The Fort Hood Shooting

On Thursday, November 5, Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan went on a shooting rampage at the Fort Hood Army Base in Fort Hood, Texas, near Killeen. In the process he killed fourteen people (12 soldiers, one civilian, 1 and an unborn child), and he wounded 30 others. Fort Hood is the most populous military base in the world. The incident occurred at 1:34 p.m. CST. According to reports, Hasan entered his workplace, The Soldier Readiness Center, where personnel receive routine medical treatment immediately prior to and from deployment. He took a seat at an empty table, bowed his head for several seconds, and then stood up and opened fire. According to eyewitnesses, he jumped onto a desk and shouted, "Allahu Akbar!" He had two handguns: an FN Five-seven semi-automatic pistol and a .357 Magnum revolver. He fired 100 rounds. He finally was shot by civilian police officers. He is charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 accounts of attempted murder under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. He may face additional charges at court-martial.

Nidal Malik Hasan is an American-born Muslim of Palestinian descent who on a number of occasions expressed radical beliefs. He is 39 years old and is an army psychiatrist. When his parents died in 1998 and 2001 he became a more devout Muslim. Nader Hasan, one of Nidal's cousins who is a lawyer in Virginia, said that Hasan's opinion turned against both the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq upon hearing stories from soldiers who were in that war. He attended Dar Al-Hirjah mosque in Falls Church, Virginia in 2001, at the same time as Nawaf al-Hazmi and Hani Hanjour, two of the September 11th hijackers. A review of Hasan's computer revealed visits to websites espousing radical Islamist ideas. He expressed admiration for the Anwar al-Awlaki, imam at Dar al-Hirjah mosque between 2000 and 2002. It's also been revealed that he communicated by email with Anwar al-Awlaki. Once while presenting what was supposed to be a medical lecture to other psychiatrists, he chose to lecture about Islam. He stated that non-believers would be sent to hell, decapitated, set on fire, and have burning oil poured down their throats.

For six years he worked at Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, D.C. According to National Public Radio, the supervisors at Walter Reed had met to discuss what to do with Hasan. He received poor evaluations and was said to have performed substandard work. They said he was very strange. The supervisors at Walter Reed said he was disconnected, aloof, paranoid, belligerent, and schizoid. He was transferred to the Fort Hood Army Base. He had expressed admiration for Al-Awlaki's teachings. Al-Awlaki was under surveillance and he was investigated by the FBI after intelligence agencies intercepted 18 emails between Al-Awlaki and Hasan. There was one email where Hasan stated, "I can't wait to join you," in the afterlife. And there was another where Hasan asked Al-Awlaki about when jihad is appropriate. The Army officials were notified by those intercepted emails but they didn't perceive Hasan as a threat. Army officials turned their head the other way. They refused to acknowledge that Hasan could be a potential terrorist.

Nidal Malik Hasan should've been dismissed from the army given his strange behavior as well as his devotion to extreme Islamic teachings. In the midst of all the evidence that was used proving that Hasan believed in jihad should've raised some red flags. He was a potential danger and he proved that. This shooting at Fort Hood should've NEVER TAKEN PLACE! The problem is political correctness run amok. The federal government at all levels has hired and promoted Muslims to influential positioins. They require "sensitivity training" for federal employees, including those working at the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security. All this foolishness emboldens our enemies. Our government is giving the okay for radical Islamists to infiltrate all levels of our government, even the military, and refuses to see the danger radical Islam imposes on the safety and security of Americans. Hasan should be tried as a terrorist. He should be interrogated. Our government is in bed with the Middle Eastern world as well as influential Muslims in the U.S. This is suicidal. These Islamists are serious about their religion. They view America and Israel as the infidel which need to be destroyed. The jihadists are seeking to destroy America's way of life. Army General George Casey should be terminated after making the foolish statement that the military is "committed to diversity." It's DIVERSITY THAT'S DESTROYING US! What unifies Americans are those common values that bind us together as a country. The religion of Islam is foreign to the American way of thinking. Islamic jihadists have no place in America. It's time America's borders be secured and we stop allowing Muslims to come to America. We owe no allegiance to the Muslims. While we're on the subject, it's time we drill for our own oil in America so we don't have to import oil from the Middle East. We need to make the Middle East irrevelant when it comes to American interests. THE ISLAMIC JIHADISTS NEED TO BEWARE AND KNOW THEY AREN'T ALLOWED TO COME INTO THIS COUNTRY TO DESTROY IT! THIS IS AMERICA--LAND OF THE FREE, HOME OF THE BRAVE!