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Author Topic: Shooting at Ft. Hood Texas 11/05/09 13 dead, 43 wounded-(Murder Charges)  (Read 730117 times)
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« Reply #740 on: November 19, 2009, 09:28:28 PM »

NEWS UPDATE: Soldiers from North Freedom and Lodi injured in Fort Hood massacre are cleared for travel; could be home for Thanksgiving

By Steven Verburg, Capital Newspapers

A military official said Nov. 19 that two area soldiers who were among the wounded in the Fort Hood massacre have been medically cleared and should return home soon.

Spc. John Pagel, 28, of North Freedom and Spc. Grant Moxon, 23. of Lodi, both have been cleared for travel, said Capt. Robert LaFountain.

Moxon's father, David Moxon, said Nov. 18 his son told him he was expecting to take a one-way flight home before Thanksgiving. He has a slug in his left leg, and is walking with the help of a cane, the father said. Moxon and Pagel were sitting in folding chairs about 15 feet from Army psychiatrist, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan when the shooting started Nov. 5, Moxon's father said. Hasan is accused of killing 13 soldiers and injuring dozens of others.

LaFountain said a "warrior transition team" will catch up with Carskadon -- and possibly Moxon and Pagel -- when she returns home to make sure she obtains all needed medical attention.

A Monona woman who also was among the wounded in the Fort Hood massacre told a fellow officer Nov., 18 that while the shooting was happening she thought it was a drill.

Army Reserves Capt. Dorothy Carskadon was sitting in an office cubicle in the processing center when the shooting started.

"Almost through the whole ordeal she thought it was a training exercise," LaFountain said.

She remembered being hit by what she thought was a paint ball round, and the unit commander Maj. Laura Suttinger pulling her to a safe area and propped her up with another soldier, LaFountain said.

"She said she was in shock, and I think the shock factor aided the idea that it was an exercise," he said. "That's what she thought it was until she woke up in ICU."

Carskadon, 47, who works at the Madison Vet Center on Williamson Street in Madison, is in great spirits and eager to return home, he said.

Also cleared for travel are

The fourth wounded member of the 467th, Sgt. Shawn Manning of Lacey, Wash., hasn't been cleared to travel, LaFountain said. Replacements have been found for the four and for the three who died -- Capt. Russell Seager, 51, of Mount Pleasant, Sgt. Amy Krueger, 29, of Kiel and Maj. L. Eduardo Caraveo, 52, of Woodbridge, Va.

http://www.wiscnews.com/spe/news/467343
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« Reply #741 on: November 19, 2009, 09:32:25 PM »

Smerconish: Fear of offending is a threat to us all
http://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/smerconish_112009.html
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« Reply #742 on: November 20, 2009, 09:00:14 PM »

Attorney: Hospital hearing set for Fort Hood suspect

Posted: Nov 20, 2009 6:54 PM CST

SAN ANTONIO. - An attorney for the Army psychiatrist charged in the mass shooting at Fort Hood says his client will have his first court hearing in his hospital room on Saturday.
     
Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan's civilian attorney, John Galligan, said Friday that military prosecutors notified him of their plans for the hearing at the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio.
     
Hasan has been recovering there since the Nov. 5 rampage at Fort Hood that left 13 dead and more than 30 wounded. Hasan was shot by civilian members of Fort Hood's police force.
     
The hearing is to determine whether Hasan will be placed in pre-trial confinement, which usually means jail, but Galligan says he'll argue that Hasan should remain in intensive care because he
is paralyzed and still needs hospital care.
     
Fort Hood officials didn't immediately return a call about the hearing.
Previous coverage below...


Fort Hood shooting suspect faces 13 murder charges

(November 12, 2009)

Military officials say the Army psychiatrist accused of killing 13 and wounding 29 in last week's shooting rampage at his military post in Texas will face 13 charges of premeditated murder under the military's legal system.

The decision makes him eligible for the death penalty if convicted.

A formal announcement about the charges against Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan is expected later Thursday.

Two U.S. military officials described the charges to the AP on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the case publicly.

The officials said it is not yet decided whether to charge Hasan with a 14th count of murder related to the death of the unborn child of a pregnant shooting victim.

http://www.khq.com/Global/story.asp?S=11548700
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« Reply #743 on: November 20, 2009, 09:16:49 PM »


Graphic on the Fort Hood US army base shooting spree which took place on November 5.
(AFP/null)

Hospital hearing requested for suspect in Fort Hood shootings

November 20, 2009 6:15 p.m. EST

Suspect Nidal Malik Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, has a hearing Saturday about pretrial confinement.

Killeen, Texas (CNN) -- Prosecutors have requested a pretrial confinement hearing for accused Fort Hood shooter Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan in his hospital room on Saturday, Hasan's attorney told CNN on Friday.

Hasan's civilian attorney, retired Army Col. John Galligan, said Hasan's commanders have already placed him in what is considered pretrial confinement. Saturday's hearing is to determine whether that is appropriate.

Galligan added that he will argue that the pretrial proceedings are being conducted hastily and without enough consideration of Hasan's medical condition.

Hasan, a U.S. Army psychiatrist, is accused of killing 13 people and injuring several others in the November 5 shooting at the Fort Hood Army post near Killeen.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/11/20/fort.hood.hearing/index.html?eref=rss_crime
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« Reply #744 on: November 20, 2009, 09:20:36 PM »

Levin: Fort Hood probe may reveal more e-mails

AP

By PAMELA HESS and ANNE GEARAN, Associated Press Writers Pamela Hess And Anne Gearan, Associated Press Writers – 45 mins ago

WASHINGTON – There may be additional e-mails that could have tipped off law enforcement or military officials to the Fort Hood shooter before he went on his deadly rampage, the chairman of the Senate Armed Forces Committee said Friday.

The U.S. government intercepted at least 18 e-mails between Hasan and Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical American-born cleric. They were passed along to two Joint Terrorism Task Force cells led by the FBI, but a senior defense official said no one at the Defense Department knew about the messages until after the shootings. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss intelligence procedures.

Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., said after a briefing from Pentagon and Army officials that his committee will investigate how those and other e-mails involving the alleged shooter, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, were handled and why the U.S. military was not made aware of them before the Nov. 5 shooting.

Levin said his committee is focused on determining whether the Defense Department's representative on the terrorism task force acted appropriately and effectively.

Levin also said he considers Hasan's shooting spree, which killed 13 and wounded more than 30, an act of terrorism.

