Did Army Miss Signs of Hasan's Extremism?

Sen. Joe Lieberman Calls for Investigation into Possible Missed Clues of Ft. Hood Suspect's Radicalization

(CBS/AP)  A key U.S. senator has called for an investigation into whether the Army missed signs that the man accused of opening fire at the Fort Hood military base had embraced an increasingly extremist view of Islamic ideology.

Sen. Joe Lieberman's call came as word surfaced that Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan apparently attended the same mosque as two Sept. 11 hijackers in 2001, at a time when a radical imam preached there. Whether Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, associated with the hijackers is something the FBI will probably look into, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.

CBS News correspondent Bob Orr reports that an examination of Hasan's computer has revealed that he did visit Web sites promoting radical Islamic views.

One senior official told CBS News, "Everything continues to indicate that Hassan acted alone." The official, however, described the investigation as, "fluid and still in its early stages."

Special Section: Tragedy at Fort Hood

Sources tell CBS News that investigators believe at this point that Hasan methodically planned his attack and that it appears that he targeted those in military uniform.

Sources say that officials are debating whether to charge him under international terrorism laws in a federal jurisdiction or whether to charge him under military law with murder, CBS News has learned. That is why he has not been charged yet.

Under terrorism an element that would have to be shown is evidence that he was inspired by a terrorist group or influenced or directed by terrorists or terrorist idealogy, CBS News reports. Officials believe at this point that there is mounting evidence that indicates Hasan’s actions were inspired by the global jihadist message which would be an element in charging someone with terrorism.

According to those who knew him - including soldiers - Hasan repeatedly proclaimed that the U.S.'s war on terror was a war on Islam and that he wanted nothing to do with his pending deployment to Afghanistan later this month, CBS News correspondent Dean Reynolds reports.

"I don't think anyone suspects at this point, and the authorities aren't suggesting that Hasan was directed by al Qaeda or that he was acting anything other than alone in this attack," CBS News terrorism expert Juan Zarate told "Early Show" co-anchor Harry Smith. "But I think what's troubling is the fact that he did express those views. It appeared he was growing more and more radical, though he was still in his position to treat soldiers. And I think that's the difficult part here for the Army."

Classmates participating in a 2007-2008 master's program at a military college complained repeatedly to superiors about what they considered Hasan's anti-American views. Dr. Val Finnell said Hasan gave a presentation at the Uniformed Services University that justified suicide bombing and even told classmates that Islamic law trumped the U.S. Constitution.

Another classmate said he complained to five officers and two civilian faculty members at the university. He wrote in a command climate survey sent to Pentagon officials that fear in the military of being seen as politically incorrect prevented an "intellectually honest discussion of Islamic ideology" in the ranks. The classmate also requested anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.

More Coverage of the Tragedy at Fort Hood:

Hasan Computer Shows No Terror Ties
List of Fort Hood Dead, Wounded
Army Says Hasan Taken off Ventilator
Fort Hood Suspect Said Methodical Goodbyes
Hasan Reportedly Felt U.S. Attacked Islam
Hasan's Remarks Worried Muslim Leader

Lieberman, an independent who is chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, wants Congress to determine whether the shootings constitute a terrorist attack.

"If Hasan was showing signs, saying to people that he had become an Islamist extremist, the U.S. Army has to have zero tolerance," Lieberman said on "Fox News Sunday." "He should have been gone."

Authorities continue to refer to Hasan, 39, as the only suspect in the shootings that killed 13 and wounded 29, but they won't say when charges would be filed and have said they have not determined a motive. They have not revealed a possible motive. Hasan, who was shot by civilian police to end the rampage, was in critical but stable condition at an Army hospital in San Antonio.

He was breathing on his own after being taken off a ventilator on Saturday, but officials won't say whether Hasan can communicate. Sixteen victims remained hospitalized with gunshot wounds, and seven were in intensive care.

Hasan's family described a man incapable of the attack, calling him a devoted doctor and devout Muslim who showed no signs that he might lash out.

"I've known my brother Nidal to be a peaceful, loving and compassionate person who has shown great interest in the medical field and in helping others," his brother, Eyad Hasan, of Sterling, Virginia, said in a statement Saturday. "He has never committed an act of violence and was always known to be a good, law-abiding citizen."

Army Chief of Staff George Casey warned against reaching conclusions about the suspected shooter's motives until investigators have fully explored the attack. "I think the speculation (on Hasan's Islamic roots) could potentially heighten backlash against some of our Muslim soldiers," he said on ABC television.

