Friday, January 15, 2010

Newsmax:

Officers Could Face Rebuke in Ft. Hood Shooting
Friday, 15 Jan 2010 06:45 AM

As many as eight Army officers could face punishment for failing to do anything when the alleged shooter in the Fort Hood rampage displayed erratic behavior early in his military career, a U.S. official says.

The officers supervised the suspect when he was a medical student and during his work as an Army psychiatrist at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates was expected to refer findings on the officers to the Army for further inquiry and possible punishment. The report on what went wrong in the case of Army Maj. Nidal Hasan is expected to be released Friday.

The official said Thursday that a Pentagon inquiry finds fault with five to eight supervisors who knew or should have known about the shortcomings and erratic behavior of Hasan, who's accused of killing 13 people at the Texas Army base on Nov. 5.

The official described the confidential report on condition of anonymity because it has not been made public.

According to information gathered during the internal Pentagon review and obtained by The Associated Press last week, Hasan's strident views on Islam became more pronounced as his training progressed. Worries about his competence also grew, yet his superiors continued to give him positive performance evaluations that kept him moving through the ranks. That led to his eventual assignment at Fort Hood.

Recent statistics show the Army rarely blocks junior officers from promotion, especially in the medical corps.

Hasan showed no signs of being violent or a threat. But parallels have been drawn between the missed signals in his case and those preceding the failed Christmas Day attempt to blow up a Detroit-bound U.S. airliner. President Barack Obama and his top national security aides have acknowledged they had intelligence about the alleged bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, but failed to connect the dots.

The Pentagon review is not intended to delve into allegations Hasan corresponded by e-mail with Yemen-based radical cleric, Anwar al-Awlaki, before the Fort Hood shootings. Those issues are part of a separate criminal investigation by U.S. law enforcement officials.

Hasan has been charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder. Authorities have not said whether they plan to seek the death penalty.

After the Fort Hood shootings, Gates appointed two former senior defense officials to examine the procedures and policies for identifying threats within the military services. The review was led by former Army Secretary Togo West and retired Navy Adm. Vernon Clark.

5 comments:

revereridesagain said...

Yeah, and they could have been disciplined, harassed, complained about, and otherwise played the messenger who is easier to shoot role if they had done anything. What's needed is policy change and people with the stones to recognize when action is needed and take it.

Anonymous said...

Exactly how is this 'rebuke' going to address the PC/MC policies responsible for these officer's decision making?

***********

OT

Emergency crews are on the scene after an incoming United Airlines flight from Chicago had an incident on board upon landing in Traverse City.


The plane was sent to a smaller runway in a somewhat secluded area of the airport, and passengers were safely evacuated. In addition, one subject was arrested.

The U.S. Transportation Security Administration says it will have a statement shortly.

Stay tuned to 9&10 News at Noon for a full report on this developing situation.

Click the video link attached to this story to watch video just into our newsroom from the scene.

Play raw video at link

midnight rider said...

Revere -- exactly. 13 dead and they get a rebuke.

Update to anon.'s traverse city story here: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,583114,00.html?test=latestnews

in short -- bomb threat on plane, no bomb, man arrested.

religious or political affiliations not mentioned. . .

Anonymous said...

MR - here's
more:


A flight attendant reported that a panel inside the plane's bathroom had been "tampered with," Morgan said.

Passenger Bob Crosby, 74, of Traverse City, said a man seated next to him entered the plane's bathroom "halfway through the flight," and spent about 15 minutes inside.

The passenger, 28, of California, allegedly entered the plane's bathroom with an "article," but returned to his seat without it. Police would not describe that item.

Morgan would not comment on the man's ethnicity, but some passengers said he was of Middle-Eastern descent.

Anonymous said...

It's no surprise then that Airlines report fewer people are flying