Officers May Be Punished For Ft. Hood Rampage

Maj. Nidal Hasan. Photo from The Telegraph.

From FOX News/AP:

As many as eight Army officers may be punished for failing to heed warning signs and take action against suspected Fort Hood gunman Maj. Nidal Hasan, a U.S. official said Thursday.

First reported in the Los Angeles Times, an official familiar with a Pentagon review of the case, which will be discussed at a briefing Friday, said the officers who face discipline hold ranks of colonel and below.

The review reportedly found that superiors allowed Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, to advance within the ranks despite his failings to meet physical and professional standards. Hasan avoided physical training, was overweight and frequently late, but was seen by superiors as a rare medical officer and thus avoided corrective action.

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My Comment: I am curious to know how high-up this examination will go. But this leak from the L.A. Times (FOX News) ... if it is to be taken serious .... seems to indicate that the blame for this massacre is going to be laid at the feet of a few officers and not on the policy of promoting officers like Major Hasan.

I should not be surprised .... sweeping this under the rug was the policy that I predicted would be implemented once the storm of the Fort Hood massacre had dissipated. This mess will only open a can of worms that no one in the U.S. Department of Defense will want to touch .... especially since it is now perceived as a career killer.

My only hope is that Maj. Hasan's trial will reveal more information and motivations on his attack .... but I cannot help but believe that there is a good chance that a plea agreement may be reached, and in that case an open trial may not even happen.