LOUISVILLE, Ky. — U.S. Sen. John McCain, the Arizona Republican and former presidential candidate, called last week's shooting at Fort Hood "an act of terror" during a speech at the University of Louisville Wednesday morning.
He called for swift disclosure of questionable behavior at military bases. Twelve soldiers and one civilian were killed in a shooting rampage at the Texas base last week, and the suspect, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, was shot and wounded.
"This may sound a little harsh, but I think we ought to make sure that political correctness never impedes national security," McCain said at U of L, where he was speaking at an event honoring U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. "There were signs this individual had some very disturbing behavior patterns that should have been alerted to the proper authorities."
McCain, who gave an 11-minute address about Veterans Day, took questions from the audience of about 2,000. He told the crowd that President Barack Obama needs to make his decision about the military strategy in Afghanistan soon and criticized Democrats for not being more transparent with their negotiations over the health care overhaul bill, which the U.S. House sent to the Senate over the weekend.
After his speech, McCain attended a dedication ceremony for the personal papers of McConnell and his wife, former U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao. The papers are being archived at U of L's Ekstrom Library.