Fort Hood marks a somber anniversary
Ann Gerhart
The Washington Post
11/5/2010
Until Friday, there was only one outward symbol at Fort Hood of the chaos and carnage that erupted there on Nov. 5, 2009. The wreaths of ribbons and flowers hung on a fence surrounding Building 42003 at the massive Army post in Texas. They were placed there by a wife who became a widow that day.
Now there is a 6-foot-tall granite memorial, unveiled at a ceremony on the one-year anniversary of the massacre, the worst at a U.S. military installation. Inscribed with the names of the 13 slain when a soldier opened fire as they waited to do paperwork before a deployment, the marker has taken its place near the post’s memorials to those killed in war – more than 500 in the past five years.
…Sens. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine), who head the Senate Homeland Security Committee, said Thursday in a statement that “the attack could have been prevented if the government acted on information in its possession.” The two headed a lengthy investigation that included interviews with FBI and military investigators about what was known, or should have been known, about Hasan. They expect to issue a final report as soon as administration and committee officials agree on what portions must remain classified.
“Our report will show that our domestic intelligence system must be strengthened in order to counter the threat of homegrown terrorism, and that our military must have zero tolerance for the expression of violent Islamist extremism in its ranks,” the senators said…
Read the entire article at the Washington Post.
Update: From Big Peace, Fort Hood, One Year Later.
