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The Latest On The Fort Hood Shootings
November 5, 2009, 4:47PM
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UPDATE 9:33 P.M. ET:
Contrary to earlier reports, suspected primary shooter Nidal Malik Hasan is actually alive and in custody. Lt. Gen. Bob Cone said Hasan was reportedly wounded several times during the shooting but is in stable condition.
Twelve people were killed and 31 wounded in the mass shooting at Fort Hood military base in Texas this afternoon.
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6:53 p.m.: MSNBC reports that the suspected shooter was set to be deployed to Iraq on Nov. 28. The Army Times reports that a Pentagon source said he was a psychiatrist recently reassigned from Walter Reed Medical Center near Washington, D.C., to Darnall Army Medical Center in Fort Hood.
6:22 p.m.: Hutchison told MSNBC that the suspected shooter was going to be deployed to Iraq, but stressed that it's premature to speculate about motives.
6:21 p.m.: At his press conference about half an hour ago, Gov. Rick Perry asked Americans to "keep their families in your prayers." He also lauded actions of the incident's responders. "We have the right people on the scene at this time," he said.
5:23 p.m.: ABC News reports that the primary shooter was Major Malik Nadal Hasan.
5 p.m.: The Statesman tweets that a spokesman for a local hospital, Scott and White, confirms that all the victims there are adults.
4:57 p.m.: The all-clear has not been given, and the base is still on lockdown.
4:56 p.m.: "This is a terrible tragedy," says the spokesman, and offers condolences to the families.
4:54 p.m.: Spox: The weapons were handguns. One police officer is among the dead.
4:52 p.m.: All the parties involved were soldiers. The base has apprehended two more soldiers who are being held as suspects. All the casualties happened during the initial incident, according to a spokesman for Fort Hood.
4:51 p.m.: Fort Hood press conference: Gunman killed. 12 dead. 31 wounded. (ed. note: Though the Army spokesman at the press conference announced that the gunman was dead, a newer report contradicts this. Hasan is alive and in custody.)
4:49 p.m.: CNN is now reporting that there are 12 dead, including a gunman.
4:47 p.m.: Here's what we're hearing in TPM headquarters, from the cable news networks and other sources. A note: As the story develops, reports are still very sketchy and little about the shootings is confirmed.
President Obama is set to speak at 4:50 p.m. ET. He's been briefed on the events.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry will also speak, at around 5 p.m. ET.
Fort Hood is planning a press conference momentarily, but the post is still on lockdown. Unconfirmed reports are still trickling in about more shots fired, and sirens on the base can still be heard.
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) said she's been told up to 30 people have been wounded. Most outlets are reporting seven dead.
Schools in the area are on lockdown. Classes at Texas A&M's central Texas locations have been canceled.
There was another shooting at Fort Hood just over a year ago, according to the Austin-American Statesman. In September 2008, a 22-year-old soldier fatally shot and killed another, and then turned the gun on himself.
FBI and ATF officials are on the scene.
There have been conflicting reports of two or three shooters. The base has confirmed that one shooter is in custody.
One reporter said the shootings were "all military," suggesting both the shooters and the victims were military personnel, but that has not been confirmed.
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Common Sense Caucus
November 5, 2009 5:05 PM
What a tragedy. Such a sad day in America. God Bless those killed and wounded and their families. Our prayers are with you all.
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AhTrini1
November 5, 2009 5:07 PM
Who are these solidiers who did this?!?!?!?!?
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JNagarya
November 5, 2009 8:32 PM in reply to AhTrini1
USians.
Surprised?
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mousethief
November 5, 2009 5:08 PM
God be with those affected by this nightmare.
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Kuyleh
November 5, 2009 5:11 PM
That was my last active duty station....I've only been gone since May. I've got people there I can't yet get ahold of, and I've been watching/reading everything I can get my hands on.
I'm just wordless.
