Priorities of Obama Administration, Military Called into Question over Ft. Hood Shootings

FBI May Have Known Ft. Hood Shooter May Have Tried to Contact al-Qaeda

AMRAAM AIM-120C missiles

Just hours after the Ft. Hood shootings, the press and politicians began to speculate that Major Nidal Hasan had used a “Cop Killer” pistol in retaliation against suspected “harassment” in the military because Hasan was a Muslim. We thought it was our turn to speculate: what if Hasan was driven by his ideology, Islam, and had been, instead of an Army psychiatrist, an Air Force jet fighter pilot? His weapon, instead of a “Cop Killer” pistol, six AMRAAM AIM-120C medium range missiles and 2 1,000 pound JDAM bombs? His target, instead of military personnel, civilians in large metro areas?

More deeply disturbing information has emerged about Army Major Nidal Hasan, dubbed the “Ft. Hood Shooter”.

In a recent post, we found where ABC had reported that American “officials” claim that the FBI knew “months ago” Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan had tried to contact al-Qaeda:

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.

Last Friday, Kathryn Jean Lopez at the National Review had more info:

Hasan had come to the attention of federal law enforcement officials at least six months ago because of Internet postings that discussed suicide bombings and other threats, according to a federal law enforcement official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the case.

Gawker reported Hassan participated last year in a Homeland Security Policy Institute presidential task force for the incoming Obama administration on “Homeland Security Disaster Preparation”. Other participants:

“Senate and House staffers, Department of Homeland Security officials, Defense Department officials, and reporters for Politico, the Washington Post, and the London Times.”

The LA Times reported Fort Hood shooting suspect’s ties to mosque investigated where “The FBI and Army are looking into whether Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan had an association with militants at the Virginia mosque where two 9/11 hijackers prayed, a source says”.

Lopez at the National Review also reported that, according to U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, a Republican from Austin, who was briefed by military officials, Hassan, a military psychiatrist, had taken “a lot of extra classes in weapons training”.

ABC reported that during the Ft. Hood shootings Hasan allegedly used the “Cop Killer” FN Herstal Five-seveN tactical pistol which Hasan legally purchased in August at the Kileen, Tx, gun shop, Guns Galore. With an extended clip, the gun is capable of firing 31 rounds before reloading.

Army Major Malik Nadil Hasan was a psychiatrist assigned to Fort Hood in July then was due to be deployed to Afghanistan to counsel soldiers suffering from “combat stress”. Hasan is alleged to have killed 13 and wounded 29, within a matter of “minutes”. His victims: members of the military who were either set to deploy to Iraq or Afghanistan or, had returned from a tour of duty and were unaware of the monster in their midst. We believe the following is a legitimate observation:

Major Malik Nadil Hasan was a member of the U.S. Army, his weapon of choice, the “Cop Killer” FN Herstal Five-seveN tactical pistol, his victims: members of the U.S. Army. But what if, instead of the Army, Hasan had been a member of the Air Force, and his weapon of choice, an F22A Raptor Advanced Fighter jet whose weapon systems include up to six AMRAAM AIM-120C missiles and, two AMRAAM and two 1,000lb GBU-32 joint direct attack munition (JDAM) bombs. And, what if, Hasan’s target had been civilians living in heavily populated metro areas?

The F22A weapon’s systems:

A variant of the M61A2 Vulcan cannon is installed internally above the right air intake. The General Dynamics linkless ammunition handling system holds 480 rounds of 20mm ammunition and feeds the gun at a rate of 100 rounds a second.

The F-22 has four hardpoints on the wings, each rated to carry 2,270kg, which can carry AIM-120A AMRAAM or external fuel tanks. The Raptor has three internal weapon bays. The main weapons bay can carry six AMRAAM AIM-120C missiles or two AMRAAM and two 1,000lb GBU-32 joint direct attack munition (JDAM).

The bay is fitted with the EDO Corp. LAU-142/A AVEL AMRAAM vertical ejection launcher which is a pneumatic-ejection system controlled by the stores management system. Raytheon AMRAAM air-to-air missile is an all-weather short- to medium-range radar-guided fire-and-forget missile, with a range of 50nm. The side bays can each be loaded with one Lockheed Martin / Raytheon AIM-9M or AIM-9X Sidewinder all-aspect short-range air-to-air missile.