"There are some who are reluctant to call it terrorism but there is significant evidence that is. I'm not at all uneasy saying it sure looks like that," he said.

He said his committee will also look into whether military members have the ability to report suspicious behavior evinced by colleagues.

FBI and military officials have provided differing versions of why Hasan's critical e-mails to al-Awlaki and others did not reach Army investigators before the shooting.

FBI officials have said a military investigator on the task force saw the e-mails and looked up Hasan's record, but finding nothing particularly worrisome, the investigator neither sought nor got permission to pass the e-mails on to other military officials.

But the senior defense official has countered that the rules of the task force prevented that military representative from passing the records on without approval from other members of the task force.

Sen. Joe Lieberman, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, said it appears there was enough information available to law enforcement, the military and intelligence agencies to raise alarm bells about Hasan but no one connected the dots.

"Had it been gathered on one desk, someone might have said 'Nidal Malik Hasan is dangerous,'" Lieberman, a Connecticut independent, told reporters after the briefing.

The Pentagon may reconsider rules governing participation in extremist organizations that some lawmakers say appear outdated and too narrow in light of the shooting rampage at the Army base in Texas.

Lieberman said Congress may recommend such a review, and a Pentagon spokesman said Friday that the rules could be among the policies scrutinized by a wide-ranging inquiry aimed at preventing another similar attack.

The Pentagon wrote regulations on "dissident and protest activities" in response to soldier participation in skinhead and other racially motivated hate groups. The current rules were written in 1996 and last updated in 2003.

The rules prohibit membership or participation in "organizations that espouse supremacist causes," seek to discriminate based on race, religion or other factors or advocate force or violence. Commanders can investigate and can discipline or fire people who "actively participate in such groups."

The rules also cover the distribution and possession of "printed materials," and gatherings held outside military posts.

The language appears to loosely cover some of the activity law enforcement sources have ascribed to Hasan.

But it is geared toward racially motivated groups and toward preventing public espousal of hateful ideology, such as attendance at a rally or the recruitment of new members. The language also applies most directly to materials and communication in the pre-Internet age.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced the 45-day probe on Thursday, the same day that retired Army Gen. John Keane told Congress that the existing rules will probably need revision to cover activity of "Islamic extremists."

Any revision would have to be done carefully to avoid First Amendment violations on the free exercise of speech and religion.

Keane was formerly the No. 2 Army official.

The Pentagon inquiry will get under way in earnest next week.

A senior military official said the inquiry's top leaders will meet with Gates on Monday and are likely to visit Fort Hood on Tuesday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because plans are not final.

___

Associated Press writers Devlin Barrett and Eileen Sullivan contributed to this report.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091121/ap_on_go_ot/us_fort_hood_senate_8
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« Reply #745 on: November 20, 2009, 09:53:29 PM »


Soldiers salute as the hearse carrying Pvt. Francheska Velez leaves Midway Airport, Monday, Nov. 16, 2009 in Chicago. The body of the 21-year-old Illinois soldier killed in the shooting rampage at Fort Hood earlier this month is back in her hometown of Chicago.
(AP Photo/David Banks)


Family members, right, watch as military funeral personel fold the American flag, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2009, outside Saint Monica's Church in Cameron, Texas. Michael Grant Cahill, 62, was killed at Fort Hood military base Nov. 5, along with 12 others.
(AP Photo/ Jerry Larson)



People gather as a hearse leaves with the remains of Army Reserve Capt. Russell Seager following his funeral at the Wonewoc Center School in Wonewoc, Wis., Monday, Nov. 16, 2009. Seager, of Racine, Wis., was one of 13 people killed in the Fort Hood, Texas, mass shooting Nov. 5.
(AP Photo/Wisconsin State Journal, Barry Adams)


Staff Sgt. Michael Avant plays TAPS Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009 in Mountain City, Tenn. during funeral services for Army Spc. Frederick Greene who was killed in the massacre at Fort Hood, Texas.
(AP Photo/Wade Payne)


The honor guard with the Army's 101st Airborne Division from Fort Campbell, KY., carries the casket of Army Spc. Frederick Greene to the grave site Wednesda, Nov. 18, 2009 in Mountain City, Tenn. Greene is one of 13 soldiers killed in the massacre at Fort Hood, Texas.
(AP Photo/Wade Payne)


Sgt. 1st Class Allan Bair, left, presents a flag to Karen Nourse, mother of Army Spc. Frederick Greene Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009 in Mountain City, Tenn. Greene was one of 13 soldiers killed in the Fort Hood, Texas shooting. Behind are Robert Nourse, step-father, and Greene's biological fathe David Greene.
(AP Photo/Wade Payne)


A U.S. Army honor guard fires off a 21-gun salute during the burial ceremony of Pfc. Aaron Nemelka at Camp Williams, Saturday Nov. 14, 2009 in Riverton, Utah. Nemelka was one of 13 gunned down at Fort Hood, Texas.
(AP Photo/Colin Braley)


Teena Nemelka, mother of fallen U.S. Army Pfc. Aaron Nemelka, clutches an American flag that covered her son's casket during a burial ceremony at Camp Williams Nov. 14, 2009 in Riverton, Utah. Nemelka was one of 13 gunned down at Fort Hood, Texas.
(AP Photo/Colin Braley)


Michael Nemelka, father of fallen U.S. Army Pfc. Aaron Nemelka, and his daughter Ashlee Brewer, react during a burial ceremony for his son at Camp Williams, Saturday Nov. 14, 2009 in Riverton, Utah. Nemelka was one of 13 gunned down at Fort Hood, Texas.
(AP Photo/Colin Braley)


The funeral procession of Staff Sgt. Justin DeCrow makes its way through downtown Plymouth, Ind., Saturday Nov. 14, 2009 on the way to Plymouth Wesleyan Church for his funeral service. Staff Sgt. DeCrow was killed during last week's massacre at Fort Hood, Texas.
(AP Photo/South Bend Tribune, Jim Rider)


Soldiers salute during the funeral for Army Spc. Jason Hunt at Sunset Cemetery in Norman, Okla., Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009. Hunt was killed when Army Maj. Malik Nadal Hasan opened fire at Fort Hood, Texas.
(AP Photo/The Oklahoman, Steve Gooch)


A military bugler waits for the funeral of Pfc. Michael Pearson to arrive at the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood, Ill., on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009. Pearson was one of 13 killed during the Fort Hood shootings.
(AP Photo/John Smierciak)
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« Reply #746 on: November 20, 2009, 10:01:56 PM »

Nov-20-2009 18:03

DOD Statement on Fort Hood Independent Review

Salem-News.com

"This task is a solemn responsibility, and one that we undertake with humility and a firm commitment to fulfill the department's – and the nation's – obligation to keep our troops, their families, and all DoD employees safe."


