Washington: The US Army has ordered an internal investigation to look into whether it missed warning signs about Major Nidal M Hasan, who is accused of shooting 13
people at the Fort Hood base in Texas.
Quoting sources Washington Post said, the probe had been ordered by Gen George W Casey Jr, the Army's chief of staff and it will look into the entire army career of Hasan to
figure out what had caused him to go on a shooting spree as also to prevent such incidents from recurring.
The Fort Hood shootings will also be the subject of a Senate committee hearing on Thursday. But the first such public hearing on Capitol Hill will not include testimony from any current federal law enforcement, military or intelligence officials because the Obama administration "declined to provide any" such witnesses, the Post quoted a Senate
committee source as saying.
However, an inter agency briefing team will go to depose before the Senate Armed Forces Committee.
The Washington Post reported that Hasan raised concerns at his previous posting at Walter Reed Army Medical Centre.
There he warned doctors that Muslim soldiers should be released as conscientious objectors, and staffers recalled that he "embraced his religion with such intensity" as to
raise questions of whether he was delusional.
Fort Hood shooter was on 'jihadist mission': Congressman
Washington: Maj Nidal Malik Hasan, the US
Army psychiatrist, accused of killing 13 fellow soldiers at a
military base in Texas was on a "jihadist mission," a US
lawmaker said today, contending it was too early to rule out
that he was a "lone wolf" acting alone.
"This man was on a mission, on a mission that he believed
was from his God, a jihadist mission," Congressman Michael
McCaul from Texas said in the House of Representatives.
Citing the information he received from soldiers who
survived the November 5 massacre, the Congressman pointed out
that Hasan shouted 'Allah ho Akbar' before opening fire.
"It is a common terminology in the jihad world to say
'Allah Akbar' before you shoot and kill others. I think he
fully expected to die that day," McCaul said.
"He gave away his material possessions. He was seen
wearing a Pakistani garb at the 7-11 (a local convenience
store) that morning. He was preparing himself. He was
premeditating the death of others and preparing himself for
his own death," he said.
The Congressman said it was important to probe whether
Hasan "infiltrated or was he a 'lone wolf' acting on his own
without any outside influence," adding it is too premature to
conclude that he was acting alone and demanded that the
Congress should review the matter.
"There are so many flags in this case. Not only this
individual, but what was he doing with Pakistan," he said,
adding, "American people need to know the truth".
Bureau Report
First Published: Tuesday, November 17, 2009, 21:08