General George Casey Jr., the Army chief of staff, said on Sunday that he was concerned that speculation about the religious beliefs of Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, accused of killing 12 fellow soldiers and one civilian and wounding 30 0thers in a shooting rampage at Fort Hood, could "cause a backlash against some of our Muslim soldiers." "I've asked our Army leaders to be on the lookout for that," General Casey said in an interview on CNN's "State of the Union. "It would be a shame -- as great a tragedy as this was -- it would be a shame if our diversity became a casualty as well." General Casey used almost the same language in an appearance on ABC's "This Week With George Stephanopoulos," an indication of the Army's effort to ward off bias against the more than 3,000 Muslims in its ranks. "A diverse Army gives us strength," General Casey, who visited Fort Hood Friday, said on "This Week."Investigators have tentatively concluded that Major Hasan, a 39-year-old psychiatrist, acted alone and was not part of a terrorist plot. But Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, told "Fox News Sunday" that he would begin a congressional investigation to determine whether the shootings can be termed a terrorist attack.
General George Casey Jr., the Army chief of staff, said on Sunday that he was concerned that speculation about the religious beliefs of Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, accused of killing 12 fellow soldiers and one civilian and wounding 30 0thers in a shooting rampage at Fort Hood, could "cause a backlash against some of our Muslim soldiers."
"I've asked our Army leaders to be on the lookout for that," General Casey said in an interview on CNN's "State of the Union. "It would be a shame -- as great a tragedy as this was -- it would be a shame if our diversity became a casualty as well."
General Casey used almost the same language in an appearance on ABC's "This Week With George Stephanopoulos," an indication of the Army's effort to ward off bias against the more than 3,000 Muslims in its ranks.
"A diverse Army gives us strength," General Casey, who visited Fort Hood Friday, said on "This Week."
Investigators have tentatively concluded that Major Hasan, a 39-year-old psychiatrist, acted alone and was not part of a terrorist plot. But Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, told "Fox News Sunday" that he would begin a congressional investigation to determine whether the shootings can be termed a terrorist attack.
WASHINGTON -- After two days of inquiry into the mass shooting at Fort Hood, investigators have tentatively concluded that it was not part of a terrorist plot. Rather, they have come to believe that Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the Army psychiatrist accused in the shootings, acted out under a welter of emotional, ideological and religious pressures, according to interviews with federal officials who have been briefed on the inquiry.Investigators have not ruled out the possibility that Major Hasan believed he was carrying out an extremist's suicide mission. But the investigators, working with behavioral experts, suggested that he might have long suffered from emotional problems that were exacerbated by the tensions of his work with veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan who returned home with serious psychiatric problems.
WASHINGTON -- After two days of inquiry into the mass shooting at Fort Hood, investigators have tentatively concluded that it was not part of a terrorist plot.
Rather, they have come to believe that Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the Army psychiatrist accused in the shootings, acted out under a welter of emotional, ideological and religious pressures, according to interviews with federal officials who have been briefed on the inquiry.
Investigators have not ruled out the possibility that Major Hasan believed he was carrying out an extremist's suicide mission.
But the investigators, working with behavioral experts, suggested that he might have long suffered from emotional problems that were exacerbated by the tensions of his work with veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan who returned home with serious psychiatric problems.