(WASHINGTON D.C.) - The Department of Defense today released a statement by Togo West and retired Adm. Vern Clark, co-chairs of the DoD independent review related to Fort Hood.

"In light of the shooting at Fort Hood, Secretary Gates has asked us to lead a department-wide review to ensure the safety and health of DOD employees and their families.

"The secretary has given extensive guidance on areas to be examined – areas that cover a broad range of issues, programs, policies, and procedures. Considering the scope of this review, its short deadline, and its importance to the Department of Defense, we will be focused intently on our work during this time. At the end of this process, we will be more than willing to discuss our findings."

"This task is a solemn responsibility, and one that we undertake with humility and a firm commitment to fulfill the department's – and the nation's – obligation to keep our troops, their families, and all DoD employees safe."

http://www.salem-news.com/articles/november202009/ft_hood.php
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« Reply #747 on: November 20, 2009, 10:11:23 PM »


Paul Martin was waiting for his final checkup in a crowded medical processing center at Fort Hood when he was shot multiple times

Fort Hood tragedy hit home for family, friends in Adel


Shot numerous times, soldier expects recovery

By Ralph Ellis

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

When The Atlanta Journal-Constitution learned that Paul Martin Sr. of Adel had been wounded at Fort Hood, editors told reporter Ralph Ellis to drive 3-1/2 hours and find out how the little town in South Georgia was taking the news. A postman gave him Martin’s old address from memory and from then on, one interview led to another. He spoke to Martin by phone for this story.
Whiter Teeth Today!
Paul Martin was waiting for his final checkup in a crowded medical processing center at Fort Hood when he was shot multiple times.


Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates meets with Army Staff Sgt. Paul Martin. He also has gotten to know former President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama.

ADEL — In the past 2-1/2 weeks, Paul Martin Sr. has been wounded in the Fort Hood massacre, interviewed by USA Today and gotten to know former President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama while wearing a loose-fitting hospital gown.

“Obama came in and said, ‘Paul’ like he’s known me 20 years,” Martin said. “I’m still on an emotional high.”

The folks back in his hometown of Adel, off I-75 between Valdosta and Tifton, feel like they’ve ridden the emotional roller coaster with him. National news doesn’t mean much in this town of 5,300 people unless it has a local connection. So when Martin was shot in Texas, Adel flinched.

“I was beside myself,” said Linda Meadows, a retired teacher who had Martin in her classes when she started her career. “When people hear about it and put a face and a name to it, it’s more personal.”

People tend to stay put in Adel (pronounced AY-dell), which the city government Web site says was called Puddleville until the postmaster saw the word “Philadelphia” on a sack and decided to take the middle four letters for the town’s new name.

Lives in Adel connect through family, church and the athletic teams of the Cook High Hornets.

Martin, class of ’82, is known as the tall, gregarious guy from a big family. He’s married to Velda and the father of three well-mannered sons, including Kelvin, one of the best basketball players to come out of Adel.

Now that it’s clear that Martin, 45, will recover from his wounds, Adel is starting to relax a little bit. In fact, it’s a novelty to see one of their own play a part in this national drama.

“It’s a small world,” Vanessa Davis said Monday as she leaned against the white Formica counter of the Impire Restaurant, a soul food place where the entire menu is marked on a dry-erase board. “I couldn’t believe somebody from our town was in it.”

“He’s enjoying himself,” said his sister, Vanessa Martin Freeman, one of 10 siblings. “He likes to talk.”

National media organizations, such as ABC News, USA Today and National Public Radio interviewed Martin about what happened Nov. 5 at Fort Hood, the massive military base in Texas. Thirteen people were killed and 30 wounded in what is being called the worst shooting rampage at a U.S. military installation.

Two other casualties had Georgia ties. Army Staff Sgt. Justin M. DeCrow, 32, who grew up in Indiana but had a home in Evans, was killed. Private First Class James Armstrong, who worked in Milledgeville for the state Department of Transportation, was wounded.

Martin was waiting for his final checkup in a crowded medical processing center before shipping out to Iraq. He noticed the Army psychiatrist who was later charged in the shooting, but didn’t think much of it because the man was in uniform. Then Martin heard yelling and shots.

“It seemed like something you see at the movies, not in real life,” Martin said in a telephone interview.

But the bullet that hit his arm was real. Martin lay down and played dead so the gunman wouldn’t shoot again, but he decided to change strategy when he heard the sound of a pistol being reloaded.

He ran out and was shot in the back. He said he woke up in a hospital with bullet wounds in both arms, his left leg and his back. His wife and one of his children flew to his side.

Obama, Bush and Defense Secretary Robert Gates stopped to visit Martin and the other wounded. Martin said he expected to shake hands with Obama, but the president gave him a hug instead.

News of Martin’s shooting “went like wildfire” through Adel, said Charles Clayton, a former Cook High sports star and a community coach to Martin’s sons in high school. “Everybody was trying to find out how he was doing. ... How could it happen to him, a good guy like that?”

Clayton heard from Kelvin Martin, a student at Charleston Southern University in South Carolina and a member of the basketball team. Meadows, the former teacher, put up the information on Facebook. Soon, everybody in town knew.

The shock seemed greater because many townspeople had seen Martin just a few days earlier at the Nov. 1 funeral of his father, Samuel Martin, 76.

“I just couldn’t believe it,” said his old neighbor, Ida Mae Holloman. “He’d just been here to bury his daddy.”

Martin moved out of the hospital about a week ago. Now he’s driving and waiting to be cleared to return to duty.

“I’ve never been shot before in my life, never been cut, nothing,” Martin said. “And I want to say, it hurts.”

Martin said he joined the military right out of high school to so he could travel and “do something different.” He met Velda in Panama, where sons Paul Jr., 25, and Joseph, 22, were born. Kelvin, 20, was born in Germany.

After 14 years in “the regular Army,” he moved the family back to Adel and signed on with the Army Reserve. He worked in a warehouse for Target and behind the counter at an auto parts store and did a 2005 tour of duty in Kuwait.

