THREAT OF JIHAD INFILTRATION DID NOT FACTOR INTO US ARMY’S SCREENING PROCESS
http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/WTARC/2009/ss_terror0908_11_23.asp
Threat of jihad infiltration did not factor into
U.S. Army’s screening process
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Army, fearing political repercussions, refused to
consider
the prospect of infiltration by Al Qaida supporters. A former senior army
official told Congress that the military service drafted guidelines on a
range
of scenarios, including racism. But the army, despite the recruitment of
thousands of Muslims, many of them converts, failed to examine prospects of
infiltration by Al Qaida and other Islamists.
“Clearly we don’t have specific guidelines in dealing with jihadist
extremists,”
[Ret.] Gen. John Keane, former army vice chief of staff, told the Senate
Homeland Security Committee.
In testimony on Nov. 19, Keane acknowledged that the army refused to draft
guidelines on how to deal with Islamist recruits who preached war against
the
West, Middle East Newsline reported. He said this failure, fostered by the
fear
of political and legal repercussions, enabled a Muslim officer to plan an
attack in Fort Hood, Texas, the largest army base in the world, in which 13
people were killed.
“There is no doubt in my mind that was operating here,” Keane, who retired
in
2003, said.
Hours after Keane’s testimony, the Defense Department said it would launch
an
investigation into Al Qaida influence in the military. Officials
acknowledged
that the military had failed to track Islamist recruitment or even determine
the number of Muslims in the armed forces.
“The shootings at Fort Hood raise a number of troubling questions that
demand
complete but prompt answers,” Defense Secretary Robert Gates said. “It is
prudent to determine immediately whether there are internal weaknesses or
procedural shortcomings in the department that could make us vulnerable in
the
future.”
The Senate committee was told by former military commanders and officials of
a
reluctance to investigate the alleged shooter at Fort Hood, Maj. Nidal
Hassan.
They said without clear military policy any investigation of Hassan or other
Al
Qaida supporters in the military could have been regarded as discrimination
of
Muslims.
“You take some of this burden away from people by having those guidelines,”
Keane said.
President Barack Obama has warned against identifying Hassan as an Islamist.
On Nov. 17, Democratic leaders met with the National Security Council and
agreed
to delay any congressional response to the Fort Hood shooting.
But Lieberman, an independent senator from Connecticut, said his
investigation
of the Hassan shooting would continue. He said this would not interfere with
the current FBI probe.
At the hearing, Hassan was said to have given a presentation at Walter Reed
Hospital on Islam. He was quoted as saying that the Koran demanded the
establishment of Islamic rule by force.
Later, the FBI was reported to have found evidence that Hassan was in
contact
with an Al Qaida-aligned cleric in Yemen to finance attacks against the
United
States. In one e-mail, Hassan was said to have asked for $10,000 for an
undisclosed operation.
“There are some who are reluctant to call it terrorism, but there is
significant
evidence that is,” Senate Armed Services Committee chairman Sen. Carl Levin
said. “I’m not at all uneasy saying it sure looks like that.”
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