The GPS-guided, Boeing small diameter bomb (SDB) is being integrated on the F/A-22 in February 2007. Eight SDBs can be carried with two AMRAAM missiles.

AMRAAM AIM-120C missiles

“The AIM-120 advanced medium-range air-to-air missile (AMRAAM) is a new generation air-to-air missile.”

“The AMRAAM weighs 340 pounds and uses an advanced solid-fuel rocket motor to achieve a speed of Mach 4 and a range in excess of 30 miles. In long-range engagements AMRAAM heads for the target using inertial guidance and receives updated target information via data link from the launch aircraft. It transitions to a self-guiding terminal mode when the target is within range of its own monopulse radar set. The AIM-120 also has a “home-on-jam” guidance mode to counter electronic jamming. With its sophisticated avionics, high closing speed, and excellent end-game maneuverability, chances of escape from AMRAAM are minimal. Upon intercept an active-radar proximity fuze detonates the 40-pound high-explosive warhead to destroy the target. At closer ranges AMRAAM guides itself all the way using its own radar, freeing the launch aircraft to engage other targets.”
Source – GlobalSecurity.org

GBU-32 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) Precision Bomb

From DefenseIndustryDaily.com:

Precision bombing has been a significant military goal since the invention of the Norden bomb sight in the 1920s, but its application remained elusive. Over 30 years later, in Vietnam, the destruction of a single target could require 300 bombs, which meant sending an appropriate number of fighters or bombers into harm’s way to deliver them. Even the 1991 Desert Storm war with Iraq featured unguided munitions for the most part; the US Air Force did use some laser and TV-guided weapons like Paveway bombs and Maverick missiles, but they were very expensive and only effective in good weather. If precision bombing was finally to become a reality throughout the Air Force, a new approach would be needed.

1000 Pound Bomb JDAM Dropped On Taliban Hideout In Afghanistan

Immediately after the Ft. Hood shootings, Obama warned the country to not “speculate” as to what had occurred, and to not jump to conclusions. Even so, some in the MSM as well as politicians, had bypassed speculation and had already stated conclusions they knew exactly what Hasan’s “motive” was, thus, why he allegedly did it. Statements such as Hasan had been harassed by members of the military because he was a Muslim.

Less than 24 hours after the shootings Geraldo Rivera published an article titled: Caution America — The Vast Majority of Muslim Soldiers Serve With Distinction.

Geraldo:

The massacre at Fort Hood Thursday afternoon curiously caused me to flashback to my childhood, rather than my experiences as a war correspondent. After my family moved during the 1950’s “Ozzie and Harriet”-era from Brooklyn to West Babylon Long Island, becoming the neighborhood’s first Latino family, my dad used to say a little prayer whenever there was a particularly notorious crime: “Please God that the person responsible not be another Puerto Rican.”

Fighting discrimination and trying to overcome post-World War II-era discrimination as well as our new neighbors’ hesitation to welcome our urban brood into their suburban midst, dad saw every act of infamy or notoriety committed by someone who looked like us or who had a name like ours’ as an impediment to our ultimate integration.

When 39-year old American-born Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan was identified as the lone gunmen responsible for slaughtering 12 or 13 of his fellow GI’s and wounding dozens more, I thought of those uneasy days in West Babylon. Specifically, I felt deep sympathy for the 12-15,000 Muslims serving honorably in the Armed Forces, and the four to five million more who are law abiding, patriotic citizens of the United States. I wondered out loud this morning on “Fox & Friends” how the Fort Hood tragedy is impacting them?”

Geraldo’s article was highly illuminating in that he focused on how the “massacre” at Ft. Hood might impact American Muslims, and, how it had “impacted” Geraldo Rivera. Not one word was written by Geraldo on “sympathy” for the soldiers who had been murdered and the dozens wounded. Geraldo also cautioned that “the vast majority of Muslim soldiers serve with distinction”. A fair statement, but then again, the “vast” majority leaves room for “tiny” minority. A minority whose intentions may rise, or exceed the level of the Ft. Hood shootings.

