Obama administration resists independent Ft. Hood probes

President Barrack Obama
Google Images

On Saturday, President Obama urged Congress to hold off on any probe into the Ft. Hood terrorist attack by the lone suspect Nidal Malik Hasan.  Federal and military investigators are still conducting an investigation into the shootings that left 13 dead.  Several members of Congress, particularly Michigan Rep. Peter Hoekstra, the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, have also called for a full examination of what agencies knew about Hasan's contacts with a radical Muslim cleric in Yemen and others of concern to the U.S.  A joint terrorism task force overseen by the FBI learned late last year of Hasan's repeated contact with the cleric, who encouraged Muslims to kill U.S. troops in Iraq. Hasan's exchanges with Anwar Awlaki, once a spiritual leader at a mosque in suburban Virginia where Hasan worshiped, indicate that the troubled military psychiatrist came to the attention of the authorities long before the shootings.  The FBI said the task force did not refer early information about Hasan to superiors because it concluded he wasn't linked to terrorism.
 

Hoekstra confirmed this week that government officials knew of about 10 to 20 e-mails between Hasan and the radical imam, beginning in December 2008.  It appears that many law makers have become frustrated with the less than forthcoming Obama administration.  Rep. Howard McKeon, R-Calif., said he wanted to go ahead with an investigation from the House Armed Services Committee, where he is the top Republican. He said he wanted an investigation that wouldn't compromise law enforcement or military investigations that were continuing on separate tracks.  In the Senate, Sen. Joe Lieberman, a Connecticut independent, said his Homeland Security Committee was opening an investigation. 

Today, there were more disturbing revelations that the Obama administration had prior contacts with Nidal Malik Hasan prior to the Ft. Hood massacre.  Nidal Hasan was a participant in the Obama transition team's planning of Homeland Security policy.  During a conference entitled "Thinking Anew-Security Priorities For The Next Administration", held on May 19, 2009 at the George Washington University Homeland Security Policy Institute (HSPI), Nidal was listed as a representative for the Uniformed Services University School of Medicine, (see page 29).  At this time it is unknown what role Hasan played at the conference or what  influence he  held with the Obama administration.