When the Ft. Hood massacre happened last week, I immediately and without hesitation guessed that a "Muslim terrorist" was the perpetrator. I know enough from reading many, many sources about past foiled plots, that an attack on a US Army base is one their goals. I was right, unfortunately. Since I don't live in the fantasy world that liberal/progressives inhabit, I don't have the luxury of believing in unicorns and candy-colored clouds. I commented to my wife that the 13 dead and 40+ wounded servicemen and women were victims of political correctness and sensitivity run amok.

Since the shootings, a lot of evidence has surfaced that Major Hasan was radicalized and that he proselytized co-workers -- and patients -- about Islam. In one instance he went so far as to say that infidels were going to hell and should be burned.

Brian Ross of ABC News has uncovered some disturbing evidence about Major Hasan:

Investigators want to know if Hasan maintained contact with a radical mosque leader from Virginia, Anwar al Awlaki, who now lives in Yemen and runs a web site that promotes jihad around the world against the U.S.

In a blog posting early Monday titled "Nidal Hassan Did the Right Thing," Awlaki calls Hassan a "hero" and a "man of conscience who could not bear living the contradiction of being a Muslim and serving in an army that is fighting against his own people."

According to his site, Awlaki served as an imam in Denver, San Diego and Falls Church, Virginia.

The Associated Press reported Sunday that Major Hasan attended the Falls Church mosque when Awlaki was there.

[...]

U.S. intelligence agencies were aware months ago that Army Major Nidal Hasan was attempting to make contact with people associated with al Qaeda, two American officials briefed on classified material in the case told ABC News.

It is not known whether the intelligence agencies informed the Army that one of its officers was seeking to connect with suspected al Qaeda figures, the officials said.

One senior lawmaker said the CIA had, so far, refused to brief the intelligence committees on what, if any, knowledge they had about Hasan's efforts.

CIA director Leon Panetta and the Director of National Intelligence, Dennis Blair, have been asked by Congress "to preserve" all documents and intelligence files that relate to Hasan, according to the lawmaker.

On Sunday, Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) called for an investigation into whether the Army missed signs as to whether Hasan was an Islamic extremist.

"If Hasan was showing signs, saying to people that he had become an Islamist extremist, the U.S. Army has to have a zero tolerance," Lieberman told Fox News Sunday.

Rick Moran in the American Thinker agrees with me that America needs to deal with this issue -- without fear of being called a "racist" or accused of judging a culture by the actions of one. Political correctness, and an inability to honestly and openly ask difficult questions and take decisive steps, was a major contributer to this tragedy. As Moran writes,

No doubt that the military is overly sensitive about showing discrimination against Muslims, or singling them out because some of their number might be disloyal. The army wasn't so politically correct in World War II with Japanese; they simply placed them in segregated units - many of which performed magnificently, earning dozens of unit citations.

But if the military tried that today, there would be an outcry from Congress and rights groups. It will be argued by some in the coming days and weeks as we try to deal with the aftermath of the attack that this is precisely the way to go, that putting all Muslims in one place so that we can watch them is prudent. Others might argue that we should ban Muslims from serving in the military altogether.

Both options are wrong. It is not in our tradition to single out any citizen for how they worship God. If the First Amendment protections mean anything, that must be our guiding principle.

But that doesn't mean we shouldn't be able to deal severely with those Muslims who express disloyal and dangerous sentiments. What the Fort Hood massacre shows is that the army has bent too far the other way and that a balance between liberty and security must be established. Otherwise, we will be in danger of losing both.

America is being slowly poisoned from the inside. Until we wake up and do the right thing, these horrible killings will keep happening over and over again.