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jenesq
November 5, 2009 5:42 PM in reply to Kuyleh
I hope your friends are OK. This whole thing is very sad, and it's sadder still that the incident will be used to bolster political points of view. :-(
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Texas Aggie
November 5, 2009 5:37 PM
This is inexcusable, but then again what can you expect given the circumstances? You have people being emotionally and physically stressed beyond endurance. You have people being taught that killing someone is how you solve problems. You have a system that degrades individuals. It is to the credit of most soldiers' parents and the way they raised their kids that this kind of thing hasn't happened more often.
There was an opinion piece the other day about how dumb it is to arm and train the people who in the future will be fighting against us (the Afghan jihadis). The same thing can be said about training our own soldiers that "the other" is anyone in opposition and killing them is the only option. What happens when these guys are turned loose in civilian society at the end of their service? How do you reprogram them from a military mindset to a civilian mindset? The evidence seems to be that no one has figured that out. Too many soldiers have been completely unable to adjust.
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Odel Roo
November 5, 2009 6:03 PM in reply to Texas Aggie
Out of respect for the dead and their families during this tragic time can you keep your shitty ass ideology out of this. Beleive it or not there have been millions of men and women who have adjusted just fine and dandy. Don't make excuses here for the cowardly fuck who did this.
oh... and his name is Major Malik Nadal Hasan, may he ROT IN HELL
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slb
November 5, 2009 6:13 PM in reply to Odel Roo
It would probably be a good idea to reserve judgement on any of it until we know more about the circumstances and the people involved.
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Odel Roo
November 5, 2009 6:20 PM in reply to slb
No... I will stand by my judgment and hope he rots in hell! The one thing I will not do is put the blame on any other or person or situation except the miserable cowardly puke that pulled the f'n trigger.
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lousgirl84
November 5, 2009 6:55 PM in reply to Odel Roo
Actually Texas Aggie makes some good points and they are not unique to him. I have heard people in the know who say the same thing, and the numbers of sucides and murders bears it out.
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Odel Roo
November 5, 2009 7:12 PM in reply to lousgirl84
My point is that Tex is making an assumption that the shitbag had served in a combat environment. And even if he did -that does not excuse or exonerate him or any other shitbag for what they have done.
And from what Tex wrote he/she has little knowledge of the training or the tactics of our soldiers. The whole premise is so much shit as if the entire cadre of our armed forces are so weak minded they don't have the capacity to know right from wrong.
Again, plain BS to cover for some asshole that murdered 11 people.
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JNagarya
November 5, 2009 8:38 PM in reply to Odel Roo
Reread your tripe: you have the typical penchant for lecturing others about reason and responsibility of the bully who in reality feels every contempt for reason and responsibility in favor of brawn and bullying.
In short: You don't seem to be able to grasp that you could ever be in error: your judgment is perfect and ironclad.
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Odel Roo
November 5, 2009 9:14 PM in reply to JNagarya
Ok.. I re-read my comment. I believe my judgment to be ironclad that this former major is a shitbag for murdering 11 people.
And I guess I do take a little offense to the generalization that our Armed forces are so feebly minded that they can't make a rational decision because the big bad military has some how removed all ability of rational thought.
In the case of this thread about the tragedy that took place I found it a we bit offensive to try and defend the indefensible by some illogical, flippant conclusion of "what can you expect given the circumstances? You have people being emotionally and physically stressed beyond endurance. You have people being taught that killing someone is how you solve problems."
As for feeling "every contempt for reason and responsibility in favor of brawn and bullying."
I don't give a shit about his reasons for murdering these people so ya... that is true, however, I stand behind the fact he IS RESPONSIBLE! no matter his reasoning.
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JNagarya
November 5, 2009 9:30 PM in reply to Odel Roo
Ok.. I re-read my comment. I believe my judgment to be ironclad that this former major is a shitbag for murdering 11 people.
And I guess I do take a little offense to the generalization that our Armed forces are so feebly minded that they can't make a rational decision because the big bad military has some how removed all ability of rational thought.
_____
I'm still waiting to see you make a rational decision i.e., to think, and respond "reasonably" based upon the facts.
