(Getty)
A day after a mass shooting at Fort Hood, TX, killed now 13 people and wounded 30 others, a fuller picture is beginning to emerge about not why the gunman did it but who he is and whether that had anything to do with what is now the deadliest shooting ever at a military facility in the United States.
Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, 39, allegedly opened fire Thursday afternoon at the post's Soldier Readiness Center, where troops deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan receive last-minute medical checkups.
The gunman shouted "Allahu Akbar!" --God is great-- before opening fire. (Some witnesses say the didn't hear any of that at all.)
Hasan remains hospitalized, unconscious and on a ventilator; he's paralyzed and expected to recover.
The president has ordered all flags to fly at half staff until Veteran's Day.
Though military officials have refused to discuss Hasan, a complicated picture is beginning to develop of what appears to be an angry misfit. But in seeking to understand why a psychiatrist trained to help soldiers cope with the stress of warfare instead turned on them, the media has patched together little more than fragmentary and contradictory stories so far.
He was born in the D-C area --Arlington, VA. His parents were Palestinian immigrants. Hasan himself went to local schools, graduated from Virginia Tech. He then joined the Army --that's how he got his medical education, trained as a psychiatrist who served for several years at Walter Reed Medical Center, specializing in treating soldiers with combat stress. He was transferred earlier this year to Fort Hood.
He is a devout Muslim who took his faith very seriously. Whether this is relevant or not, it's too early to tell.
He was put on probation early in his postgraduate work at the Uniformed Service University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, MD. He was disciplined for proselytizing about his Muslim faith with patients and colleagues, according to the source, who worked with him at the time.
In an interview with the Washington Post, Hasan's aunt, Noel Hasan of Falls Church, VA, said he had been harassed about being a Muslim in the years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and that he wanted out of the Army.
"Some people can take it, and some people cannot," she said. "He had listened to all of that and he wanted out of the military."
The Houston Chronicle talks to a 7-Eleven manager who says nothing seemed out of the ordinary early yesterday when Hasan went into the store for his daily hash browns. "He came in [Thursday] morning just like normal," she said, "nothing weird, nothing out of the ordinary." A few hours later, Hasan was in the largest U.S. military facility in the world, and he just began shooting.
7-Eleven surveillance video
It's already been reported that he was said to be upset by his deployment to Iraq. It's also been reported that he was upset by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Terry Lee, a retired Army colonel who knew Hasan, told Fox News about a story he heard secondhand. He said a fellow colleague had told him that Hasan had made "outlandish comments" about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and U-S involvement in them and that "Muslims had a right to rise up and attack Americans in Iraq and Afghanistan."
"[He] made comments about how we shouldn't be over there – you need to lock it up, Muslims should stand up and fight against the aggressor," Lee added.
But the suspect's cousin, Nader Hasan, gave Fox News a different picture. He said his cousin had never deployed but was affected by the war and had been concerned about his impending deployment.
"He would tell us how he would hear things, horrific things, things from war probably affecting him psychologically," Nader Hasan said.
One story that is still being mined is to what degree his years working as a military psychiatrist affected him in counseling stressed military veterans.
Mental health issues have come to the forefront at the Pentagon because of the stress of repeated deployments over the past eight years with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. As a consequence, mental health counseling at the nation's various military posts has become increasingly important.
(NY Times)
Who knows what kind of stories he heard during that period and what affect they've had on him. A point often heard is that there is no care for the caregiver, no counseling for the councilors. Hasan was undoubtedly exposed to some horrific stories and the anguish of soldiers. Who knows what affect that may have had on him, or whether it impacted him at all.
Three days before the shooting, Fort Hood base commander, Lt. Gen. Robert Cone, issued a new mental health policy aimed at reducing the stigma associated with mental health counseling and encouraging soldiers to seek help, reassuring them that seeking such help wouldn't be held against them for security clearances and such. The directive makes clear that it's the responsibility of base commanders and psychiatric personnel to see to it that soldiers seek counseling and treatment.
Just being deployed can be stressful, and Hasan had never seen combat. There are many cases of suicide in the military, both before and after deployment.
