Perhaps this will be start of PC put under control
09:35 AM CST on Saturday, November 14, 2009
By LEE HANCOCK / The Dallas Morning News lhancock@dallasnews.com
President Barack Obama vowed today to hold accountable anyone who may have missed "potential warning signs" about the danger posed by Fort Hood massacre suspect Nidal Malik Hasan.
JEFFREY PHELPS/The Associated Press
Mourners in Kiel, Wis., paid their respects at the visitation Friday for Sgt. Amy Krueger, a Fort Hood shooting victim. The president's comments, in his weekly address to the nation, came as a lawyer for the Army major said that Hasan had been left paralyzed from the waist down after police shot him to end the slaughter on the Central Texas post.
"We must compile every piece of information that was known about the gunman, and we must learn what was done with that information," Obama said, according to an advance text of his address. "Once we have those facts, we must act upon them. If there was a failure to take appropriate action before the shootings, there must be accountability."
Shortly after the Nov. 5 shootings, Obama reportedly saw e-mails that Hasan had sent to a radical Muslim cleric in Yemen whom the FBI has investigated since the 1990s for possible terrorist ties. Federal authorities intercepted the e-mails about a year ago but did not pursue an investigation of Hasan, an Army psychiatrist. They said this week the communications were considered to be consistent with his post-doctoral research at a military university outside Washington, D.C.
On Nov. 6, the president ordered a far-reaching review of everything known about Hasan before the massacre, but the inquiry's existence was not revealed until this week. By that point, sources had told The Dallas Morning News that Hasan had also wired money to Pakistan, which has become a hub for terrorist fundraising and is in the grip of a militant Islamic insurgency.
"I will insist that the full story be told," the president said in his comments. "That is paramount, and I won't compromise that investigation today by discussing the details of this case. But given the potential warning signs that may have been known prior [to] these shootings, we must uncover what steps – if any – could have been taken to avert this tragedy."
"We must quickly and thoroughly evaluate and address any flaws in the system, so that we can prevent a similar breach from happening again," Obama added. "Our government must be able to act swiftly and surely when it has threatening information. And our troops must have the security that they deserve."
Soldier of Allah
Hasan's attorney, retired Col. John P. Galligan, said Friday that medical staff had told the U.S.-born military officer that he would never walk again.
Galligan visited Hasan at a San Antonio military hospital, where he is in intensive care, late Thursday. Hours earlier, Army officials announced they would charge Hasan with 13 counts of premeditated murder – one for each soldier or civilian killed in the attack.
When asked if Hasan expressed any remorse, Galligan replied, "We didn't get into that."
The attorney was angry that journalists were allowed into Hasan's apartment Wednesday. An apartment manager allowed a Dallas Morning News reporter and photographer, among others, to view the one-bedroom unit after government investigators released control of it.
Although Hasan gave away most of his furniture and clothes in the days before the attack, the apartment still contained some belongings. Among them were a business card he had printed and plastic packaging for a handgun laser sight.
Galligan questioned the significance of the letters "SoA" under Hasan's name on the card. The acronym stands for "Servant of Allah" or "Soldier of Allah," experts say, with the second interpretation often associated with Muslim extremist groups.
"I know some people are saying [it means] Soldier of Allah," Galligan said. "Is that any more troubling than saying I'm a servant of Christ?"
Reunion with brother
Hasan is in a neck brace, has some feeling in his hands and is in "significant pain," Galligan said, but he was able to sign a power-of-attorney document.
"His medical condition is still extremely serious," the lawyer said.
Hasan also seemed a little confused about times and dates, possibly because of pain medications, Galligan said, but he asked some questions and seemed to comprehend the gravity of his condition.
Galligan said he and Hasan's Army-appointed defense lawyer arranged for one of Hasan's two brothers to fly to Texas. The brothers' hospital reunion was emotional, the lawyer said, and Hasan looked stricken when his brother first heard about his paralysis.
"I could see it in his eyes," Galligan said. "I also witnessed the effect it had on his family member."
Galligan, a former chief judge in Fort Hood's military courts, would not identify the brother. The lawyer was retained by some of Hasan's relatives shortly after the shooting.
Galligan said he will soon file a series of legal motions, including a request for funds to hire a civilian private investigator. He and his military co-counsel are considering a request for a second military lawyer to join the defense team.
He also planned to seek reinstatement of his military security clearance because of the likelihood that the government's case against Hasan will include classified information.
Galligan said he wanted the trial moved from Fort Hood because of pretrial publicity and the emotional impact of the shooting.
Under military law, initial pretrial motions are considered by Fort Hood's commander, Lt. Gen. Robert Cone. Galligan said that raises concerns about fairness because Cone is being briefed on details of the investigation against Hasan.
Several House Republicans have called for congressional hearings into what U.S. intelligence agencies knew about Hasan before the attack and whether they treated the information properly. Some, including Rep. Pete Hoekstra of Michigan, say the agencies have been slow to brief Congress about the massacre and Hasan's possible motives.
Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Amarillo, said Friday that the House Armed Services Committee should also examine what the Army knew about Hasan.