That requires "criticial thinking" -- which is not, "Criticism of the other," but, "Critical evaluation of one's OWN thought processes." And as consequence of that critical evaluation, CORRECTION of the ERRORS in one's thought processes.
Done consistently enough and one arrives at the fundamental conclusion that humility is an inescable requirement of humans. There is no room for self-righteousness.
You are simultaneously attacking the view that you cite as a generalization; and showing yourself meeting that criteria. And you attack the "shooter" as a "shitbag" without the least compassion for a soldier who may have been suffering the exact same consequences of military service as anyone else in his situation who "goes off" and kills others.
There has been a high number of suicides among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. Does that deserv e compassion only because it is self-killing rather than killing of others?
There has also been a high number of murders -- mostly spousal -- committed by returning veterans. Are they all "shitbags"? Are they not also VICTIMS of a veteran's medical system which was effectively deconstructed by the Bushit gang?
The worst gasoline to pour onto the fire of irrationality is self-righteousness, and the inflexible conviction that one's belligerence, regardless all the facts, is justified.
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East Coast Aussie
November 5, 2009 10:58 PM in reply to JNagarya
You took the words right out of my mouth.
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Prefabfan
November 5, 2009 11:08 PM in reply to Odel Roo
I will offer you an alternative view you will never comprehend.
This person at some time was a good American and a Muslim from birth. Like every other Muslim in the world, and the rest of worlds non-Moslems, he opposed the Iraq war II.
He constantly spoke on base about his opposition, and made quite a few enemies with his views.
As he heard from the soldiers that he counseled about the war crimes they committed against Muslims in Iraq, and how they are taught to think of Muslims as less then human, and to suspect all of them, he wondered why he was helping the US. He wrote something about suicide bombers (oops, "homicide bombers" says Fox, incorrectly), and then shortly after posting what he thought was an anonymous post, is told he is being sent to Iraq. Payback? To him!!!
Some big shot in Al Qauda says Muslims in US should make their own terror attack.
This guy, already filled with fright at being killed in Iraq, goes postal (my apologies to the US Postal Service).
Doesn't make him a good guy. But if he did it to stop what he believed, and what Bush SAID WAS "A CRUSADE" against Moslems, it is the kind of stuff we will see more of.
If we had stayed out of Iraq vs. Kuwait, and not invaded Iraq, in Quagmire II, son of George, this would hve never happened. And we would not have needed people to do his job.
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Odel Roo
November 5, 2009 11:26 PM in reply to Prefabfan
Oh I comprehend... this is a joke post right. I get it.
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JNagarya
November 10, 2009 8:24 AM in reply to Odel Roo
No, it isn't a "joke" post. It is a post by a person who is able to transcend the simpleton's black/white -- us GOOD, them BAD oversimplification.
To put it another way: when a bully pushes others around long enough, those others will eventually get fed up with being pushed around and push back. Your beef is that the US should be allowed to bully without any opposition; and any opposition is ipso facto wrong, unjustified, and indefensible.
The US illegally -- based upon lies -- invaded and occupied Iraq. But the Iraqis who object to that fact are the bad guys -- right?
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Richardxx
November 6, 2009 12:31 AM in reply to Odel Roo
According to the Guardian this guy is a psychiatrist who has never before been deployed to Iraq. He's American born, the son of Jordianian parents. He attended school and took ROTC, graduating in 1997, and the Army then sent him to school to become an Osteopathic doctor and then sent him through a psychiatric residency.
This isn't a returning veteran. He is a guy who has been at Walter Reed Hospital listening to returning veterans tell their stories day in and day out for years now. He was scheduled for his first deployment at the end of the year and did not want to go.
I wonder if there is such a thing as second-hand PTSD? If so, then he may have it.
One other thing - the testing suggests that about 15% of the returning combat vets have emotional problems. There is some research I saw a few weeks ago where the military is studying what makes some soldiers subject to emotional problems they cannot recover from, and what makes others more resilient. It's preliminary, but there may be tests to determine who can deal with the stress of combat and who can't. Whatever, some people just have more resiliency than others. Even the most resilient will reach a breaking point with repeated deployments. This guy isn't returning from combat himself, though.
