A recently released review of Major Nidal Malik Hasan, the doctor accused of murdering thirteen people at the Ft. Hood army base in Texas, paints the picture of a man who was continually advanced up the ranks by superiors despite reservations among superiors. From The Washington Post
A Defense Department review of the shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, has found the doctors overseeing Maj. Nidal Hasan's medical training repeatedly voiced concerns over his strident views on Islam and his inappropriate behavior, yet continued to give him positive performance evaluations that kept him moving through the ranks.
The picture emerging from the review ordered by Defense Secretary Robert Gates is one of supervisors who failed to heed their own warnings about an officer ill-suited to be an Army psychiatrist, according to information gathered during the internal Pentagon investigation and obtained by The Associated Press. The review has not been publicly released.
The question remains as to why Major Hasan would be repeatedly advance if their were misgivings about his fitness.
Buzz Theory: There was a concern that preventing a Muslim officer from advancing up the ranks would be viewed as discrimination in an army that already has an image problem with regard to inclusion. Perhaps didn't want to risk the PR nightmare. That, again, is just a theory, but if that's the case, that line of thinking went over like a lead balloon.
What do you think the army was thinking?