties, or be allowed to resign their position before being assigned to those duties.   Secondly, he could have simply put in a letter of resignation.  Upon completing college, certification and ROTC requirements, each participant is required to "pay back" with an 8 year commitment.   Becoming a Major in the Army from ROTC requires no less than 9 years of active service, therefore, I highly doubt that Major Hassan had not met that requirement.  There is a process for Medical Corps Officers to come in at a higher rank based on their qualifications and education, but none that I know of from ROTC.  Lastly, being a psyciatrist, he knew more than anyone else the process for which one can claim psychological illness and not meeting Fit For Duty requirements.   If anything, this would have precipitated an investigation and exhaustive counseling which would have delayed his impending deployment until such a time that he could simply resign his post. 

There were numerous avenues that Major Hassan could have taken to be relieved of his military obligations.  I think when all is said and done, a far more diabolical plan than was involved than simply just losing his marbles.  Major Hassan was afforded far more opportunities to relinquish his duties than to resort to popping off over 100 rounds while killing 13 and wounding 31.  Make no mistake about it, this was a deliberately planned effort to achieve a goal.  The almost endless options that were presented to this man to allow him to leave military service were puposely ignored.  The choice of weaponry, his religious ideology, his growing frustration with the Obama Administration's lack of effort in changing the status quo militarily in the Middle East are easy to spot signs.  Couple this with the Obama Administrations attempt at becoming an apologist state, Major Hassan had big fish to fry.  He intended on making a political statement to achieve a desired result.  He played a hand that he felt was stronger than the Obama Administration and their lack of experienced foreign policy skills.   Major Hassan is a very intelligent man and was never outside of his own faculties.  He was deliberate, calculating, and sincere in his plans. 

To call this anything less than terrorism is pure cowardice by the Obama Administration.  To call this a criminal act relieves them of making a decision on how to handle the War on Terrorism.  Major Hassan knew this all to well and has forced those in the administration to have to make some tough decisions.   I suspect this investigation will go on for months if not years and will be somewhere back in the deepest recesses of the American conscience by the time this comes out.  That is the courage of the Obama Administration.    Pure and simple, this was a terrorist act.