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JNagarya
November 5, 2009 8:35 PM in reply to Odel Roo
After lecturing someone else for making a judgment you didn't like? Does your chest-thumping self-righteousness trump your rancid hypocrisy?
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Odel Roo
November 5, 2009 8:39 PM in reply to JNagarya
Yes
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JNagarya
November 5, 2009 9:10 PM in reply to Odel Roo
You confirm my point about your contempt for reason and responsibility in favor of brawn and bullying.
Is that something of which to be proud?
And isn't it exactly that attitude that can lead to disregarding others' views -- and and rights?
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Odel Roo
November 5, 2009 9:20 PM in reply to JNagarya
Truth be told... I really don't think I get your point... how do you get that I have contempt for reason and responsibility in favor of brawn and bullying.
I really don't see it.
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Odel Roo
November 5, 2009 10:26 PM in reply to JNagarya
J - Whew you're really making me think this through kudos to you!
"And you attack the "shooter" as a "shitbag" without the least compassion for a soldier who may have been suffering the exact same consequences of military service as anyone else in his situation who "goes off" and kills others."
This is not about feelings or compassion - he Murdered these innocent people period. HE IS responsible for their deaths. Not the Military, not his parents or any other entity. He is the only one that had a gun in his hand. He had a choice. He as we now know was a psychiatrist who had most likely had very intimate knowledge of how and where to seek help. It was not a failure of the VA and Bush, be fair, if you want to lay blame as to the state of the VA these issues far exceed 8 years of Bush... I'm a little surprised you would stoop there.
"There has also been a high number of murders -- mostly spousal -- committed by returning veterans. Are they all "shitbags"?
A resounding YES! and the ones that beat their wives or kids are shitbags as well. You may not like my opinion but I have to go back to an earlier statement - there have been millions of servicemen/women with most having endured the ugliness of war and survived without incident (i say that in reference to murders) war I believe will change all who are involved in some way. I am sure there is a statistical number of how many have committed violent crimes, i may be wrong but i believe statistically the numbers do not differ much from the rest of the general population.
To sum it up - Tex made the statements early on in the developing story that that we should not expect anything less from the men and women serving in the armed forces considering the circumstances.
I personally find the actions of this murderer indefensible and to try and defend his actions by stating it just must be the stress is a cop out.
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JNagarya
November 10, 2009 8:17 AM in reply to Odel Roo
I'm all for the absolute individual responsibility you assert in this instance. So let's extend it to everyone, okay? --
Those who've reported -- to such as this psychiatrist -- murdering, etc., innocent civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan are also shitbags?
How about every member of the military who willingly went along with the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq? Every one of them a shitbag?
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runfastandwin
November 5, 2009 6:54 PM in reply to Odel Roo
Out of respect for the dead STFU.
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JNagarya
November 5, 2009 8:39 PM in reply to runfastandwin
Don't tell others to STFU if they happen to have different views than you, freedom-loving tyrant.
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Zemer
November 5, 2009 6:01 PM
I asked my husband (who is a soldier) to look up the shooter's name in the Army Knowledge Online (AKO) database. He had a bit of hard time finding him because it looks like his first and middle names are transposed- Nadal Malik instead of Malik Nadal. The shooter was in the Medical Corps and judging by his rank, he was probably a doctor.
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slb
November 5, 2009 6:15 PM in reply to Zemer
A doctor -- my God.
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Odel Roo
November 5, 2009 6:23 PM in reply to slb
Possibly a Psychiatrist..
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JAMTP
November 5, 2009 6:24 PM in reply to Zemer
According to news reports, he was a psychiatrist. I'm saddened--but not surprised--that the right's immediate reaction is to suggest he did this because he is reportedly Muslim or has a "Muslim sounding name." How racist and how dare they exploit such a terrible tragedy.