On March 16, 2009, during an interview with Der Spiegel, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano explained why the term “terrorism” had been replaced by “man-caused disasters” due to the “politics of fear”:

SPIEGEL: Madame Secretary, in your first testimony to the US Congress as Homeland Security Secretary you never mentioned the word “terrorism.” Does Islamist terrorism suddenly no longer pose a threat to your country?

Napolitano: Of course it does. I presume there is always a threat from terrorism. In my speech, although I did not use the word “terrorism,” I referred to “man-caused” disasters. That is perhaps only a nuance, but it demonstrates that we want to move away from the politics of fear toward a policy of being prepared for all risks that can occur.

The Policy of Fear

There doesn’t seem to be anything written by the Obama administration which outlines the “policies of fear” which Napolitano referred to. Nothing written on what those “policies” were, or, how they were implemented. But we have heard the term “policies of fear” before:

Obama, Waverly College, Iowa, December, 2007

“So when the student asked about America’s climate of fear, Obama pounced. “We have been operating under a politics of fear: fear of terrorists, fear of immigrants, fear of people of different religious beliefs, fears of gays that they might get married and that somehow that would affect us,” he declared. “We have to break that fever of fear.” …”

Here’s an excerpt from Obama’s speech in Egypt to Muslims around the world, in June 2009:

“Violent extremists have exploited these tensions in a small but potent minority of Muslims. The attacks of September 11, 2001, and the continued efforts of these extremists to engage in violence against civilians has led some in my country to view Islam as inevitably hostile not only to America and western countries but also to human rights.

All this has bred more fear and more mistrust. So long as our relationship is defined by our differences, we will empower those who sow hatred rather than peace, those who promote conflict rather than the cooperation that can help all of our people achieve justice and prosperity. And this cycle of suspicion and discord must end.”

Major Hasan wasn’t first case of an American Muslim soldier accused of having an attitude problem who killed his comrades . In April 2005, Sgt Hasan Akbar was sentenced to death for killing two officers using a grenade and guns during the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

According the BBC, military officials believed Akbar was a “hate-filled, ideologically driven murderer”. Akbar claimed he suffered from “racial”-Akbar, a converted Muslim was black-and “religious” harassment before the attack. Even so, Akbar’s defense was unable to find any “witnesses” to bolster his claims.

The military found Akbar was a “hate-filled, ideologically driven murderer”, a term which implied Akbar’s actions stemmed from his ideology which was Islam. Six years later witnesses claim Major Hasan shouted “Allahu Akbar!”, the Muslim term for “God is Great!” just prior to killing 12 and wounding 29 of his fellow soldiers. Due to the Obama’s administration’s policy to erase the “policy of fear” we doubt we’ll hear the same term, in fact, we doubt there will be any association made to Hasan’s religion.

From Are Ft Hood Dead the Eggs in Multicultural Omelet?

Americans are getting a bit tired of seeing more official concern over imagined Islamophobia than real dead soldiers. It’s been an almost endless prattle to the cattle about the multiculturally-diverse wonderland the USA will become–if only the rubes will lay aside our “fear and mistrust”.

What’s a few dead soldiers against the promise of the Great Rich Tapestry of Society?

Are Ft. Hood’s dead to be considered the eggs that are necessarily broken to get our Great Diverse Omelet?

If its proved that Hasan, a Major in the Armed Forces, who served on a Homeland Security advisory committee, had solicited terrorists, that intelligence agencies knew of Hasan’s activities, and that Hasan was kept in the Armed Forces, the “best interests” of the safety of those in our military were given a frighteningly low priority. That the “higher” priorities lay elsewhere, and may have been based upon a policy to limit “bruised feelings” and perceived “backlash” against Muslims. Backlash which didn’t occur after 911 where 3,000 American civilians, including children, the worst terrorist attack on American soil, were murdered at the hands of Islamic terrorists. And, that the “risk ” which did occur, the so-called “man-caused disaster” at Ft. Hood, could have been horrifyingly far worse.

By LBG