Hasan Probe Will Include Pentagon

(CBS/AP)  The Defense Department will launch a broad investigation in light of the Fort Hood shootings that looks at how all the U.S. military services keep a watch on potential problems in their ranks.

Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said the probe will reach all corners of the Pentagon. In an interview, he said it is in the planning stages and that the issues raised by the case of accused shooter Maj. Nidal Hasan are larger than the Army.

He said Defense Secretary Robert Gates wants a unified look at procedures. Gates has been seeking advice throughout the highest levels of the Pentagon for how the review should be carried out, a defense official told CBS News correspondent Kimberly Dozier.

CBSNews.com Special Report: Tragedy at Fort Hood

The investigation also will involve questions that Morrell described as immediate, although he declined to be specific. Morrell said some questions will take longer to frame and sort through.

Another official said there will be a fast look at whether the military has missed red flags that might signal there are other potentially dangerous service members in uniform. That official spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is still being organized.

The Army also has been preparing to launch its .

"We are trying to figure out who should lead it and how it should be staffed, the scope, the deadlines, the mandate, the breadth of the investigation. These are questions that are still being wrestled with," Morrell told CBS News. He said a firmer plan is expected by the end of the week.

Fort Hood, one of the country's largest military installations, was considered the best assignment for Hasan because other doctors could handle the workload if he continued to perform poorly and his superiors could document any continued behaviour problems, the official said.

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Where Were the Alarms on Hasan?
Transparency Needed in Ft. Hood Inquiry
Reporter: Army "Timid" About Hasan's Views
Obama: No "Political Theater" Over Hasan
Hasan Paralyzed, in Guarded Condition

The group saw no evidence that Hasan was violent or a threat. It was more that he repeatedly referred to his strong religious views in discussions with classmates, his superiors and even in his research work, the official said. His behavior, while at times perceived as intense and combative, was not unlike the zeal of others with strong religious views. But some doctors and staff were concerned that their unfamiliarity with the Muslim faith would lead them to unfairly single out Hasan's behavior, the official said.

Some in the group questioned Hasan's sympathies as an Army psychiatrist, whether he would be more aligned with Muslims fighting U.S. troops. And there was some concern about whether he should continue to serve in the military, the official said.

[kellzybells]

you see, hasan got his degree in 2001. that is the same year of the world trade center. had the world trade center never happened, he would probably have done his time and then left the military for his own practice. or maybe he would of even did 20 years and then left for his own practice, whatever the case maybe, hasan's case is interesting in the fact that he was in the military before america waged war on the muslims after 9-11. he just completed his school and then was stuck in a bad position having to serve out the remainder of his career in this war against his own kind. very unfortuanate for hasan because had 9-11 never happened, he would have been just fine. but that is not the case for hasan. instead, he found himself having to choose between his god and his religion over the u.s. miltary. and these two conflicts of interests lead to his own downfall. judge as you will, but if he deployed with his commrades, he could of done a lot more damage on them and then escaped to the muslims perhaps for safety. i am just saying that he was kind of upfront about not wanting any part of being in the military. he did not have some evil plan devised to take down his commrades in the dangerous zones. in fact, it seems like it was deployment to kill his own kind that mad hasan break down and let his true feelings be kown.

now, for all muslims that joined after 9-11, i would place careful watch on them because they are a different story than hasan. remember hasan was in school and in the military was before 9-11. any muslim that joined the service after 9-11 should be given an honorable discharge if they want to save future attacks on military personnel.

[finkfurst]

Anyone who didn't realise that America enthusiastically escalated a religious war against Muslims to a massive scale years ago is blind, deaf and stupid.

[bajajohn1]

Meanwhile, the suicide rate among returning war veterans and of those suicides 1/3 have not even been to a war zone. What is happening?

[formrusmcsgt]

What I'd like to know is how anyone can make Major in the Army without ever leaving CONUS?

Absurd.

[bajajohn1]

Sarge, he went in as a Captain.

[nextgenman09]

I know you can do it in the Air Force. Or as I call it, the 101st Air Combat Business Manager battalion.

[RandomUser1886]

Obama said we shouldn't jump to conclusions about Hasan before the facts are in,
Yet when a cop arrests his black friend,
he immediately says they acted stupidly.
Then had to eat his words.

[ladyang]

Hopefully, the Pentagon's probe will take them into the over-reaching Christian movement in the military.
These folks are the true Terrorists!
For all you screaching about polical correctness, I hope you feel the same when these probes show just as many right-wing extremists and all the harm they have done and continues to do in the military!

[jgg000015]

you'd have a point if all the christians had ganged up and killed hasan.

[jgg000015]

I'm all for the red hot metal probe that is so deep it comes out hasan's uvula.

[jgg000015]

here's an idea:
probe the mosques that are sprouting up all over the country like starbucks.

[NAILGUNNER52]

Witch hunt ?
Whats wrong with that ?
If it looks like a duck.....

[JJHH3000]

Political correctness in the 90's was an annoying cultural nuissance. Political correctness in the 2000's is effectively a 5th column movement at the service of Al-Qaeda and it has blood on its hands.