Gothic Princess's blog: "FYI"

He reminds Americans of country’s diversity in wake of Fort Hood rampage

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama, seeking to reassure a nation shaken by the mass shooting on an Army post in Texas, said Saturday that the training designed to keep U.S. forces safe abroad prevented further deaths and ended a rampage at Fort Hood.

Praising what he called the heroism that ended gunfire on the nation's largest army post, the president described the exchange that left 13 dead and 30 others wounded on Thursday a tragedy.

In his weekly radio and Internet address on the weekend before Veterans Day, Obama praised those who serve or have served in uniform and reminded the public of their diversity — a move designed to calm tensions around the suspected shooter, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan.

"They are Americans of every race, faith and station. They are Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus and nonbelievers," Obama said. "They are descendants of immigrants and immigrants themselves. They reflect the diversity that makes this America. But what they share is a patriotism like no other."

Calls for patience
Obama called for patience while officials piece together what happened.

"We cannot fully know what leads a man to do such a thing," Obama said. "But what we do know is that our thoughts are with every one of the men and women who were injured at Fort Hood. Our thoughts are with all the families who've lost a loved one in this national tragedy."

But Obama said while "we saw the worst of human nature on full display, we also saw the best of America."

"We saw soldiers and civilians alike rushing to aid fallen comrades, tearing off bullet-riddled clothes to treat the injured, using blouses as tourniquets, taking down the shooter even as they bore wounds themselves," Obama said.

"We saw soldiers bringing to bear on our own soil the skills they had been trained to use abroad — skills that been honed through years of determined effort for one purpose and one purpose only: to protect and defend the United States of America."

President will attend memorial service
Obama's aides, meanwhile, worked to make way for Obama to attend a still unscheduled memorial service. The White House's top spokesman said Obama would attend that service and emphasized it would take place at the family's convenience and that it will not be dictated by the president's schedule.

"When a service is scheduled, the president will attend," Robert Gibbs told reporters during his daily briefing.

Later Saturday, Obama planned to make remarks to reporters in the Rose Garden before departing to the presidential retreat at Camp David for a night away from Washington. He planned to leave Wednesday for a 10-day trip to Asia.

FORT HOOD, Texas - There was the classroom presentation that justified suicide bombings. Comments to colleagues about a climate of persecution faced by Muslims in the military. Conversations with a mosque leader that became incoherent.

Some who knew Nidal Malik Hasan as a student said they saw clear signs the young Army psychiatrist — who authorities say went on a shooting spree at Fort Hood that left 13 dead and 29 others wounded — had no place in the military. After arriving at Fort Hood, he was conflicted about what to tell fellow Muslim soldiers about the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, alarming an Islamic community leader from whom he sought counsel.

"I told him, ‘There's something wrong with you,'" Osman Danquah, co-founder of the Islamic Community of Greater Killeen, told The Associated Press on Saturday. "I didn't get the feeling he was talking for himself, but something just didn't seem right."

Danquah assumed the military's chain of command knew about Hasan's doubts, which had been known for more than a year to classmates in a graduate military medical program. His fellow students complained to the faculty about Hasan's "anti-American propaganda," but said a fear of appearing discriminatory against a Muslim student kept officers from filing a formal written complaint.

"The system is not doing what it's supposed to do," said Dr. Val Finnell, who studied with Hasan from 2007-2008 in the master's program in public health at the military's Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. "He at least should have been confronted about these beliefs, told to cease and desist, and to shape up or ship out."

Military authorities continued Saturday to refer to Hasan as the only suspect in the shootings, and have not yet said if they plan to charge him in a military or civilian court. "We have not established a motive for the shootings at this time," said Army Criminal Investigative Command spokesman Chris Grey.

A U.S. Army spokesman said Hasan had been taken off a ventilator but still remained in intensive care at a military hospital. Col. John Rossi said he wasn't sure if Hasan could communicate.

‘Peaceful, loving,’ his brother says
His family described a man incapable of the attack, calling him a devoted doctor and devout Muslim who showed no signs that he might lash out with violence.

"I've known my brother Nidal to be a peaceful, loving and compassionate person who has shown great interest in the medical field and in helping others," said his brother, Eyad Hasan, of Sterling, Va., in a statement. "He has never committed an act of violence and was always known to be a good, law-abiding citizen."

Others recalled a pleasant neighbor who forgave a fellow soldier charged with tearing up his "Allah is Love" bumper sticker. A superior officer at Darnall Army Medical Center at Fort Hood, Col. Kimberly Kesling, has said Hasan was a quiet man with a strong work ethic who provided excellent care for his patients.

Still, in the days since authorities believe Hasan fired more than 100 rounds in a soldier processing center at Fort Hood in the worst mass shooting on a military facility in the U.S., a picture has emerged of a man who was forcefully opposed to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, was trying to get out of his pending deployment to a war zone and had struggled professionally in his work as an Army psychiatrist.

