Posted on 08/07/2013 7:05:33 PM PDT by xzins
The trial for the suspected Fort Hood shooter Maj. Nidal Hasan is underway. Since he is representing himself, he could end up cross examining the victims of his own attack.
Witnesses say Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, opened fire at Fort Hood nearly four years ago, killing 13 people and wounding more than 30 others.
Hasan isn't denying the allegations. In a brief opening statement Monday, he said "the evidence will clearly show that I am the shooter."
Hasan called himself a "mujahideen" -- a Muslim holy warrior.
"He further stated he realized during the war that he eventually found himself on the wrong side and switched sides, considering himself a mujahideen," Tom Rheinlander, director of Public Affairs at Fort Hood, said.
Hasan told the jury, "We mujahideens are imperfect Muslims trying to establish a perfect religion. I apologize for any mistakes that I made in this endeavor."
Meanwhile, as Hasan proudly admits to carrying out the attack, survivors of the massacre remain furious.
"This is just cold-blooded massacre and if you believe in capital punishment and you don't vote for the death penalty in this case, then I don't know in what case would you vote for it?" said Geoffrey Corn, a former military lawyer who is now a professor at South Texas College of Law.
A group of 148 victims and their families are suing the U.S. government for essentially allowing the attack to happen.
"Because of where he came from and how he prayed to his god, they promoted him and set him loose and ignored his very open, very obvious jihadism," their lawyer, Reed Rubinstein, told British newspaper the Sunday Telegraph.
Two years before the attack Hasan told a crowd of medical college students that the United States was waging war on Islam.
In another incident, the FBI spotted email exchanges between Hasan and top al Qaeda terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki. Still, Hasan was left untroubled by military authorities.
The victims say it's time for the military to meet its responsibilities to those harmed by its negligence.
If found guilty, Hasan would face the death penalty. The military has not executed an active duty U.S. serviceman since 1961.
"Because of where he came from and how he prayed to his god, they promoted him and set him loose and ignored his very open, very obvious jihadism," their lawyer, Reed Rubinstein, told British newspaper the Sunday Telegraph
Wow! I’m delighted! This is great news.
Good!
We have got to become less of a “PC” nation. It’s killing us.
I hope these people clean up.
“Painful Conclusion”: Senators Say FBI & DOD Could Have Prevented Ft. Hood Shooting
A new Senate report on the 2009 Fort Hood shooting blames the FBI and Department of Defense for failing to recognize or act on alleged shooter Army Major Nidal Malik Hasans extremist views.
The report, released today by Senate Homeland Security Committee chairman Joe Lieberman and ranking Republican Susan Collins, says the FBI and DOD could have prevented the shooting if they had identified Hasans radical Islamist views and disciplined or discharged him before the attack occurred.
Our reports painful conclusion is that the Fort Hood massacre could have and should have been prevented, Lieberman said at a press conference today.
The fact is that both the FBI and the Army were aware of Major Hasan, Collins said. This is not a case where a lone wolf was unknown to the FBI, unknown to the military officials, until he struck and that is the tragedy of this case.
“The trial for the suspected Fort Hood shooter Maj. Nidal Hasan is underway”
Maybe someone can set me straight? Was George Zimmerman EVER described as a SUSPECT?
Yeah. The narrative went like this: "Evil, racist, white hispanic, George Zimmerman is suspected of beyond reasonable doubt killing in cold blood a young teenager on his way home from buying candy."
The Ft Hood narrative: Major Hasan, a U.S. military officer suspected of having second hand PTSD is suspected of killing enemy soldiers, despite all of the witnesses...story on page D37
For the most part, but Zimmerman was called a murderer even after being acquitted.
In this case they really should call Hasan the “admitted shooter”. “Alleged” and “suspected” are appropriate terms to use for legal safety when the facts are disputed. Here they are not disputed.
Someone should replace the words “Muslim” with “white supremacist” and see the reaction of people. This guy would have been hanged 3 years ago.
Not to mention the Clinton administration’s (1993) role in disarming soldiers while on base. Sue ‘em for that also!
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/nov/11/end-clinton-era-military-base-gun-ban/
If there was justice in USA they would win this one!
I wish them success, but too bad it comes out of the taxpayer’s pocket. I wish the people that were truly responsible for ignoring this monster could feel the pain monetarily and criminally.
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