DOD Comes to defense of Fort Hood Jihadist receiving fair trial over giving Purple Hearts to victims

This new development further demonstrates at least two realities. First, when the United States was hit on 9/11/01, declaring war on "terror" instead of on the actual enemy, was a grave mistake. Second, that mistake is being grossly exploited with legalese and political correctness, this time coming from the Department of Defense (DOD).

The primary objective of the Federal government - and the DOD by extension - is to defend the United States "against all enemies, foreign and domestic". It's exceedingly ironic that the DOD would stake out a position that does the opposite by overtly denying a self-evident truth while slapping the Fort Hood survivors in the collective face.

If we had declared war on the actual enemy after 9/11 (any and all Muslim Brotherhood groups or governments / entities that fund / support those groups), perhaps the DOD would have long ago admitted that Nidal Malik Hasan committed an act of war on the U.S.

Before murdering innocent people, Hasan shouted 'Allahu Akbar', just like the 9/11 terrorists did from inside cockpits. Belonging to the religion of Islam is another common trait Hasan shares with those hijackers. It was further learned that while al-Awlaki had ties to Hasan, he also had extensive ties to the 9/11 hijackers.

In hindsight the DOD's treatment of al-Awlaki several months after 9/11, in the form of a plush luncheon served as a foreshadowing of how it has handled Hasan, who was inspired by al-Awlaki.

Via Fox News:

Legislation that would award the injured from the 2009 Fort Hood shooting the Purple Heart would adversely affect the trial of Maj. Nidal Hasan by labeling the attack terrorism, according to a Defense Department document obtained by Fox News. 

The document comes following calls from survivors and their families for the military honor, because they say Fort Hood was turned into a battlefield when Hasan opened fire during the November 2009 attack. Fox News is told that the DOD “position paper” is being circulated specifically in response to the proposed legislation.

Click Here to read the Position Paper referenced above.

Here are some excerpts:

The DoD position is the Purple Heart is awarded to Service members who are killed, or wounded and require treatment by a medical officer, in action against the enemy of the United States; as the result of an act of any hostile foreign force; or as the result of an international terrorist attack against the United States. Adhering to the criterion for award of the Purple Heart is essential to preserve the integrity of the award. To do otherwise could irrevocably alter the fundamental character of this time-honored decoration.

Again, had an actual enemy been identified after 9/11, Hasan would have easily been identified as one of its agents. After all, his own business card confirmed it. It's also beyond egregious to suggest that awarding Purple Hearts to soldiers who were attacked by an enemy of the United States damages the integrity of the award is another slap in the face to Hasan's victims.

Soon thereafter...

The proposed bill alters the long established Purple Heart award criterion contained in Executive Order 11016.

This is perhaps the clearest example of why it was wrong for the George W. Bush administration to identify "terror" as the enemy. A consequence of that decision is that our own soldiers, who are wounded or killed by a member of the enemy don't qualify for Purple Hearts.

As for the criteria for being awarded the Purple Heart...

The criteria have since been modified to include those wounded or killed as the result of being held as a prisoner of war or from an international terrorist attack as determined by the Secretary of the department concerned. This “international” distinction is important because US military personnel are organized, trained and equipped to combat foreign – not domestic – forces or threats.

Uh, what if the unidentified foreign enemy makes it onto U.S. soil and infiltrates our largest Army post? Oh, yeah, that's right. The enemy is unidentified so there's no need to train or equip military personnel for such threats. Besides, there's no Purple Heart for doing so anyway.

Besides, was that an admission by the DOD that our military is not trained or equipped to defend the homeland against attack from within?

Now, how about the reason why the DOD doesn't want Hasan's victims to be awarded Purple Hearts?

The Army objects to section 552 because it would undermine the prosecution of Major Nidal Hasan by materially and directly compromising Major Hasan’s ability to receive a fair trial. This provision will be viewed as setting the stage for a formal declaration that Major Hasan is a terrorist, on what is now the eve of trial.

The murder of 14 and injuring of 32 happened almost three and a half years ago and we're still on "the eve of the trial"?