"He told (them) that as a Muslim committed to his prayers he was discriminated against and not treated as is fitting for an officer and American," said Mohammed Malik Hasan, 24, a cousin, told the AP from his home on the outskirts of the Palestinian city of Ramallah. "He hired a lawyer to get him a discharge."

Looking for guidance
Twice this summer, Danquah said, Hasan asked him what to tell soldiers who expressed misgivings about fighting fellow Muslims. The retired Army first sergeant and Gulf War veteran said he reminded Hasan that these soldiers had volunteered to fight, and that Muslims were fighting against each other in Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Palestinian territories.

 INTERACTIVE

 Fort Hood profiles
A look at some of the people involved in the deadly rampage at the Texas Army post. 
 
"But what if a person gets in and feels that it's just not right?" Danquah recalled Hasan asking him.

"I'd give him my response. It didn't seem settled, you know. It didn't seem to satisfy," he said. "It would be like a person playing the devil's advocate. ... I said, `Look. I'm not impressed by you.'"

Danquah said he was so disturbed by Hasan's persistent questioning that he recommended the mosque reject Hasan's request to become a lay Muslim leader at Fort Hood. But he never saw a need tell anyone at the sprawling Army post about the talks, because Hasan never expressed anger toward the Army or indicated any plans for violence.

"If I had an inkling that he had this type of inclination or intentions, definitely I would have brought it to their attention," he said.

Finnell said he did just that during a year of study in which Hasan made a presentation "that justified suicide bombing" and spewed "anti-American propaganda" as he argued the war on terror was "a war against Islam." Finnell said he and at least one other student complained about Hasan, surprised that someone with "this type of vile ideology" would be allowed to wear an officer's uniform.

But Finnell said no one filed a formal, written complaint about Hasan's comments out of fear of appearing discriminatory.

"In retrospect, I'm not surprised he did it," Finnell said. "I had real questions about what his priorities were, what his beliefs were."

Hasan received a poor performance evaluation while at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, according to an official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the case publicly. And while he was an intern at the suburban Washington hospital, Hasan had some "difficulties" that required counseling and extra supervision, said Dr. Thomas Grieger, who was the training director at the time.

Hasan was promoted from captain to major in 2008, the same year he graduated from the master's program. Bernard Rostker, a military personnel expert at the Rand Corp., said Hasan's advancement was all but certain absent a serious blemish on his record, such as a DUI or a drug charge.

"We're short of officers, particularly at the major and lieutenant colonel level because of the war, and we're short of psychiatrists," said Rostker, who served as under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness during the Clinton administration. "There would have had to be something very detrimental in his record before there would have been a banner that would have said, 'No, we don't want to promote him.'"

Both military and civilian investigators have yet to talk with Hasan, who reportedly jumped up on a desk and shouted "Allahu akbar!" — Arabic for "God is great!" — at the start of Thursday's attack. He was seriously wounded by police and transferred Friday to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, where officials gave no indication of his condition except to say he was "not able to converse."

"Hopefully, they can put together the pieces and find out what in the world was in his mind and why he went crazy," Danquah said. "Aaaaah, it's sad. Those soldiers could have been my soldiers."

There was the classroom presentation that justified suicide bombings. Comments to colleagues about a climate of persecution faced by Muslims in the military. Conversations with a mosque leader that became incoherent.

As a student, some who knew Nidal Malik Hasan said they saw clear signs the young Army psychiatrist — who authorities say went on a shooting spree at Fort Hood that left 13 dead and 29 others wounded — had no place in the military. After arriving at Fort Hood, he was conflicted about what to tell fellow Muslim soldiers about the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, alarming an Islamic community leader from whom he sought counsel.

FORT HOOD, Texas (Nov. 7) -- An Army psychiatrist who authorities say went on a shooting rampage at Fort Hood was so conflicted over what to tell fellow soldiers about fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan that a local Islamic leader was deeply troubled by it, the leader said Saturday.
Osman Danquah, co-founder of the Islamic Community of Greater Killeen, said he was disturbed by Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan's persistent questioning and recommended the mosque reject Hasan's request to become a lay Muslim leader at the sprawling Army post.
Danquah said Hasan never expressed anger toward the Army or indicated any plans for violence, but during the second of two conversations they had over the summer, Hasan seemed almost incoherent, he said.