Imam Johari Abdul-Malik, outreach director at the Dar al Hijrah Islamic Center, said he did not know whether Hasan ever attended the Falls Church, Virginia, mosque but confirmed that the Hasan family participated in services there. Abdul-Malik said the Hasans were not leaders at the mosque and their attendance was utterly normal.

In 2001, Anwar Aulaqi was an imam, or spiritual leader, at the mosque. Aulaqi told the FBI in 2001 that, before he moved to Virginia in early 2001, he met with 9/11 hijacker Nawaf al-Hazmi several times in San Diego. Al-Hazmi was at the time living with Khalid al-Mihdhar, another hijacker. Al-Hazmi and another hijacker, Hani Hanjour, attended the Dar al Hijrah mosque in early April 2001.

The mosque is one of the largest on the East Coast, and thousands of worshippers attend prayers and services there every week. Abdul-Malik said it's a mistake for people to conflate regular attendance at a mosque with extremism.

Many Muslims pray at the mosque multiple times a day, he said. "It's part of family life. It's like going out for ice cream after dinner."

A government official speaking on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss the case said an initial review of Hasan's computer use has found no evidence of links to terror groups or anyone who might have helped plan or push him toward the attack. The review of Hasan's computer is continuing, the official said.

Hasan likely would face military justice rather than federal criminal charges if investigators determine the violence was the work of just one person.

Across the sprawling post and in neighboring Killeen, soldiers, their relatives and members of the community struggled to make sense of the shootings. Candles burned Saturday night outside the apartment complex where Hasan lived. Small white crosses, one for each of the dead, dotted a lawn at a Killeen church on Sunday.

Even as the community took time to mourn the victims at worship services on and off the post, Fort Hood spokesman Col. John Rossi acknowledged that the country's largest military installation was moving forward with its usual business of soldiering.

[ponce]

Individuals that want to learn how to fly, but don't need to know how to land. Terrorists legally enter the country, and then visas are issued to allow them to stay. How much more incompetance or political correctness is going to be tolerated before a major city is turned into a Hiroshima or Nagasaki?

[rbichamp]

Being politically correct is such BS! It's almost a racist policy in itself.

The answer is very simple! Treat everyone the same!

If a white guy in the military was quoted as saying that he believed in Ku-klux-Klan philosophies over the consitution, that guy would be axed in a second.

But some muslim guy is allowed to do the same and get away with it.

That's the problem!

[pcherring]

The fear of being called a racist has thrown common sense out the window. If the military looks at all of the people in the military that say they don't like Americas policy in this world, they probably would not have enough time to fight a war.

[ladyang]

Let's make sure someone is keeping an eye on all those radical christian extremists (they exists 10000s in the US military).

[sengal69]

Thank God for radical christians. Now all they have to do is take out all those muslims that commit murder in the name of Islam on our soil. And if you don't like it, move!!!

[ladyang]

Goodness, you people are deft.
Even if handguns (sidearms)were allowed to be carried on bases (besides SPs, MPs, etc), only officers would have them.
The exception (for enlisted) would be if someone were going to the amory to pick of (escort) weapons.

[sengal69]

Well that rule better change!

[Litlmos]

Steve,

The reason that this can be attached to the religion is that to this guy, his religion trumped and law as well as the Constitution of the United States and he killed our soldiers in the name of his religion.

As far as I am concerned they shouuld conduct indepth background checks on all Muslims currently serving in the military. Is this racial profiling? Probably. But we have a responsibility to protect our soldiers as they have an obligation to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies forign and domestic.

[ch2444]

"A Clinton Administration revision to Department of Defense Directive 5210.56 ? Army Regulation 190-14, dated 12 March 1993 ? permits the Secretary of the Army to authorize military personnel to carry firearms ?on a case by case basis? for personal protection within the continental United States, but forbids military personnel to carry their own personal firearms and both requires ?a credible and specific threat? before firearms be issued for military personnel to protect themselves. It further directs that firearms ?not be issued indiscriminately for that purpose.?


"Thus did President Bill Clinton ? Commander-in-Chief of the United States Army ? apply to American military personnel under his command the same anti-gun policies his administration and a Democratic-controlled Congress applied to American civilians in the Brady Bill and Assault Weapons ban of 1994."


+++++++++++


Well, there you have it folks! Liberalism is a mental disorder. Take away the guns, and invite the thugs in.

