US Chief of Army Staff, General George Casey Jr., has said that he is concerned about the possibility of Muslim troopers experiencing a backlash in the wake of Major Nidal Malik Hasan’s move to kill 12 fellow soldiers and a civilian, besides wounding dozens of others, at Fort Hood in Texas.
“I’ve asked our Army leaders to be on the lookout for that,” General Casey said in an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union.
“It would be a shame — as great a tragedy as this was — it would be a shame if our diversity became a casualty as well,” added General Casey
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Fort-Hood-attack--Army-chief-fears-backlash-on-Muslim-troopers/539132
The soldiers at Fort Hood had it coming, says a radical Muslim in Queens who travels to mosques around the city spreading anti-American hate and has sent a "Get Well Soon" message to the major behind the Texas massacre.
"An officer and a gentleman was injured while partaking in a pre-emptive attack," Yousef al-Khattab wrote on his Web site, called "Revolution Muslim." "Get well soon Major Nidal. We love you."
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/queens/america_hater_in_qns_hails_hood_HvD7Z20qSwe9dp4obu8L7L
PC will have us all killed
By ANGELA K. BROWN and RICHARD LARDNER
FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) - In retrospect, the signs of Maj.
Nidal Malik Hasan's growing anger over the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan seem unmistakable. But even people who worried his increasingly strident views were clouding his ability to serve the U.S. military could not predict the murderous rampage of which he now stands accused.
In the months leading to Thursday's shooting spree that left 13 people dead and 29 others wounded, Hasan raised eyebrows with comments that the war on terror was "a war on Islam" and wrestled with what to tell fellow Muslim solders who had their doubts about fighting in Islamic countries.
"The system is not doing what it's supposed to do," said Dr. Val Finnell, who complained to administrators at a military university about what he considered Hasan's "anti-American" rants. "He at least should have been confronted about these beliefs, told to cease and desist, and to shape up or ship out."
Finnell studied with Hasan from 2007-2008 in the master's program in public health at the military's Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md., where Hasan persistently complained about perceived anti-Muslim sentiment in the military and injected his politics into courses where they had no place.
"In retrospect, I'm not surprised he did it," Finnell said of the shootings. "I had real questions about what his priorities were, what his beliefs were."
Hasan, who was shot by civilian police and taken into custody, was in intensive care but breathing on his own late Saturday at an Army hospital in San Antonio. Officials refused to say if he was talking to investigators.
At least 17 victims remained hospitalized with gunshot wounds, and nine were in intensive care late Saturday. On Sunday, numerous church services honoring the victims were planned both on the post and in neighboring Killeen.
Military criminal investigators continue to refer to Hasan as the only suspect in the shootings but won't say when charges would be filed. "We have not established a motive for the shootings at this time," said Army Criminal Investigative Command spokesman Chris Grey.
A government official speaking on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss the case said an initial review of Hasan's computer use has found no evidence of links to terror groups, or anyone who might have helped plan or push him toward the shooting attack. The review of Hasan's computer is continuing and more evidence could emerge, the source said.
Hasan likely would face military justice rather than federal criminal charges if investigators determine the violence was the work of just one person.
Hasan's family described a man incapable of the attack, calling him a devoted doctor and devout Muslim who showed no signs that he might lash out.
"I've known my brother Nidal to be a peaceful, loving and compassionate person who has shown great interest in the medical field and in helping others," said his brother, Eyad Hasan, of Sterling, Va., in a statement. "He has never committed an act of violence and was always known to be a good, law-abiding citizen."
Still, in the days since authorities believe Hasan fired more than 100 rounds in a soldier processing center at Fort Hood in the worst mass shooting on a military facility in the U.S., a picture has emerged of a man who was forcefully opposed to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, was trying to elude his pending deployment to Afghanistan and had struggled professionally in his work as an Army psychiatrist.
"I told him, 'There's something wrong with you,'" Osman Danquah, co-founder of the Islamic Community of Greater Killeen, told The Associated Press on Saturday. "I didn't get the feeling he was talking for himself, but something just didn't seem right."
Danquah assumed the military's chain of command knew about Hasan's doubts, which had been known for more than a year to classmates at the Maryland graduate military medical program. His fellow students complained to the faculty about Hasan's "anti-American propaganda," but said a fear of appearing discriminatory against a Muslim student kept officers from filing a formal complaint.
Others recalled a pleasant neighbor who forgave a fellow soldier charged with tearing up his "Allah is Love" bumper sticker. A superior officer at Darnall Army Medical Center at Fort Hood, Col. Kimberly Kesling, has said Hasan was quiet with a strong work ethic who provided excellent care for his patients.
