He openly placed religious law above the U.S. Constitution, accused the United States of being at war with Islam and justified the signature act of modern terrorism.
Yet, Nidal Malik Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, routinely received favorable performance reviews, rose through the ranks and maintained his security clearance. The Defense Department's review of how that happened was released Friday morning. It finds Hasan's superiors ignored warning signs in his performance and religious zeal.
Sections of the report dealing with Hasan's November 5 massacre at Fort Hood will not be released due to the ongoing criminal investigation. He is charged with 13 counts of murder and 32 counts of attempted murder. He remains hospitalized, and reportedly is paralyzed, after being shot during his rampage.
Details of the review have been leaking out all week. While they detail the many ways in which Hasan progressed despite his performance, no report as of yet explains why so many officers would look the other way. It is not clear whether the issue of political correctness, or undue deference to Hasan's religion, prompted the officers' actions.
CNN reports that Hasan's superiors were all able to clearly see in his records that as an officer, medical student and a psychiatrist, Hasan was a repeat poor performer.
He took six years to graduate from medical school instead of the four years it takes most students. He was on academic probation for receiving numerous below average and failing grades between 1997 and 2007 at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland, according to the official. In addition, he was criticized for proselytizing to his patients and gave an odd presentation that included justifications for terrorist attacks.
"It is clear that, as a department, we have not done enough to adapt to the evolving domestic internal security threat to American troops and military facilities that has emerged over the past decade," Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters.
Among the report's recommendations is for the Pentagon to work with the FBI to better track possible threats. It also calls for measures to better identify soldiers who could pose a risk to others.
The Associated Press reports that Army officials may reprimand as many as eight officers.
The FBI's statment regarding its review of Fort Hood can be seen here.