TO be fair, and I am being fair.. Bush should have reversed this ban after 9/11, but he didn't.

These criminals in our government must be very afraid of some kind of military coup, and rightfully so. Any government who so blatantly rips off the American tax payer, as our government has in the last 16 years, should by VERY VERY afraid of a military coup.

I blame our government.. And it started with Clinton.. Then Bush.. And now Obama.

[Lawyers-Guns-n-Money-01]

Your idiocy is astounding.

READ the directive.

U.S. military were NEVER allowed to use their personal weapons in the performance of official duties (execept in certain circumstances which still stand.)

Heck, that whole diatribe is a parsing of words and makes no sense whatsoever within the context of the directive in question.
http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/521056p.pdf

Also not who authored the directive. Yep, the great bastion of liberalism himself, Paul D. Wolfowitz.

Oh, did I mention the directive was re-issued in 2001? After 9/11? And Authored by the same Paul D. Wolfowitz?
http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/521056p.pdf

IDIOT!!! IDIOT!!! IDIOT!!!




Note it applies to ALL military components, not just the Army.

[Lawyers-Guns-n-Money-01]

Correction, both links direct you to the current version of 5210.56.

I should have picked up on that as I know Wolfowitz was NOT the Dep SECDEF in '93.

Nonthteless, the directive WAS reissued in '01.

[sengal69]

Actually, it started with idiot Jimmy Carter when he disallowed weapons on bases. You can thank him for these murders.

[jgg000015]

hmmm, the UK Telegraph - which incidently broke the 9/11 terrorists/mosque story - reports that hasan, during one of his lectures,
advocated chopping the heads off infidels and pouring boiling oil down their necks. Such a "kind and good American", as his cousin insists.
And to think that we payed for this slug's college education, medical school, internship, and gave him the lifestyle and respect that goes along with it. I'm all for putting his underwear on his head, making him listen to nine inch nails and putting playboy centerfolds in his lap.
wait, I have a better idea, let's send him on a bermudan vacation!

[tubicha]

In this very moment there must be about a whole 95% of muslims males between 14 and 45 years old praysing Hassan and thinking to follow on his steeps, they're very smart in consealing their intentions and americans will finde out when it happens. not even their most closest families knows what's going on en their minds. the only thing they need to snap is to be mobbed a litle, fired,yelled,or accused of anything.against a christian. so watch out !! make no mistake, shoot first and ask questions later .

[ch2444]

I want to cut Hasan's (you know what) off and feed them to him.

[Mortarman-29]

Why do you want to go near those things?

[schoollord]

Another legal gun owner going on a killing spree. Most gun-related deaths are not committed with illegal guns. That's a lie sold to gun owners by the gun lobby.

[Mortarman-29]

Well, what you said is a lie by the anti-gun crowd. Government statistics show that most illegal killings are done with weapons that were obtained illegally.

Try again!

[jgg000015]

to try and turn this into a gun control issue is a load of hooey

[riptide213]

Pathetic terrorist from within, feeble coward, and dejected zealot.

Claiming he was battling racial harassment because of his "Middle Eastern ethnicity" is a rebuff to avoid confronting some deep rooted truths and a repugnant smoke screen pretext.

Once background facts are investigated it will be increasingly obvious that certain danger signs were consistently presented by this embittered Muslim who voluntarily entered and continued to serve in the US military during the easy times, yet when it was his time to endure true hardship of a call to duty, to put service above self; he unmistakably felt more earnest allegiance to personal religious beliefs than his obligation to sworn duty as a military officer and creed as a medical professional.

His government security clearance, post access, and licenses to own a firearm should have been revoked long before this raging outburst of discriminate violence.

Were any risk flags raised or if so just ignored?

Why he was not investigated for disloyal statements and affiliation with potentially unsavory radicals to validate any factors toward termination of security clearance raises serious issues.

Why wasn?t a Security Information File (SIF) established?

Use this profile to reveal, watch, and vet any other latent threats from within the armed services.

Unceremoniously drum out of the military or government any disgruntled tax paid public servants who wish to pursue their own personal exasperated inclinations or indoctrinations against national policy or military good order and discipline.

Fear to challenge, investigate, or proactively keep in check any citizen or public servant for openly extremist and seditious religious or ethnic demeanor is a security Achilles Heel.

External threats pose enough challenges so US leaders must now work even more robustly to reduce trauma from insider threats.