Three years ago, he took an opportunity to sign up for a full-time job with the Army Reserve.

That meant moving, most recently to Craven Point Army Reserve Center in Jersey City, N.J. Velda stayed behind in Adel, so Kelvin could finish high school, then rejoined him about a year ago.

Martin said doctors expect him to fully recover, and he hopes to serve another five years in the Army before retiring.

“I’m not mad at the Army,” he said. “The Army didn’t shoot me.”

Next month, he’ll visit home, where the people would welcome him even if he hadn’t been shot at Fort Hood.

“He said, ‘Pray for me,’ ” said Meadows, recounting a telephone conversation she had with Martin while he was in the hospital. “I said, ‘Son, everybody in Cook County is praying for you.’ ”

http://www.ajc.com/news/fort-hood-tragedy-hit-207555.html
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« Reply #748 on: November 21, 2009, 03:52:50 PM »

Investigation under way into threat on Fort Benning

By Christian Boone and Mashaun D. Simon

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Few details emerged Saturday on a reported threat at Fort Benning.


Thursday a solider found a suspicious package and a note threatening a massacre similar to the Nov. 5 attack at Fort Hood, Texas, Elsie Jackson, post spokeswoman at Fort Benning confirmed Saturday.

The anonymous note and package --  reported by The Army Times as a box of 20 hollow-point bullets -- were found Thursday morning outside a motor pool area at Fort Benning, located near Columbus.

"There may be an update Monday," said Jackson Saturday. "But at this time there is an ongoing investigation of the incident."

The discovery coincided with a visit from Gen. David Petraeus, commander of U.S. Central Command, who was in town for Officer Candidate School graduation. The threat prompted a criminal investigation and greater police presence on the Army base, the Army Times reports.

According to a witness on the scene, a box of 20 hollow-point shells and a handwritten note were found under the 197th Infantry Training Brigade.

“The note said ‘tell the commanding general to call off all charges or there will be a re-enactment of Fort Hood,’ ” a witness told Army Times. Army psychiatrist Nidal Hasan is charged in the Nov. 5 shooting deaths of 13 fellow service members.

The newspaper, which serves an audience of Army personnel, active and retired, said military police acted quickly on the threat, cordoning off a 20-foot perimeter around the box.

“They’re talking with anyone with a pending [Uniform Code of Military Justice] charge and people who are getting chaptered out to see if they can find out who it is,” the witness told the Army Times.

Fort Benning officials refused comment on the specifics of the letter but confirmed  “an ongoing investigation into a general threat at Fort Benning.”

“A suspicious package and note were found,” Jackson said. “The soldier notified a noncommissioned officer, who alerted 911. The area was secured as is normal in these types of incidents.”

Soldiers in the unit are being questioned about the threat, the witness told the Army Times. The Kelley Hill area of Fort Benning was on lockdown for part of the day Friday, according to the witness, who noted an increase in military police patrols on the post.

The Fort Benning spokeswoman said “appropriate force protection measures are in place while an investigation is underway to determine if this is a viable threat.”

http://www.ajc.com/news/investigation-under-way-into-207757.html
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« Reply #749 on: November 21, 2009, 03:54:33 PM »

Fort Hood-type threat probed at Fort Benning

Ben Wright - benw@ledger-enquirer.com

A suspicious package was found outside a motor pool Thursday morning at Fort Benning with an anonymous note threatening an attack similar to the one at Fort Hood, Texas, the Army Times is reporting.

Elsie Jackson, a public affairs spokeswoman, confirmed that military police found the package on Kelly Hill after officers received a call to its 911 center. Jackson refused to comment on specific details of the package but said it was seized and the area secured.

Army psychiatrist Nidal Malik Hasan is accused in the Nov. 5 shooting spree at Fort Hood that left 13 people dead and 29 wounded.

The Army Times said the package with 20 hollow-point bullets and a threatening note were found in the motor pool area under the 197th Training Brigade.

Discovery of the package came on the same day Gen. David Petraeus, commander of the U.S. Central Command, was in Columbus for Fort Benning’s Officer Candidate School graduation of 152 new second lieutenants at the Columbus Convention Center.

Jackson said the discovery of the package was an ongoing investigation but soldiers and families on post are safe. “All appropriate security measures were in place for the safety of soldiers and the community,” she said.

http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/breaking_news/story/917087.html
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« Reply #750 on: November 21, 2009, 04:18:07 PM »


Charles Rex Arbogast/AP
The hearse carrying the body of Army Pvt. Francheska Velez drives through the Mount Olive Cemetery on Thursday in Chicago. Velez, 21, who was pregnant, was among 13 people killed when a fellow soldier allegedly opened fire at Fort Hood earlier this month. Two U.S. senators and an anti-abortion group have urged that the death of Velez’s fetus be included in the murder charges.
Calls for 14th murder count in Fort Hood case
By Nancy Montgomery, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Sunday, November 22, 2009


HEIDELBERG, Germany — The already high-profile military trial of Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan could become yet more complex and politically charged if he faces a 14th murder count.

Two U.S. senators and an anti-abortion group have urged that Hasan be charged with the murder of a fetus that died along with its mother in the shootings at Fort Hood this month, a young woman just back from Iraq and six weeks pregnant: Pvt. Francheska Velez.

"Both federal law and the Uniform Code of Military Justice allow for a murder charge when a person causes the death of an unborn child," Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, told the Idaho State Journal. "It is important for this child to have justice and for recognition that this family suffered two deaths in this senseless rampage."

Whether Hasan will be charged with the fetal death is unknown.

"All evidence from the investigation is currently under review and no decision has been made regarding the preferral of additional charges at this time," Fort Hood officials said in a statement.

But the Army has never successfully prosecuted such a case.

Only one other death of an unborn child case has ever been filed, in 2007, and those charges were dismissed, according to the U.S. Army Court of Criminal Appeals.

The Air Force is thought to have had the first successful such prosecution. In May, an airman was convicted of attempting to kill an unborn child in a case in which the airman poisoned his wife to force a miscarriage. He had been charged, though, with killing an unborn child.

The Uniform Code of Military Justice added the crime in connection with a 2004 federal law that for the first time made it a separate offense to harm the fetus in a federal crime committed against a pregnant woman.

