Senseless Terror at Fort Hood

At 1:30 Thursday afternoon, a thirty minute reign of horror and terror began at Ft. Hood, Texas. Major Nidal Malik Hasan, the single shooter, killed twelve people and sent thirty wounded to the local hospitals.

Hasan was promoted to the rank of Major in May. He was transferred to Ft. Hood from Walter Reed Hospital. He was a psychiatrist and a soldier. Having enlisted in the Army at the age of 19, he was the beneficiary of a free education that allowed him to have the career of psychiatrist. Now there is a story line that he hired a lawyer and was fighting to re-negotiate his repayment of money to the Army as he requested his discharge from service.

This was an act of terror.

Hasan is the son of Palestinians, born in America and educated in America. He is Muslim and is recorded on video at a convenience store the morning of the attack in traditional Arabic garb. He was dressed in his Army uniform when he killed and wounded fellow soldiers and civilians yesterday. There are witness reports that he shouted, "Allah Akbar" as he began his reign of terror.

There were approximately 400 people in the immediate area of the attack, as reported by Army sources. The Major used two hand guns in his attack. Fort Hood is the largest military installation in the world. This is the worst shooting in history. His online screeds are now being analyzed by military officials.

Hasan is 39 years old. He is not some immature kid. He is an educated military professional. He is said to have been adamantly fighting deployment to Iraq. He is said to have been vocal in his opposition to our presence in Iraq. His family claims he was harassed because of this opposition.

This was an act of terror. While he was trained to help soldiers coping with post-traumatic stress syndrom, he was never deployed overseas himself. He didn't suffer from that himself. This is not an excuse for him to use.

Hasan is in a local hospital, unconscious and on a ventilator. A thirteenth shooting victim died overnight. Hasan is guarded by both military and civilian police.

Hasan received low ratings on past performance reports while assigned to Walter Reed. Perhaps red flags were there and not noticed in his record. His presence online paints a picture of a man troubled in his loyalty to our country.

Major Nidal Malik Hasan committed an act of senseless violence and terror on fellow Americans, on fellow soliders.