[bubbadubba]

Lieberman got 61 deferments to go to Yale then got a marriage deferment and avoided serving our country just like Cheney.
I really don't want to hear tough "one of the boys" military talk from Lieberman.
Liberman is Jewish so I question his motives on this whole thing since Hasan ia a Muslim and those two groups hate each other.
The military will handle this without help from draft dodgers.

[Mortarman-29]

Lieberman is Jewish so you question him? My, how bigoted!

[Mortarman-29]

No conflict of interest. Unless you are saying that all muslims hate Jews and all Jews hate muslims.

[wheatfield2]

ALSO>>>please google ""911 attackers strip joint"". You will find this is EXACTLY the behavior exhibited by the 911 attackers...recent obsession with sex prior to their martyrdom.

[jwesel1]

It's an old trick, preparing a google bomb. Try something new.

[ibsteve2u]

Curious, that we are fighting religious extremism, and yet people still want to make extremely religious - or sacrilegious, rather, to those who practice those religions - gestures out of sheer vindictiveness.

Precisely, of course, why I say that religion should never play a role when you are deciding who shall die.

Those who allow religion to influence their judgment in such serious - and irreversible - decisions are simply unfit for the job.

[Mortarman-29]

Agreed. We shouldnt decide if this idiot should die based on his religion. It should be based on the fact he killed 13 people.

But, once the decision to kill him, I have no problem with this genius thinking we are going to bury him with the pigs and other things he believes is bad, based on his view of his religion. Let him contemplate that and since he actually believes the nonsense he does, then let him believe what will happen to him next after we do these harmless acts to him (well, he wont believe they are harmless).

[ibsteve2u]

I wouldn't do that, Mortar, for a couple of reasons - not the least of which is that the U.S. Army has a number of fine - and loyal - soldiers who practice Islam among its ranks.

Why slap them across the face by disrespecting their religion as you advocate?

[Mortarman-29]

How would that slap them across the face? They dont practice the same religion as this idiot.

[ibsteve2u]

I would call this a hate crime, perhaps, but until links - links that include conspiracy and the involvement of others in the planning of this attack - are proven, I wouldn't call it terrorism.

But my standards of conspiracy, of course, are not all that strict.

For instance, the fact that Lieberman chose Fox to make his pronouncement is sufficient proof for me to conclude that the Big Lie is in cahoots with the righties to bring further heat upon those who practice Islam.

I cannot figure out how ANYBODY can think they're going to something like a "heaven", when they work to focus destruction or hate upon a subset of humanity merely for their religion.

Hate is a mighty wide - and indiscriminate - brush.

lollll....methinks old joe is gonna be surprised at the company he ends up keeping in that especially warm place that is reputed to be reserved for those who do evil.

[ibsteve2u]

lollll...ah, so you advocate the genocide - the utter destruction - of all things Islam as well as the practitioners of that religion, "disinfectant"?

Most appropriate name; it expresses you...lust...for the blood of others, yet keeps it curiously...sanitary.

Was Zyklon-B taken, perhaps?

[Mortarman-29]

Steve, if they want to practice Islam or any other religion, I dont care. If they want to try to kill Americans, they we need to put them down.

That isnt wiping out all of the Muslim world, unless yo uare saying all Muslims want to kill Americans.

[ibsteve2u]

I am saying, mortar, that just as church and state must be separated in government, so must religion be firmly set aside when considering who shall die.

[ibsteve2u]

Then, "disinfectant", explain why you replied to my comment that merely demanded that all not be condemned for the actions of some by using words like "cowards", "let them win", "support of the terrorist" and so on.

To condemn my calling for selective and targeted extermination of ONLY those who commit crimes against us IS, to my mind, the advocation of genocide.

Oh, and please dispense with the petty name calling; it devalues your words.

[ssporleder]

Everything that he fears in his beliefs should be placed in his room, naked women photos, women medical personnel only, etc., and I hope they tell him that he was shot by a woman!

This man should suffer greatly for what he has done, but I do not want to pay taxes to house him, either.

He was on a watch list SIX months ago - who do we REALLY blame, here?

And WHY, WHY, WHY does the media always use the word "alleged" when he was highly visible doing shooting at people?

[ibsteve2u]

Geeze...we're not going to accomplish anything as long as we keep making a big deal of the religious aspects of what is plain, old-fashioned murder.

When somebody murders - and especially mass-murders - they should be treated just like you treat a rabid dog: You kill it.

Same goes for al Qaida or whoever of whatever religion: When humans cross that line and become the equivalent of rabid dogs that walk on two legs, you hunt them down and exterminate them.

