Ft. Hood Shooter Linked To 9/11 Terrorists
A tenuous link, to be sure, but certainly a troubling one.
Hasan, the sole suspect in the massacre of 13 fellow US soldiers in Texas, attended the controversial Dar al-Hijrah mosque in Great Falls, Virginia, in 2001 at the same time as two of the September 11 terrorists, The Sunday Telegraph has learnt. His mother’s funeral was held there in May that year.
The preacher at the time was Anwar al-Awlaki, an American-born Yemeni scholar who was banned from addressing a meeting in London by video link in August because he is accused of supporting attacks on British troops and backing terrorist organisations.
While this doesn’t necessarily portend any connection to 9/11, the fact that Hasan apparently admired this extremist scholar and had a connection to his mosque gives us further insight into his motivations for the attack at Fort Hood.
What I’m beginning to wonder is why a guy with this background would have chosen the US military for a career. Unless he developed his more extremist views after joining the military, it seems as though the two lifestyles are about as compatible as oil and water.
The other explanation is that Hasan was under cover in some way, but given that he initially joined the military in the late 1980’s that seems unlikely. More plausible is that he joined, became disillusioned with his service and turned to extremist Islam as an outlet for his frustrations.
That’s my speculation at this point.