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lousgirl84
November 5, 2009 6:53 PM in reply to JAMTP
Me too and shame on Josh Marshall for even bringing it up. Now every law abiding Muslim citizen is going to ahve to worry about some fricking crazy trying to kill them in revenge.
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seashell
November 5, 2009 7:15 PM in reply to lousgirl84
No, Josh was right to prepare those of us who don't automatically go racial when hearing a name. And the wing nuts certainly don't need Josh to automatically start their engines.
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lousgirl84
November 5, 2009 7:19 PM in reply to seashell
i know - you're right. Just venting
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guest4000
November 5, 2009 7:18 PM in reply to lousgirl84
"Me too and shame on Josh Marshall for even bringing it up."
What the hell? Why not shame on JAMTP for bringing it up in his/her comment. Heck, why not shame on you for referencing it. Josh just noted that there will be many conservatives who will take that aspect of the story and run with it.
"Now every law abiding Muslim citizen is going to ahve to worry about some fricking crazy trying to kill them in revenge."
And somehow this relates to your last sentence regarding Josh Marshall? Again, he just noted the same damn thing that the person you responded to noted - the same damn thing that you are elaborating on.
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lousgirl84
November 5, 2009 7:25 PM in reply to guest4000
Okay Okay - so maybe I was wrong. Why such hostility?
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guest4000
November 7, 2009 4:07 PM in reply to guest4000
Uh, you started "such hostility" by announcing that shame should be heaped on Josh Marshall, and now you're asking me about "why such hostility?" Grow up, please.
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Richardxx
November 6, 2009 12:45 AM in reply to lousgirl84
I read it in google news before coming to TPM. Josh was right to bring it up.
You're right, though, that every whacked out nativist in the nation is going to be baying for his blood.
Last report I heard was that he was in critical care but still alive. We may get a chance to find out why he did it.
My other question is about the two other people reported to be in custody. Was there more than one shooter? Two pistols, 12 dead and 31 injured. If they were 9mm Army Beretta's, they have 15 round magazines, meaning the Major probably had to change magazines during the shooting. More than one shooter is possible.
That would change the dynamic of why he was doing the shooting, if there were more than one person involved. But we are still during the period of weird reports, too. More information is needed.
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Odel Roo
November 5, 2009 6:14 PM
Hey I have an idea Texas Aggie... why don't you un-ass yourself from your chair and head down to Scott and White Hospital. They are in desperate need of blood donors. Maybe you can do a little for the few who have given so much.
Scott & White Hosp.
2401 S. 31st St.
Temple, TX 76508
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JNagarya
November 5, 2009 8:47 PM in reply to Odel Roo
". . . the few who have given so much".
That includes those who gung-ho couldn't wait to go to Viet nam and kill "gooks" "in defense of freedom" without giving a damn about the fact that the US ionvolvement there was illegal?
Are we to praise as heroes those who willingly went to Iraq, without regard for the fact that it was an illegal invasion and occupation of a non-threatening sovereign nation, and its leader a US ally?
Shove your slogans -- your inability to differentiate between the just and the unjust because all that matters is self-righteous, supremacist hatred -- up your ass.
Nothing more offends the average US citizen than to be BULLIED by those who CLAIM to have defended the average US citizen's freedom NOT to be bullied.
Even if you did serve in the militiary, in some capacity, you DO NOT as result have some superior right to tell everyone else when and how they can exercise tehir rights, and when they must SHUT OFF so as not to offend your tender, superior, sensibilities.
In short: back off and "chair" yourself.
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Odel Roo
November 5, 2009 9:38 PM in reply to JNagarya
I will concede that everybody has a right to state their opiniona... Texas Aggie has all the rights in the world to state that we should not expect anything less from the men and women serving in the armed forces considering the circumstances.
I will again forcefully disagree as I have stated. As for illegal war not sure i'm tracking with you there.
Now as for being a bully... not bulling at all, shaming maybe, but not bullying at all. Tex can take it to heart or with a grain of salt. Their decision. The argument of the 200+ years of the men and women who have died and continue to die for the freedoms we enjoy or not for me anyway is not a debate. I wholly support that as fact.
