Thursday, November 5, 2009

Hasan Acted Alone & Is Alive

I saw the press conference by Lt. General Robert Cone where he revealed that Major Nidal Malik Hasan was the only perpetrator and is in fact alive although wounded. It was reported he had been killed.

It also turns out Hasan was a psychiatrist whose job it was to help soldiers returning from Afghanistan and Iraq deal with post-traumatic stress disorder. Prior to coming to Fort Hood, Hasan had worked at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in DC.

One of Hasan's former colleagues was interviewed by both Shephard Smith and Sean Hannity. Terry Lee, a retired colonel, noted a change in attitude from Hasan. Lee stated that Hasan objected to the U.S. presence in both Afghanistan and Iraq, was impatient with President Obama not winding these wars down sooner and did not believe Muslims should be fighting one another. Perhaps most disturbing of all, Lee said that Hasan praised the murder of Private William Long, a military recruiter in Little Rock, Arkansas, who was gunned down by a Muslim named Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad last June.

Now it is also alleged that Hasan had been subject to harassment due to his Middle Eastern background (he is of Jordanian descent.) But given the military's efforts to recruit people with the ability to speak Arabic this is surprising and given Hasan's mental state and subsequent actions one wonders about the accuracy of these claims.

But Hasan's statements do raise red flags especially regarding the murder of Private Long. One must wonder what steps, if any, the military took to address these concerns. As it stands, whatever action they took, it wasn't enough.

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