Live Blog from the Anchor Desk 11/06/09
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Tonight we have the latest developments on the attack at Fort Hood, Texas. Plus, Anderson's one-on-one interview with Oprah Winfrey on her book club selection and more.
Want to know what else we're covering? <strong><a href="http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/category/the-buzz/" target="_blank">Read EVENING BUZZ</a></strong>
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@ Anderson: Time to get that power point presentation!
Anderson,
Hi–Happy Friday!
The developments on the Fort Hood attack are chilling.
I saw you earlier on Oprah–I'm looking forward to you interview.
Good evening. I heard that one of the Fort Hood victims was 3 months pregnant. Wouldn't that move the death count to 14 rather than 13? That fetus was a human life in my book. Thank you.
We should take note not only from Hasan's rampage but from the shooting today in Orlando that the USA is a dangerous place due to the legality of firearms.
ANDERSON!
what of the initial reports of other gunmen? were those reports incorrect?
It seems like many people saw signs of anger, depression and signs of planning his own suicide, such as giving his belongings away. How can someone in his position, a history of some bizarre behavior verbalized in lectures, and no one ..his peers or family or friends bring this forward to someone who may have been able to help him? Perhaps people thought he was not only military but after all a medical psychiatric professional..he certainly could not have been mentally troubled.
How can these radical muslims be allowed to be in public in New York, talking against America with out being stop or anyone doing anything about it, what is everyone waiting for to be bomb again, they come to America, eat here , get educated , are treated well and they are allowed to do what they want, what will happen to any of us if we go to their country and try to do something like this will probably be be headed right , so until when we are going to let this happen???
I think you need to call it what it is when you're talking about Hassan.
It was a terrorist attack on an American military base.
Let's not skirt it.
Sgt. Dave, I don't know what base you have visited but the base we are at, you can have firearms. They just have to be registered at the MP station with all serial numbers. The ammo has to be seperate from the actual weapon and you must have a lock and key for the items. The MP's come to your house to verify that all of this is done before you are allowed to register them in your home "on base". This guy lived off post so he wouldn't of been required to register them with the mp's.
My son is at fort hood why was this person allowed to be in the miltary let alone counsel wounded soldiers at walter ried this is stupid heres a man who believes americans should die for islam but yet serves a a comander with a poor recored and kills husbands wives pregant wives and adult children i hope he lives long enough to be hung !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!at public display on national TV!!!!!! My son was a half mile from tje shootings and im a retired Detroit police officer who they say has post tramatic stress disorder heres aperson treating people like us keep him alive to die again and again
@ Anderson
It's very troubling and scary. We felt so vulnerable.
Anderson,
We should not play the holier than though and pretend that there are no dissenters to war. I am a peace activist. Many people in this country are against this war do that make them killers?
I do not understand why he was so worried about going to iraq & killing his fellow Muslims but yet he did not question looking at his fellow brothers & sisters in the eyes trying to fatally shoot them.
This guy should have been kicked out of the military.
This is just not right.
The clips you showed where the muslim radicals are celebrating the Fort Hood tragedy in NY look like a publicity stunt. These are people who are unsuccessful in their lives and don't have any thing better to do ( in other words " Loosers " in life ) and they use the name of religion to take their anger out.
They in no way represent Islam, I am sure they have never read the Koraan. I am a practicing muslim yet a very proud American. Long live America.
A very tragic event that might have been avoided!
Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan is a MD who took the Hippocratic Oath. His life and training is about helping people, not killing them. Once he rebounds from his rage and realizes the catastrophe he caused, acting far beyond the zenith of his boundaries, he will most likely become suicidal. This man must have felt he had no other options and backed against the wall. I am sure he did not expect to live.
You may think that well educated and trained people would never act like this. I disagree. Many very intelligent and highly educated have no one to discuss their fears and internal conflicts. When you are at the “top” who do you discuss your problems with? Especially if he was being harassed. He could not trust anyone.
To those asking about the base:
Civilian police officers ride with MP's. Each MP, has a Killeen Police officer with them. It has been this way for a while now, and its because we have so many MP's that deploy. Another fact that was asked, You are allowed to have a weapon on post as long as it is registered with Fort Hood. If it is not registered, than obviously you will face charges for carrying a weapon.
Where were the mps where were the sps why is our military depending on citizens to guard our bases
Why is the focus always on his religion? He could have been one disturbed individual who happened to go crazy. Two years ago, an American soldier went on a shooting rampage and killed five US soldiers and his religion was never mentioned and was never the main focus. Hasan obviously had mental problems, which had nothing to do with him being a Muslim. The serial killer that was found in Ohio killed so far 11 people and buried them in his house, no one ever mentions what his religion was and if he went to church on Sundays. This is all completely biased and just reinforces the negative stereotypes about Muslims.
I believe this is more than someone who just snapped because he did want to go to war. Why one kills when one refused to go to kill?.
I want to clarify the firearm registration musguidance. Weapons do not have to be registered on post unless you live on post and it is being stored on the instalation. I am speaking from experience as my husband and I own several and live on Fort Hood. This is a fairly recent change put into action under the command of general lynch
Doesn't being a service member of the US Army go against the beliefs of Muslims and their view of the world? The Army should change their policy.
Hello, Anderson, I appologize for the unfinished message, but like I was saying. IT IS A MISTAKE!!! To allow people who belong to islam to be part of any of our military branches. Anyone with Islamic background should be investigated. Thank you for allowing me to post my opinion online. I am a Huge and devoted Fan. God Bless and Keep you, Always.