"But what if a person gets in and feels that it's just not right?" Danquah recalled Hasan asking him.
"I told him, 'There's something wrong with you,'" Danquah told The Associated Press during an interview at Fort Hood on Saturday. "I didn't get the feeling he was talking for himself, but something just didn't seem right."
Authorities accuse Hasan of firing more than 100 rounds Thursday in a soldier processing center at Fort Hood, killing 13 and wounding 29 others in the worst mass shooting on a military facility in the U.S. At the start of the attack, Hasan reportedly jumped up on a desk and shouted "Allahu akbar!" — Arabic for "God is great!" Hasan, 39, was seriously wounded by police and is being treated in a military hospital.
The military has said Hasan was scheduled to deploy to Afghanistan, but family members suggested he was trying to avoid serving overseas.
Hasan's relatives who live in the Palestinian territories have said they had heard from family members that Hasan felt mistreated in the Army as a Muslim.
"He told (them) that as a Muslim committed to his prayers he was discriminated against and not treated as is fitting for an officer and American," said Mohammed Malik Hasan, 24, a cousin, told the AP from his home on the outskirts of Ramallah, a Palestinian city in the West Bank. "He hired a lawyer to get him a discharge."
The Army major also had previously questioned the U.S. war on terror.
A former classmate has said Hasan was a "vociferous opponent of the war" and "viewed the war against terror" as a "war against Islam." Dr. Val Finnell, who attended a master's in public health program in 2007-2008 at Uniformed Services University with Hasan, said he told classmates he was "a Muslim first and an American second."
"In retrospect, I'm not surprised he did it," Finnell said. "I had real questions about what his priorities were, what his beliefs were."
Danquah said his conversations with Hasan occurred following two religious services sometime before Ramadan, the Islamic holy month that started in late August. He said the soldier, who transferred to Fort Hood from Walter Reed Army Medical Center in July, regularly attended services at the Killeen, Texas, mosque in his uniform.
During his talks with Hasan, Danquah, 61, said he told him that Muslims were fighting each other in Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Palestinian territories and that American soldiers with objections to serving overseas had recourse to voice such concerns.
"As a Muslim, you come into a community and the way you integrate normally — I didn't see that kind of integration," he said. Danquah, a retired Army 1st sergeant and Gulf War veteran, did not tell the military about his conversations with Hasan.
"I didn't think it rose to that level of concern," he said, adding that he thought the military "chain of command should have picked it up" if Hasan had issues.
Most of the wounded from Thursday's attack remained hospitalized, many in intensive care. Hasan was transferred Friday to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, about 150 miles southwest of Fort Hood. Army officials late Friday gave no indication of his condition except to say he was "not able to converse."
The bodies of the victims arrived at Delaware's Dover Air Force Base on Friday night and autopsies were being formed, said Dover spokesman Air Force Maj. Carl Grusnick.
The White House said President Barack Obama would attend a memorial service Tuesday at Fort Hood. Earlier Saturday, Obama said in his radio and Internet address that the training designed to keep U.S. forces safe abroad prevented further deaths and ended the rampage at Fort Hood.
Former President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, visited wounded soldiers Friday night at the post hospital. On Saturday, Texas Gov. Rick Perry also visited the wounded and said the soldiers he met with were honored to serve their country.
"What I heard time after time in those hospital rooms is they're honored to be able to serve our country," Perry said during a news conference.

In the aftermath of the Fort Hood Shootings, the 31 wounded have flooded local hospitals, the New York Times reports. Although the names of the victims have not been released, some have trickled out. Here is a list of the names revealed thus far.

From the Associated Press comes names of soldiers who were injured:

Matthew Cook, son-in-law of Jamie and Scotty Casteel. Cook is from New York State and has been home from Iraq for about a year. "He's been shot in the abdomen and that's all we know," Jamie Casteel told The Associated Press.

Amber Bahr, 19, was shot in the stomach but was in stable condition, said her mother, Lisa Pfund of Random Lake, Wis.

Ashley Saucedo told WOOD-TV in Michigan that her husband was shot in the arm, but she couldn't discuss specifics.

From the New York Times:

Peggy McCarty reported that her daughter, Specialist Keara Bono, 21, of the Army Reserve, called her from a hospital and said she had been shot in the back, according to CNN. She had arrived at Fort Hood a day earlier and was scheduled to deploy to Iraq on Dec. 7.

Some of the names of the deceased have been released. Here is a list of the victims revealed thus far.

Private first class Michael Pearson, 21, of Bolingbrook was reportedly shot three times -- in the spine and the chest -- when a gunman entered the Soldiers Readiness Processing Center and opened fire with two handguns.

Updates and pictures on the blog befor this one

Sgt. Kimberly Munley
(Hospitalized)
 
The top commander at Fort Hood is crediting Sgt. Kimberly Munley, a civilian police officer, for stopping the shooting rampage that killed 13 people at the Texas post.
 
Fort Hood police Munley, 34, and her partner responded within three minutes of reported gunfire Thursday afternoon. Cone said Munley shot the gunman four times despite being shot herself.
 
On Munley's Twitter page, Munley is pictured with country music star Dierks Bentley at the Fort Hood "Freedom Fest." Her Twitter bio read: 'I live a good life. ... a hard one, but I go to sleep peacefully @ night knowing that I may have made a difference in someone's life."

Grant Moxon
(Hospitalized)
 
The 23-year-old Army Reserve specialist from Lodi, Wis., was shot in the leg.
 
