Did Political Correctness Keep Authorities From Preventing Ft. Hood Massacre?
- Posted on February 3, 2011 at 10:05pm by
Meredith Jessup
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WASHINGTON (AP) — A Senate report on the Fort Hood shooting is sharply critical of the FBI’s failure to recognize warning signs that an Army psychiatrist had become an Islamist extremist and amounted to a “ticking time bomb.”
The report concluded that both the Defense Department and the FBI had sufficient information to detect that Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan had been radicalized to violent extremism, but they failed to understand and act on it. It said the FBI’s top leaders must exercise more control over local field offices and put to better use the intelligence analysts who should have been able to connect the dots.
Hasan is charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder in the November 2009 shooting rampage on the Texas military post.
“Our report’s painful conclusion is that the Fort Hood massacre could have, and should have, been prevented,” said Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, I-Conn., calling it a heartbreaking tragedy of errors.
Many of the report’s criticisms have been aired over the past year in other investigations of shooting. The Senate report stresses that the FBI’s move to become more intelligence-driven has been hampered by internal conflicts that must be addressed.
And it says the bureau’s failure to use its analysts well contributed to it overlooking the significance of communications with known terrorists transmitted by Hasan.
A joint terrorism task force overseen by the FBI learned late in 2009 of Hasan’s repeated contact with U.S.-born radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who encouraged Muslims to kill U.S. troops in Iraq. The FBI has said the task force did not refer early information about Hasan to superiors because it concluded he wasn’t linked to terrorism.
The Senate report was released Thursday by Lieberman, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and its ranking Republican, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine. It is being delivered to the president and the heads of the FBI, Defense Department and Department of Homeland Security.
It charges that evidence of Hasan’s radicalization was “on full display” to his superiors, and that an instructor and colleague “each referred to Hasan as a ‘ticking time bomb,’” but no action was taken to discharge him and his evaluations were sanitized.
“This is not a case where a lone wolf was unknown to the FBI, unknown to the military officials, until he struck,” said Collins.
More broadly, the report said that the Pentagon has failed to make necessary changes to identify violent Islamic extremism as a danger so that commanders will more readily watch for it and discharge service members who express those views.
Military supervisors, the report said, had the authority to discipline or discharge Hasan. But it concluded that the Defense Department did not inform or train commanders about how to recognize someone radicalized to Islamic extremism or how to distinguish that from the peaceful practice of Islam.
The enemy — Islamist extremists — must be labeled correctly and explicitly, the report said, in order for the military to counter the extremism.
Asked for comment on the Senate report’s criticism, an Army spokesman said the Army will continue to make adjustments.
“We will closely examine the report’s findings and recommendations,” said Col. Tom Collins. “The Army has already implemented numerous concrete actions that have made our soldiers, families and civilian employees safer. There is still more work to do, but the Army is committed to doing all we can to learn from this tragic event.”
The FBI, in a written statement, said it agrees with much of the report and had already identified several of the same areas of concern during an internal review and made changes. The FBI also noted that the report acknowledged the bureau’s progress in disrupting terrorist plots by homegrown extremists.
There have been efforts to revise procedures to ensure the Pentagon is notified when a member of the military is being investigated, and officials have said they will increase training for task force members to better search bureau databases when conducting investigations.
The Senate report also recommends that the Defense Department ensure that personnel evaluations are accurate, particularly in regard to Islamist extremist behavior. And it says statements by Hasan expressing support for Osama bin Laden and charging that the U.S. was at war with Islam indicated his sympathy for extremistscould have been sufficient grounds to discipline or discharge him.
Hasan‘s psychiatry supervisors at Walter Reed Army Medical Center had expressed concerns in May 2007 about what they described as Hasan’s “pattern of poor judgment and lack of professionalism.”
The senators said they don’t believe anyone has been disciplined for the failures, but that officials may be waiting until after legal proceedings take place.
Hasan is in custody, and a mental health evaluation has just been completed. A brigade commander who received the report is expected to make a recommendation next month on whether Hasan should stand trial and face the death penalty. A commanding general will make the final decision.
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Comments (82)
Funny-Bones
Posted on February 4, 2011 at 7:33amIt is very sad that the senior military officers cow-tow to the PC types. 30 years ago, this clown would have been thrown out of the military on his ass. Now people like him are tolerated? C’mon america….wake up!