The controversial federal law, the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, amended the UCMJ by adding Article 119a. The article makes killing or injuring a fetus a separate crime in addition to the murder, manslaughter, robbery, maiming, arson or assault of the mother.

In two widely publicized cases involving troops accused of murdering pregnant women, neither defendant has been charged with fetal homicide, even though both victims, also military members, were in their third trimesters.

Marine Cpl. Cesar Laurean, accused of killing Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach, then eight months pregnant, in 2007, and Army Sgt. Edgar Patino, accused of killing Spc. Megan Touma in 2008, who was seven-months pregnant with his child, are awaiting trial in North Carolina civilian courts. Both are charged with one count of first-degree murder.

North Carolina is one of about 15 states that does not have a fetal homicide law.

Most murder cases are prosecuted in state courts, including those involving military members whose charged crimes occurred off base.

Just as the federal fetal homicide law does, the UCMJ’s Article 119a recognizes the earliest stages of prenatal development — a zygote or fertilized egg — as worthy of the same legal protection as its mother. It defines the fetus as "a child in utero" and a "member of the species homo sapiens, at any stage of development, who is carried in the womb."

The punishment for that separate offense is "the same as the punishment … had that injury or death occurred to the unborn child’s mother," the law says, although the death penalty is specified as not permissible.

Further, the law says that such prosecutions need no proof that a defendant knew or should have known that a woman was pregnant or that the defendant intended to harm the fetus.

The law’s proponents say the objective was to establish in criminal law that a fetus killed or injured in an assault was just as much a victim as its expectant mother, and that it would protect pregnant women from assault.

But opponents said it was a back-door way to provide "personhood" to fetuses and so erode abortion rights.

"The purpose of ‘personifying the fetus, of course, is to set up an inevitable conflict, conceptually and legally, between a woman’s right to choose abortion, as defined by the court in Roe v. Wade, and a fetus’s ‘right to life,’ " according to a public policy report by the Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit organization that researches reproductive health issues and supports abortion rights.

By "labeling the fetus even in its earliest stages an ‘unborn child’ in the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, anti-abortion strategists are seeking to lay critical groundwork for Roe’s eventual demise," the report said.

Of the 35 states that have enacted fetal homicide laws, 25 make it a separate crime to harm a fetus starting at conception; 10 other states have varying requirements, such as fetal viability or after "quickening" or movement in the womb. The state laws have been upheld on appeal.

All fetal homicide laws specify that a pregnant woman may not be prosecuted for having an abortion or somehow harming her own fetus. But the National Advocates for Pregnant Women say that some states have used those laws declaring the fetus a child to prosecute women for "child abuse" if they used drugs or alcohol while pregnant.

So prosecuting Hasan under 119a would add another layer of complexity and politics in an already big, emotionally fraught case.

"It’s a political issue, it was a political hot potato then, and potentially still is …," wrote Philip Cave, a former Navy lawyer now in private practice on his Web site, court-martial.com.

"He’s got 13 murder raps on him. Why complicate the issue?" said David Court, a longtime military defense lawyer based in Germany.

Last month, a U.S. federal district court judge in New Mexico granted motions to reschedule a trial in what is believed to be the first federal UVVA case, the killing of a pregnant woman by her boyfriend that occurred on a Navajo reservation in December.

The lawyers needed more time, the judge agreed, because the indictment "raises novel questions of law …. The constitutional issues arising from this prosecution are indeed unusual and complex."

In May, an airman at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska became what’s believed to be the first military defendant convicted under Article 119a.

Airman 1st Class Scott Boie was convicted of assault and attempting to kill an unborn child after lacing his pregnant wife’s food with an ulcer drug known to cause miscarriages, and she miscarried, according to news reports.

The military jury acquitted him of killing an unborn child.

He was sentenced to nearly 10 years in prison. As of yet, there has been no appeal, said the clerk of the U.S. Air Force Court of Appeals.

http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=66250
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« Reply #751 on: November 21, 2009, 05:16:32 PM »


Shannen Rossmiller says a report she worked on was unclassified but now is under military wraps.

Military denies hiding report after Fort Hood killings


November 20, 2009 10:34 a.m. EST

(CNN) -- A U.S. military spokesman confirmed the existence Friday of a report on detecting extremism in service members. But he disputed a claim that it was classified only after the shootings at Fort Hood, Texas.

Security expert Shannen Rossmiller told CNN she contributed to a 2008 report aimed at helping the military spot signs of extremism among troops. She said the report was unclassified at its inception but is now under wraps.

Rossmiller says the military's attitude about the report -- she says political correctness trumped the study -- caused it to fail in its intended purpose of helping the military detect signs that one of its own might pose a threat.

On Friday, a spokesman for the U.S. military's European Command, Taylor Clark, said that his command has the report, but he denied that it was classified only after the shootings at Fort Hood.

"The classification of the document hasn't changed since its origination back in August of 2008," he said.

Rossmiller said closer attention to the study could have helped prevent the November 5 shootings at Fort Hood. She said it was meant to detect signs of extremism like those reportedly exhibited by Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, an Army psychiatrist who authorities say killed 13 at Fort Hood. Hasan was wounded in the incident and is paralyzed from the waist down.

"These people didn't have to die, and that's why I'm speaking out," Rossmiller said.

"It's an atrocity that this even had to happen. ... You would think, eight years after 9/11, we'd be smarter," she said.

Rossmiller was involved in the case of National Guard Spc. Ryan G. Anderson, a Muslim convert who was convicted in 2004 of trying to pass information to al Qaeda over the Internet. Afterward, she was asked to contribute to the report, "The Radicalization of Members within DoD" (Department of Defense). It was completed in April 2008, she said.

After the Anderson case, Rossmiller said, the military recognized a need for more awareness to stop radicalization among troops.


"The intent behind the whole report was to provide a useful tool for intelligence officials to spot and identify certain signs of radical behavior," she said. At the time it was completed, it was her understanding that it was not classified, she said.

She told CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360°" that she understood the report was sent to "intelligence officials within the defense community as well as the greater intelligence community."

After the Fort Hood shootings, she said she contacted the military after hearing no mention of the study in the media or from military officials.

"I sat quiet for a week," she told CNN. "... People were acting like there was nothing out there that could have been useful."

Rossmiller said she was told the study was now classified.

"The Defense Department report was intended to prevent something like this, and it's just astonishing that this even had to happen after something like that has been prepared as a useful tool."

