Article: Fort Hood Tragedy Sparks Islamophobic Response

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The FBI and Pentagon investigated alleged contacts he had with a "Yemen-based militant" over the past year after intelligence agencies reported emails he exchanged with imam Anwar al-Awlaki, known for his anti-American teachings. Al-Awlaki was once spiritual leader at the suburban Virginia mosque where Hasan worshipped. The communications suggested nothing out of the ordinary. Yet Charles Allen, former Bush administration Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis, described Al-Awlaki (with no proof) as an "al-Qaeda supporter..who targets US Muslims with radical online lectures encouraging terrorist attacks from his new home in Yemen.

Members of two Joint Terrorism Task Forces contacted Hasan's superiors, reviewed his military records and computer for suspicious activity and found nothing. Yet Senator Joe Lieberman told Fox News (Sunday, November 8) that "strong warning signs" showed he was an "Islamic extremist," and two officials said on ABC News that intelligence authorities knew he tried to contact suspected al Qaeda members. On November 11, Senator John McCain called the tragedy an "act of terror."

Congressman Pete Hoekstra (R. MI ranking House Intelligence Committee member) plans an investigation on "homegrown Jihadism." He sent a preservation order to the FBI, CIA, NSA, and DNI chiefs directing them to save relevant documents for his committee's review.

A November 7 UK Telegraph report linked Hasan to three 9/11 "hijackers" because Al-Awlaki was their "spiritual advisor." The FBI will now check if he met them. Telegraph writers Philip Sherwell and Alex Spillius said "the army missed an increasing number of red flags that Hasan was a troubled and brooding individual within its ranks." It quoted an unnamed source warning military officials that he was a "ticking time bomb" after he allegedly defended suicide bombers, expressed anti-Jewish sentiments, and claimed the "war on terror" is a war against Islam. So do many others.

ABC News said Hasan "wanted out of the Army after being constantly harassed by others in the military and was called a 'camel jockey,' his family said. As (he) was about to be deployed to (Afghanistan), he was suffering from some of the same stresses that he was trained as an Army psychiatrist to treat." As a result, he hired a lawyer to help him get out of the Army.

A London Guardian article cited base commander, Lt. Gen. Robert Cone, saying Hasan shouted "Allahu Akbar" (God is great) before shooting. One of his colleagues, Col. Steven Braverman, said he did his job well. There were no signs of trouble. "We had no problems with his job performance while he was working with us." But he was "mortified by the idea of" deploying to Afghanistan, according to his cousin Nader. "He had people telling him on a daily basis (about) the horrors they saw over there."