What more evidence is needed to demonstrate that our response to 9/11 was bungled? The (unidentified) enemy of the U.S. (Hasan) must have a fair trial and in order for that to happen, our soldiers (his victims) must be denied the honor of a Purple Heart?!

The DOD torpedoes its own credibility at the end of the document:

The Government has vigilantly tended to the needs of the victims and their families since the tragic events of November 5, 2009. The Government – as much if not more than other interested parties – very much desires emotional closure for victims and families. Purple Heart legislation, in advance of a finding of guilt or an acquittal, is not the answer to address these most sensitive concerns.

That excerpt directly contradicts the sentiment of one of Hasan's victims.

Via ABC News:

In a report that aired on "World News with Diane Sawyer" and "Nightline," former police sergeant Kimberly Munley, who helped stop the Ft. Hood shooting, said that President Obama broke the promise he made to her that the victims would be well taken care of. 

"Betrayed is a good word," said Munley, who sat next to First Lady Michelle Obama at the 2010 State of the Union address. "Not to the least little bit have the victims been taken care of … In fact, they've been neglected."

There was no comment from the White House about Munley's allegations.
So who's telling the truth, DOD or Munley?

I'll take Munley, hands down.

Documents: FBI knew mentor for Fort Hood jihadist purchased tickets for 9/11 hijackers

Thanks to State Department documents obtained by Judicial Watch, it has been learned that the FBI was quite likely aware - as early as September 27, 2001 - that Anwar Al Aulaqi - the man who inspired Fort Hood jihadist Nidal Malik Hasan - had purchased plane tickets for at least three of the 9/11 hijackers before the attack.

Via JW:

According to a September 27, 2001, FBI transcription, obtained through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of State and Federal Bureau of Investigations (No. 1:12-cv-00893)), al-Aulaqi purchased airline tickets for the following 9/11 hijackers:

Mohammed Atta, America West Airlines, 08/13/2001, for a flight from Washington, DC, to Las Vegas, Nevada, to Miami, Florida. 

S. Suqami, Southwest Airlines, 07/10/2001, for a flight from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, to Orlando, Florida. 

Al-Sheri, National Airlines, 08/01/2001, for a flight from San Francisco, California, to Las Vegas, Nevada, to Miami, Florida. 

The documents also include material showing that al-Aulaqi was uncooperative with FBI agents investigating the 9/11 attacks and was seemingly a central focus of the FBI investigation and monitoring related to 9/11.

That last part, about al-Aulaqi being uncooperative would seem to suggest that the Feds may have decided to rely more on the carrot than the stick when dealing with him. The thinking also could have been that by giving him such access could bring others out of the shadows.

For example, in February of 2002, al-Aulaqi gave a speech on moderate Islam at a Department of Defense luncheon and was given red carpet treatment. Nihad Awad, Executive Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) was also invited. These newly released (and heavily redacted) documents, acquired by Judicial Watch, provide yet another in an increasing number of examples that the U.S. Government in general and the FBI in particular, knew a lot more about al-Aulaqi than they've been willing to admit.

Later that year, al-Aulaqi was detained at JFK airport and then released, despite there being an outstanding warrant for his arrest.

Whatever the reasons were behind the actions / inaction of the Feds, it's quite possible that the disastrous consequences for the 14 who were murdered and the 32 who were injured at Fort Hood on December 5, 2009 could have been prevented.

More than three years later, justice has not been served and a judge who ruled that Hasan's beard had to be shaved, was replaced by another judge who ruled the jihadist could keep it.

In testimony before a congressional committee early last year, FBI Director Robert Mueller, who was appointed to his position one week prior to the 9/11 attacks, said he was "painfully aware" of what took place prior to the Fort Hood attack with regard to warning signs.

What's more disturbing is the refusal of those in positions like Mueller to admit the truth about the attack and the politically correct culture that helped to facilitate it.

Until that happens, we've learned nothing.

BOOM! Bigger Fish than al-Awlaki Killed in same Predator Drone Strike

Remember that near-miss terror attack last year when bombs were planted inside printer cartridges? The man responsible for making those bombs - as well as the Christmas Day bomb that failed to detonate over Detroit - was killed in the same Predator drone strike that killed Anwar al-Awlaki and Samir Khan, the publisher of al-Qaeda magazine. Ibrahim al-Asiri was al-Qaeda's top Saudi top bomb maker. While al-Awlaki is widely credited with having been the inspiration for Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab to put a bomb in his pants that was supposed to detonate over a major city, it was apparently al-Asiri who gave him the means.

