US Defence Secretary Robert Gates on Thursday announced a thorough investigation into the Fort Hood shootings to examine if warning signs were missed and to ensure such a rampage never happens again.

US Army psychiatrist Major Nidal Hasan has been charged with the murder of 13 people in the 5 November attack at the military base in Texas, in which 42 people were also wounded.

Hasan is being investigated for links to Islamic extremism, including his contacts with a radical cleric who blessed the killing spree as an acceptable form of jihad, or holy war.

Top brass to lead enquiry

Gates asked former army secretary Togo West and former chief of naval operations Admiral Vernon Clark to lead a probe into possible "lapses or problems" that had raised "serious questions."

"We do not enter this process with any preconceived notions," Gates, who attended a funeral for one of the shooting victims on Wednesday, told a press conference.

"However, 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 Fort Hood shootings stunned a military already under severe strain from years of war in both Iraq and Afghanistan, with the army reporting a rise in depression, suicides and marital problems. "There is nothing any of us can say to ease the pain for the wounded, the families of the fallen and the members of the Fort Hood community touched by this incident," said Gates.

A learning curve

"All that is left for us to do is everything in our power to prevent similar tragedies from occurring in the future."

The probe will examine how the Defence Department identifies service members who pose a potential threat to others, how "adverse" information on soldiers is reported and whether security at military bases needs to be improved, he said.

President Barack Obama has already ordered a review to look at how intelligence in the case was handled after accusations the government failed to follow up on worrying signs about Hasan.

Attorney General Eric Holder said on Wednesday he found contacts between the alleged gunman and radical Yemeni cleric Anwar al-Awlaqi "disturbing."

Gates said he too viewed the communication as distressing but added that "before I draw any conclusions about it, I want to find out all the facts."

Hasan's "contacts" came under renewed focus this week as the Yemeni cleric who exchanged emails with him "blessed the act" and said the deadly shooting was "permissible" under Islam.

After an initial probe, Gates said a more in-depth review would be carried out over four to six months looking at possible "institutional shortcomings," including how health care workers are assessed and "overall stress on the troops and their families."

Attack 'second to 9/11'

Members of Congress have launched their own investigation of the shooting and Senator Joe Lieberman on Wednesday called the assault "the most destructive terrorist attack on America since 11 September 2001."

Asked if he believed the assault was an act of terrorism, Gates said: "I'm just not going to go there."

Gates warned against treating whole communities with suspicion after the shooting, a reference to Hasan's Muslim faith.

Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, agreed, saying the US military's strength resided in its diversity.

Mullen, who appeared with Gates at the briefing, said "we need to ensure that we treat everybody fairly."

Army chief of staff General George Casey has acknowledged concerns that the shooting spree could trigger a backlash against some of the 3500 Muslims serving in the US military.

At a Senate hearing on the shooting, lawmakers warned that home-grown threats from Islamist extremists represented a growing danger.

General John Keane, retired army vice chief of staff, told senators that the army had clear guidelines for identifying white supremacists — which caused problems within the ranks in the 1990s — but had no such guidelines for Islamist radicals.

"It should not be an act of courage for a soldier to identify a soldier that is displaying extremist behaviour," Keane said. "It should be an obligation."

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AFP

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