Hasan Raised Red Flags at Walter Reed

Toward the end of his stint as a psychiatrist at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, accused Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan was the subject of a series of conversations between important officials concerned with the Army major's conduct. NPR reports that during the six years Hasan spent at Walter Reed, his "disconnected, aloof, paranoid, belligerent, and schizoid" behavior—including his espousal of radical Islamic ideas—was cause for serious concern, and led some to wonder if the psychiatrist was mentally unstable. Apparently no action was taken when the issue was discussed in the spring of 2008, due at least in part to the bureaucratic nature of the probation and expulsion process, the lack of "clear evidence," the officials' own lack of awareness regarding Hasan's email dealings with a suspected radical, and, finally, his impending departure from Walter Reed.