Watch Rossmiller accuse the military

A key congressional committee opened an investigation into the shootings Thursday, pledging to find out if authorities failed to "connect the dots" and could have prevented the attack. Members said they planned to focus on whether senior Army officials appropriately dealt with concerns raised by Hasan's colleagues about his "mental stability and political extremism."

Among other issues, the FBI has said it was aware of communication between Hasan an Anwar al-Awlaki, a Yemeni-American cleric who has promoted jihad against the United States and other Western countries. But investigators determined that those contacts were "consistent with research being conducted by Maj. Hasan."

Also, a memo reportedly written two years ago by Hasan's supervisor at Walter Reed Army Medical Center says Hasan demonstrated "a pattern of poor judgment and a lack of professionalism" during his residency at the hospital. CNN could not corroborate the authenticity of the memo, which was obtained by National Public Radio.

A former classmate has said he witnessed at least two of Hasan's PowerPoint discussions that included what he described as extremist views. In these presentations, which were supposed to be about health, the source said that Hasan justified suicide bombings and spoke about the persecution of Muslims in the Middle East, in the United States and in the U.S. military.

"People are saying that, 'Wow, this is brand new,' but in my travels, in talking with counterterrorism experts around the world, especially in Europe, this whole process of radicalization has gone through a much more in-depth study, a much more professional rigor than I think what we've seen in the United States," Rep. Pete Hoekstra of Michigan, the ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, told CNN's Anderson Cooper. "We could have learned from them, and it looks like we didn't."

A law enforcement official familiar with the investigation told CNN that when Hasan first came to the attention of investigators because of his communications with al-Awlaki, officials looked at his military personnel file, and nothing was found that raised suspicion.

None of the items that have been reported since the shootings -- including the reported Walter Reed memo and the PowerPoint presentation arguing that Muslims in the Army should be allowed conscientious objector status -- were part of the file, the official said, but it was noted that Hasan had done research about Muslims in the military.

Rossmiller said she was incredulous when Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced a 45-day review of Pentagon policies to see if the Defense Department had fallen short in identifying service members "who could potentially pose credible threats to others."

That review apparently will do "exactly what this report encompassed," Rossmiller said. "It's just like, you know what? They need to fall on their sword and we need to fix this."

"I think what you need to do here is, you need to understand the phenomenon," Hoekstra said. "I think the political correctness here is not about profiling. It is a reluctance to acknowledge that this problem actually exists, to confront it and ultimately, then, to defeat it. I think that we can study this problem."

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/11/20/radicalization.report/
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« Reply #752 on: November 21, 2009, 05:58:40 PM »

Senate investigates Fort Hood e-mails

Updated: Saturday, 21 Nov 2009, 4:00 PM CST
Published : Saturday, 21 Nov 2009, 4:00 PM CST

WASHINGTON (AP) - A Democratic senator says there may be additional e-mails that could have tipped off law enforcement or military officials to the Fort Hood shooter before he went on his rampage.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin said Friday after a briefing from Pentagon and Army officials that his committee will investigate whether those and other e-mails involving the alleged shooter, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, were handled properly.

The government intercepted at least 18 e-mails between Hasan and Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical American- born cleric. They were passed along to two terrorism task forces led by the FBI, but defense officials have said no one at the Defense Department knew about the messages until after the shootings.

Meanwhile, Hasan is due for his first court hearing Saturday. The hearing is being held in his hospital room.

http://www.fox11online.com/dpp/news/hasan-hearing-e-mail-investigation-2009-
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« Reply #753 on: November 21, 2009, 06:26:16 PM »



Quilters on a mission for fallen soldier

Updated: Saturday, 21 Nov 2009, 4:35 PM CST
Published : Saturday, 21 Nov 2009, 4:35 PM CST

Kristin Crowley
   

PLYMOUTH, Wis. - Before Kiel Sergeant Amy Krueger died in the Fort Hood shooting, she had a request. Camouflage quilts for her unit. That request is being fulfilled in Plymouth with the help of many volunteers. The volunteers with the Camo Quilt Project are on a mission for sergeant Amy Krueger.

“She had already received a quilt from me and she sent a thank you,” said coordinator Linda Wieck.

On September 29th, Sergeant Krueger followed that thank you with a request for 45 of these quilts for her unit. Wieck and her husband DuWayne Wieck said it is a useful item Krueger wanted everyone to have.

“Some of them say they use them to throw over the tops of their vehicles when it heats up in the sun to keep themselves from burning,” said DuWayne Wieck.

Krueger's request was a difficult one. Camo Quilt is already behind more than 200 requests for other soldiers. It takes between three and five hours for one person to make one quilt. Making 45 blankets before Krueger's unit is deployed overseas in December would be impossible with only three of the usual volunteers. But Linda Wieck said when news of Krueger's death arrived, hundreds of volunteers stepped up.

“We've got people all the way from south of Milwaukee to Madison. It's just great,” she said.

90 yards of batting, 180 yards of fabric and 3000 yards of thread. That's how much material is going into thee 45 quilts. Not to mention hundreds of hours of volunteer labor.

“It's a labor of love, for everybody,” said Linda.

“It really made me feel good to be a part of,” said volunteer Janet Klug.

Sewing, cutting, ironing, and pinning a special ribbon as the finishing touch. There's a job for everyone who is making a soldiers last request a reality. Krueger's family members say they are deeply touched by the quick response from the community

“It's so special to see all the volunteers that are here. There's a lot of love going into everything here today,” said Dan Krueger.

It's another way a small community has pulled together in a big way. To honor someone these people say was larger than life.
 
http://www.fox11online.com/dpp/news/quilters-on-a-mission-for-fallen-soldier-
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« Reply #754 on: November 21, 2009, 06:39:15 PM »

Maj Hasan was discussing money transfer with cleric

Posted: Sunday , Nov 22, 2009 at 0153 hrs Washington:

In the months before the deadly shootings at Fort Hood, Maj Nidal M Hasan intensified his communications with a radical Yemeni American cleric and began to discuss surreptitious financial transfers and other steps that could translate his thoughts into action, according to two sources briefed on a collection of secret e-mails between the two.

The e-mails were obtained by an FBI-led task force in San Diego between late last year and June but were not forwarded to the military, according to government and congressional sources. Some were sent to the FBI’s Washington field office, triggering an assessment into whether they raised national security concerns, but those intercepted later were not, the sources said.

