The Long War Journal: US Army major behind Fort Hood murders expressed sympathy for Islamic terrorists

Written by Bill Roggio on November 5, 2009 9:50 PM to The Long War Journal

Available online at: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2009/11/muslim_army_major_be.php

Major Nidal Malik Hasan.

An Army major behind the murders of 13 US soldiers at Fort Hood, Texas, expressed sympathy for suicide bombers and support for terrorists waging war against US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Police shot and wounded Major Nidal Malik Hasan, a psychiatrist, after he went on a killing spree outside a readiness center for troops preparing to deploy to Iraq. Hasan, a Muslim American, opened fire with handguns on soldiers at the center.

Eleven US soldiers were killed and 31 more were wounded before Hasan was shot by members of a SWAT team and detained by police.

Initial reports indicated that Hasan had support from other soldiers. Two soldiers were detained by police but have subsequently been released.

The shooting spree caused a lockdown at Fort Hood, the home of the 1st Cavalry Division and the largest base in the US. Residents were instructed to lock their doors and turn off air conditioning units in case of a terrorist attack. The lockdown was lifted later in the evening after police ensured the situation was safe.

Major Hasan has made several controversial statements over the past several years that indicate he is sympathetic to suicide bombers and supportive of Islamist terrorists.

Six months ago, the FBI investigated Hasan for statements purportedly made by him on the Scribd website that equated suicide bombers with a US soldier who sacrificed himself to save his fellow soldiers:

"He inentionally [sic] took his life (suicide) for a noble cause i.e. saving the lives of his soldier. To say that this soldier committed suicide is inappropriate. Its [sic] more appropriate to say he is a brave hero that sacrificed his life for a more noble cause. Scholars have paralled [sic] this to suicide bombers whose intention, by sacrificing their lives, is to help save Muslims by killing enemy soldiers. If one suicide bomber can kill 100 enemy soldiers because they were caught off guard that would be considered a strategic victory. Their intention is not to die because of some despair. The same can be said for the Kamikazees [sic] in Japan. They died (via crashing their planes into ships) to kill the enemies for the homeland. You can call them crazy i [sic] you want but their act was not one of suicide that is despised by Islam.

Hasan also was vocal in his opposition to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and praised Muslims who attacked US troops in the US, according to Colonel Terry Lee (Retired), a former coworker who served with Hasan at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC.

"'We shouldn't be over there,'" Hasan told other officers, Lee said during an interview with FOX News. "'Muslims should stand up and fight against the aggressors,'" Hasan would continue, according to Lee, referring to US forces.

Hasan also praised the murder of two US soldiers who were killed outside of a recruitment center in Little Rock, Arkansas.

"'This is what Muslims should do, stand up to the aggressors,'" Hasan said, according to Lee. "'Maybe we should have more of these, people should strap bombs on themselves and go into Times Square.'"

According to Lee, Hasan "made his views well known." This sparked acrimony with other officers, who called him derogatory names during arguments.

Nader Hasan, Major Hasan's cousin, claimed the Army officer was being harassed by his fellow officers for his beliefs and sought a way out of the military after trying to get out of a deployment overseas.

"He was mortified by the idea of having to deploy," Nader Hasan told The New York Times. "He had people telling him on a daily basis the horrors they saw over there."