Via AP:

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two US officials say the drone strike in Yemen that killed Anward al-Awlaki appears to have also killed al-Qaida's top Saudi bomb-maker.

Officials say intelligence indicates Ibrahim al-Asiri also died in the attack. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the death has not been officially confirmed.

Al-Asiri is the bomb-maker believed to have made the explosives used in the foiled Christmas Day airline attack in 2009 and last year's attempted cargo plane bombing.

Assuming this report pans out, take some solace the next time you're getting groped by a TSA agent that the dirtbags who make up the trio directly responsible for that groping are either in custody or dead.

Underwear Bomber: In jail
Inspiration for Underwear Bomber: In ground
Builder of Underwear Bomber's bomb: In ground

CNN has more on Samir Khan HERE. Click HERE to jog your memory on the printer cartridge bomb plot from last year.

Coming in with the other side of this argument is none other than 9/11 Truther magnet, Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX). While at a campaign stop in New Hampshire, he fed a little red meat to his '9/11 was an inside job' base:



h/t Jawa and Hot Air

Anwar al-Awlaki Killed

The guy responsible for inspiring Nidal Malik Hasan to go on a shooting rampage at Fort Hood, TX, killing 14 and injuring 32 is now, himself dead. Anwar al-Awlaki was also credited with being the inspiration for Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the underwear bomber who attempted to detonate a bomb on a plane during its descent into Detroit. The Times Square bomber, Faisal Shahzad also gave credit to al-Awlaki for motivating him to kill infidels.

Via the BBC:

The US-born radical Islamist cleric and suspected al-Qaeda leader Anwar al-Awlaki has been killed in Yemen, the country's defence ministry reported.

US administration officials confirmed the reports, according to US media.

Awlaki, of Yemeni descent, has been on the run in Yemen since December 2007.

The US had named him a "specially designated global terrorist" for his alleged role in a number of attacks and US President Barack Obama is said to have personally ordered his killing.

The defence ministry statement said only that he died "along with some of his companions".

It gave no further details of his death.

But tribal sources told AFP news agency Awlaki was killed in an air strike in the eastern Marib province, said to be an al-Qaeda stronghold.

It is not clear whether he was killed by Yemeni forces or a US drone strike.

This is a big deal in many respects. Awlaki was a US citizen and was very fluent in both English and Arabic. He also was credited with taking internet jihad to a new level.

h/t Free Republic

Latest in Liberal Tripe: America to Blame for Anwar al-Awlaki Becoming a Terrorist

It is utterly amazing to watch the depths the leftwing mind will sink to in order to avoid admitting it was wrong. In this case, Salon's Glenn Greenwald actually blames the United States for turning Anwar al-Awlaki into the terrorist mastermind who inspired Fort Hood jihadist Nidal Malik Hasan, Christmas day bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, and Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad. Of course, in February of 2002, just five months after the September 11th attacks, al-Awlaki was invited to a DoD luncheon to speak as a moderate Muslim so that has to mean he transformed, right? It couldn't possibly mean the left was duped from the very beginning.

Via Salon:

The (Washington) Post says Awlaki is "known for his fiery sermons" (undoubtedly the prime -- and blatantly unconstitutional -- motive for his being targeted for killing). But what is so bizarre about Awlaki's now being cast in this role is that, for years, he was deemed by the very same U.S. Government to be the face of moderate Islam. Indeed, shortly after 9/11, the Pentagon invited Awlaki to a "luncheon meant to ease tensions with Muslim-Americans." But even more striking was something I accidentally found today while searching for something else. In November, 2001, the very same Washington Post hosted one of those benign, non-controversial online chats about religion that it likes to organize; this one was intended to discuss "the meaning of Ramadan". It was hosted by none other than . . . "Imam Anwar Al-Awlaki."