Hasan’s contacts with extremist imam Anwar al-Awlaki began as religious queries but took on a more specific and concrete tone before he moved to Texas, where he allegedly unleashed the November 5 attack that killed 13 people and wounded nearly three dozen, said the sources who were briefed on the e-mails. One of those sources said the two discussed in “cryptic and coded exchanges” the transfer of money overseas in ways that would not attract law enforcement attention.

The sources said the e-mail correspondence is troubling because Awlaki, who has been on the law enforcement radar for years, is considered by US officials to be an al-Qaeda supporter who has inspired terrorism suspects in Britain, Canada and the US.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/maj-hasan-was-discussing-money-transfer-with-cleric/544633/1
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« Reply #755 on: November 21, 2009, 06:52:04 PM »


United States Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, lower right, looks on as the honor guard folds the flag during services for Army Spc. Frederick Greene Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009 in Mountain City, Tenn. Greene is one of 13 soldiers killed in the massacre at Fort Hood, Texas.
(AP Photo/Wade Payne)
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« Reply #756 on: November 21, 2009, 06:53:41 PM »

Fort Hood shooting suspect to remain confined

Associated Press - November 21, 2009 6:45 PM ET

SAN ANTONIO (AP) - The Army psychiatrist charged in 1 of the worst mass shootings on a U.S. military base has been placed in pretrial confinement but will remain in a military hospital.

A military magistrate made that decision Saturday during a hearing in Maj. Nidal Hasan's hospital room at a San Antonio military hospital. It's where Hasan's been recovering since the Nov. 5 shooting at Fort Hood that killed 13 and wounded more than two dozen. Hasan was shot by civilian members of Fort Hood's police force.

Hasan's civilian attorney John Galligan says he's concerned about where Hasan will be moved once he's released from the hospital, but he doesn't know when that will happen. He says Hasan is paralyzed and still in ICU.

Fort Hood officials declined to comment to The Associated Press about the hearing.

http://www.kwes.com/global/story.asp?s=11551539
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« Reply #757 on: November 21, 2009, 07:12:00 PM »


A bullet pierced the back of Army Pfc. George Stratton III’s left shoulder and exited the front during a shooting rampage Nov. 5 at Fort Hood, Texas.

Wounded soldier believes fast action at Fort Hood saved life

Alison Boggs The Spokesman-Review


A bullet pierced the back of Army Pfc. George Stratton III’s left shoulder and exited the front during a shooting rampage Nov. 5 at Fort Hood, Texas.
(Full-size photo) (All photos)

Since a killer’s bullet entered the back of his left shoulder, Pfc. George Stratton III, of Post Falls, has shaken President Barack Obama’s hand and been hugged by the first lady. He’s been showered with concern and attention from people throughout the Inland Northwest.

But that support doesn’t strip away the bad dreams or the memories of seeing friends and colleagues lying in pools of blood, some dying on the grounds of Fort Hood, in Texas.

Nor does it repair the shattered humerus bone in his upper left shoulder, a memento of the Nov. 5 shooting rampage in which Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan has been charged. Stratton returned home Sunday night for a monthlong convalescent leave. He’ll see an orthopedic surgeon Friday.

The shootings killed 13 people and wounded 30, including Stratton, who was completing medical processing in preparation for a January deployment to Afghanistan. Among those killed was Spokane native Michael Grant Cahill, a civilian physician’s assistant.

Stratton was dozing in a chair in the Soldier Readiness Center while waiting for a friend when he awoke to gunfire. A staff sergeant lay on the ground in front of him, shot in the stomach, so Stratton squatted next to him to see if he could help. He looked around; the shooter was behind him.

“He had just finished loading up a fresh magazine,” said Stratton, 18. “Soon as he was done, he looked down at me. I turned away from him as fast as I could.”

Both Stratton and his father, George Stratton Jr., think that quick action saved the young man’s life. When he turned and moved toward the door, the bullet entered his shoulder instead of his chest, his father said.

“He would’ve got it right through the center, right through the heart,” his father said.

Stratton managed to get outside, where he noticed “blood on the concrete walkway, blood on the grass, blood everywhere.” He saw a man lying on the ground outside who he believed was dead. Knowing he couldn’t help him, Stratton kept moving. He got to the base’s Sports Dome, where he said other soldiers were caring for the wounded. They started first aid, applying pressure to the wound and patching him up. They talked to him constantly, keeping him conscious. Finally, he was loaded in an ambulance and taken to a hospital.

Using his cell phone, Stratton called his father in the ambulance. Later, his clothes and belongings were taken into custody as evidence, including his wallet, identification, credit cards, phone, clothing and boots. He said he’ll get them back when the investigation is complete.

Stratton said he favors the death penalty for the shooter because the man didn’t value his own life or the lives of others.

“When I looked at him, I noticed he had a dead look in his face. He was pretty much on a rampage, like he was possessed,” Stratton said. “He was just going around with the same facial expression, just shooting, not caring who he was shooting, shooting everybody.”

Stratton said he was “almost” mentally prepared for his deployment to Afghanistan prior to the shooting. That has changed. The experience has made him want to be closer to home, closer to his family. If he could choose, he said, he’d like to be stationed at Fort Lewis in Tacoma or Fort Carson in Colorado.

“Because I was this close (to dying). I was only 6 feet away when the guy pulled the trigger on me. I thought about everything. I thought about my family. I thought about how this would affect my military career,” he said. “I just thought about my future and all that. It was just time to go home. I knew my family was pretty scared for me.”

Some consolation came the day before Veterans Day, when the president and first lady traveled to Fort Hood to address the grieving community. When the president made the rounds in a room filled with wounded soldiers and their families, Stratton shook his hand and secured an autograph on his brigade coin. It says: “God bless. Barack Obama.”

“After I met President Obama, and he talked to us for five, 10 minutes, I sat down in my chair and I’m like, ‘Whoa, I just met the president.’ Mrs. Obama comes up and she says something to me and I stood up and she just came and wrapped me up and gave me a big ole hug,” he said. “It was pretty cool.”

The soldier said he’s not sure what comes next. If he heals quickly and returns to active duty, he could be deployed this summer. He also could be sent to another battalion, he said. He and his family are waiting to see what the surgeon says about the damage to his shoulder.

His father said the family has been touched by the outpouring of support.

His son “does appreciate all of the concern and all of the gestures from everybody in the whole community – from Spokane to Coeur d’Alene,” he said. “We’ve had people just call and talk to him and say, ‘Thanks for your service.’ He appreciates everything everybody’s done.”

