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Hasan was characterized as a mediocre student and lazy worker, which concerned the doctors and staff at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, a military medical school in Bethesda, Md., the official said. Even outside the military, Hasan's behavior drew attention. Golam Akhter, a civil engineer from Bethesda, Md., said Thursday that he had spoken with Hasan about 10 times at the Muslim Community Center in Silver Spring before Hasan left for Texas last summer. "He used to not believe that 9/11 was solely the work of Middle East people," Akhter said. "His main thing was,
'America is killing Muslims in the Middle East.' That made him very, very upset." Akhter said he sensed that Hasan was "a troubled man" and feels guilty for not alerting others. "I tried to convince him to try to be a moderate Muslim," Akhter said. Hasan repeatedly referred to his strong religious views in discussions with classmates at Walter Reed, his superiors and even in his research work, the military official said. His behavior, while at times perceived as intense and combative, was not unlike the zeal of others with strong religious views. But some doctors and staff were concerned that their unfamiliarity with the Muslim faith would lead them to unfairly single out Hasan's behavior, the official said. Some questioned Hasan's sympathies as an Army psychiatrist, whether he would be more aligned with Muslims fighting U.S. troops. There also was some concern about whether he should continue to serve in the military, the official said. But they saw no signs of mental problems, no risk factors that would predict violent behavior. And the group discussed other factors that suggested Hasan would continue to thrive in the military, factors that mitigated their concerns, the official said. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday he was appalled at news leaks about the investigation into last week's deadly shootings at Fort Hood. "Frankly if I found out with high confidence anybody who's leaking on the Department of Defense, who that was, that would probably be a career-ender," he told reporters traveling with him to Oshkosh, Wis. "Everybody ought to shut up."
[Associated
Press;
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