Remember Fort Hood

            By Florida Bill

                    I know that the list seems to get longer every day, but to me, Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan ranks as one of the worst of all the crazed shooters who have opened fire on innocent bystanders in recent years. 
                  Currently, this "undercover terrorist" occupies a cell at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, awaiting execution for the premeditated murders of 13 fellow soldiers and the wounding of 32 others at Fort Hood, Tex. Unlike others in today's unholy alliance of  public shooters, or even the many suicide-bombing terrorists, Hasan made no attempt to kill himself at the scene, thus setting off a long and sometimes ridiculous odyssey through the military halls of justice.
                   He is on the doorstep of eternity, and I have my own opinion as to where this Islamic madman should go, and there will not be 70 virgins there waiting for him. There are times when I have questioned the necessity of capital punishment, but this is not one of them.  In fact, I don't see anything cruel or inhuman about capital punishment when it comes to Hasan.  Not an iota of doubt. I have heard tell of a death penalty critic who was absolutely intransigent in his opposition until he learned of the Hasan hate-filled slaughter on an army base.  With the facts in hand, he said, "go for it."
                 Carrying out the penalty, imposed in 2013, is mired in an appeals process, and it may be many years before it takes place and there is full closure for all involved.  Unfortunately, the case is barely moving-- even though Hasan has acknowledged that he was the shooter and the bloodshed was witnessed by scores. He expresses his desire to be a martyr and looks forward to seeing other jihadists in the afterlife.  He has also sent a letter to ISIS chief, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi letting him know that it will be his honor to join the Islamic caliphate, and a six-page letter to Pope Francis praising Islamist jihad with his acronym signature SoA (Soldier of Allah).
                     Major Hasan was born in in Virginia in 1970, the son of Palestinian parents who immigrated to the U.S from the West Bank.   A trained physician, disciplined as a psychiatrist, he was stationed at Fort Hood for counseling of soldiers and performing other responsibilities typical of a doctor.  He followed the religion of Islam as did his parents and siblings.
                       Hasan joined the army in 1988 after high school and was an enlisted man while attending college. He later earned a medical degree and completed his internship and residency in psychiatry at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He was promoted from captain to major in May, 2009, and assigned to Fort Hood the following July.
                       His praise of Allah and his support of the Islamic goal of a  world wide caliphate was recognized by others with whom he was serving. Colleagues said he expressed "anti-American" views.  His bizarre leanings were even brought to the attention of his superiors,and to the FBI, but investigators really fumbled the ball on this one.  He had regular email contact with Imam Anwar al-Awlaki, whose teachings he revered.  Anwar al-Awaki was an American citizen residing in Yemen, later killed in a drone attack, who dedicated his life and efforts in support of an-all Islamist planet. But the FBI apparently was satisfied that Hasan's communications and relationship with al-Awaki posed no threat--just the friendly scribblings of a couple guys who share a desire for death to all Americans. Hasan wrote papers which reflected his radical Muslim beliefs, but even his writings did not red-flag him as the jihadist he was.
                        Some time around early November, 2009, Hasan was told that he would be deploying to Iraq where his psychiatric expertise would be valuable in counseling Americans serving there. To Hasan, this meant that he would be associating and assisting in the killing of fellow Muslims.  That rang the bell for him, loud and clear, and he decided to act.
                        On Nov. 5 of that year, now more than five years ago, the major loaded his guns and joined the troops at an assembly. After the facility was filled, Hasan drew his gun screaming Allahu Akbar which means Allah is Great, and began firing.  His bullets were fatal for 13 young soldiers and caused wounds to 32 others.  He was finally stopped by gunfire from other soldiers in the hall.  The wounds to Hasan were not fatal, but required intense prolonged medical care and the wounds apparently have consigned him to a wheelchair, which necessitate indefinite physical and medical care.
                        As a major, his salary of about $7,000 per month was paid to him--several hundred thousand dollars--until he was tried and convicted in a court marshal in 2013 and sentenced to death. It is not clear what happened to his accumulated officer's pay, but it stands to reason that much of it ended up in the hands of fellow radicals.
                        The handling of Hasan's trial was disgraceful.  It was continued unnecessarily for months to consider demands by Hasan that he be permitted to wear his beard for religious reasons in the courtroom in contradiction to army regulations which require a defendant soldier, which Hasan was, to be clean shaven in a courtroom.  After many months, a judge directed that Hasan be forcefully shaved.
                         During the trial, the army and prosecution presented scores of soldiers who witnessed the carnage committed by major Hasan.   Toward the end of the hearings, Hasan represented himself and acknowledged that he was the shooter.  He was convicted by a jury panel of officers on 13 counts of premeditated murder.  The conviction and death sentence was a slam dunk although the wheels of justice turned at a snail's pace.
                      Maybe there are some who would like to thwart his plans to achieve that glorious Islamic state of martyrdom, and would prefer to just let him suffer  at Ft. Leavenworth. Of course, then the U.S. taxpayer, who has already footed the bill for this travesty, would continue to be punished as well.
                          This terrible crime which was truly a terrorist's act was classified by the Obama administration as "workplace violence."  By making this something other than the act of terrorism, wives and relatives of the victims have been denied government benefits paid to victims of terrorist acts. Along with the 13 dead and 32 wounded, the carnage left eight widows; one widower; and twelve minor children without a father.
                         Currently, there are some members of Congress seeking to fix this wrong, but their success is not yet known.


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