Report Post »JRAGWEED
Posted on February 4, 2011 at 7:15amThis murderer should NEVER have gone to Texas. He should have been detained at Walter Reid and removed from the service. His chain of command IS corrupted by political correctness from the very top.
Report Post »patriot 2008
Posted on February 4, 2011 at 7:04amWhat kind of ignorant question is that? Of course political correctness killed those innocent people. Pathetic media was happy when this occurred thinking some military personnel went crazy but when they found out it was an allh lovin freak acting in the name of his jihad carrying out another so called honor cleansing….they yawned and left the story alone. WOW
Report Post »RightPolitically
Posted on February 4, 2011 at 6:56amOf course Political Correctness within the military caused those deaths at Ft. Hood. And where is the accountability? Nowhere to be found! It is DISGUSTING…..
Report Post »JROCCOD
Posted on February 4, 2011 at 6:54amGeneral Casey, Army Chief of Staff should be relieved of command. After the massacre, he stated, publicly, that the DIVERSITY of the Army must not be undermined. 13 dead soldiers and the ACS is worried about DIVERSITY and TOLLERANCE. It obviously is Army policy to put DIVERSITY and TOLLERANCE above all other core values. Hell, when I was in the Army we didnt know what DIVERSITY and TOLLERANCE were. Everybody had to pull their own weight no matter what they looked like. Looks like we paid the price for hope and change.
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on February 4, 2011 at 6:48amUnfortunately, the armed services have as many bureaucrats as they do warriors these days. Look at Mullen.
Report Post »DeltaHawk
Posted on February 4, 2011 at 6:43amWTF? Anyone with half a brain knows Obama is on their side and using the office of president to sell us out to the “Muslim Brother hood” hell didn’t anybody hear him whe he was campaigning?? He plainly said he would side with Muslims clear back in 07! FOOLS!! nothing but Fools!
Report Post »SouthernAmerican
Posted on February 4, 2011 at 6:04am@ STACKABLE, thank you sir for your service. I have a favor to ask, please keep us informed about this and let us know if the Christian way will be/or is included in these “Tolerance of Religion” classes.
Report Post »BruH
Posted on February 4, 2011 at 5:58amDID POLITICAL CORRECTNESS KEEP AUTHORITIES FROM PREVENTING FT. HOOD MASSACRE?
Report Post »You think?
TrueGrit
Posted on February 4, 2011 at 6:30amThis is not the first time. It happened in Kuwait also.
Muslim Brother shot 2 officers in the HQ.
As a Combat Vet. and Military dad (USMA and USAFA) this makes my stomach turn.
It’s way beyond just the Military. It’s in schools, business, etc.
Check out Islamburg in NY State.
Wolverine
Report Post »PapaJohannesPatriot
Posted on February 4, 2011 at 4:06amI am so tired of people referring to that damned murderer as the “alleged shooter.” He is a Muslim extremist who should have been stopped a long time ago, but those blasted people who could have prevented the massacre were so concerned about being PC. They were derelict in their duties, and they share part of the responsibility for the massacre.
Report Post »Obama shares part of the blame.
StackAble
Posted on February 4, 2011 at 3:38am6 or so years ago they started mandatory yearly “Diversity Training” for us .mil types, then over the course of the years since, they have had at least one more social engineering- be kind to humans mandatory BS training course to the mix each year.. I just found out last week they are now adding yet another mandatory training indoctrination course, guess what it is? “Tolerance of Religions” so now I’m supposed to be tolerant of it, and like it, when the next Islamic whack job, starts whistling rounds at me or one of my bothers? I simply will Just Say NO! to this one, they can kick me out don’t care. I am very tolerant of any religion on this planet – even Satanists and witches -provided all its practitioners are tolerant of mine. Islam simply fails that acid test. They can kiss my @$$
Report Post »justice
Posted on February 4, 2011 at 3:35amI pray for the victims and the heros who put their lifes on the line that day. I am glad he lived. I hope it is a disgrace to have his diaper changed everyday, hope he lies in it. Lets see what kind of trial he will get.
Report Post »warrior21
Posted on February 4, 2011 at 3:17amDon’t have time to go into details, but all government policy is determined by how political correct it is. Oh, and speaking of the military, how about the general officer who hauled wine for Val Jarrett. I guess his didn’t want to upset her by telling her he was a soldier… not a waiter.