Twice this summer, Danquah said, Hasan asked him what to tell soldiers who expressed misgivings about fighting fellow Muslims. The retired Army first sergeant and Gulf War veteran said he reminded Hasan that these soldiers had volunteered to fight, and that Muslims were fighting each other in Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Palestinian territories.
"But what if a person gets in and feels that it's just not right?" Danquah recalled Hasan asking him.
"I'd give him my response. It didn't seem settled, you know. It didn't seem to satisfy," he said. "It would be like a person playing the devil's advocate. ... I said, 'Look. I'm not impressed by you.'"
Danquah said he was disturbed by Hasan's persistent questioning but never told anyone at the sprawling Army post about the talks, because Hasan never expressed anger toward the Army or indicated any plans for violence.
"If I had an inkling that he had this type of inclination or intentions, definitely I would have brought it to their attention," he said.
Hasan was promoted from captain to major in 2008, the same year he graduated from the master's program. Bernard Rostker, a military personnel expert at the Rand Corp., said a shortage of officers and psychiatrists meant Hasan's advancement was all but certain absent a serious blemish on his record, such as a DUI or a drug charge.
Hasan reportedly jumped up on a desk and shouted "Allahu akbar!" - Arabic for "God is great!" - at the start of Thursday's attack.
"Hopefully, they can put together the pieces and find out what in the world was in his mind and why he went crazy," Danquah said. "Aaaaah, it's sad. Those soldiers could have been my soldiers."
---
Associated Press Writers Allen Breed in Killeen, Dalia Nammari in Ramallah, West Bank, and Devlin Barrett, Richard Lardner, Pamela Hess and Jessica Gresko in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20091108/D9BRD8GO1.html
US Chief of Army Staff, General George Casey Jr., has said that he is concerned about the possibility of Muslim troopers experiencing a backlash in the wake of Major Nidal Malik Hasan’s move to kill 12 fellow soldiers and a civilian, besides wounding dozens of others, at Fort Hood in Texas.
“I’ve asked our Army leaders to be on the lookout for that,” General Casey said in an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union.
“It would be a shame — as great a tragedy as this was — it would be a shame if our diversity became a casualty as well,” added General Casey, who has appeared on three Sunday news programs, and used almost the same language.
The US Army is keen to ward off bias against the more than 3,000 Muslims in its ranks.
Meanwhile, at a news conference in Fort Hood, near Killeen, Texax, the Army announced that 16 of the wounded remained hospitalized, with seven in intensive care.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Fort-Hood-attack--Army-chief-fears-backlash-on-Muslim-troopers/539132
The soldiers at Fort Hood had it coming, says a radical Muslim in Queens who travels to mosques around the city spreading anti-American hate and has sent a "Get Well Soon" message to the major behind the Texas massacre.
"An officer and a gentleman was injured while partaking in a pre-emptive attack," Yousef al-Khattab wrote on his Web site, called "Revolution Muslim." "Get well soon Major Nidal. We love you."
In the twisted logic of al-Khattab, who was born Jewish in New Jersey and converted to Islam in 2004, the 13 slain and 38 wounded Army victims gunned down by the radical one-man sleeper cell were "terrorists" who deserved to die.
"These people are soldiers in a volunteer army," he told The Post during a sitdown at a Woodside, Queens, cafe. "They expect to see combat. They know the danger."
"Rest assured the slain terrorists at Ft. Hood are in the eternal hellfire," al-Khattab writes on his Web site.
Army shrink Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, 39, reportedly shouted "Allahu akbar" -- Arabic for "God is great" -- before unloading more than 100 rounds at soldiers preparing to ship off to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Amanda Foote, whose husband is in Iraq, went to visit a soldier who survived the onslaught yesterday and said she was stunned that the base had been hit by such horror.
"I told my husband the other day, 'I thought I would never say I was happy you were in Iraq.' I never thought it would be safer for him to be there than to be on post at home," she said.
Like Hasan -- whose pro-homicide bomber rhetoric on the Web had caught the authorities' attention -- the FBI is well aware of al-Khattab's dangerous online lunacy, but they are unable to do much about it as he just skirts the line between protected speech and inciting
"It's terrible. It's reprehensible. For the mosques it's a p.r. nightmare. He's probably putting members of the mosque in danger from attacks from non-Muslims, but he's not breaking the law," said Barry Covert, a First Amendment lawyer in Buffalo.
He said that unless al-Khattab incites people to immediate acts of violence, the Constitution protects him.
