Were clues ignored about Maj. Hasan at Fort Hood?

Washington: Intelligence agencies intercepted communications last year and earlier this year between the military psychiatrist accused of shooting to death 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas, and a radical cleric in Yemen known for his incendiary anti-American teachings.

But the federal authorities dropped an inquiry into the matter after deciding the messages from the psychiatrist, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, warranted no further action, government officials said Monday.

Hasan's exchanges with Anwar al-Awlaki, once a spiritual leader at a mosque in suburban Virginia where Hasan worshiped, indicate that the troubled military psychiatrist came to the attention of the authorities long before last Thursday's shooting rampage at Fort Hood, but left him in his post.

It is not clear what was said in the exchanges, believed to be e-mail messages, and whether they would have offered a hint at the Hasan's outspoken views or his declining emotional state.

The communications, the subject of an inquiry by FBI and Army investigators, provide the first indication that Hasan was in direct communication with the cleric, who on Monday praised Hasan on his Web site, saying the Army psychiatrist "did the right thing" in attacking soldiers preparing to deploy to Afghanistan and Iraq.

Depending on what is contained in the exchanges, the disclosure of the government's decision not to take any steps against Hasan may provoke criticism of the FBI and Army investigators for missing possible warning signs of an alleged mass killer.

But federal officials briefed on the case said their decision to break off the investigation was reasonable based on the information about Hasan that was compiled at the time, which they said gave no indication he was likely to engage in violence.

The officials said the communications did not alter the prevailing theory that Hasan acted by himself, lashing out as a result of combination of factors, including his outspoken opposition to U.S. policy in Iraq and Afghanistan, and his deepening religious fervor as a Muslim.

Hasan, who was shot by a police officer and is at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, has regained consciousness and is able to talk, though it is unclear if he has spoken to federal investigators about the shootings. "He is critical but stable," a hospital spokeswoman, Maria Gallegos, said.

Gallegos added that Hasan had come out of a coma on Saturday and has been conversing with his doctors. He was in a coma when he arrived in San Antonio on Friday.

A lawyer for Hasan told The Associated Press on Monday he had asked investigators not to question his client and expressed doubt he could get a fair trial. The lawyer, retired Col. John P. Galligan, said he was contacted by Hasan's family on Monday and was traveling to San Antonio to consult with him.

Many questions remain about Hasan's state of mind, though another revelation Monday added to the complexity of his character. The general manager of a strip club about a quarter of a mile from the mosque where Hasan prayed five times a day, and next door to the gun shop where he bought the pistol used in the shootings, said Hasan was a customer.

The club manager, Matthew Jones, said Hasan had been in the Starz strip club at least three times in the last month. "He's been here, yes," Jones said, confirming a report that first appeared on Fox News. Jones said that sometimes Hasan stayed for six or seven hours and paid for lap dances in a private room. His latest appearance at the club came in late October, one of the dancers said.

The Imam with whom Hasan made contact is a U.S. citizen born in New Mexico to Yemeni parents. He wrote on Monday on his English-language Web site that Hasan was "a hero." The cleric said, "He is a man of conscience who could not bear living the contradiction of being a Muslim and serving in an army that is fighting against his own people."

Awlaki added, "The only way a Muslim could Islamically justify serving as a soldier in the U.S. Army is if his intention is to follow the footsteps of men like Nidal."

After the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in New York and Washington, Awlaki was quoted disapproving of such violence, and was portrayed as a moderate figure who might provide a bridge between Islam and Western Democracies. But since leaving the United States in 2002 for London, and later Yemen, Awlaki has become, through his Web site, www.anwar-alawlaki.com,a prominent proponent of militant Islam

"He's one of the most popular figures among hard-line, English-speaking jihadis around the world," said Jarret Brachman, author of the book "Global Jihadism" and a terrorism consultant to the government.

Brachman said Awlaki is especially appealing to young Muslims who are curious about radical ideas but not yet committed. "He's American, he's funny, and he speaks in a very understandable way," Brachman said.

Awlaki, on his Web site, invites comments or questions from visitors under the heading "Contact the Sheikh."

The Toronto Star reported last month that a group of young Canadians charged with plotting attacks against military and government targets were inspired, in part, by listening to Awlaki's sermons online.

In 2000 and 2001, Awlaki served as an imam at two mosques in the United States frequented by three future Sept. 11 hijackers. Khalid al-Midhar and Nawaf al-Hazmi attended the Rabat mosque in San Diego, where Awlaki later admitted meeting al-Hazmi several times but "claimed not to remember any specifics of what they discussed," according to the report of the national Sept. 11 commission.

Both al-Hazmi and another hijacker, Hani Hanjour, later attended the Dar al Hijra mosque in Falls Church, Va., after Awlaki had moved there in early 2001. The Sept. 11 commission report expressed "suspicion" about the coincidence, but said its investigators were unable to find Awlaki in Yemen to question him.

Hasan attended the same Virginia mosque, but it is not known whether they met there.

Awlaki, who is in his late 30s, was born in New Mexico of Yemeni parents, but returned to Yemen with his family as a child. He received a religious education in Yemen and later earned degrees in engineering at Colorado State and in education leadership at San Diego State, according to a biography on his Web site.

His writings urge Muslims to dedicate themselves to defending Islam, including pursuing "arms training," in such works as "44 Ways of Supporting Jihad."

At Fort Hood, the Army constructed giant walls of gray containers around the headquarters of III Corps in advance of a memorial service to be Tuesday for the 13 people killed when, the authorities say, Hasan opened fire in a center where soldiers get vaccinated before being sent abroad.

"We are creating a venue back there that is somewhat private and clear of observation," said Lt. Gen. Robert Cone, the base's commander.

President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama, are expected to attend the ceremony and the president will speak to a crowd that will include the survivors of the attack and the families of the victims. The ceremony will include prayers, a roll call of the dead and a 21-gun salute.

Cone said 15 people remained hospitalized with gunshot wounds, and eight of those were in intensive care. An additional 27 soldiers wounded were recovering and will attend the ceremony, he said.

As Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, independent of Connecticut, called for an investigation into how the Army missed signs that Hasan had become a violent opponent of the wars, Cone said his officers were reviewing their records to see if any other soldiers had emotional problems that could make them a threat. He said they were not focusing on Muslim soldiers. "What we're looking for is people with personal problems, not at all related to their religion," he said.

Also read: Fort Hood - War-related stress, anger, violence