Respectfully
Denis
I feel Hasan commited an act of terrorism. There is no justification for what he did. I pray for all the families here on Fort Hood who have been affected by this.
@Beth..No we wouldn't. But well known terrorist attacks have been affiliated with Islamic groups, so it's something that American media clings onto (when the religion is known).
@Rebecca,
I agree with you, however, it sounds like everything is pointing to not mentally stable!
I do hope that he survives however, as it sounds like he Wanted to Die!
Better that he have to live with what he did!
Why does the military automatically promote people if they preform their duties poorly? Also, if so many people knew about the killer's comments why could nothing be done (no words of caution by his commanding officers or anything?)
evening everyone... this case is very troubling..
My condolences to the families and friends of the wounded and killed at Ft. Hood.
We should not forget that the death and wounding of these young people are every day occurrence in Iraq, Afgan. So those of you that are upset with this happening State side where we fortunately see very little of this type of insanity please remember we have young American brothers and sisters giving up their lives and limbs every day. Give thanks to our military men and woman all over the world.
Thanks, Heather
@vincent I know it's so scary and hard to believe something like that could happen. It could happen at any base..we were at Great Lake + Fort Sheridan in IL..
This is just another murder/suicide story. What is different than the ones that occur in society everywhere on a daily basis? Don't start to get scared that the Muslims are coming... the Muslims are coming...
this kind os stuff happens every day on our streets. Open your eyes.
Hi AC, EH and AC360.com
My deep condolence spares to Forth Hood victim's friends and families. How licentious these killing spree could get. It doesn't matter what your faith lies upon, if it leads to harm another human being, it is a disastrous blind chauvinism.
Happy Weekend, everyone
There is no way Hasan should have slipped through
the cracks. If people were raising red flags, how come
nobody listened? There is no way this guy should
have been an officer in the US Army.
This weapon should be available to our soldier and not any individual wanting it for killing our soldiers. Some heads should roll!
The first time I saw Anderson Cooper, he was on the Oprah show a few years ago. 🙂
Hello Anderson i am from Fort Hood . my heart goes out to all the victims who were lost and wounded. on post today it was a sad day it wasnt for hood i dont think it will ever be what it use to after this. this is the only time that i am grateful my husband was deployed again my heart goes out to all the victims
Good Evening, Anderson
Had Hasan been Baptist, Methodist, etc. would we chastize the entire denomination? I think not.
My praises go out to the military heros over this terrible tradegy that hit fort hood. And my condolences go out to all the families of the soldiers that were killed and injured. I do have a comment in regards to the female officer that is the hero, I would like to see our military or our government give this lady possibly one of our nations highest awards poosible, as i feel from what I hear that she went a bit above her normal duties to brin the suspect down to stop this sensless act of cowardis. If others feel the way I do please post this so our leaders can see it.
I am saddened how this man ws not stopped before now. He has verbally promoted suicide bomings. We need to take these kind of people seriously.
Anderson,
No way to understand this.
Drew
As this story develops you can see so many "red flags" about this guy. We need to pay more attention.
I am praying for all of those who have suffered loss in this incident. Sigh... – stardust
If this were a regular white guy, would the media keep referring to him as the "Christian" killer? The media perpetuates the stereotype of the Muslim Jihadist by using the term "Muslim" over and over. This guy was crazy. We do not know if his religion fueled his rampage. But we do know that he used guns. How about focusing on this gun-toting culture where people have easy access to them rather then focusing so much on the man's religion? Or next time we see a mass killing done by a Christian, let's keep referring to him as the "Christian Killer" and see how mainstream Americans react.
Brittany- he was working on the base, in the military, which is scary..
-Wow, I don't understand why he would join a career in the armed forces if he was to scared to serve overseas
This was a tragedy here at Fort Hood. I can tell you all now, that security has been bumped up extremely. I am shocked to see how well our Army has stepped it up more than a notch. My prayers and thoughts go out to all those who are victims of this shooting. I cant even describe the emotions that were running through me, when I received a phone call from my husband saying "There is a shooting on post, only 5 buildings away from me." I wasnt sure what to think.My mind was running more than one image through my mind. I have never felt more sad in my life. I really wish I was able to help out the victims, as well as the family members. Fort Hood may be the biggest military base, but one thing for sure is that it seems so small to the people who live here, once you live here, you become more than friends, your family. Therefor the victims, are more than soldiers. They are family.
Anderson, what is there not to understand. When a Muslim calls out "Allah Akbab" then calmly commits an act of outright terrior that is nothing less than an Islamic Terriorist. Nidal Hasan is a terriorist. Its time to stop all of the physo-babel.
As an army wife who lives on post, we are very stunned and saddened by yesterdays events. After all the media chaos an rumors, we are left unsure of the exact details. I do know our sense of security has been seriously damaged. What happens to the soldiers who were doing SRP? Are they still going to deploy so soon after witnessing this hainous act? Are these soldiers being counseled? So many questions.
What if Hasan had been an F-16 pilot or had more powerful weapons at his disposal? Hasan sounds like a 'sleeper' to me.
Hello Anderson.what a tragedy .it is scary what one person can do
My thoughts and prayers go out to all of the dead and wounded, their families, loved ones, and the entire Military family. We are all deeply affected by this tragedy. Let's hope for a speedy recovery of the injured.
As for the hows and whys...the answers may help us, but they will never excuse what happened. My hope is that we can learn from this, and prevent any further instances.