Army ignored signals that Hasan may be dangerous

By DALLAS MORNING NEWS

Last update: November 10, 2009 - 6:40 PM

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As we learn more about Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the accused Fort Hood killer, what we discover is deeply disturbing -- but not as disturbing as evidence piling up that military authorities knew for months, if not years, that he had displayed radical Islamic tendencies and did nothing about it.

The portrait now emerging is that of a troubled loner who turned increasingly to his Islamic faith for consolation. The form of Islam to which he turned, though, appears to have been a radical, highly politicized version.

This could not have been a secret to the U.S. military, based on Hasan's apparent openness with fellow soldiers. Some who worked alongside Hasan have said he shared his religious radicalism freely. Colleagues at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where Hasan, a psychiatrist, was posted until his transfer this summer to Texas' Fort Hood, reportedly say that he delivered a bizarre religious lecture proclaiming "infidels" would be tortured for their lack of faith. Other doctors say they felt afraid to complain for fear of looking as if they were picking on a Muslim colleague.

Worse, ABC News, citing unnamed intelligence sources, says the CIA knew months ago that Hasan was trying to contact Al-Qaida. If true, it's scandalous that a would-be freelance jihadist was allowed to remain on active military duty.

It's understandable, commendable even, that Gen. George Casey, the Army's chief of staff, worries about reprisals against Muslim troops. They should not be unfairly tarred with Hasan's foul deed. Yet the best way to prevent that is not through politically correct diversity lectures but rather by making sure no Muslim serving in the armed forces is an Islamist rooting for America's enemies.

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