Obamas Fort Hood backlash warning

Major Nidal Malik Hasan counselled returning war veterans and heard their stories from the front lines. As the time came for him to be sent overseas, the devout Muslim took two handguns on to his base and killed 13 people. Nicholas Kimbrell reports on an

Sgt Fanuaee Vea, left, embraces Pvt Savannah Green outside Fort Hood after the shooting.

The US president Barack Obama warned last night against jumping to conclusions after it was reported that an army psychiatrist who shot dead 13 people and wounded another 30 at the world’s largest army base in Texas had shouted “Allahu Akbar” before his attack. Mr Obama said he was talking to the FBI about an investigation into the attack, in which Major Nidal Malik Hasan opened fire on soldiers at the sprawling base on Thursday night. He was shot four times in the chest by a civilian police officer and remains in custody in hospital.

Friends and family said he was worried about being deployed to Afghanistan or Iraq where he would have to kill fellow Muslims and that the horrors of war he heard about from his patients had possibly sent him over the edge.

On the morning of the attack, he walked into a local convenience store dressed in traditional Muslim attire, bought a coffee and a breakfast snack and chatted with the store’s owner. Hours later, he strode into the base and opened fire with two hand guns. NEW YORK A devout Muslim and committed soldier who loved his country, if not its foreign policy. That is the picture beginning to emerge of the army psychiatrist who opened fire on his fellow soldiers at a sprawling army base in Texas on Thursday, killing 13 people and injuring more than two dozen. According to family and friends, Nidal Malik Hasan was afraid of being deployed to Afghanistan or Iraq, where he might have to kill fellow Muslims. But it is not clear if this is what made him snap. Unconfirmed reports have said he shouted “Allahu Akbar” before he started shooting. And American TV stations have aired closed-circuit video footage showing him drinking coffee at a convenience store, on the morning of the attack, dressed in traditional Muslim attire. At a press conference yesterday, authorities said the attack started at about 1.30pm and the firing lasted about 10 minutes. Twelve soldiers and one civilian were killed and 28 were injured. Major Hasan is said to have used two non-military-issue handguns, one .357 and one semi-automatic, before being shot four times by first responders. He is being guarded at a civilian hospital nearby, where he has not yet spoken about his motives for the attack. Major Hasan, a balding 39-yearold with a round face, was born and raised in Virginia to parents of Palestinian origin. He attended Virginia Tech in Blacksburg where he majored in biochemistry, then joined the army as a member of the Reserved Officers’ Training Corps. He trained for his medical degree at the military’s Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland, which he received in 2001. From 2003 to July 2009, when he was transferred to Fort Hood, Major Hasan worked as an intern and resident at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington. Last year he became a fellow in disaster and preventive psychiatry. In May, he was promoted to the rank of major. As an army psychiatrist, Major Hasan had counselled soldiers returning from the front lines in Iraq and Afghanistan, first at Walter Reed and then at Fort Hood. According to his cousin, Nader Hasan, a Virginia-based lawyer, Major Hasan was frightened of the prospect of deployment given the first-hand experience he had with soldiers battling post-traumatic stress disorder. “He was mortified by the idea of having to deploy,” Nader Hasan told The New York Times. “He had people telling him on a daily basis the horrors he saw over there.” Kay Bailey Hutchison, the Texas senator, said the major was to be deployed overseas in coming months although she did not specify where. “He had spoken in the past about being upset about going to the war,” she said. “He was about to deploy. He was upset.” Nader Hasan described his relative as respectful, hardworking and devoted to his family and career, according to The New York Times. Nader Hasan said his cousin had become more devout following the deaths of his parents, who allegedly disapproved of his decision to join the army, in 1998 and 2001. His parents, both said to be American citizens, owned a restaurant in Roanoke, a town in south-west Virginia. While working at Fort Hood, Major Hasan lived in the Maryland suburbs of Washington and regularly attended the Muslim Community Center (MCC) in Silver Spring. No one answered calls to the centre yesterday morning, but a recorded message alerted worshippers to Friday prayer sessions.

According to Faizul Khan, a former imam at the MCC, Major Hasan was an observant Muslim who often attended prayers in his army fatigues.

“ I got the impression he was a committed soldier,” Mr Khan told the Associated Press. He added that Major Hasan had listed his birthplace as Arlington, Virginia, on an MCC form for Muslim singles, but his nationality as Palestinian.

Major Hasan had two brothers, his cousin Nader said, one in Virginia and one in Jerusalem.

A former neighbour at an apartment complex where Major Hasan once lived with a man presumed to be his brother told CNN the two men had a sticker with an Islamic inscription on their door, and they seemed “calm” and “easy-going”.

But Dr Thomas Grieger, the training director at Walter Reed while Major Hasan was there, said the officer had certain “difficulties” at the army hospital, primarily involving his interactions with patients

Dr Grieger described Major Hasan as quiet and said he had never disparaged his country or the military. “He swore an oath of loyalty to the military,” he said. “I didn’t hear anything contrary to those oaths.” Members of Major Hasan’s family have painted a more troubling picture of his time at Walter Reed. His aunt, Noel Hasan, said he had endured regular anti-Muslim harassment after the September 11 attacks and he wanted to leave the military.

“Some people can take it and some people cannot,” she told The Washington Post. “ He had listened to all of that and he wanted out of the military.” But Major Hasan could not leave the army, which had paid for his education, without fulfilling his obligatory years of service. He allegedly hired a lawyer to help him find a way out of the military but could not. Some reports suggested Major Hasan received a poor review at Walter Reed and underwent additional training and counselling. Major Hasan may have also been responsible for militant postings on blogs. Law enforcement officials told the press that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had come across a man blogging as Nidal Hasan would compared the bravery of a soldier who smothers a grenade in order to save his comrades to a suicide bomber. It remains unclear whether the blogger was Major Hasan.

A former colleague of the major’s, retired colonel Terry Lee, said he had expressed radical views and the hope that Barack Obama, the US president, would withdraw troops from both Iraq and Afghanistan. “He was making outlandish comments condemning foreign policy and claimed Muslims had the right to attack Americans,” Col Lee told Fox News.

Investigators are reportedly pursuing the possibility of both criminal and terrorist investigations. Major Hasan appears to have acted alone at Fort Hood, the world’s largest military base, but investigators are looking into whether he had been in contact with anyone who may have encouraged the attack.

Major Hasan’s actions were condemned across the board, particularly by American Muslim groups.

In a statement, the Washingtonbased Council on American-Islamic Relations said: “We condemn this cowardly attack No religious or political ideology could ever justify or excuse such wanton and indiscriminate violence. The attack was particularly heinous in that it targeted the all-volunteer army that protects our nation. American Muslims stand with our fellow citizens in offering both prayers for the victims and sincere condolences to the families of those killed or injured.”

Yesterday, as the names of the dead and wounded began to be released, the men and women on base were coming to terms with the violence. Many soldiers at the scene had attended to their wounded comrades by tearing their uniforms to stop the bleeding of gunshot wounds.

“I was confused and just shocked,” said Jerry Richard, 27, a worker at the base who was not on duty on the day of the shooting. “Overseas you are ready for it. But here you can’t even defend yourself.”

US military bases boosted security and planned a worldwide moment of silence yesterday. President Obama said American flags would fly at half-staff until Veterans Day on November 11.