One psychiatrist at Walter Reed who knew and worked with Hasan says that for most of his four years at Walter Reed, Hasan was lazy in his training, and not always punctual --he often didn't show up for work on time. He wasn't focused in his work and didn't seem to take it seriously. He was counseled by a number of supervisors.
The second thing the fellow psychiatrist at Walter Reed said was that he and co-workers were not at all worried that he was a devout Muslim but it was the way he talked about it. A couple of years ago he gave a Grand Rounds presentation. That's when all the doctors come into a big auditorium and you take turns giving a lecture on procedures, diagnosis and treatment and so forth --the best treatment for bipolar, or schizophrenia, etc.
Instead of giving an academic lecture, Hasan gave a lecture on the Koran, and it wasn't informational as much as it was his own interpretation of it --as the co-workers put it. He talked about how if you're a non-believer, the Koran says you should have your head cut off, you should have burning oil poured down your throat, you should be set on fire.
Another Muslim in the audience, another psychiatrist, raised his hand, quite disturbed and said, "Ya know, a lot of us [Muslims] do not believe these things you're saying."
People actually talked in the hallways afterward whether Hasan was one of these people so tightly wound that he might one day freak out and shoot people --sort of half kidding and half serious.
The rush to judgment is typical and it's also easy because you can close the book on the story and say, oh, jihadist Muslim. It could be, but to automatically decide that just because he's a Muslim is assinine, primitive and prejudiced.
Was it Muslim extremism? The FBI doesn't know. (Islamic groups were quick to condemn the killing after it became clear that the suspected shooter was Muslim.)
Was he angry over his deployment to Iraq? The FBI doesn't know.
Was he a lone nut who snapped? The FBI doesn't know.
Can't we wait until we have more information --ya know, innocent before proven guilty?
Another disturbing question
Fort Hood, though a military base, operates much like a small town. It's very 9-to-5-ish. People live on post, they go to work, they go home. The only difference is that everyone wears the same clothes --a uniform. No one carries weapons on them except when out on training exercises --otherwise, you have to get permission to obtain a weapon. Even your own have to be secured elsewhere. Although if you see someone on post with a gun, it's not like you're going to run and report it. You assume the person with the weapons followed proper procedures to obtain it.
The point being that this is almost beginning to appear as if this couldn't have been prevented. That what we have may be someone who snapped, just like someone might snap at work, go nuts and shoot up the place. We've seen people --people who were fired, let's say-- return to an office and start shooting. We've seen people rejected or ostracized take out their frustration violently --not unlike the Virginia Tech shootings of a couple of years ago.
Here's a troubling question: Do you have people at work who may be wound a little too tightly? A co-worker you think might not be playing with a full deck? What do you do? Report it to a supervisor? Tell a co-worker? The person might be just wired differently than you and be totally safe to be around. How can you tell?
Or do you go to a supervisor and say, "I'm telling you, I see something in this person that is dangerous."
Have you ever been in such a situation? It's scary when you think you're working with someone who might snap, but what do you do? Is there any way to prevent an incident like this from happening, be it a military base or at a civilian place of work?
Comments
Obama said "We don't know all the answers yet. And I would caution against jumping to conclusions until we have all the facts,"
Does he mean like he did when he called the police in Massachusetts racists BEFORE HE KNEW THE FACTS?
This man is a national disgrace. Why does he hate America the way he does?
i agree
If the story about giving a grand rounds on the Koran is true, the guy is certifiably mentally ill. That is so out of order.
While the writer is correct in saying we shouldn't jump to conclusions about his motivations, the man is guilty. He held the weapons, pulled the triggers, and killed or wounded fellow soldiers. It's too late for 'innocent until proven guilty'. No matter what underlying motivation is there, be it religious, psychiatric, political or whatever, this man should be executed as soon as he's well enough to be shot again.
Jihad you a basically being a hypocryite for saying Obama is jumping to conclusions, when you yourself are saying he hates America..? I really don't understand the level of ignorance in people these days..
May all those soldiers and their family's make it through this tough time.