Religion shouldn't play ANY role in the pontifications of our officials upon these crimes, for it promulgates the idea that one religion is worse than other religions - and the fanatics of all religions feed on that and use it to advance the idea that their religion - of course - is the only "good" religion.

Especially when they feel the need to express their hate - their own descent into evil - either verbally or physically.

Murderers are murderers are murderers; the scale may differ, but the end consequence should be the same: Their extermination, unaccompanied by any pronouncements that either justify or denigrate their motivations.

You find them, you kill them, and you move on.

[Mortarman-29]

I agree with killing him. And then bury him with pig entrails, a copy of the Bible or Torah. Also, bury him face down.

Any issue with that?

[ibsteve2u]

You're entitled to your opinion, of course, Mortar...

I am somewhat disappointed that you have chosen to focus your hatred upon the man's religion, however, rather than upon the man who committed the act.

If you have any experience with mortars then you might understand why I take your stated opinions into consideration and, in turn, not permit you to have anything to do with calculating the trajectory of a mortar if there were any villages containing innocent Muslims within range of the weapon.

[Mortarman-29]

Steve,

Yes, I operated mortars within the Army. And no, we dont target innocent people in villages.

I am not targeting his religion, I am targeting this waste of oxygen called Hasan. So, he believes all that crap he spouted and he believes that he can go in and kill my brothers and sisters in arms because of the nonsense the radical muslim believes? Okay, then as I have said before, make him eat only ham sandwiches or other pork products. And once he is shot by my fellow soldiers, then bury him with pig entrails, face down.

Let him know that since he believes all of that crap, then he should believe the rest about being unclean because of being buried with pork products. Let him believe all of it.

Yo usee, I think you and I agree the man should be shot. My position is that we should also let him leave us thinking that he'll have it hard on the other side because of the crap he believes in. Let that anguis set in and he can live it and be scared of it right up until the firing squads bullets tear through his flesh.

[ponce]

Alleged to have shot .... Please let me know when you figure out 'aleged'. I've believe that I could kill someone on live TV, and, with 200 billion viewers, I'll be the alleged killer.

[mjlewis6]

The assumption of law that pre-dates the US Constitution is nothing new. The English Common Law was adopted in the US since revolutionary times as it was a means for everyday conduct of citizens a legal basis of trade and protection of rights. THOSE rights and privileges are the ones the constitution provides as INALIENABLE rights, and when one thinks of statutory provisions since promoted as the law of the land.....consider the BILL OF RIGHTS as being challenged and those INALIENABLE rights which NO GOVERNMENT may impede or destroy.

So then, those rights of a peaceable citizen shall not be infringed lest he and others be moved to civil turmoils and revolution. Mr Hassan does not have any such rights as his contract for service in the US Armed Services mutes those rights under the security needs of the United States. His option to RESIGN, his option to declare his intentions, his option to embrace his beliefs in a setting elsewhere than the United States, much less the US ARMY. He could have easily remained STATESIDE instead of attacking individuals whose sole task is for war against those governments and organizations that attacked the US. WE can only wonder if Mr. Hassan was in his right mind. And if he was consistant and of a specific intent, then, there is no defense to what we may describe as "terrorist acts" and of benefit and comfort to the enemy the UNITED STATES is seeking to eliminate.

[kenhamlett]

Hold on folks.
This article misses badly when it come to finger pointing. The Army is loaded with misfits of all sorts mixed in with the normal military population. While it might have come to the attention of the Army in general, it was most specifically his coworkers who should have spotted his behavior degrading.
Look to the Army medical staff and most especially the frauds of his mental health group. These are the people who should have spotted the problem but they did not.
There are several reasons. The first is that no one really knows much about the mythical state of mental health, especially the psychiatrists.
His coworkers are very likely to be as crazy as he is and keep their jobs by proclaiming what the military wants to hear such as the myth that extended and repeated tours of duty could be tolerated by the troops.
In the private sector psychiatry act as con artists and terrorists on the personal level to intimidate people who resist their fraudulent trade. Therefore his strange behavior could seem quite normal to his coworkers.

You see, a lunatic con man might seem normal to other lunatic con men. Don't blame the Army as a whole.They are by and large doing their best.

[ponce]

you're wrong about the coworkers. there were many complaints reported about hasan's radical reviews, and political correcctness killed 13 AMERICANS.

[lulucleo]

What makes me think is--how many others are there in the military and in our midst????