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kash79
November 5, 2009 6:24 PM
4:52 p.m.: All the parties involved were soldiers.
Actually, from the press conference I just heard on CNN.COM at least one of them killed among 12 is a contractor with the State Department.
Not that it makes it any less of a tragedy. Too many thoughts are battling in my mind and I'm sure many feel the same way.
I just heard that the two other "suspects" are now released.
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TyteWriter
November 5, 2009 6:52 PM
The elephant in the room (appropriately) is that we illegally invaded and occupied Iraq. Do not let that slip by.
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runfastandwin
November 5, 2009 6:55 PM
Where is the NRA? Surely had the Army base allowed people to carry concealed weapons this never would have happened...
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Grunschev
November 5, 2009 7:14 PM in reply to runfastandwin
+1 Brilliant
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TyteWriter
November 5, 2009 7:22 PM in reply to Grunschev
I'm waiting for Rush to say this was planned just to take the Teabaggers off the front page.
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JNagarya
November 5, 2009 8:52 PM in reply to runfastandwin
"An armed society is a polite society." -- mindless and false NRA slogan.
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slb
November 6, 2009 12:50 AM in reply to JNagarya
It's my observation that people who are seriously into guns tend to be belligerent rather than polite.
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JNagarya
November 10, 2009 8:29 AM in reply to slb
Agreed: they tend to be timorous weenies who want to be as "tough" as the bullies they admire.
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Cool Blue Reason
November 6, 2009 7:43 AM in reply to runfastandwin
Whether or not it makes the best policy overall, I will go ahead and agree with the NRA perspective on the narrow point that if everyone there had been armed, it would have been a hell of a lot harder for a single guy to walk in and shoot 40+ people.
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heir ball
November 5, 2009 7:20 PM
Has Fox News blamed this on Obama yet? They will....... he has a "Muslim sounding name" too
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lousgirl84
November 5, 2009 7:20 PM
Hey Josh. Anyway to update your website so that we don't have to go back to the original entry every time we leave a comment. It sure is a pain/
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richard f
November 5, 2009 7:21 PM
If you've followed the comment on any of the left wing blogs today (Crooks and Liars, Daily Kos), the commentary was crazed and worthy of the worst wingnuts - first it was speculation that the shooters were part of a right wing conspiracy obviously inspired by Glen Beck, then that it was some poor soldier traumatized by service in Iraq and therefore attributable to the war. What is coming out seems to be that it was a lone gunman, a psychiatrist major who was a recent convert to Islam, who had never served in Iraq or Afghanistan (not certain about this but this seems to be the case) and that, faced with going to Iraq, he snapped. Its a tragedy but it has nothing to do with the right wing, with terrorism or with the Iraq war except in the most remote way.
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ohyeathatsright
November 5, 2009 7:33 PM in reply to richard f
Left or Right, wingnuts are wingnuts.
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richard f
November 5, 2009 7:49 PM in reply to richard f
It appears that Hasan may not have been a recent convert to Islam but was born in Jordan. It does seem certain now that he had never served in Iraq or Afghanistan but spent most if not all of his time in the army at the Walter Reed Hospital
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Odel Roo
November 5, 2009 7:56 PM in reply to richard f
According to his cousin... he was born and raised in VA... he has always been a Muslim and not a recent convert. He went to school in VA and joined the military who paid for his MD. His cousin said he has been trying to get out of the military and didn't even know he was going to deploy. I think he just snapped. Tragically he took all these poor souls as he lost his.
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again
November 5, 2009 11:44 PM in reply to Odel Roo
Odel Roo,
when you write: "I think he just snapped. Tragically he took all these poor souls as he lost his."
I think it's a very true thing you wrote.
People snap - I don't know why they take out other people. It seems like something men do, not usually women.
Anyway, I understand your frustration with the idea that military service will somehow automatically make someone psychotic.
My dad was a captain drafted during Vietnam. It was very hard on the entire family. But he didn't snap, and it's insulting to insinuate that this is somehow automatic just because one served.