More extraordinary than the fact that the Post hosted The New Osama bin Laden in such a banal role a mere ten years ago was what Imam Awlaki said during the Q-and-A exchange with readers. He repudiated the 9/11 attackers. He denounced the Taliban for putting women in burqas, explaining that the practice has no precedent in Islam and that "education is mandatory on every Muslim male and female." He chatted about the "inter-faith services held in our mosque and around the greater DC area and in all over the country" and proclaimed: "We definitely need more mutual understanding." While explaining his opposition to the war in Afghanistan, he proudly invoked what he thought (mistakenly, as it turns out) was his right of free speech as an American: "Even though this is a dissenting view nowadays[,] as an American I do have the right to have a contrary opinion." And he announced that "the greatest sin in Islam after associating other gods besides Allah is killing an innocent soul."

Does that sound like the New Osama bin Laden to you? One could call him the opposite of bin Laden. And yet, a mere nine years later, there was Awlaki, in an Al Jazeera interview, pronouncing his opinion that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's attempt to blow up a civilian jet over Detroit was justified (while saying "it would have been better if the plane was a military one or if it was a US military target"), and urging "revenge for all Muslims across the globe" against the U.S. What changed over the last decade that caused such a profound transformation in Awlaki?

Instead of admitting to being duped or even acknowledging the premise that says al-Awlaki knew that the only way he COULD speak at the DoD luncheon was to portray himself as moderate (Islamists do that, you know), Greenwald creates his own theory that says al-Awlaki was moderate then but because of America's actions in Afghanistan, he transformed into a bad guy and is justified somehow.

Taqiyya was invented for people like Greenwald.

h/t Jawa

al-Awlaki's Pentagon Lunch Included Invitation to CAIR's Awad

Perhaps the most wanted Islamic terrorist today - Anwar al-Awlaki - was invited to a Pentagon luncheon just a few short months after 9/11. Now we're learning that in addition to al-Awlaki, CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad was also invited as a plan of Muslim outreach. According to Catherine Herridge at Fox News, had expressed interest in attending as well. Apparently, this was not the only time al-Awlaki and Awad had teamed up together.

Via Fox News:

According to the email, there was at least one civilian on the guest list. The email invitation reads: "Mr. Nihad Awad, President of the Counsel on American-Islamic Relations has also expressed interest in attending."

Fox News sent questions to Awad though a spokesman at CAIR, including whether he had provided positive recommendations for Awlaki to either the FBI or the Defense Department immediately after 9/11.

Fox News also asked whether Awad attended a fundraiser at UC Irvine on Sept. 9, 2001, for the defense of Jamil al-Amin who was later conficted of killing a sheriff's deputy in Atlanta Georgia. Documents show Awad provided a video message for the fundraising event and al-Awlaki went to the fundraiser. On Sept. 10 of that year, al-Awlaki, who has documented ties to three of the five Sept. 11 hijackers, flew back to Washington, landing on the morning of Sept. 11.

Fox News contacted CAIR multiple times over a 10 day period and there was no response after the initial contact when a spokesman asked for questions to be submitted.

The DOD allowed al-Awlaki to appear at the luncheon despite the FBI having interviewed him multiple times regarding the September 11th attacks.

CAIR Director Awad has quite the history of being associated with bad guys. He also is on record in 1994 as saying he supports Hamas.

HERE is a link to the email referenced in Fox article.

h/t Weasel Zippers

ANWAR AL AWLAKI DINED AT PENTAGON AFTER 9/11

As the Pentagon was still sporting a gaping wound months after the 9/11 attacks, the man who is now known to have mentored Fort Hood jihadist Nidal Malik Hasan and the Christmas Day underwear bomber dined at the Pentagon. Anwar al Awlaki apparently said he was a moderate at the time and was believed. While he is an American citizen, he is now number one on the CIA kill list. He also had ties to the 9/11 hijackers themselves.

Catherine Herridge at Fox News broke the story:

Anwar Al-Awlaki may be the first American on the CIA's kill or capture list, but he was also a lunch guest of military brass at the Pentagon within months of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, Fox News has learned.