Report Post »Showtime
Posted on February 4, 2011 at 2:22am@FlyGuyNC
Thank you for your service to our country, Sir. Sincerely.
——
Guess it’s much more important to be politically correct than it is to “Support our Troops!” This just made me sick, and it still does. A sin and a disgrace!
The guy’s paralyzed, isn’t he? Serves him right. Praise God.
Report Post »UPSETVET
Posted on February 4, 2011 at 6:31amIt‘s a shame that Major Hasan wasn’t among the fatalities when the shooting stopped at Ft. Hood in November 2009. It’s very unlikely that the federal court will give and carry out a death sentence of a man who is now a cripple. He should be tried in a TEXAS court that isn’t afraid to give and carry out the death sentence of someone so deserving as Major Hasan. He’ll live for the next 20 years in a cell eating three meals a day, clean sheets, TV and other comforts that most Muslim extremist only dream about.
Report Post »Blackhawk1
Posted on February 4, 2011 at 9:33amIf the Military is smart they won’t let a Federal Court handle this. It happened on an Active Duty Military Post, and he was an Active Duty Officer. Let a Military Court handle it because premeditated murder in the Military carries the Death Penalty under UCMJ. “The death penalty was restored in the U.S. military in 1984, but it is only recently that death sentences for American soldiers related to the war in Iraq have been imposed. In March 2005, Sgt. Hasan Akbar was sentenced to death for the “fragging” death of two officers in Kuwait on the eve of the Iraq War in March 2003. National Guard Sgt. Alberto Martinez also faces a possible death sentence in another fragging case stemming from the death of two officers in Iraq in June 2005″.
Report Post »1776
Posted on February 4, 2011 at 1:22amThey had to do a report? How much did that cost? No common sense in DC. It ain’t rocket science.
Report Post »StackAble
Posted on February 4, 2011 at 3:52amI’m fairly certain that no one employed buy the Fed Gov inside the Beltway can even begin to define the term: “rocket science” without commissioning an exhaustive historical public records search and employing a think tank of highly paid contractors to write a 2700 page study titled some thing like: “Rocket Science, its development and mean in a post industrial society”…. That not one of them will read…. ;>}
Report Post »flyguync
Posted on February 4, 2011 at 1:18amWhat happened to the days of military folks looking out for each other? It used to be that it was your obligation to report unusual behavior to your commander and a person’s clearance and access to sensitive areas would be suspended immediately. I guess now that we have the PC police, our officers hands are tied to a certain extent.
Report Post »jdawg
Posted on February 4, 2011 at 1:13amPolitical correctness is destroying America. We had better wake up or we will not have a free country anymore.
http://www.examiner.com/conservative-in-spokane/political-correctness-is-destroying-america
Report Post »SilentReader
Posted on February 4, 2011 at 1:07amIf anyone should get the death penalty this guy should.
PC, as ordered by the Islamist’s PR entity CAIR in America who litigate people into being silent about everything to do with Islam, had alot to do with this guy getting away with his behavior.
They are silencing us while they are killing us. Let’s face it.
In Europe they have written laws to silence anyone who “criticizes Islam”. And it’s come here to America as well. Read this article:
http://gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/search?q=Silenced
So, there’s no surprise that people in the Armed Forces were afraid to speak up. PC prevented them from speaking!
As I said, PC is killing us.
Report Post »Dale
Posted on February 4, 2011 at 12:41am“The Senate report also recommends that the Defense Department ensure that personnel evaluations are accurate, particularly in regard to Islamist extremist behavior.”
Why not just make sure personnel evaluations are accurate – period. Keep the congress out of the military – DADT, etc. Stop the social engineering. Its hard enough when they have to support a weak, ineffectual, wrong-headed buffoon-in-chief. This sorry incident would not have happened were it not for the PC police. (saw earlier politically corrupt – love it).
Report Post »Melvin Spittle
Posted on February 4, 2011 at 10:15pmThe military is the testing ground for progressive social engineering. PC comes first, then the security of the nation.
Report Post »mzmaj7
Posted on February 4, 2011 at 12:29amDidn‘t we answer this headline’s question about a week after the shooting? Keep up, Senate.
Report Post »neverending
Posted on February 4, 2011 at 12:26amthat would be a YES!!!!