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/nov/17/an-essential-moment/

Pictures: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/nov/17/an-essential-moment/?photos
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« Reply #758 on: November 21, 2009, 07:17:06 PM »


A bullet pierced the back of Army Pfc. George Stratton III’s left shoulder and exited the front during a shooting rampage Nov. 5 at Fort Hood, Texas.


Pictures: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/nov/17/an-essential-moment/?photos

Wounded soldier deals with Fort Hood tragedy

By ALISON BOGGS - The Spokesman-Review
Published: 11/21/09

POST FALLS, Idaho — Since a killer's bullet entered the back of his left shoulder, Pfc. George Stratton III, of Post Falls, has shaken President Barack Obama's hand and been hugged by the first lady.

He's been showered with concern and attention from people throughout the Inland Northwest.

But that support doesn't strip away the bad dreams or the memories of seeing friends and colleagues lying in pools of blood, some dying on the grounds of Fort Hood, in Texas.

Nor does it repair the shattered humerus bone in his upper left shoulder, a memento of the Nov. 5 shooting rampage in which Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan has been charged. Stratton returned home last week for a monthlong convalescent leave. His visit includes an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon.

The shootings killed 13 people and wounded 30, including Stratton, who was completing medical processing in preparation for a January deployment to Afghanistan. Among those killed was Spokane, Wash., native Michael Grant Cahill, a civilian physician's assistant.

Stratton was dozing in a chair in the Soldier Readiness Center while waiting for a friend when he awoke to gunfire. A staff sergeant lay on the ground in front of him, shot in the stomach, so Stratton squatted next to him to see if he could help. He looked around; the shooter was behind him.

"He had just finished loading up a fresh magazine," said Stratton, 18. "Soon as he was done, he looked down at me. I turned away from him as fast as I could."

Both Stratton and his father, George Stratton Jr., think that quick action saved the young man's life. When he turned and moved toward the door, the bullet entered his shoulder instead of his chest, his father said.

"He would've got it right through the center, right through the heart," his father said.

Stratton managed to get outside, where he noticed "blood on the concrete walkway, blood on the grass, blood everywhere." He saw a man lying on the ground outside who he believed was dead. Knowing he couldn't help him, Stratton kept moving. He got to the base's Sports Dome, where he said other soldiers were caring for the wounded. They started first aid, applying pressure to the wound and patching him up. They talked to him constantly, keeping him conscious. Finally, he was loaded in an ambulance and taken to a hospital.

Using his cell phone, Stratton called his father in the ambulance. Later, his clothes and belongings were taken into custody as evidence, including his wallet, identification, credit cards, phone, clothing and boots. He said he'll get them back when the investigation is complete.

Stratton said he favors the death penalty for the shooter because the man didn't value his own life or the lives of others.

"When I looked at him, I noticed he had a dead look in his face. He was pretty much on a rampage, like he was possessed," Stratton said. "He was just going around with the same facial expression, just shooting, not caring who he was shooting, shooting everybody."

Stratton said he was "almost" mentally prepared for his deployment to Afghanistan prior to the shooting. That has changed. The experience has made him want to be closer to home, closer to his family. If he could choose, he said, he'd like to be stationed at Fort Lewis in Tacoma or Fort Carson in Colorado.

"Because I was this close (to dying). I was only 6 feet away when the guy pulled the trigger on me. I thought about everything. I thought about my family. I thought about how this would affect my military career," he said. "I just thought about my future and all that. It was just time to go home. I knew my family was pretty scared for me."

Some consolation came the day before Veterans Day, when the president and first lady traveled to Fort Hood to address the grieving community. When the president made the rounds in a room filled with wounded soldiers and their families, Stratton shook his hand and secured an autograph on his brigade coin. It says: "God bless. Barack Obama."

"After I met President Obama, and he talked to us for five, 10 minutes, I sat down in my chair and I'm like, Whoa, I just met the president. Mrs. Obama comes up and she says something to me and I stood up and she just came and wrapped me up and gave me a big ole hug," he said. "It was pretty cool."

The soldier said he's not sure what comes next. If he heals quickly and returns to active duty, he could be deployed this summer. He also could be sent to another battalion, he said. He and his family are waiting to see what the surgeon says about the damage to his shoulder.

His father said the family has been touched by the outpouring of support.

His son "does appreciate all of the concern and all of the gestures from everybody in the whole community from Spokane to Coeur d'Alene," he said. "We've had people just call and talk to him and say, Thanks for your service. He appreciates everything everybody's done."
http://www.idahostatesman.com/IdahoNews/story/981740.html
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« Reply #759 on: November 22, 2009, 02:10:48 PM »

Fort Hood gunman paralysed by bullet wounds, lawyer says

Major Nidal Hasan in pain and not a flight risk, hearing told



Major Nidal Hasan, who has been charged with 13 murders over the shootings at Fort Hood in Texas, is paralysed from the neck down, incontinent and in severe pain, according to his lawyer.

The lawyer, John Galligan, told a hearing by a military magistrate yesterday that the army psychiatrist, who is accused of killing 12 soldiers and a civilian on 5 November, that his client was severely wounded by four bullets fired by military police and is not a flight risk. The magistrate was considering whether to move Hasan, 39, to a more secure location than the army hospital he is being treated at in San Antonio. He ruled that the major could remain where he is for now.

The military has said it will seek the death penalty for Hasan, a Muslim, for the killings which are increasingly spoken of in the US as an act of terrorism.

The hearing came amid fresh questions over whether the authorities were alert to Hasan's connections to a Yemen-based radical Muslim cleric, Anwar al-Awlaki, after email messages between the two were intercepted by the FBI. Al-Awlaki formerly preached at a mosque attended by Hasan. The FBI has said an analyst with the Joint Terrorism Task Force concluded that Hasan's views on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were typical of those of many Muslims in the US military. ABC News reported that Nisan told al-Awlaki "I can't wait to join you [in the afterlife]."

Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate armed services committee, said he will be asking why the task force did not inform the army about the emails. Senator John McCain said on Saturday that he believes the emails were not acted on in part because of "political correctness".

The US defence secretary, Robert Gates, has ordered all branches of the military to seek better ways of "identifying service members who could potentially pose credible threats to others".

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/nov/22/fort-hood-gunman-hasan-paralysed
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