Oklahoma City Terrorism Expert Gives Insight On Fort Hood Massacre

As federal authorities continue to investigate the Fort Hood Massacre, terrorism experts in Oklahoma City are analyzing the case too.

Wednesday, November 11th 2009, 10:35 pm

By: News 9


By Colleen Chen, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- As federal authorities continue to investigate the Fort Hood Massacre, terrorism experts in Oklahoma City are analyzing the case too.

The Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism is based in Oklahoma City. MIPT is a U.S. Department of Homeland Security training partner.

David Cid, the executive director of MIPT, is a 20 year veteran of the FBI. Cid said he's been watching coverage of the Fort Hood shootings closely and has been paying attention to reports on Major Nidal Hasan. Hasan is the accused shooter and authorities believe he acted alone.

"If his primary purpose was ideological or religious then yes, you can call it terrorism. If he was simply a mad man then the answer is no. However, I don’t think we know that right now," Cid said.

While the case has not been defined as terrorism, Cid said Hasan’s actions are still of great interest to MIPT. That’s because Cid said it’s common knowledge among experts that there are too many people with radical viewpoints in the United States for the FBI to track.

Cid said he worries about the implications of Fort Hood.

"Many of them can be inspired by what has happened to do it themselves so that is a concern and possible emerging threat that we need to watch for," Cid said.

There are currently two schools of thought on what triggered Hasan’s rampage. One is that he was simply a troubled person who picked up a gun. The other is that he is a Jihadi who decided to go to war in the United States.

"To me, it’s a combination. He wouldn’t be the first troubled person or person disengaged from life looking for an answer who gravitated toward radicalism," Cid said.

Cid cited Eric Rudolph, the terrorist known for bombing abortion clinics and the Olympics in Atlanta. He said Rudolph was known to have a difficult childhood and troubled past who ended up finding comfort in right wing extremist views.

As for Hasan, Cid said there Hasan was definitely struggling with some issues.

"Clearly he was troubled. People often go to religion for solace. Unfortunately he went to a person with this radical vision. If he had gone to a person without that vision, we may have had a different outcome," Cid said.

Cid, however, cautioned against the idea that Muslims should not be in the U.S. military.

"The vast majority of Muslims in the country are good Americans. If they want to fight for our country we should allow them to do so. Particularly in a war where we need people to speak Arabic, know the culture, and the language. I think it is a mistake to think they should not serve. People should be judged by their behaviors, not their ethnicity, religion, or anything else. We made that mistake in World War II when we said Japanese Americans shouldn’t be part of our military. We shouldn’t repeat mistakes," Cid said.

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