Moxon arrived at Fort Hood on Wednesday and was preparing to deploy to Afghanistan.
 
He was sitting in a processing room Thursday when he heard a commotion and found himself eye-to-eye with the shooter. After being shot above the knee he pretended to be dead until the shooter moved away.
 
Moxon is a mental health specialist -- the same field as the suspected shooter, Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan.

Amber Bahr
(Hospitalized)
 
Army Lt. Gen. Bob Cone hailed the 19-year-old Army nutritionist Amber Bahr as an "amazing young lady."
 
The commander told NBC's TODAY show that the nutritionist put a tourniquet on a wounded soldier and carried him out to medical care. And only after she had taken care of others did she realize she had been shot in the stomach, he said.

Sgt. Amy Krueger
(Deceased)
 
Sgt. Amy Krueger, 29, of Kiel, Wis., joined the Army after the 2001 terrorist attacks and had vowed to take on Osama bin Laden, her mother, Jeri Krueger said.
 
She arrived at Fort Hood on Tuesday and was scheduled to be sent to Afghanistan in December, the mother told the Herald Times Reporter of Manitowoc.
 
Jerri Krueger recalled telling her daughter that she could not take on bin Laden by herself. “Watch me,” her daughter replied.
 
Kiel High School Principal Dario Talerico told The Associated Press that Krueger graduated from the school in 1998 and had spoken at least once to local elementary school students about her career.
 
“I just remember that Amy was a very good kid, who like most kids in a small town are just looking for what their next step in life was going to be and she chose the military,” Talerico said. “Once she got into the military, she really connected with that kind of lifestyle and was really proud to serve her country.”

Pfc. Aaron Thomas Nemelka
(Deceased)
 
Pfc. Aaron Thomas Nemelka, 19, of the Salt Lake City suburb of West Jordan, Utah, chose to join the Army instead of going on a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, his uncle Christopher Nemelka said.
 
"As a person, Aaron was as soft and kind and as gentle as they come, a sweetheart," his uncle said. "What I loved about the kid was his independence of thought."
 
Aaron Nemelka, the youngest of four children, was scheduled to be deployed to Afghanistan in January, his family said in a statement. Nemelka had enlisted in the Army in October 2008, Utah National Guard Lt. Col. Lisa Olsen said.
 

Francheska Velez
(Deceased)
 
Francheska Velez, 21, of Chicago, was pregnant and preparing to return home. A friend of Velez's, Sasha Ramos, described her as a fun-loving person who wrote poetry and loved dancing.
 
"She was like my sister," Ramos, 21, said. "She was the most fun and happy person you could know. She never did anything wrong to anybody."
 
Family members said Velez had recently returned from deployment in Iraq and had sought a lifelong career in the Army.
 
"She was a very happy girl and sweet," said her father, Juan Guillermo Velez, his eyes red from crying. "She had the spirit of a child."
 Ramos, who also served briefly in the military, couldn't reconcile that her friend was killed in this country — just after leaving a war zone.
 
"It makes it a lot harder," she said. "This is not something a soldier expects -- to have someone in our uniform go start shooting at us."
 

Spc. Jason Dean Hunt
(Deceased)
 
Spc. Jason Dean Hunt, 22, of Federick, Okla., went into the military after graduating from Tipton High School in 2005 and had gotten married just two months ago, his mother, Gale Hunt, said.
 
He had served 3 1/2 years in the Army, including a stint in Iraq.
 
Gale Hunt said two uniformed soldiers came to her door late Thursday night to notify her of her son’s death.
 
Hunt, known as J.D., was “just kind of a quiet boy and a good kid, very kind,” said Kathy Gray, an administrative assistant at Tipton Schools.
 
His mother said he was family oriented.
“He didn’t go in for hunting or sports,” Gale Hunt said. “He was a very quiet boy who enjoyed video games.”

He had re-enlisted for six years after serving his initial two-year assignment, she said.
 
He was previously stationed at Fort Stewart in Georgia.

Pfc. Michael Pearson
(Deceased)
 
Pfc. Michael Pearson, 21, of the Chicago suburb of Bolingbrook, Ill., quit his furniture company job to join the military about a year ago.
 
"He felt he was in a rut. He wanted to travel, see the world," his mother, Sheryll Pearson, told the Chicago Tribune. "He also wanted an opportunity to serve the country."
 
At Pearson’s family home Friday, a yellow ribbon was tied to a porch light and a sticker stamped with American flags on the front door read, "United we stand."
 
Neighbor Jessica Koerber, who was with Pearson's parents when they received word their son had died, described him as a man who clearly loved his family -- someone who enjoyed horsing around with his nieces and nephews, and other times playing his guitar.
 
"That family lost their gem," she told the AP. "He was a great kid, a great guy. ... Mikey was one of a kind."
 Pearson said she hadn’t seen her son for a year because he had been training. She told the Tribune that when she last talked to him on the phone two days ago, they had discussed how he would come home for Christmas.