Malik Hasan played a Homeland Security advisory role in President Obama's transition into the White House. He served as a Task Force Event Participant. Malik Hasan of the Uniformed Services University School of Medicine is listed on page 29:
h t t p://gwumc.edu/hspi/old/PTTF_ProceedingsReport_05.19.09.pdf
For about 6 months Malik Hasan was allegedly known by the federal government to be posting online statements that were sympathetic to terrorists.
Other things are also coming out that should have raised alarms within the Obama administration - but didn't. Guess it's that PC thing again.
None says: when you yourself are saying he hates America
For one and a half years ObaMao campaigned on "Changing America".
He said it thousands of times.
Since WHEN does someone change the things they love?
You only change the things you don't!
He sat in a church for 20 years and listened to a preacher who HATES AMERICA and stayed! He listened while America was being blamed for everything. He stayed for 20 years.
Get over it.
Why do the leftists ALWAYS have to throw out the "lone misfit" label when a Muslim is involved in this type of thing.
RTG says: While the writer is correct in saying we shouldn't jump to conclusions about his motivations, the man is guilty. He held the weapons, pulled the triggers, and killed or wounded fellow soldiers. It's too late for 'innocent until proven guilty'."
No disagreement at all. I'm not even comfortable calling the ALLEGED shooter. He did it. What I object to are idiots who immediately assume that the motivation was that he was Muslim so he must've been a radical extremist. That's the conclusion of the ignorant, the hateful and the mentally lazy. Now he may well have had some "jihadist" motive. On THAT, he's innocent until proven guilty because we don't know that yet. But letting xenophobia and racism play into one's conclusions is wholly inaccurate and entirely irresponsible.
Jihad Watch says: He sat in a church for 20 years and listened to a preacher who HATES AMERICA and stayed! He listened while America was being blamed for everything. He stayed for 20 years. Get over it."
First of all, this story is about what happened in Fort Hood, not the White House, so get off your moronic soap box.
Second: I'll give you $100 if you can show me any policy he's championed or implemented that reflects the teachings of the church in Chicago. You won't find it, but you're so filled with hate and anger you wouldn't see it if it hit you over the head with a hammer, let alone admit it. I hope Americans get so tired of hateful rhetoric that people with your attitude are eventually relegated to the scrap heap of history as an unfortunate blip in our country's history. Just plain ugly.
$100. Prove you BS.
Jihad Watch says: "Why do the leftists ALWAYS have to throw out the "lone misfit" label when a Muslim is involved in this type of thing."
For the same reason you don't make blanket generalizations about Christians when some radicalized idiot calling himself one kills an abortion doctor. That's why. For the same reason you want to have a complete profile of facts like the kind the FBI is assembling before you jump to conclusions, that's why. For the same reason America isn't a lynch mob society, that's why. Are you that much of a primitive thinker?
None says: Jihad you a basically being a hypocryite for saying Obama is jumping to conclusions, when you yourself are saying he hates America..? I really don't understand the level of ignorance in people these days..
Even better: He already jumped to conclusions about the shooter in Texas, deciding on his own and without detail information, that the man was a terrorist. His comments are ugly, and when people like that make allegations like that, it's probably because they're guilty of the same thing. They don't just hate others; they hate themselves.
"May all those soldiers and their family's make it through this tough time."
Amen to that!
too bad that this cowardly act does not fall under state jurisdiction; texas would send him to that face-to-face meeting with allah that motivated him. but, he failed his mission, he's not a martyr.
juniusxv says: "too bad that this cowardly act does not fall under state jurisdiction; texas would send him to that face-to-face meeting with allah that motivated him. but, he failed his mission, he's not a martyr."
What was his mission and how do you know that he had one?
Bruce says:
Even better: He already jumped to conclusions about the shooter in Texas, deciding on his own and without detail information, that the man was a terrorist. His comments are ugly, and when people like that make allegations like that, it's probably because they're guilty of the same thing. They don't just hate others; they hate themselves.
EAT those words Jihad defender! Defending terrorists now huh? Wow! I knew people who called town hall protesters terrorists and Nazi's by our own government. And you want to defend this Islamic terrorist against being called one! You are vile!
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