Report Post »Quad-rip-legic
Posted on February 4, 2011 at 12:24amWhat isn’t politically corrupt these days?
Report Post »82dAirborne
Posted on February 4, 2011 at 12:21amThe senators reps…et al are the ones who insisted on the PC BS in the first damn place! The military is a creature unto itself. It has to be. Trust me “normal people” would not do some of the things that have to be done. (were done, are done and will continue to be done in the future.)
Jeeeze this makes me mad.
Report Post »82dAirborne
Posted on February 4, 2011 at 12:17amYes. There is no doubt in my mind that political correctness had a huge impact on the outcome!
Report Post »CatB
Posted on February 4, 2011 at 12:52amYou can bet if it was ! I didn’t need a report to know that — all you have to do is listen to what he was writing and saying .. another religion would not have gotten away with that .. let alone PROMOTED!
Report Post »TruthLover
Posted on February 4, 2011 at 12:14amWoah. Wonder how much that settlement is going to cost taxpayers.
Report Post »cheezwhiz
Posted on February 4, 2011 at 12:22amIt wasn’t political correctness.
Report Post »NO ONE wanted to mess with a jihady . I mean messing with a jihady officer doesn’t get you anywhere in the services , right ?
And when there is no punishment for those who aid a jihady :-(
why disturb the “ diversity ” and stick out like a sore thumb to your political bosses?
cheezwhiz
Posted on February 4, 2011 at 12:24amHasan is charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder
Report Post »————
Wrong right there
It should be 14 counts, one victim was pregnant when she was murdered.
DirectlyUnPCman
Posted on February 4, 2011 at 1:26amWhy is the question even being asked? We know its true. We have lost the backbone to speak the truth and this is what happens. You can no longer ignore the obvious inorder to not hurt someones precious feelings. Make em cry dammit.
Report Post »cheezwhiz
Posted on February 4, 2011 at 1:50amWhy is the question even being asked?
Report Post »———–
As long as we keep discussing “political correctness”
we won’t discuss
“ criminally negligent homicides”
and
“ depraved indifference to human lives” .
bullcrapbuster
Posted on February 4, 2011 at 2:10amPolitical correctness,abortion,unconventional marriage are all a part of the progressive religious dogma..
Report Post »My Sacred Honor
Posted on February 4, 2011 at 2:28amAnd now I look back at the whole thing.
Report Post »bullcrapbuster
I was wrong and TOTALLY misinterpretted you post. You were saying the powers that be, the “liberal mindset” dropped the ball on this one. My apologies, sir, and good post.
BUT…to all you who want to blame this anywhere other than where blame lies, on the individual, BEWARE! I am watching!
AzDebi
Posted on February 4, 2011 at 2:47amFt Hood??? What’s that???? Oh yeah, there was something I read about that…maybe back a couple years ago…maybe around the end of the year, around Christmas time or something…? Seems to me that I did read an article or two about that but there wasn’t much on the LAME-STREAM MEDIA about it! Was/Is it important? God help us please!
Report Post »My Sacred Honor
Posted on February 4, 2011 at 2:49amAzDebi
Report Post »http://www.theblaze.com/stories/beck-responds-to-conspiracy-theory-accusations-with-three-sentences/
Go back there, had a question for you…
AzDebi
Posted on February 4, 2011 at 2:56am“The Senate report stresses that the FBI’s move to become more intelligence-driven has been hampered by internal conflicts that must be addressed.
And it says the bureau’s failure to use its analysts well contributed to it overlooking the significance of communications with known terrorists transmitted by Hasan.”
Report Post »__________
I don’t know…let’s see…SEVEN YEARS following the greatest tragedy ever perpetrated on American soil?!?! Oh yeah, their excuse on 9/12 was a failure to identify “the significance of communications”…AS REPORTED BY AN ARIZONA FBI agent who TRIED to WARN the WASHINGTON BUREAU prior to the attacks!!!!! I AM SO SICK OF THEIR CRAP (wanted to say something else…but I restrained myself)…..Oh Dear God…please send us some REAL LEADERS!
brliantedj
Posted on February 4, 2011 at 3:10amNot Political Correctness, that’s not even in question anymore. This is pure PUSHING AN AGENDA!
