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Texas congressman: Fort Hood shooter had Pakistan 'connection'

By Michael O'Brien - 11/13/09 05:12 PM ET

The suspected shooter at last week's Ft. Hood massacre had a "connection" to Pakistan, a Texas lawmaker said Friday.

Rep. Mike McCaul (R) suggested a financial relationship between Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan and Pakistan, a country long plagued by terror groups, including al-Qaeda.

"There appears to have been a Pakistan connection," McCaul said in a statement provided to The Hill. "It raises more red flags about this case and demonstrates why it’s important for Congress to exercise its oversight authority.”

In an earlier statement to the Dallas Morning News, McCaul described "communications and wire transfers" between Hasan and Pakistani sources.

McCaul's revelation comes as Hasan's actions have been characterized as terrorism by some lawmakers and as President Barack Obama has ordered a review of intelligence about Hasan existing before his rampage last Thursday on the Army base.

Hasan, a devout Muslim, had been under investigation by federal authorities for having allegedly tried to contact representatives of terrorist groups.

Source:
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/67749-congressman-says-ft-hood-shooter-had-connection-to-pakistan

Comments (19)

By definition, Hasan's attack was not terrorism, regardless of any contacts he may or may not have had with Al Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden or The Tooth Fairy.BY Michale32086 on 11/13/2009 at 17:42
Michale32086 You are right, he was in uniform, the USA Army uniform. So it is not strictly terrorism, it is treason for him. Were he working under the direction of others, say an religious leader in Yemen, that could be terrorism on the religious leader's part. I would also like to see us stop calling the Muslim tendency to kill people they don't like as radical Muslims, they are actually historic Muslims. Anyone preaching historic Muslim hate, needs to be tagged as the enemy of the modern world. The Muslim religion needs to be reinvented to preserve the good parts of the brotherhood of mankind, and lose the "kill anyone who disagrees or converts to some other belief" part. We can't have people in our mist that believe murder is justified.BY SparkyVA on 11/13/2009 at 18:00
Interesting - I thought 'terrorism' was a random act of senseless violence against unsuspecting victims to further an idealogical agenda. Seems to me that this does fit as an act of terrorism.BY Texas Mom on 11/13/2009 at 18:03
"Terrorism is defined as ongoing and systematic attacks of violence specifically targeted against innocent civilian persons or property for the purpose of furthering a political, economical or ideological agenda."Hasan's attack, regardless of the motivations, was against a legitimate military target. Hence, it cannot be defined as terrorism.SparkyVA has a good point. Treason would be a more applicable charge than terrorism.BY Michale32086 on 11/13/2009 at 18:11
I think that you are being too restrictive in this definition - while this was against military personnel, they were not on the battlefield or deployed…they were at home…in a 'government' building - very much like the building in OK City. They were unarmed…I believe the bombers attacking police and military sites in Iraq are still considered to be terrorists.BY Texas Mom on 11/13/2009 at 18:40
Well Michale, we all now see where you stand. You think that our soldiers on our own soil are a legitimate target? It was terrorism, no doubt about it. By your logic, a suicide bomber would not be a terrorist because they certainly don't do it on an ongoing basis. They can only do it once.BY John Q on 11/13/2009 at 18:49
Also, I guess when they bomb our embassies that wouldn't fall under your definition of terrorism because they too are "legitimate targets". I also guess in your mind when they took down the twin towers and the pentagon, these too were not terrorist acts?BY John Q on 11/13/2009 at 18:54
Love the last sentence of the above article ! Like that's all he's being looked at for ?With another muslim in the white house, this guy will never be convicted of anything.Heard he's paralized from the waist down. perhaps a jessie jackson ball extraction should be preformed to make sure !911 terrorists brought to NYC for trial ? Holders first step in the process to be sure they are never convicted of anything.BY Sicario on 11/13/2009 at 18:55
Whether its terrorism or treason…either one carries a death sentence for this scumbag.BY Tommy  on 11/13/2009 at 19:11
@JohnQ… If you look at things rationally rather than hysterically, you will see the logic of my position. The WTC was not a legitimate military target and therefore was an act of terrorism. However, the Pentagon was a legitimate military target. @Tommy no argument there…BY Michale32086 on 11/13/2009 at 19:55

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