Documents exclusively obtained by Fox News, including an FBI interview conducted after the Fort Hood shooting in November 2009, state that Awlaki was taken to the Pentagon as part of the military’s outreach to the Muslim community in the immediate aftermath of the attacks.

The ineptitude of our government agencies is growing increasingly disconcerting. It definitely adds fuel to the arguments that the Oklahoma City bombing was a botched sting operation and that stories about Able Danger are well founded. HERE is a link to some of the documents on al Awlaki.

OOPS: FORT HOOD SHOOTER'S IMAM STILL EMITTING CO2

What the right hand giveth, the left hand taketh away. On Christmas Eve, it was widely believed that Nidal Malik Hasan's radical Imam cleric and spiritual guide was killed in an air strike in Yemen. That appears now to be incorrect. Then again, authorities reportedly have no access to the area because it's run by radicals, the same radicals whose story that al-Awlaki is alive is what we're reduced to believing.

I guess we can factually say he felt the heat of this attack.

LA TIMES reported the story.

h/t to JW

BREAKING: FORT HOOD SHOOTER'S IMAM KILLED

Anwar al-Awlaki, the radical Imam who knew and gave spiritual counsel to two or three of the 9/11 hijackers as well as to Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan via email, is reportedly a dead victim of an air strike in Yemen.

Reuters REPORTS:

U.S.-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki may also have died in the air strike which targeted a meeting of militants planning attacks on Yemeni and foreign oil and economic targets, he said.

If all the deaths are confirmed, the air strike would appear to have struck a severe blow against AQAP, seen as the most dangerous regional offshoot of Osama bin Laden's network.

"Anwar al-Awlaki is suspected to be dead," the official said of the cleric who was on the run in Yemen, where he was on the government's most-wanted list of terrorist suspects.

According to U.S. officials, the U.S. army psychiatrist who ran amok at the Fort Hood army base in Texas on November 5 had contacts with Awlaki.

If true, poetic justice and strong irony may have also been delivered. As MICHELLE MALKIN points out, ABC reported on an interview al-Awlaki gave that appeared on al-Jazeera one day earlier in which he claimed Hasan asked him about killing American soldiers in his very first email.

Awlaki claims that Hasan initiated the e-mail correspondence with a message on Dec. 17, 2008. "He was asking about killing U.S. soldiers and officers," says Awlaki. "His question was is it legitimate [under Islamic law]."

One day later, al-Awlaki appears to have crossed the line that separates confidence from over-confidence.

HASAN AND 9/11 IMAM QUITE CHUMMY

This adds an entirely new dimension to the broader problems relative to not effectively identifying our current enemy. In 2001, Anwar al-Aulaqi was an Imam at the Dar al-Hijra mosque in Northern Virginia. Not only did three of the 9/11 hijackers catch some of his inspirational sermons firsthand but so did Fort Hood Islamic terrorist Nidal Malik Hasan. Aulaqi fled to Yemen in 2002. What happened in 2007 provides a potentially disturbing and at the time, unknown turning point.

A WAPO article paints the picture of Aulaqi being more like a sort of Islamic spiritual mentor over the last year than anything else. In fact, it's quite possible that as Hasan was struggling to accurately interpret the essence of Islam, Aulaqi's counsel may have had some way of pushing him over the edge. Considering that Aulaqi came out and called Hasan a "hero" after the attacks, would it be all that surprising?

Now for the disturbing part. Quoting from the Post article:

The thick-bearded, white-robed Aulaqi, who was born in New Mexico, served as an imam at two mosques attended by three of the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackers -- Virginia's Dar al-Hijra and another in California. Aulaqi, who is in his late 30s, is also fluent in Arabic. U.S. officials have accused him of working with al-Qaeda networks in the Persian Gulf after leaving Northern Virginia. In mid-2006, he was detained in Yemen, his ancestral homeland, at the request of U.S. authorities. He was released in December 2007.

Hasan began communicating with Aulaqi in 2008 and there are reportedly between 10-20 emails between the two. The logical question just begging to be asked is if Hasan would have carried out the massacre if not for Aulaqi's counsel? What would have happened had Aulaqi not been released?

Be sure to read the entire WAPO article as it is the result of a third party interview with Aulaqi.

h/t to HA