Ft. Hood Shooter's Defense: I Was Protecting Taliban from US Soldiers

On Tuesday, Army psychiatrist and alleged terrorist Maj. Nidal Hasan told a military judge that he killed 13 Americans in “defense of others.” Who were those others? Hasan contends that American troops in Fort Hood were an imminent threat to Taliban fighters. The defense would require Hasan to show that the murders were necessary to protect others from harm or death, and Hasan’s attempt to use it will likely be thrown out. Incredibly, there are those who say that had Hasan argued that he wanted to defend Muslim women and children, he may have been allowed to use the defense.

The court-martial begins Wednesday with jury selection.

According to Hasan, Taliban head Mullah Omar and “leadership of the Taliban in general” were in imminent danger thanks to US activities in Afghanistan. “The US,” he said, “attacked and continued to attack the Taliban.” Several of the soldiers shot were medical staff. Hasan shouted “Allahu Akhbar” as he opened fire on soldiers at Fort Hood, and had a long history of promoting radical Islamism in his work.

Federal law enforcement classified the Fort Hood attack as “workplace violence.”