Report Post »GONESURFING
Posted on February 4, 2011 at 3:45amOf course this terrorist attack should have been prevented, this PC crap is going to be our downfall. And for Gods’ sake profile.
Report Post »Enuff Zenuff
Posted on February 4, 2011 at 3:46amI remember watching the news the night of the Ft. Hood massacre & learning the next day about how Nidal Malik Hasan had given all his stuff away just prior to the shootings… yet even then the MSM reporters refused to admit this might have been premeditated – asserting instead that the poor guy just snapped after hearing he was to be reassigned to another posting. In no way would they consider his acts to be that of a terrorist.
It was then that I concluded for the first time that in a sick, twisted, driven-mad-by-liberal-lying sort of way that I was actually grateful that the 9/11 terrorists had hijacked four airplanes because if they’d only hijacked one and flown it into one of the twin towers, the liberal media would still be swearing TO THIS DAY that it was merely an accident and that terrorism had nothing to do with it. If you played them the cockpit tapes, the liberals would still be telling us the hijackers were trying to take the plane safely back to the airport and only hit a tower by accident due to pilot inexperience. But I remember the effect it had on everyone as we watched the 2nd plane hit the twin towers and everyone knew in that moment that we were under a major attack by terrorists. Even the liberal hate-America-first crowd couldn’t lie that one away with their sick excuses.
Report Post »Enuff Zenuff
Posted on February 4, 2011 at 4:42am.
@My Sacred Honor
After reading your entertaining first post above, I thought to myself, ‘I wouldn’t fight that guy with TWO shotguns!”
Kudos for ‘manning-up’ with your 2nd post.
Report Post »UPSETVET
Posted on February 4, 2011 at 6:16amPost game quarter backing has never changed the winning score of a football game. What are our inteligence agencies doing NOW to counteract the Muslim radicals in our country, and probably in the ranks of our military ? Major Hasan certainly raised plenty of red flags but nothing was done due to political correctness and Hasan’s civil rights. I‘m sure the victim’s families of the Ft. Hood Shooting in November 2009 wish that the FBI and other inteligence agencies had done their job and not worried about hurting Hasan’s feelings or depriving him of his civil rights. There are other “Hasans” out there and they should be severely dealt with asap to prevent another tragedy.
Report Post »Stuck_in_CA
Posted on February 4, 2011 at 6:21amAh, the long awaited report. Thank you for stating the obvious.
Report Post »Our nation is being destroyed from within, largely because of PC’s “diversity,” which trumps any common sense. We are allowing immigration from countries who wish to end the Western way of life.
Jackers
Posted on February 4, 2011 at 7:08amYes, and political correctness will be the death of all of us if we don’t start speaking the truth loudly and clearly… No more apologies for “offending” any special interest groups. Common sense must rule… It’s time to be politically direct.
Report Post »Creestof
Posted on February 4, 2011 at 7:22amok, so what should they have done if they’d listened to their own reports? Jail him forever? Put him in a nut ward until he changed his views? Sent him to Gitmo for an indefinite period? Or…given him a honorable/dishonorable discharge and kicked him out into the world where he might have targeted hundreds or thousands…or even more, with his extreme ideas.
Report Post »ishka4me
Posted on February 4, 2011 at 8:40amYES, next question
Report Post »betterthantv
Posted on February 4, 2011 at 9:47amOf course it was Political Correctness. The Left and the PC police have blood on their hands once again! When will we stop this nonsense?
Report Post »independentvoteril
Posted on February 4, 2011 at 10:25amAs someone who grew up on MSM in the PC city of CHICAGO.. I have to say.. PC has gotten out of control.. this type of thing is NOT uncommon.. However.. you WON’T hear about it or anything else like it on any of the LOCAL stations..maybe a short 2 second comment ONCE at mid day.. to hear the rest of the story you HAVE to look it up on the internet.. or watch CABLE news..
Report Post »waarro
Posted on February 4, 2011 at 7:13pmIrt will cost much more and the longer we tolerate Politicall correctness the more it will cost
Report Post »VegasGuy
Posted on February 5, 2011 at 1:58am“Did Political Correctness Keep Authorities From Preventing Ft. Hood Massacre?”
You feel it is even necessary to ask?
Report Post »Curioso
Posted on February 6, 2011 at 1:45pmOnly One Word Needed Here.
Report Post »ABSOLUTELY