Fort Hood suspect communicated with al Qaeda sympathiser

They said the information was given to federal authorities who determined that Hasan8217;s writings were largely consistent with his academic work,offering no hint that he was planning an attack or was following orders from anyone.

Authorities have decided to charge Hasan,a US-born Muslim of Palestinian descent,in a military court following Thursday8217;s shooting at the Fort Hood Army post where 30 others were also wounded,two of the government officials said.

With FBI and military officials briefing senior lawmakers late on Monday and other comments by various officials,it appeared that different parts of the government were angling to avoid being blamed for having failed to prevent the shooting.

One intelligence official said: 8220;There8217;s no sign at this point that the CIA had collected information relevant to this case and then simply sat on it.8221;

The US officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive and ongoing nature of the investigation.

In a letter to Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair and the heads of the FBI,CIA and National Security Agency,Representative Pete Hoekstra,the senior Republican on the House Intelligence Committee,has asked them to preserve the information the agencies have on Hasan.

8220;I believe members of the full committee on a bipartisan basis will want to scrutinize the intelligence relevant to this attack,what the agencies in possession of that intelligence did with it,who was and wasn8217;t informed and why,and what steps America8217;s intelligence agencies are taking in light of what they know,8221; Hoekstra said in a statement.

Blair8217;s office said he was in communication with lawmakers and that he will ensure there is a full accounting.

Hoekstra8217;s remark was reminiscent of questions asked after the Sept. 11 attacks,when there was deep soul-searching and recrimination in Washington over how US intelligence and law enforcement agencies failed to prevent the hijacked plane attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

SHOOTING SUSPECT DECLINES INTERVIEW

Investigators tried to interview Hasan at the military hospital on Sunday where he was recovering from gunshots that subdued him during his attack,but he invoked his right to speak to a lawyer,the government officials said.

They declined to speculate about Hasan8217;s possible motive.

Hasan,39,had spent years counseling severely wounded soldiers at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington,many of whom had lost limbs fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.

He was transferred to Fort Hood in April and was to have been deployed to Afghanistan,where the US military is engaged in an increasingly bloody war against Taliban and al Qaeda fighters.

The shooting spree took place last Thursday at Fort Hood8217;s crowded Soldiers Readiness Processing Center,where US troops were getting medical checkups before deploying abroad.

The 10 to 20 communications between Hasan and the cleric had continued into 2009. This prompted authorities to look into Hasan,the officials said. However,they decided the matter did not warrant an investigation.

They declined to provide further details of that review,with whom they spoke or say who was informed about the matter.

In August 2009 Hasan purchased two firearms that he used to carry out the attack,but the government officials said that US law does not permit them to connect that purchase information with the other intelligence they had.

On Capitol Hill where some lawmakers were calling for investigations into what happened,FBI and military officials briefed senior lawmakers.

Asked if she was satisfied that the FBI and the Army had coordinated appropriately,Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Diane Feinstein said: 8220;The only thing I can tell you is that there is an investigation ongoing 8230; There is a very serious investigation that8217;s taking place.8221;