Russell Seager
(Deceased)
 
Russell Seager, a 51-year-old from Racine, Wisconsin was killed in Thursday’s attack.
 
Seager's family received a call at around 12:00 a.m. Friday.
 
He was listed in the Army reserves as a mental health specialist, serving as a nurse who treated veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder at the Veteran's Administration hospital in Milwaukee.
 
Seager also taught at Bryant and Stratton College in Milwaukee.
 

Pfc. Kham Xiong
(Deceased)
 
Kham Xiong, 23, of St. Paul, Minn., graduated from Community of Peace Academy in 2004.
 
"The sad part is that he had been taught and been trained to protect and to fight. Yet it's such a tragedy that he did not have the opportunity to protect himself and the base," his father, Chor Xiong, told KSTP-TV through an interpreter.
 
Xiong's 17-year-old brother, Robert, described Kham as "the family clown, just a real good outgoing guy."
 
Community of Peace Academy Principal Tim McGowan told the AP that Chor Xiong informed the charter school of his son's death. Family members picked up pictures of Xiong on Friday for a memorial service, McGowan said.
 
"He was just a well-rounded individual with a great personality. He was very fun-loving, one who brought a smile to everyone's face he came across," McGowan said.
 

Michael Grant Cahill
(Deceased)
 
The 62-year-old physician assistant suffered a heart attack two weeks ago and returned to work at the base as a civilian employee after taking just one week off for recovery, said his daughter Keely Vanacker.
 
"He survived that. He was getting back on track, and he gets killed by a gunman," Vanacker said, her words bare with shock and disbelief.
 
Cahill, of Cameron, Texas, helped treat soldiers returning from tours of duty or preparing for deployment. Often, Vanacker said, Cahill would walk young soldiers where they needed to go, just to make sure they got the right treatment.
 
"He loved his patients, and his patients loved him," said Vanacker, 33, the oldest of Cahill's three adult children. "He just felt his job was important."
Cahill, who was born in Spokane, Wash., had worked as a civilian contractor at Fort Hood for about four years, after jobs in rural health clinics and at Veterans Affairs hospitals. He and his wife, Joleen, had been married 37 years.
 
Vanacker described her father as a gregarious man and a voracious reader who could talk for hours about any subject.
 
The family's typical Thanksgiving dinners ended with board games and long conversations over the table, said Vanacker, whose voice often cracked with emotion as she remembered her father. "Now, who I am going to talk to?"

Capt. John Gaffaney
(Deceased)
 
Gaffaney, 56, was a psychiatric nurse who worked for San Diego County, Calif., for more than 20 years and had arrived at Fort Hood the day before the shooting to prepare for a deployment to Iraq.
 
Gaffaney, who was born in Williston, N.D., had served in the Navy and later the California National Guard as a younger man, his family said. After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, he tried to sign up again for military service. Although the Army Reserves at first declined, he got the call about two years ago asking him to rejoin, said his close friend and co-worker Stephanie Powell.
 
"He wanted to help the boys in Iraq and Afghanistan deal with the trauma of what they were seeing," Powell said. "He was an honorable man. He just wanted to serve in any way he can."
His family described him as an avid baseball card collector and fan of the San Diego Padres who liked to read military novels and ride his Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
 
Gaffaney supervised a team of six social workers, including Powell, at the county's Adult Protective Services department. Ellen Schmeding, assistant deputy director for the county's Health and Human Services Agency, said Gaffaney was a strong leader.
 

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Staff Sgt. Justin M. DeCrow
(Deceased)
 
DeCrow, 32, was helping train soldiers on how to help new veterans with paperwork and had felt safe on the Army post.
 
"He was on a base," his wife, Marikay DeCrow, said in a telephone interview from the couple's home at Fort Gordon, Ga., where she hoped to be reunited with her husband once he finished his work at Fort Hood. "They should be safe there. They should be safe."
 
His wife said she wanted everyone to know what a loving man he was. The couple have a 13-year-old daughter, Kylah.
 
"He was well loved by everyone," she said through sobs. "He was a loving father and husband and he will be missed by all."
 DeCrow's father, Daniel DeCrow, of Fulton, Ind., said his son graduated high school in Plymouth, Ind., and married his high school sweetheart that summer before joining the Army. The couple moved near Fort Gordon about five years ago, he said.
 
About a year ago, his son was stationed in Korea for a year. When he returned to the U.S., the Army moved him to Fort Hood while he waited for a position to open up in Fort Gordon so he could move back with his wife and daughter, Daniel DeCrow said.
 
DeCrow said he talked to his son last week to ask him how things were going at Fort Hood.
 
"As usual, the last words out of my mouth to him were that I was proud of him," he said. "That's what I said to him every time -- that I loved him and I was proud of what he was doing. I can carry that around in my heart."