Born in Virginia to Palestinian immigrants, Hasan has no known family ties to Pakistan.
Hasan's former colleagues in the Washington area, where he studied and worked before moving to Texas in July, have variously described him as withdrawn, paranoid, lonely and sometimes given to proselytizing about Islam.
"Some way or another, it's incumbent upon the Armed Services Committee to look at how the Army handled this and look into some of those questions," said Thornberry, who occupies senior positions on the Armed Services and Intelligence committees.
Thornberry said he expects the Army would be forthcoming, especially because the Secretary of the Army, John M. McHugh, was the senior Republican on the Armed Services Committee until Obama asked him to join his administration in June.
"I expect there is going to be a fair amount of cooperation," Thornberry said.
The president urged bipartisanship in his prepared remarks.
"All of us should resist the temptation to turn this tragic event into the political theater that sometimes dominates the discussion here in Washington," Obama said. "The stakes are far too high."
Lee Hancock reported from Fort Hood. Staff writers Dave Michaels and Todd J. Gillman in Washington and Brooks Egerton in Dallas contributed to this report, as did The Wall Street Journal.
The ACLU would like a word with you. Please report to San Francisco for proper political reeducation. Your cooperation is appreciated by The Committee. Resistance is futile.
The below is a quote from this week' s Time Magazine cover story article. After reading and sharing with my team at work, I have to say I tend to 100% agree with Bruce Hoffman (disclaimer; I read one of his books on terrorism and I think the guy knows what he's talking about), which is contradictory to what I have posted in this thread regarding the definition of terrorism...ATF SAC and others what's your take on the quote?
“...I used to argue it was only terrorism if it were a part of some identifiable, organized conspiracy...this new strategy of Al-Qaeda is to empower and motivate individuals to commit acts of violence completely outside any terrorist chain of command...every month this year, there has been a terrorist event-either an act committed or one broken up before it could be carried out...the nature of terrorism is changing, and Major Hasan may be an example of that...even if it turns out to have had no political motive, this is a sea change...”Bruce Hoffman, Terrorism Expert, Georgetown University.
“...I used to argue it was only terrorism if it were a part of some identifiable, organized conspiracy...this new strategy of Al-Qaeda is to empower and motivate individuals to commit acts of violence completely outside any terrorist chain of command...every month this year, there has been a terrorist event-either an act committed or one broken up before it could be carried out...the nature of terrorism is changing, and Major Hasan may be an example of that...even if it turns out to have had no political motive, this is a sea change...”Bruce Hoffman, Terrorism Expert, Georgetown University.
As most likely know, the “face” of terrorism has always been an ever evolving creature. Without delving too far into the past, we can look back at the last 2 years and see that the dynamics have changed; be it due to changes in security, awareness or evolution of the groups.
If I told you on September 10, 2001 that everything that happen, would; you would have had me held for observation. You may have believed one or two of the events, but likely not the far reaching and following events that came to pass.
While the risk of a Lone Wolf is nothing new, we must realize that in this day and age, you never know…
Depart not from the path fate has you assigned- a fortune cookie.
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I do not agree with Mr. Hoffman that this is a sea change unless his remarks are specific to Al-Qaeda. Whether it is the Phineas Priesthood, any number of persons who have bombed or burned abortion clinics or shot doctors associated with the same or Eric Ruldolph, Ted Kaczynski, or Tim McVeigh persons who have spun up out of a secular or theological motive espoused by groups but who are themselves not in the framework of the groups have long been with us. Sometimes the groups which promulgate the beliefs that form the individuals self-justification are active encouragers, at other times more as apologists with the throw away line that they do not "support violence." The relationship is at arms length.
While such persons are arguably less effective (and I mean that wholly in relative terms) than a group acting in conspiratorial concert, they are also the most difficult to identify precisely because they are not in relationship or concert with others of whom we may be aware. Unless we get them in some preparatory crime such as a weapons or explosives offense, we are at best responding to what they do or attempt to do.
Maybe my bottom line concern is less with defining terrorism as to who is and who is not, so much as a concern with the nature of agencies, which focus on resources and body counts. Thus if there are dollars in terrorism then we will strain to make terrorism cases and we will get sloppy and off priority. So maybe it is a functional definition that keeps resources on the ball and helps us all understand where exceptional investigative tools are appropriate and where maybe they are not so much.
Many of our fellow citizens believe that conspiracy is the espousal of common goals and beliefs. The law guides us more technically.In the technical way that the law operates and agencies define their missions, just mark me as concerned that currently we are not all the way to where we need to be with this issue. Also note that whatever confusion is out there we are doing the work that needs to be done under one flag or another. There is a phrase with some currency now, "Know your lane and stay in your lane." Words like terrorism, gang, organized crime can blur the lines that mark the lanes without more rigor in terms of what we mean when we apply them. Every time it happens we wind up in inter-agency squabble rather than productive harnessing of effort.
complicated matter...but I have to say if Mr. Hoffman is right, then the challenge to combat terror is going to be hell of a lot more difficult, but we'll prevail...
