05 March 2010

Pentagon Threat Assessments Looking Internally

The Pentagon is beefing up it's internal-facing threat assessments.

The shooting rampage at a U.S. army base in November was "an act of terrorism," an Obama administration official said Friday, as the Pentagon ordered an overhaul of protocols to spot threats within the military. Reviews ordered on Friday by the Pentagon and White House exposed shortcomings in both intelligence and oversight before the Nov. 5 shooting, which authorities blame on a military psychiatrist. U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates said his department was still "burdened by 20th-century processes and attitudes mostly rooted in the Cold War," and needed to do more to combat self-radicalization.

"Our counter-intelligence procedures are mostly designed to combat an external threat such as a foreign intelligence service," Gates told reporters at the Pentagon, adding there was not enough focus "on internal threats."

Major Nidal Malik Hasan faces 13 counts of murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder for the rampage at Fort Hood Army base in Texas.


By: Brant

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