Author: Dana Priest
Publication: Washington Post
Date: November 10, 2009
URL: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/09/AR2009110903618.html?referrer=emailarticle
Cited stress facing Muslims Hasan spoke at Walter Reed in 2007
The Army psychiatrist believed to have killed
13 people at Fort Hood warned a roomful of senior Army physicians a year and
a half ago that to avoid "adverse events," the military should allow
Muslim soldiers to be released as conscientious objectors instead of fighting
in wars against other Muslims.
As a senior-year psychiatric resident at Walter
Reed Army Medical Center, Maj. Nidal M. Hasan was supposed to make a presentation
on a medical topic of his choosing as a culminating exercise of the residency
program.
Instead, in late June 2007, he stood before
his supervisors and about 25 other mental health staff members and lectured
on Islam, suicide bombers and threats the military could encounter from Muslims
conflicted about fighting in the Muslim countries of Iraq and Afghanistan,
according to a copy of the presentation obtained by The Washington Post.
"It's getting harder and harder for Muslims
in the service to morally justify being in a military that seems constantly
engaged against fellow Muslims," he said in the presentation.
"It was really strange," said one
staff member who attended the presentation and spoke on the condition of anonymity
because of the investigation of Hasan. "The senior doctors looked really
upset" at the end. These medical presentations occurred each Wednesday
afternoon, and other students had lectured on new medications and treatment
of specific mental illnesses.
An Army spokesman said Monday night he was
unaware of the presentation, and a Walter Reed spokesman declined to comment.
It is unclear whether anyone in attendance reported the briefing to counterintelligence
or law enforcement authorities whose job it is to identify threats from within
the military ranks.
Hasan spent six years at Walter Reed as an
intern, resident and fellow beginning in 2003. He was transferred to Fort
Hood as a practicing psychiatrist in July and was set to leave soon for Afghanistan.
According to a relative, he had asked not to be deployed. It is not known
whether he ever sought conscientious-objector status.
Maj. Gen. Gina S. Farrisee, the Army's personnel
chief, said in an interview Monday that because of the investigation, she
and other Army officials could not discuss whether Hasan had officially asked
to quit the service or not to be deployed. However, she and another Army official
said it would be highly unusual for officers with Hasan's rank and medical
training to be allowed to resign, given their service obligation.
Investigators are examining Hasan's religious
beliefs, whether he harbored extremist views, and whether he was in contact
with others who may have encouraged violence against U.S. troops.
The title of Hasan's PowerPoint presentation
was "The Koranic World View As It Relates to Muslims in the U.S. Military."
It consisted of 50 slides. In one slide, Hasan described the presentation's
objectives as identifying "what the Koran inculcates in the minds of
Muslims and the potential implications this may have for the U.S. military."
He also sought to "describe the nature
of the religious conflicts that Muslims" who serve in the U.S. military
may have and to persuade the Army to identify these individuals.
Other slides delved into the history of Islam,
its tenets, statistics about the number of Muslims in the military, and explanations
of "offensive jihad," or holy war.
Another slide suggested ways to draw out Muslim
troops: "It must be hard for you to balance Islamic beliefs that might
be conflicting with current war; feelings of guilt; Is it what you expected."
Hasan's presentation lasted about an hour.
It is unclear whether he read out loud every point on each slide. If typical
procedures were followed, his adviser would have supervised the development
of his project, said people familiar with the practice.
The final three slides indicate that Hasan
referred to Osama bin Laden, the Taliban, suicide bombers and Iran.
Under a slide titled "Comments,"
he wrote: "If Muslim groups can convince Muslims that they are fighting
for God against injustices of the 'infidels'; ie: enemies of Islam, then Muslims
can become a potent adversary ie: suicide bombing, etc." [sic]
The last bullet point on that page reads simply:
"We love death more then [sic] you love life!"
Under the "Conclusions" page, Hasan
wrote that "Fighting to establish an Islamic State to please God, even
by force, is condoned by the Islam," and that "Muslim Soldiers should
not serve in any capacity that renders them at risk to hurting/killing believers
unjustly -- will vary!"
The final page, labeled "Recommendation,"
contained only one suggestion:
"Department of Defense should allow Muslims
[sic] Soldiers the option of being released as 'Conscientious objectors' to
increase troop morale and decrease adverse events."
Staff writer Ann Scott Tyson contributed to
this report.