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uanita Warman
 
Warman, 55, was a military physician assistant with two daughters and six grandchildren.
 
Her sister, Margaret Yaggie of Roaring Branch in north-central Pennsylvania, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that her sister attended Pittsburgh Langley High School and put herself through school at the University of Pittsburgh. She said her sister spent most of her career in the military.
 

Fort Hood shooting suspect Army Maj. Nidal M. Hasan attended this mosque, the Muslim Community Center in Silver Spring, Md., when he lived in the area.
As word spread that a gunman had opened fire at Fort Hood leaving a trail of carnage, a chilling realization swept across the U.S. Muslim community: He has an Islamic name.

From a professor who just testified in Congress, to a White House adviser appearing before a Jewish group and a former Marine driving home from work, Muslims across the country were shocked, angry and afraid that the attack would erode efforts to erase anti-Islamic stereotypes.

Many Islamic leaders said the Fort Hood tragedy that left 13 dead and 30 wounded including the alleged gunman, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, could likely pose the sternest test for U.S. Muslims since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
"A lot of us work very hard for this country, to make America a better place," said Muqtedar Khan, a progressive Muslim scholar who has just given Congressional testimony on U.S. foreign policy in Afghanistan before Thursday's attack. "And this one nut like Maj. Hasan comes along and in one crazy episode of a few seconds he undermines these years and years of hard work we are doing to make American Muslims part of the mainstream in the community."

Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, is a Muslim who attended his former mosque daily and had an "Allah is Love" bumper sticker on his car. Soldiers reported Friday that the shooter shouted "Allahu Akbar!" — Arabic for "God is great!" — during the rampage.

Other troubling details also emerged, including reports that authorities suspect Hasan posted online messages about suicide bombers and violence, was struggling with a pending deployment to Afghanistan and was being harassed in the Army for being a Muslim.

Condemnations
While a motive remains unclear, the confirmation of Hasan's faith alone prompted major Muslim groups and mosques to issue statements condemning the killings as contrary to Islam and praising the service of the many Muslim Americans in the U.S. military.

Of immediate concern was security at mosques Friday, Islam's main day of communal prayer.

In Washington, Chicago and elsewhere, mosques asked police for extra patrols. In Garden Grove, Calif., officers stood watch outside a mosque as a precaution.

Muslim leaders warned people to be vigilant and avoid exposing themselves unnecessarily — including walking alone, said Hussam Ayloush, director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Southern California.

"This is one of those moments where we have to sit and pray that most Americans will come out stronger, more united, and more tolerant," said Ayloush, adding that Muslim organizations have received dozens of death threats and hate e-mail.

At the Muslim Community Center in Silver Spring, Md., which Hasan attended before moving to Fort Hood, Imam Mohamed Abdullahi urged worshippers Friday to tell their non-Muslim neighbors that Islam was not responsible for the deaths. He also advised them to keep their tempers in check.

"Whenever we hear the name turns out to be Arabic or Muslim we feel a double shock" about such incidents. "And then we worry about backlash," said Imam Mostafa Al-Qazwini of the Islamic Educational Center of Orange County in Costa Mesa, Calif.

‘This is no way a reflection of Islam’
U.S. Rep. Andre Carson, an Indiana Democrat who is one of two Muslims serving in Congress, cautioned against focusing on the alleged shooter's religion and instead said the discussion should be about mental health issues.

"This is no way a reflection of Islam any more than Timothy McVeigh's actions are a reflection of Christianity," said Carson, who supervised an anti-terrorism unit in Indiana's Department of Homeland Security and comes from a family of Marines.

Eboo Patel, the executive director of Chicago-based Interfaith Youth Core, had just spoken at a Union of Reform Judaism conference in Toronto on Thursday night when a rabbi told him: "The guy had a Muslim name."

"I had just spoken from the tradition of Islam ... on the importance of interfaith cooperation and building Muslim-Jewish bridges," said Patel, who sits on a White House faith-based advisory board. "I wish that was viewed as reflective of Islam instead of a deranged lunatic who was acting only in the tradition of deranged lunacy, not in the tradition of any faith."

But other Muslims were weary of what has become a routine: a Muslim does something unspeakable, and Islamic organizations issue statements condemning it.

"Truth be told, we're getting a little exhausted because we've done this to death," said Robert Salaam of Maryland, a former Marine who converted to Islam shortly after the 9-11 attacks and now blogs and hosts a radio show on Muslim affairs. "We're apologizing for people we don't know."

Still, driving home from work listening to the news Thursday, Salaam thought: "God, I hope it's not a Muslim."

Civilian cop stopped bloodbath, wounded army nutritionist helped others

NBC, msnbc.com and news services
updated 11:39 a.m. MT, Fri., Nov . 6, 2009
FORT HOOD, Texas - The top commander at Fort Hood is crediting a civilian police officer for stopping the shooting rampage that killed 13 people at the Texas post. Lt. Gen. Bob Cone also hailed a young Army nutritionist who helped wounded victims.