At the same time, the repeated deployments for Iraq/Afghanistan have been REALLY hard on personnel. We need to get out of these wars - we don't have the money or the draft to sustain it.
The all-volunteer army was never designed for such long wars. That doesn't excuse what happened here - we're all horrified and upset.
Besides grieving for the dead and trying to grasp how their families will deal with this horror, I'm really worried that people will start to retaliate against innocent Muslims who had nothing to do with this.
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Odel Roo
November 6, 2009 8:39 AM in reply to again
Again
"My dad was a captain drafted during Vietnam. It was very hard on the entire family. But he didn't snap, and it's insulting to insinuate that this is somehow automatic just because one served."
In no way am I suggesting he snapped due to some sort of Combat Stress or PTSD via osmosis from listening to others telling their war stories.
I tried to make that point earlier in this thread. That merely serving in the military is in of itself no reason to jump to the conclusion it was all caused by some sort of combat stress any more is it proper to conclude that just because he is Muslim this is an act of terrorism.
I no I have no idea why he "snapped"... he may very well have been perfectly lucid and sane. One would assume by his actions he "lost it" but this may have been a very deliberate and calculated act.
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Richardxx
November 6, 2009 12:54 AM in reply to Odel Roo
He doesn't have an MD. He is a DO. That's Doctor of Osteopathy. The military considers DO's and MD's to be interchangeable.
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JNagarya
November 5, 2009 8:54 PM in reply to richard f
So you base the idea that he wasn't a right winger on what exactly? That he was a major? A psychiatrist? A Muslim?
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Prefabfan
November 5, 2009 9:51 PM in reply to richard f
You are dreaming. "Nothing to do with the Iraq war?"
If there were no such war, then he would not have been imminently deployed to it, there would be little or no Anti-Muslim sentiment in the US, especially in the military, and you think that has nothing to do with his attack?
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loria
November 5, 2009 9:30 PM
Hasan isn't dead. He was shot several times but is in stable condition.
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ema
November 5, 2009 9:33 PM
The suspect is alive and in stable condition. Hopefully this will help shed some light on this terrible tragedy.
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some dude named steevo
November 5, 2009 9:36 PM
He will most certainly receive the death penalty after his court martial.
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yokem55
November 5, 2009 9:55 PM in reply to some dude named steevo
This will depend on which courts he is tried in. If he is tried in the Texas state courts or in federal court, he's toast, but since the crime was all on military property, it will likely be in the military courts and he will spend the rest of his life in Ft. Leavenworth. While the UCMJ does provide for the death penalty, it hasn't been used since 1961.
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Prefabfan
November 5, 2009 9:46 PM
Jobs I don't want:
(1) guarding his room tonight.
Not without a tank.
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timba
November 5, 2009 10:47 PM
DKos certainly scooped the MSM on this one:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/11/5/801067/-My-Daughter-is-at-Fort-Hood-[SHOOTER-NOT-KILLED!]
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Startdecember
November 6, 2009 1:52 AM in reply to timba
I'm sure he was on anti-depressants.
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OldenGoldenDecoy
November 6, 2009 5:40 AM
Well ... One things for sure . . .
If his cousin said he had been trying to get out of the military ... Murdering 12 and injuring 30+ will sure do the trick ...
~OGD~
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willia451
November 6, 2009 5:54 AM
I served 8 years in the Army, and eventually resigned my commission, because of all the deployments.
Perpetual War.
I don't see how soldiers, especially soldiers with families, do it these days. Home for a year. Away to war for a year. Home for a year. Away to war for a year. On and on and on. Never ending. If you're not deployed, then you are preparing for the next one.
My son wanted to serve, and I talked him out of it. I told him, are you really prepared to have no life? Because that is what you're signing up for.
No excuses for this POS. Everything that is coming to him, he richly deserves. He MUST BE insane.
But my heart bleeds for the soldiers and their families. It is horrific what they are going through right now, and being asked to endure.
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