WASHINGTON, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- U.S. military is not well prepared for internal security threat, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Friday when briefing on a review of the Fort Hood shootings.

    "It is clear that as a department, we have not done enough to adapt to the evolving domestic internal security threat to American troops and military facilities that has emerged over the past decade," said the secretary.

    Pentagon kicked off a 45-day investigation into the massacre in Fort Hood, an Army base in Texas, where a 39-year-old military psychiatrist, Maj. Nidal Hasan, killed 13 and wounded over 30 others.

    "The report raises serious questions about the degree to which the entire Department of Defense is prepared for similar incidents in the future," said Gates. "It also reveals shortcomings in the way the department is prepared to defend against threats posed by external influences operating on members of our military community."

    There is growing evidence showing that Hasan had been in contact with someone on a U.S. "kill or capture" list of al-Qaeda and Taliban targets.

    Gates also admitted that "the absence of a clear understanding of what motivates a person to become radicalized and commit violent acts" makes the problem even more complicated.

    At the same time, there is no well-integrated means to gather, evaluate and disseminate the wide range of behavioral indicators that could help commanders better anticipate an internal threat, he added.

FBI to review own action on Fort Hood mass shooting

    HOUSTON, United States, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has asked its former director to lead an independent review of the bureau's policies, practices and actions prior to the Fort Hood mass shooting.

    FBI officials said on Tuesday that William Webster had been asked to probe into how the bureau had handled information about Army psychiatrist Nidal Malik Hasan who shot and killed 13 people and wounded 30 others. Full story

Fort Hood shooting suspect faces 32 additional counts of attempted premeditated murder

    HOUSTON, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- The suspect in the deadly shooting attack at the Fort Hood U.S. Army base was charged Wednesday with 32 specifications of attempted premeditated murder, military officials said.

    The charges are added to the 13 premeditated murder charges filed against Army psychiatrist Nidal Malik Hasan for the 13 people who were fatally shot on Nov. 5 at Fort Hood in central Texas. Full story

U.S. defense department to launch internal review after Fort Hood shooting

    WASHINGTON, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Department of Defense is prepared to launch a broad investigation to review how military troops deal with potential problems among themselves, said the Pentagon on Tuesday.

    Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell told reporters that the review, which is still in the planning stages, would cover all corners of the defense department. Full story