Both women heroically intervened despite being shot.

Cone said Friday that Fort Hood police Sgt. Kimberly Munley and her partner responded within three minutes of reported gunfire Thursday afternoon. Cone said Munley shot the gunman four times despite being shot herself

Officials said Munley was in stable condition.

Cone said, "It was an amazing and an aggressive performance by this police officer."

On Munley's Twitter page, Munley is pictured with country music star Dierks Bentley at the Fort Hood "Freedom Fest." Her Twitter bio read: 'I live a good life. ... a hard one, but I go to sleep peacefully @ night knowing that I may have made a difference in someone's life."

Munley's father, Dennis Barbour, was making plans to travel to Fort Hood to see his 34-year-old daughter on Friday, Starnewsonline.com in Wilmington, N.C., reported. Barbour is a former mayor of Carolina Beach, a barrier island town near Wilmington.

“We're just so grateful and thankful to the Lord that she's safe,” Munley's stepmother, Wanda Barbour told the newspaper Web site. “Our hearts just ache for the loss of others, too, and hers, too. She's still upset about that.”

Munley is a native of Carolina Beach and served as a police officer in Wrightsville Beach, Starnewsonline.com reported.

Cone also hailed Amber Bahr, 19, as an "amazing young lady."

The commander told NBC's TODAY show that the nutritionist put a tourniquet on a wounded soldier and carried him out to medical care. And only after she had taken care of others did she realize she had been shot, he said.

'In and out of pain'
On Thursday, her mother, Lisa Pfund, told the Sheboygan Press that she spoke briefly to Bahr after she was taken to a community hospital.

"I actually got to talk to Amber and I talked to her for about 30 seconds and she was in a lot of pain," Pfund said. "She couldn't tell me nothing, either."

Later that night, she was able to speak with her recovering daughter, she told the Sheboygan Press. She was "in and out of pain" and on medication but in good spirits, adding that she tried to help others during the rampage, the Sheboygan Press reported.

The suspected gunman, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, is hospitalized on a ventilator.

Soldier Kills 12, Wounds 31 In Ft. Hood Shooting
Suspect Alive In Military Custody At Killeen-Area HospitalFORT HOOD (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ¯ 
Sgt. Fanuaee Vea (L) embraces Pvt. Savannah Green outside Fort Hood on November 5, 2009 in Killeen, Texas. At least one gunman killed 12 people and injured 31 in a shooting on a military base at Fort Hood this afternoon. One shooter was killed by military
News crews gather at a press conference at the main entrance of Fort Hood on November 5, 2009 in Killeen, Texas. At least one gunman killed 12 people and injured 31 in a shooting on a military base at Fort Hood this afternoon. One shooter was killed by mil 
 Members of the military and police stand outside Fort Hood on November 5, 2009 in Killeen, Texas. At least one gunman killed 12 people and injured 31 in a shooting on a military base at Fort Hood this afternoon. One shooter was killed by military police an 
 
 
Monica Cain, wife of soldier Darren Cain, waits outside Fort Hood on November 5, 2009 in Killeen, Texas. At least one gunman killed 12 people and injured 31 in a shooting on a military base at Fort Hood this afternoon. One shooter was killed by military po

 
A U.S. Army major shot and killed 12 people and wounded 31 others at Fort Hood Thursday afternoon.

Military officials in Washington identified the shooter as Major Nidal Malik Hasan, a psychiatrist.

Lt. General Bob Cone, the commanding general at Ft. Hood, says the gunman was shot and is now in military custody at a Killeen-area hospital.

Reports that the suspect was killed were corrected as "confusion at the hospital."

Lt. Gen. Cone said Hasan's death was "not imminent."

A female civilian officer who was also reportedly killed was confirmed to be alive and stable.  The officer was credited as the person who shot Major Hasan.
 
Three other soldiers who were taken into custody as part of the investigation were released Thursday evening.

The gunman used two handguns, according to Cone.  He said the motive is still unknown.

Cone says the shooting happened at a personnel processing center called the Soldier Readiness Center, which is comprised of several buildings.  Cone says the shooting took place only at the processing center.

The shooting started at 1:30 Thursday afternoon.

"It's a terrible tragedy. It's stunning," Cone said.

The post was immediately put on lockdown, but that state of emergency ended just after 7 p.m. when the post was reopened.

The wounded were sent to hospitals across Central Texas, Cone said.  Scott & White Hospital, a major trauma center in Temple, said it had received nine shooting victims.

Military officials in Washington say the Hasan was a psychiatrist at Walter Reed Army Medical Center for six years before being transferred to Ft. Hood in July.

Those same officials, who did not want to be named, say Hasan received a poor performance evaluation while at Walter Reed.

