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| Fort Hood suspect shouted religious slogan before firing | ||||
| 2009-11-06 | ||||
| FORT HOOD -- An Army psychiatrist about to be deployed to a combat zone overseas shouted a religious slogan in Arabic before fatally shooting 13 people -- including 12 soldiers -- and injuring 28 others at this sprawling Central Texas military post on Thursday. Lt. Gen. Robert Cone, the base commander at Fort Hood, said on NBC's Today Show that witnesses heard Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan shout "Allahu Akbar!" before opening fire. The phrase means "God is great!" in Arabic. Anyone surprised? Didn't think so. The death toll rose by one overnight when one of the wounded died. Today, Col. John Rossi said all the wounded were in stable condition, including the suspect and the policewoman who shot him. Identities of the dead and wounded were not released this morning as notification of family members continued, Rossi said. Hasan is accused of attacking his fellow soldiers about 1:30 p.m. at the Soldier Readiness Processing Center, where troops waited to see doctors as they prepared to deploy to Iraq and Afghanistan -- or return from combat. Armed with two pistols, he shot more than 40 people before military police and civilian police officers responded, officials said. He was wounded by a civilian policewoman, who was injured in the exchange, police said. The assault lasted about 10 minutes, Rossi said. Hasan's motives were unclear, and early on Thursday, he showed no signs of worry or stress when he stopped at 7-Eleven for his daily breakfast of hash browns, said Jeannie Strickland, the store's manager. "He came in (Thursday) morning just like normal," she said. However, surveillance video showed he was wearing religious attire rather than typical civilian or medical clothing. Strickland said that was unusual and she asked him about it, but he replied that he did that sometimes.
Calling it a "terrible tragedy," Cone, the post commander, said officials "believe the evidence indicates it was a single shooter." Cone did not speculate on a motive, but the Army released a statement saying the shootings didn't appear to be an act of political terrorism. I think I'll leave out what I think about THAT statement....
Federal law enforcement officials told the Associated Press that Hasan had come to their attention at least six months ago because of Internet postings that discussed suicide bombings and other threats. One of the Web posts that authorities reviewed is a blog that equates suicide bombers with a soldier throwing himself on a grenade to save the lives of his comrades. "To say that this soldier committed suicide is inappropriate. Its more appropriate to say he is a brave hero that sacrificed his life for a more noble cause," said the Internet posting. "Scholars have paralled (sic) this to suicide bombers whose intention, by sacrificing their lives, is to help save Muslims by killing enemy soldiers." The officials say Hasan appeared to have made the postings, but they are still trying to confirm that he was the author. They say an official investigation was not opened. Somebody needs to lose their job over that decision
More local reaction during shooting at the link
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| Posted by: |
| #18 Everyone seems to miss the accomplice in this act. MSM which for over 8 years have played up very mole hill into a mountain when it comes to Americans and the Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan. Every slight or imagined slight [flushing a Koran] blown out of proportion has fed the ideas that drive this sort of behavior. Buried as deep as possible by the MSM are the acts of courage and valor of our men and women in liberating millions of Muslims from the likes of Saddam and the Taliban. Of bringing the basics of existence to places that had till now lived in 8th century squalor. The overwhelming fact that its Muslims killing other Muslims in the theater is not conveyed and its done intentionally. MSM's eight years of hate have fertilized the crop sown this week. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2009-11-06 20:44 |
| #17 PDF POSTERS > opine that the USA GOT WHAT IT DESERVED FOR UNILATER DECLARING OR WAGING WAR IN AFGHANISTAN, PAKISTAN WHERE IT WASN'T WANTED, + only logical = matter of time before Islamist violence would reach Amer shores??? versus SAME > Although the GWOT is a WORLD WAR AGZ TERRORISM, USA MUST REALIZE THAT IT IS NOT EVERY NATIONS' = NOT A WORLD WAR AGZ MUSLIMS??? |
| Posted by: Josephmendiola 2009-11-06 20:28 |
| #16 I hope this guy gets life and that he has to wait as long as possible for his raisins. In no way should he be made a martyr for his sham religion. Why aren't there any Muslims in Star Trek? |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2009-11-06 18:58 |
| #15 This guy was muslim all the way. He bought the whole friggin deal. He said he didn't want to be deployed because he didn't want to have to shoot muslims. He sure didn't have any reluctance to shoot our guys. He wasn't a soldier. he should never have been in our military. He was a friggin scumbag as are his like kind. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2009-11-06 18:40 |
| #14 Right the MAJOR didn't EARN his rank, it was GIVEN to him, that single fact means he's only ARMY on the surface, a very thin veneer as it turns out. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2009-11-06 17:20 |
| #13 Sgt. Hasan Akbar was sentenced to death, so it's likely Maj. Hasan will get the same. Unfortunately, Sgt. Akbar is still breathing air and costing taxpayers money. The last military execution was in 1961. |
