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Feds Point Fingers in Hasan Missteps

Fort Hood blame game begins

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Nov 11, 2009 5:43 AM CST

(Newser) – The FBI and the Pentagon are fighting off accusations that someone dropped the ball on Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan. Department of Defense officials say that the FBI never notified them that Hasan had been in contact with extremist imam Anwar al-Aulaqi, while the FBI's defenders say that his exchanges with the Yemen-based imam were innocuous, and that Hasan's odd behavior should have raised red flags for military officials.

President Obama has ordered all agencies involved in national security to review how Hasan's case was handled, and FBI Director Robert Mueller has called for a probe into bureau procedures. The possible missteps over Hasan are especially worrying in light of the post-911 procedures set up to improve information-sharing and prevent attacks, counterterrorism experts tell the Washington Post.

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Nidal Malik Hasan (AP Photo/Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences)

Flags and flowers mark the apartment complex where Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan lived outside of Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

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COMMENTS

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Showing 3 of 3 comments

RockyPneumonia

Nov 11, 2009 12:42 PM CST

Hindsight is wonderful.

riffran

Nov 11, 2009 12:11 PM CST

let the game of hot potatoe begin....I just hope we learn and from this and prevent further occurances from ever happening again

schmidtkoff

Nov 11, 2009 2:47 AM CST

obviously there was no information sharing. whether it be from the fbi, his less than adequate performance appraisal or from the doctors who listened to his power point persentation. "...counterterrorism experts and former government officials say that the events indicate limits in the capacity to detect an actual terrorism plot..." that doesn't evoke confidence in our govt's ability to prevent more of such terrorist acts.

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Crime & Courts • US

Pentagon • FBI • US military • counterterrorism • Department of Defense • imam • Fort Hood • Fort Hood shooting • Nidal Malik Hasan • Anwar al-Awlaki

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(NEWSER) - A former Army colonel will represent the accused Fort Hood shooter, whose ties to an anti-American imam linked to the 9/11 terrorists became clearer today. Nidal Malik Hasan's family hired John Galligan, who said he has requested investigators not interrogate his client. "Until I meet with him, it's best to say we're just going to protect all of his rights," said Galligan, who was headed to San Antonio, where Hasan is hospitalized in stable condition. More»

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(NEWSER) - The FBI wasn't concerned that Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan corresponded with a radical Muslim cleric—even as the cleric urged violent jihad on his website. Anti-terrorism investigators declined to look more closely at Hasan because his emails with Anwar al-Awlaki did not feature specific instructions to commit acts of violence. But as the two traded emails, Awlaki ratcheded up the intensity of his blog posts. More»

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Feds Point Fingers in Hasan Missteps