I Love The Sound Of File Shredders In The Morning...

How much of this can the intelligence community contain?

U.S. intelligence agencies were aware months ago that Army Major Nidal Hasan was attempting to make contact with people associated with al Qaeda, two American officials briefed on classified material in the case told ABC News.

It is not known whether the intelligence agencies informed the Army that one of its officers was seeking to connect with suspected al Qaeda figures, the officials said.

It is not known whether they brought the Army into the loop?  Well, the Army won't be real forthcoming on that point, I'll bet.

Presumably the plan was to keep on eye on Major Hasan in the hope that he would lead to even more interesting targets.  How one justified leaving him in place as an Army psychiatrist is mysterious, and obviously the plan ended about as badly as possible.

Comments

[Gregory Koster]

Cap'n, here's the scene cut out. Too bad this wasn't around when Pants Berger was allowed to resign from the Bar, rather than face an investigation about what he stole from the National Archives. I don't doubt he wishes he could steal this too. One small benefit of The Once's winning: it's kept Pants away from government. At least I hope it has.

[Extraneus]

Here's something from HotAir on the Hasan jurisdiction question.

Tom Kenniff, a former Army JAG officer and Iraq war veteran who served in Tikrit, said Friday he thought the judge advocate general’s office on Ft. Hood will have exclusive jurisdiction over this case.

[Sue]

Ex,

Yep. I'm just wondering if the military could cede their jurisdiction of the civilian death over to Texas and just try him on the military deaths. That way if something went wrong, Texas would be waiting in the wings to fry him.

[windansea]

check out Hasan's business card

also, he gave notice to his landlord 2 weeks before the massacre, I haven't seen what exact date he was due to be deployed but don't think it was same day as the massacre, this kind of negates the whole "he snapped" theory, looks like it was totally premeditated and planned

[Captain Hate]

GK, I seem to remember that scene in the original, unless I saw it on Youtube prior to tonight. Either way LOL @ Slick and his minions being responsible for national security.

[matt]

he loaded his mags with 100+ rounds. That is probably at least 4 if they were 20 round mags, which are not common, by the way.

There's your premeditation as far as I'm concerned. Send him to Huntsville. Do not pass Go, do not collect $200.

[anduril]

with those pistols 20 round magazines are standard unless state law bans that. that's a .28 round he was shooting, i believe, so the mags are double stacked. the gun fully loaded weighed under 2 pounds, i believe. munley had some really bad luck that the jerk hit a leg artery--obviously not something you're aiming for. otherwise, hot small rounds like that just go through, making small holes and little to no collateral damage to surrounding tissue. that's why i think we'll hear that the fatalities will often have multiple wounds, possibly shot again while they were down. of course, all this was at very close range in very crowded conditions.

[Jim Rhoads a/k/a vjnjagvet]

Regarding the above jurisdiction questions, when I was on active duty 40 years ago, the Commanding General at Fort Hood would have had exclusive jurisdiction over Hassan for all criminal acts occurring on the FH Reservation covered by the UCMJ. At the discretion of the CG, murders and treason, possibly among others, could be tried as capital cases.

If Hassan lived off post and committed other criminal acts at that time (e.g. conspiracy to commit terrorist acts through internet communications with the Yemeni Imam) there would be concurrent Federal and state jurisdiction over such crimes along with military jurisdiction since at the time he committed the crimes, he was an Officer in the Army on active duty.

I haven't kept up with the niceties of military jurisdiction (such as the 2000 bill cited above) so there may be other federal laws now in place of which I am unaware.

In any event, the Post Judge Advocate, with the approval of the CG, may request investigative assistance from the Texas Rangers or the FBI for all crimes involved including the on base murders. But that does not confer jurisdiction on the state or federal criminal justice system for on post crimes under the UCMJ.

If the CG convenes a court martial authorized to impose the death penalty, the accused is given additional protections. It will be interesting to see whether he convenes such a CM.

[anduril]

thanks, jim.

from ann coulter:

Before shooting up a medical facility on that Army base, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan reportedly shouted “Allahu Akbar.”

While Hasan gave a shout-out to Allah before shooting, President Obama gave a shout-out to "Dr. Joe Medicine Crow” before getting around to mentioning the massacre on the day it happened.

President Obama's response to abortionist George Tiller was “I am shocked and outraged by the murder of Dr. George Tiller.”

President Obama’s response to the slaughter of 13 Americans by a Muslim at a U.S. military installation was to instruct Americans not to “jump to any conclusions.”

There was a risk that right-wingers’s would start playing the old “Blame The Perpetrator” game.

[Extraneus]

Iowahawk: Witness: Hassan yelled "I want a candy bar" during spree.

[Jim Rhoads a/k/a vjnjagvet]

This just in from our favorite Fox newsreader Shep /sarc.

Hassan will be tried in military court. He says that means military rules by an army jury.

[I Won]

There are some who say that all Muslims must be removed from our Armed Forces.

Others say that, in an attempt to do the right thing, we should turn a deaf ear to any evidence that tends to indicate the guilt of an oppressed person who has been ridiculed and ostracized for nothing more than being part of a noble religion of peace.

I reject either path.

I have ordered the Attorney General to prosecute to the full extent of the law any member of the Armed Forces who practices in advance the hate crime of prejudice against Muslims.

I have ordered General Casey to cooperate fully with the FBI in ascertaining that the alleged perpetrator had no connection with man-made disasters.

I urge all bitter gun clingers to voluntarily help in our country's efforts by unclenching your grips around your deadly weapons. When the country has become gun-free and nuclear-free, it will be nearly as historic as my election, the first of a man with African blood, as President.

[Danube of Thought]

I doubt the army will ever give up custody of this guy regardless of technical issues of concurrent or other jurisdiction. But if they do, the great state of Texas would be my number one pick for a handy alternative.

Followed closely by Virginia, in which beloved commonwealth Mr. J. A. Muhammad will have assumed room temperature ere the sun sets tomorrow.

[Topsecretk9]

WOW - Hi Wind! How have you been? Good to see you here.

[Uncle BigBad]

Does anyone remember when we were assured of Colin Powell's competence, because the army is a meritocracy and therefore he couldn't have benefited from affirmative action?

Do you suppose the army brass could have been inordinately pleased to have a psychiatrist major who is also a muslim? All so politically correct, don'tcha know. Too good to follow up all those suspicious activities.

I'm gonna bet this incident won't really change anything.

[clarice]

I think some people who knew of Hasan's condition and didn't act will suffer the consequences and I suppose that will offer the first teensy bit of counterweight to the p.c. carpazola.

[Captain Hate]

Dorothy Rabinowitz weighs in by skewering the usual suspects in LUN.

[Justice]

Prayers for this jihadist's victims. 72 Virginians coming right up for the Beltway Sniper. Cold comfort for the families of his victims, whose lives are forever torn. LUN