Fort Hood: Obama Urges Caution Amid Fears of Backlash Against Muslims

There is no doubt that there will be some ill feeling towards Muslims but as I have always said that YOU van not blame one individual for the death toll hits 13 in Texas shooting spree Link to this video

Barack Obama today joined calls from across America for calm amid fears of a backlash in the wake of the shooting spree by a Muslim soldier at the Fort Hood that left 13 dead and 28 wounded.

Obama, speaking in the White House Rose Garden after being briefed by the FBI, sought to dampen tensions, as did politicians from both the Democratic and Republican parties, the military, Muslim associations and the family of the alleged shooter, Major Nadil Malik Hasan.

"I would caution against jumping to conclusions until we get all the facts," Obama said. The risk of a witchhunt rose today when the commander at the Fort Hood base, Lieutenant-General Robert Cone, disclosed that wounded soldiers said Hasan had shouted "Allahu Akbar" before opening fire on unarmed soldiers at the Texas base.

The troops, from 12 different units across the US, had been receiving final medical checks before deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Hasan, 39, was initially reported by the military to have been killed but hours later officials confirmed he was still alive, though wounded. He was on a ventilator today.

The trained military psychiatrist had been due to be deployed to Afghanistan later this year and had been desperately trying to get out of it.

As the initial shock of the massacre began to wear off today, a bout of national soul-searching began about the mental strain caused to troops fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, in particular as a result of multiple tours of duty.

Although the vast majority of Muslims in the US are fully integrated, websites on major newspapers sites quickly filled with hate mail questioning their loyalty.

There have been only a few incidents since 9/11 of troops from a Muslim background killing comrades, and nothing near this scale.

Obama's call for patience, saying there were still too many unanswered questions, was echoed by Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress, and by the Pentagon.

In a statement, Hasan's family said his actions were "despicable and deplorable". "His actions did not reflect how they were raised in the US," they said.

Janet Napolitano, the homeland security secretary, joined the calls for patience. "That investigation is under way by law enforcement authorities, and let's let that be the number one priory in terms of ascertaining what motivations he had," she said in a television interview.

Obama ordered flags across the country to be flown at half-staff in tribute to the dead. The president was scheduled to visit Walter Reed military hospital today, where coincidentally Hasan previously worked as a psychiatrist.

Twelve of the dead were soldiers, with one lone civilian.

Dozens of grief counsellors were being sent to Fort Hood to help the families of the dead. The FBI was today going through Hasan's apartment and office to see whether there is a clue to his motivation on his computer, as well as from his phone records.

Investigators were by his bedside, hoping to interview him when he regained consciousness. He took four bullets from a policewoman, Kimberly Munley, 34, who was wounded in the encounter.

"She happened to encounter the gunman. In an exchange of gunfire, she was wounded but managed to wound him four times," Cone said. "It was an amazing and aggressive performance by this police officer."

Soldiers said that Hasan had two handguns, including a semi-automatic, and shot down troops in clusters. Cone said one soldier who had been shot told him: "I made the mistake of moving and I was shot again."

Hasan had been in uniform at the time.

Questions were raised about why the FBI had not pursued postings on a website from a person identified as Hasan who appeared to express sympathy for suicide bombings.

Hasan, a Virginian whose parents were Palestinians, worked as a psychiatrist at the Fort Hood base and before that at Walter Reed counselling troops suffering psychological problems after returning from war zones. He heard both what they had suffered and the violence they had inflicted on Iraqis and Afghans.

Video footage at a grocery store showed him relaxed, buying goods as normal. But his behaviour then changed, going home to clear out his flat and the usually reclusive figure went round his neighbours distributing groceries from his kitchen and handing out Qur'ans.

Colonel Steven Braverman, a hospital commander at Fort Hood for whom Hasan worked, said: "He took care of soldiers with behavioural health problems and evaluated people with disabilities." He said there was no indication prior to the shooting that Hasan was unable to provide those services.

"We had no problems with his job performance while he worked at Darnall," Braverman said.

A definitive figure for the number of Muslims in the US military is unknown, as recruits are not obliged declare a religious affiliation. There are only 3,526 declared Muslims in a military force totalling 1.4 million.