Learning the Wrong Lessons From the Fort Hood Massacre

During his residency at Walter Reed, Nidal Hasan was asked to prepare a scholarly presentation on psychiatric issues. Instead, he produced a completely off-topic lecture that failed to include a single medical or psychiatric term. In it, he wrote that the Qur'an teaches that unbelievers should have their heads cut off and be set on fire. His superiors asked him to make changes, but the final version of Hasan's PowerPoint presentation, which he gave in June 2007, still focused almost entirely on Islam and the Qur'an. Hasan stated that having Muslim-Americans in the military poses the risk of fratricidal murder of other soldiers, and added the comment, "We love death more then (sic) you love life!" Nevertheless, Hasan was selected for an elite two-year fellowship at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences. Two months later he gave another off-topic presentation, arguing that since America was at war with Islam, suicide bombings and other violent responses were justified. Hasan's classmates protested his remarks so vigorously that the instructor had to stop the lecture. Later, Hasan told classmates that his allegiance to the Quran took precedence over his military oath to defend the Constitution. During his USUHS fellowship, Hasan performed poorly and was placed on probation for repeatedly proselytizing about Islam to patients and colleagues. However, his supervisors gave him outstanding officer evaluations that ignored his obsession with violent Islamic extremism. Instead, they praised his "unique skills" and his "extraordinary potential to inform national policy and military strategy." Colleagues interviewed after the shootings said they feared being labeled "racist" or "Islamophobic" if they spoke out against Hasan. There were many other red flags: Hasan gave $20,000 -- $30,000 a year to radical Islamic "charities" overseas. Hasan argued online that Muslim suicide bombers are morally equivalent to soldiers who heroically fall on a grenade to save their comrades. He also repeatedly expressed support for suicide bombers when talking with colleagues. Hasan spoke favorably of the murder of two US soldiers at a recruitment center in Little Rock, saying "This is what Muslims should do, stand up to the aggressors." Hasan's business cards displayed an acronym widely used on jihadist websites that translates as "Soldier of Allah." Hasan had attended the Dar al-Hijrah mosque in Falls Church, Virginia in 2001 (as did two of the September 11 terrorists) while the imam there was Anwar al-Awlaki, a leading al-Qaeda commander and recruiter later killed by U.S. forces. Hasan frequently told colleagues of his "deep respect" for al-Awlaki's teachings. Unusually for a psychiatrist, Hasan took extra classes in weapons training. In May 2009, the Army promoted Nidal Hasan to the rank of Major. "No terrorist connection" More here.