I'"ve lived and breathed terrorism for some decades. I enjoy studying the topic more so than math, english, management, etc..
Al-Qaeda is the leader of creating these lone wolfs and splintered groups. Hands down.
I think however that this Ft Hood situation is 50/50. You have a perp who was trying to make contact with Al-Qaeda. But you also have a perp who was taunted and felt that he was a victim, being called names, on the crappy end of the racism stick, etc, etc.. I think if you took away the taunting, etc.. this may not have happened.
Picture the perp, day after day, year after year, getting 'picked on', even though he's rising up through the ranks. (FYI: I AM NOT EMPATHIZING OR FEELING SORRY OR BAD FOR HIM - I AM JUST GIVING AN EXAMPLE). He hears people calling him a terrorist etc. So, his anger grows. He seeks friends and allies. This slippery road leads him to hatred of those angering him and into the hands of people who hold the same hatred he does, that he can relate to - AQ
I agree with ATFSAC that there is nothing new in what AQ is doing and inspiring. It has all happened before. Admittedly, AQ is very good at it. What has changed is the level of public awareness of terrorism and its various incarnations. It only seems new because we are poor students of history.
I also agree with papamike that the taunting played a pivotal role in moving Hasan to violence. However, that also is nothing new or extraordinary. It also doesn't make it any less an act of terrorism.
I realize the lone wolf scenario is not NEW...the mentally disturbed attacker that snaps or the "temporarily insane type of incidents...the question that Mr. Hoffman brings up and what I wonder as well, is AQ purposely inciting these lone wolf attacks around the world? Just about a month or so ago in Milan, Italy, an Arab immigrant devoted Muslim with an otherwise uneventful life suddenly showed up at the main gate of a Carabinieri/Military barracks an attempted to blow himself up...the device failed to completely explode but he lost a hand and eye or something...Milan and Ft. Hood profiles are similar in the fact that these individuals did not belong to AQ or the likes, but showed red flags here and there, suddenly they attempt or execute major attacks...do you guys remember in July '02 LAX shooter at the El-Al ticket counter? similar profile Muslim individual with no direct AQ links (if I remember correctly)...well, the point is that this maybe THE strategy utilized by AQ and the likes....or could it be that these lone attackers the new face of a sleeper?
While the risk posed by the potential for AQ to recruit and place small or single units for later acts is a reality, I am sure this recent event has anything to do with a sleeper cell/true lone wolf scenario.
My honest, independent opinion is that he just went off the deep end. Lone shooter incidents have happened for decades with the pre-incident stimulators as varied as the actors. Acts of “spontaneous” rampages have been well documented and studied to a good depth; while there is some commonality among them (angry, frustrated) other factors are quite varied.
As already pointed out and likely to be demonstrated until the end of time; any motivated person or group can execute an attack bearing a wide range of impact. While the motivators for doing such are, as noted, just as varied as the group/person(s) in question; the end result is the same (to extract their pound of flesh) be it by bomb, gun or fire.
Depart not from the path fate has you assigned- a fortune cookie.
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While the risk posed by the potential for AQ to recruit and place small or single units for later acts is a reality, I am sure this recent event has anything to do with a sleeper cell/true lone wolf scenario.
My honest, independent opinion is that he just went off the deep end. Lone shooter incidents have happened for decades with the pre-incident stimulators as varied as the actors. Acts of “spontaneous” rampages have been well documented and studied to a good depth; while there is some commonality among them (angry, frustrated) other factors are quite varied.
As already pointed out and likely to be demonstrated until the end of time; any motivated person or group can execute an attack bearing a wide range of impact. While the motivators for doing such are, as noted, just as varied as the group/person(s) in question; the end result is the same (to extract their pound of flesh) be it by bomb, gun or fire.
you are missing the point...the question is whether these recent attacks are terrorist attacks...lone attacker Virginia Tech/Columbine is one thing. The Oklahoma bombing or Unabomber, etc were terrorist attacks. The lone wolf attacker in the name of their interpretation of Islam and Sha'ria law is this a terrorist attack as per CT/LE and/or prosecutorial definition?...this is the question, at least in my mind...
Not knowing exactly what motivated the Fort Hood shooter leaves this to be debated; even after we “learn” from him (or his Defense team) what the impetus was, we may never nail it down, though if the driving force behind his actions was an interpretation of Islam and intent to cause harm, then we may have pinned this as a terrorist act.
What I see is people associating his conversion and criminal acts as a cut and dry label, thus making this a terrorist incident; when it may have just been a deranged person who happened to follow a particular religion, and in his case; may have associated with radical Mosques.
Thus, being far removed from the specifics of the case in question, I proffer my opinion that he was just that: a deranged person who engaged in a horrific act. With what I have before me, I can not quantify this as a Sleeper Cell action, though I have been wrong in the past and may be shown to be so in this case.
On the side, the prosecution may pull the terrorism card and given his possible affiliations, they may make the case. In the end, he will pay for his acts regardless of how it is finally qualified.
Depart not from the path fate has you assigned- a fortune cookie.
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Originally Posted by g6445v
ret.
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