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His name appears on radical Internet postings.
A fellow officer says he fought his deployment to Iraq and argued
with soldiers who supported U.S. wars. He required counseling as a
medical student because of problems with patients.


      There are many unknowns about Nidal Malik Hasan, the man
authorities say is responsible for the worst mass killing on a U.S.
military base. Most of all, his motive. But details of his life and
mindset, emerging from official sources and personal acquaintances,
are troubling.


      For six years before reporting for duty at Fort Hood, Texas, in
July, the 39-year-old Army major worked at the Walter Reed Army
Medical Center pursuing his career in psychiatry, as an intern, a
resident and, last year, a fellow in disaster and preventive
psychiatry. He received his medical degree from the military's
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda,
Md., in 2001.


      While an intern at Walter Reed, Hasan had some "difficulties"
that required counseling and extra supervision, said Dr. Thomas
Grieger, who was the training director at the time.


      Grieger said privacy laws prevented him from going into details
but noted that the problems had to do with Hasan's interactions
with patients. He recalled Hasan as a "mostly very quiet" person
who never spoke ill of the military or his country.


      "He swore an oath of loyalty to the military," Grieger said.
"I didn't hear anything contrary to those oaths."


      But, more recently, federal agents grew suspicious.


      At least six months ago, Hasan came to the attention of law
enforcement officials because of Internet postings about suicide
bombings and other threats, including posts that equated suicide
bombers to soldiers who throw themselves on a grenade to save the
lives of their comrades.


      They had not determined for certain whether Hasan is the author
of the posting, and a formal investigation had not been opened
before the shooting, said law enforcement officials who spoke on
condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss
the case.


      Federal law-enforcement agents ordered an evacuation of the
apartment complex where Hasan lived in Killeen, Texas, Thursday
night and conducted a search of his home, said Hilary Shine,
director of public information for the city. She didn't say what
was found during the search.

      Officials said earlier that federal search warrants were being
drawn up to authorize the seizure of his computer.


      Retired Army Col. Terry Lee, who said he worked with Hasan, told
Fox News that Hasan had hoped President Barack Obama would pull
troops out of Afghanistan and Iraq. Lee said Hasan got into
frequent arguments with others in the military who supported the
wars, and had tried hard to prevent his pending deployment.


      Hasan attended prayers regularly when he lived outside
Washington, often in his Army uniform, said Faizul Khan, a former
imam at a mosque Hasan attended in Silver Spring, Md. He said Hasan
was a lifelong Muslim.


      "I got the impression that he was a committed soldier," Khan
said. He spoke often with Hasan about Hasan's desire for a wife.


      On a form filled out by those seeking spouses through a program
at the mosque, Hasan listed his birthplace as Arlington, Va., but
his nationality as Palestinian, Khan said.


      "I don't know why he listed Palestinian," Khan said, "He was
not born in Palestine."


      Nothing stood out about Hasan as radical or extremist, Khan
said.


      "We hardly ever got to discussing politics," Khan said.
"Mostly we were discussing religious matters, nothing too
controversial, nothing like an extremist."


      Hasan earned his rank of major in April 2008, according to a
July 2008 Army Times article.


      He served eight years as an enlisted soldier. He also served in
the ROTC as an undergraduate at Virginia Tech University in
Blacksburg. He received a bachelor's degree in biochemistry there
in 1997.

Gallery

Army: 12 dead, 31 hurt in attack at Fort Hood

Crime, Law and Justice

Disasters

There are many unknowns about Nidal Malik Hasan, the man
authorities say is responsible for the worst mass killing on a U.S.
military base. Most of all, though: his motive.

Who was Nidal Malik Hasan?

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