Fort Hood Massacre: Intelligence, information must be preserved, Congressmen demand

November 10, 3:08 PMLaw Enforcement ExaminerJim Kouri

"I intend to push for intense review of this and other issues related to the performance of the intelligence community and whether or not information necessary for military, state and local officials to provide for the security of the post was provided to them," he said.

Hoekstra stated that he was concerned that more information had been provided, piecemeal, to the news media by anonymous sources than had yet been provided to the Committee. He criticized the Obama administration for not being more immediately forthcoming with details and specifically requested information, and for restricting the limited information provided so far to the so-called "Gang of Eight."

"I have requested this information be preserved because I believe members of the full committee on a bipartisan basis will want to scrutinize the intelligence relevant to this attack, what the agencies in possession of that intelligence did with it, who was and wasn’t informed and why, and what steps America’s intelligence agencies are taking in light of what they know," Hoekstra said.

"At some point, it becomes necessary for us as a nation to address the uncomfortable threat of homegrown terrorism and radicalism, and Congress has an obligation to review how federal agencies are handling and disseminating information related to the threat," he said.

"While American Islamist organizations are quick to condemn the Fort Hood massacre and are desperately trying to cast it as a mere criminal act, they have fueled the U.S. "war on Islam" canard since 2001. It has been used to squelch serious debate over their behavior and to discredit virtually all U.S. government efforts to combat Islamist terror. It should come as no surprise, though, that some jihadists hear this and feel compelled to "respond" to the imaginary threat," said terrorism expert Steve Emerson of the Investigative Project.

Hoekstra's colleague, Congressman Pete King (R-NY) is also concerned with terrorist attacks within US borders. “The safety and security of the American people must continue to be the top priority of our government.  Congress must continue to work to ensure that the Department of Homeland Security, our military, the intelligence community, and State and local law enforcement have the tools they need to further secure our country from those radical extremists who intend to harm more Americans,”  he said.

"The horrific shootings at Fort Hood are a tragic reminder of the potential deadly consequences of the threat posed by homegrown Jihadism and the failure of the government to adequately respond to it," added Hoekstra.

A former New York City Detective and Marine put Rep. Hoekstra's demand more bluntly: "This is another example of the US government being asleep at the wheel. Our President and his minions are doing more to take attention away from the terrorism aspect of this mass murder than they are to identify the kinks in our armor in this war on terrorism."

"I wouldn't put it past those leaders to 'lose' or 'misplace' evidence of terrorism in this Fort Hood tragedy," he added.