| Posted by: ed 2009-11-06 15:08 |
| #12 I hope the US Army hang this Jihad scummer. |
| Posted by: Dave UK 2009-11-06 14:46 |
| #11 he suddenly revealed his Palenstinian roots and went all Muslim-offended by harrassment and insults His family is saying that. Nobody else is, AFAIK. In fact, some guy who worked with him personally said none of the soldiers had ever insulted him. I'm sure he'd have heard the scuttlebutt if somebody had. |
| Posted by: gorb 2009-11-06 13:03 |
| #10 Islam and the US Constitution are incompatible. So is Islam and military service, except in a few exceptional cases. The fraggings, shootings, and other hostile acts by muslims in the US military only tend to highlight these facts. The US Constitution guarantees religious freedom: Islam doesn't allow other religions. The US oath of enlistment/commissioning requires that the person "swear or affirm" the protection of the Constitution, and to obey the lawful orders of those appointed over them. Islam requires that the person commit themselves totally to Islam, first, last, and always. The entire "taqqiyah" thing makes a mockery of any oath a muslim may swear. Our Constitution and the body of laws created to implement it states that all people must be treated as equals under the law, yet Islam says that only Muslims are "pure", and all others are "infidels" and must be killed. With this in mind, it would be very hard for me to accept, without significant reservations, ANY muslim in the Armed Forces. I know there ARE exceptions, and each one of them is a valued part of the overall military team. Still, there should be no blanket acceptance of muslims in any role. Let the good ones prove their goodness through both their words and their deeds. In so doing they will help isolate those that are like Maj Hasan, and will possibly help prevent another such atrocity. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2009-11-06 12:48 |
| #9 I heard this POS's cousin talking about the harasment this a$$hole put up with. Looked up SGT. Hasan Akbar - of the fragging incident in Kuwait, pre-Iraq invasion. His mom said basically the same thing. This is just page one of the jihadi playbook - claim victim status. I'm hoping for sepsis. |
| Posted by: Rob06 2009-11-06 12:27 |
| #8 This POS enlisted in the Army after High School specifically to get the benefits, got college and medical school paid for, and used the Army for a comfortable, sweet ride. He didn't join to serve, he joined to get, and when after six years at Walter Reed doing a poor job, he got transferred to Ft Hood and faced the deployment (to a cushy job at a medical facility in country I might add) he suddenly revealed his Palenstinian roots and went all Muslim-offended by harrassment and insults, and sued to get out of the Army and pay back all the student debt from private practice. When that tactic didn't work and the time to actually serve came due, he went all Jihadi.... This POS was never IN the Army, he just USED the Army. Now we get to be treated to a month of trial and testimony about his terrible life being a victim of all the anti-Muslim racists in America. The only good news is that at the end of the day the Army really will hang him at Ft. Leavenworth! |
| Posted by: NoMoreBS 2009-11-06 12:12 |
| #7 The phrase means "God is great!" in Arabic That is well understood by now. Everyone is surprised by how far Hasan got before he was shot down. Until they hear that practically nobody had a gun, except for security. And Hasan, whose posession of same was a criminal act. Nobody is acting surprised that there have been no random shootings and gun related crime, despite the fact that they assumed everyone there carried a gun. Speaks volumes. |
| Posted by: gorb 2009-11-06 11:35 |
| #6 I guarantee if the shooter had been a tea-party member, NRA member, or pro-lifer their affiliation would have been the first thing mentioned by the media. It angers me how they are trying so hard to downplay and hide his affiliation. |
| Posted by: Yosemite Sam 2009-11-06 11:33 |
| #5 What, "I'm a little teapot!"? Not when the trigger was pulled, but when he became resolved to commit this act, they cease to be fellow soldiers. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2009-11-06 11:04 |
| #4 The only surprising thing in the story is the 7-11 store manager is white (or black). As a veteran, I have to say that if I ever heard another officer say in my presence they were glad some soldiers were killed, the discussion would get very serious, very quickly. And it would not end with a shoulder shrug and an "Oh Well!". |
| Posted by: Penguin 2009-11-06 09:48 |
| #3 Since the base was virtually unarmed the anti-gun narrative doesn't really play. The media will be reluctant to play up the Islamic angle. I suspect we'll here a lot about the policeWOMAN who shot him and stopped the rampage as the media tries to frame the story in an politically acceptable way. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2009-11-06 09:32 |
| #2 didn't appear to be an act of political terrorism. But he/she didn't say it wasn't an act of religious terrorism. |
| Posted by: AlmostAnonymous5839 2009-11-06 09:22 |
| #1 Hasan is accused of attacking his fellow soldiers It's a travesty to call this POS a 'soldier'. He may have been the Army and he may have been an officer, but a 'soldier' he is not. He's nothing but a coward, the same as his jihadist brothers who maim and murder in the name of their evil religion. |
| Posted by: Woozle Uneter9007 2009-11-06 09:20 |