The Woodside extremist spends his free time annoying mainstream Muslims in front of mosques around the city, handing out literature and denouncing the US.
Imams in Manhattan are appalled by his message and have tried to get the police to stop him from spreading his radical message.
"We spoke to law enforcement about them, because we are disgusted with their behavior," said Shamsi Ali, an imam at the Islamic Cultural Center of New York, a mosque at 96th Street and Third Avenue.
He said that at a recent Muslim parade, al-Khattab and his followers were preaching violence, but despite complaints from the congregation, the NYPD could only watch.
"They say that as long as there is not a physical threat, there's nothing that they can do." said Ali. "They say it's a free-speech issue."
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/queens/america_hater_in_qns_hails_hood_HvD7Z20qSwe9dp4obu8L7L#ixzz0WMvLSlMn
Officials: U.S. Aware of Hasan Efforts to Contact al Qaeda
Army Major in Fort Hood Massacre Used 'Electronic Means' to Connect with Terrorists
By RICHARD ESPOSITO, MATTHEW COLE and BRIAN ROSS
Nov. 9, 2009 —
U.S. intelligence agencies were aware months ago that Army Major Nidal Hasan was attempting to make contact with people associated with al Qaeda, two American officials briefed on classified material in the case told ABC News.
It is not known whether the intelligence agencies informed the Army that one of its officers was seeking to connect with suspected al Qaeda figures, the officials said.
One senior lawmaker said the CIA had, so far, refused to brief the intelligence committees on what, if any, knowledge they had about Hasan's efforts.
CIA director Leon Panetta and the Director of National Intelligence, Dennis Blair, have been asked by Congress "to preserve" all documents and intelligence files that relate to Hasan, according to the lawmaker.
On Sunday, Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) called for an investigation into whether the Army missed signs as to whether Hasan was an Islamic extremist.
"If Hasan was showing signs, saying to people that he had become an Islamist extremist, the U.S. Army has to have a zero tolerance," Lieberman told Fox News Sunday.
Investigators want to know if Hasan maintained contact with a radical mosque leader from Virginia, Anwar al Awlaki, who now lives in Yemen and runs a web site that promotes jihad around the world against the U.S.
In a blog posting early Monday titled "Nidal Hassan Did the Right Thing," Awlaki calls Hassan a "hero" and a "man of conscience who could not bear living the contradiction of being a Muslim and serving in an army that is fighting against his own people."
According to his site, Awlaki served as an imam in Denver, San Diego and Falls Church, Virginia.
The Associated Press reported Sunday that Major Hasan attended the Falls Church mosque when Awlaki was there.
The Telegraph of London reported that Awlaki had made contact with two of the 9/11 hijackers when he was in San Diego.
He denied any knowledge of the hijacking plot and was never charged with any crime. After an intensive investigation by the FBI, Awlaki moved to Yemen.
People who knew or worked with Hasan say he seemed to have gradually become more radical in his disapproval of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Army Chief of Staff
A fellow Army doctor who studied with Hasan, Val Finell, told ABC News, "We would frequently say he was a Muslim first and an American second. And that came out in just about everything he did at the University.
Finell said he and other Army doctors complained to superiors about Hasan's statements.
"And we questioned how somebody could take an oath of office&be an officer in the military and swear allegiance to the constitution and to defend America against all enemies, foreign and domestic and have that type of conflict," Finell told ABC News.
The Army Chief of Staff, General George Casey, raised concerns over the weekend that innocent Muslim soldiers could suffer as a result of the shooting at Fort Hood.
"I think the speculation (on Hasan's Islamic roots) could potentially heighten backlash against some of our Muslim soldiers," he said on ABC's "This Week."
http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=9030873
And yet, remember this?
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano responded yesterday to widespread criticism of a leaked domestic intelligence report warning local law enforcement agencies to be on guard for right-wing extremist groups seeking new recruits amid the nation's economic troubles, the return of military veterans facing challenges with reintegrating into their communities "could lead to the potential emergence of terrorist groups or lone wolf extremists capable of carrying out violent attacks." and of course, gun rights advocates
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — The U.S. Homeland Security secretary says she is working to prevent a possible wave of anti-Muslim sentiment after the shootings at Fort Hood in Texas.
Janet Napolitano says her agency is working with groups across the United States to try to deflect any backlash against American Muslims following Thursday's rampage by Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, a Muslim who reportedly expressed growing dismay over the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The shootings left 13 people dead and 29 wounded.
Napolitano was in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday for talks with security officials and a meeting with women university students in Abu Dhabi.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j8GOiUlCCnhCsRp1Xvs94KDJh8owD9BR9GPG0
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