Reports have surfaced that military officials "had concerns" about Hasan for at least six months because of internet postings that discussed suicide bombings and other threats.

U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison says she was told Hasan was about to deploy overseas.  It's not clear whether he was going to Iraq or Afghanistan and exactly when he was scheduled to leave.

The Virginia-born soldier was single with no children. He graduated from Virginia Tech University, where he was a member of the ROTC and earned a bachelor's degree in biochemistry in 1997. He received his medical degree from the military's Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md., in 2001. At Walter Reed, he did his internship, residency and a fellowship.

Officials were investigating whether Hasan is his birth name or if he may have changed his name, possibly as part of a conversion to Islam. However, they were not certain of his religion.

FBI agent Eric Vasys in the Bureau's San Antonio office says agents were headed to the post as part of the investigation.  Governor Rick Perry said Texas Rangers were also being deployed to the post to assist.

Gen. Cone said Army investigators would work with the FBI to look into the backgrounds of the soldiers involved.

The Soldier Readiness Center holds hundreds of people and is one of the most populated parts of the base, said Steve Moore, a spokesman for III Corps at Fort Hood. Nearby there are barracks and a food center where there are fast food chains.

A graduation ceremony for soldiers who finished college courses while deployed was going on nearby at the time of the shooting, said Sgt. Rebekah Lampam, a Fort Hood spokeswoman.

In a statement, Sen. Hutchison said, "I am shocked and saddened by todays outburst of violence at Fort Hood that has cost seven of our brave service members their lives and has gravely injured others. My heart goes out to their loved ones. Our dedicated military personnel have sacrificed so much in service to our country, and it sickens me that the men and women of Fort Hood have been subjected to this senseless, random violence."

Governor Rick Perry also issued a statement, which read, "The Texas family suffered a significant loss today with the tragedy at Fort Hood. Along with all Texans, Anita and I are keeping those affected by today's incidents in our thoughts and prayers.  We are deeply saddened by today's events, but resolve to continue supporting our troops and protecting our citizens."

Fort Hood is the largest U.S. Army post in the world, covering 339 square miles.  Tens of thousands of soldiers are stationed there. 

18 major Army units are stationed at the post, including the 1st Cavalry Division and parts of the 4th Infantry Division.  It's about 160 miles south of Dallas/Fort Worth, adjacent to the city of Killeen in Central Texas.

The Red Cross has set up a web site to allow people to check on their loved ones at Fort Hood.  The address is safeandwell.org.

(NaturalNews) Living in South America, I often find myself steeped in abundant natural cures for many diseases, including cancer. You can hardly walk out your front door without finding yourself surrounded with natural medicines made by Mother Nature, and it's true across the continent, from Ecuador (where I live) through Peru and Bolivia, and all the way to Brazil.

In Brazil, a humble monk named Father Romano Zago has uncovered a powerful yet simple cure for cancer based on just three ingredients... one of them being whole Aloe Arborescens (not just the gel, but the whole leaf, including the skin and the sap). What follows is his explanation of how this Brazilian Aloe cure works to help reverse not just cancer, but several other diseases, too, like obesity and depression. He's compiled this rare knowledge into a book entitled Aloe isn't medicine, and yet it cures!

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What's really valuable about this book is that in addition to detailing the aloe vera recipe, it gives you two options for acquiring it: You can either make the recipe yourself (for just pennies per dose) using aloe arborescens (I personally use Aloe Vera instead) and two commonly-available ingredients, or you can find the same formula ready-made from a company distributing it in the United States.

Here's the description of the book from Father Romano Zago:

Aloe isn't medicine, and yet it cures
"Aloe isn't medicine, and yet... it Cures" is the latest book by Father Romano Zago, author of "The Scientific Monographic History of Aloe Vera and Aloe Arborescens". Over the last few years, his books have received widespread acclaim in the field of alternative medicine in Europe. With his latest book, Father Romano Zago presents the curative properties of Aloe Arborescens and describes, in simple practice, how to use this plant in curing over 100 types of illnesses including obesity and depression.

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Last night I recived a phone call from one of my friend's on here asking why I was leaving fubar ...Thay told me fubar delieted my statis on why,I told them how a girl on here stole pic's of me and how fubar was punishing me for blocking and stashing her for stealing my pic's...

Well thay said I was being unfair to my real friends on here and how I should forget fubar and their unjustice to me and stay for those who are my friends since I was here for them and nothing more.

I was reminded of what I was trying to do here with uniteing everyone for ALL cancer and if I really gave a shit about that I should come back and just keep my profile,my pic's everything to friends only.

Well after being awake all night and crying I relised he was right so I'll stay and fubar can do whatever thay want to me I'm here for those who might realy give a shit about the things I try to do to help oithers and as for the girls who keep stealing my pic's and such........ Dream on you might have a pic of me but you will NEVER have as much class or anything else to match me.

Love Huggs and Kisses to all my real friends

To my haters......YOU just make me famous