San Antonio Express News

WASHINGTON — In the wake of the Fort Hood tragedy, the Pentagon is exploring a possible military-wide examination of its procedures for the handling of personnel who pose a potential danger within the ranks, officials said Tuesday.

Lawmakers are pushing the Department of Defense toward a thorough review that includes the sharing of intelligence with law enforcement and the conduct and behavior of the Army psychiatrist accused of killing 13 people at the post.

That review could expand beyond the Army.

"We are still looking at the best way to proceed with this," said Geoff Morrell, the Pentagon spokesman. "We have made no decisions."

The Senate Armed Services Committee postponed a briefing earlier this week from Army Secretary John McHugh, and Gen. George Casey, the Army chief of staff.

The briefing was postponed after President Barack Obama urged Congress to refrain from holding hearings on the killings while federal agents and the military conduct a criminal investigation. But other congressional inquiries into the shootings begin this week.

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, backs an expanded Pentagon review to prevent a similar tragedy.

"The key point is to look at how information is shared between the law enforcement community and the Department of Defense regarding members of the military who might be threats to their fellow service members," said Jeff Sadosky, a Hutchison spokesman.

The Army and the FBI have launched investigations into the Nov. 5 shootings.

Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, 39, was charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder. Dozens more were wounded. He is being treated for wounds at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio.

Casey said the Army would conduct a review in light of the shootings, and members of Congress said the service branch should look at the erratic behavior of Hasan while he served at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington.

Hutchison wants the Army review to look into "how all the warning signs coming from Maj. Hasan could have been missed," Sadosky said.

A Pentagon review "might run parallel or supercede what the Army is doing," said a Defense Department official who spoke on background.

Attorney General Eric Holder will appear Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is holding an oversight hearing into the Department of Justice and could question him about the shooting.

The Fort Hood shooting will be the focus of an inquiry by the Senate Homeland Security Committee later this week.

Sen. Joe Lieberman, the Connecticut independent who chairs the panel, has labeled the Fort Hood rampage the most destructive terrorist act since Sept. 11, 2001.

The Senate Homeland Security panel has held numerous hearings on the dangers of "homegrown" terrorism, and Lieberman wants the hearings to focus on Hasan's radical religious views.

Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, said he wanted an investigation into Hasan's contact with an American cleric in Yemen who had ties to the 9-11, terrorists, as well as telephone calls and wire transfers Hasan had with Pakistan.

McCaul, the ranking Republican on the House Homeland Security panel on intelligence, said Congress should look into how the FBI, Pentagon and other federal agencies are working to "protect our military assets."

Meanwhile, a bill filed by Rep. John Carter, R-Round Rock, whose congressional district includes Fort Hood, would give the injured and dependents of those killed in the shooting the same legal status of those killed in combat overseas.

If passed, the bill would mean that beneficiaries of military personnel killed at Fort Hood would receive the maximum life insurance benefit, and those injured would be eligible for the Purple Heart.

Civilians injured could receive the Secretary of Defense Medal of Freedom, the non-military equivalent of the Purple Heart.