Fort Hood Massacre raises the question: Was it terrorism or plain insanity?

On Thursday November 5th, 2009, Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan allegedly went on a four-minute rampage at the Fort Hood military base in Texas, killing 14, (including one unborn child), and wounding 29. Hasan, a U.S. born Muslim and 39-year-old military psychiatrist, opened fire in the world's largest military base with two weapons. This was one of the worst killing sprees ever reported on a U.S. military base and, due to the alleged perpetrator's background, has evoked cries of terrorism and Muslim fanaticism.

Army Lieutenant Colonel Allen West quickly recommended that the Pentagon to do a more thorough job preventing Muslim extremists from infiltrating its ranks. West is not alone in his belief that this was an act of terrorism on the part Hasan, as many look into the alleged mass murderer's background. Hasan was very outspoken in his opposition to war efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, and in the spring posted a message on the internet under his name arguing that suicide bombers are not murderers, but men who are saving Muslim's by killing enemy soldiers.

He had the word "Allah" written on his door and shouted out "Allahu Akbar" ("God is great") just before his rampage began. Looking at these facts alone, it seems clear that Hasan was a Muslim extremist committing an act of terror similar to what suicide bombers do.

There is, however, more to the story. Dr. Steven Dinwiddie, a Psychiatrist, said that mental illness often twists religious belief among solo mass murderers, not the other way around.

This, then, prompts an exploration of Hasan's character. He was reported to have spent much time alone and to neither have many friends nor a girlfriend. Also, he had been suffering racial harassment about his Muslim background and sought to be discharged from the military over the past several years.

He was due to be sent to Iraq, and his time at Fort Hood, where troops preparing to be deployed are sent for last minute medical check-ups, was the last step before he was to be shipped out. His cousin, Nader Hasan, told Fox News, "He hired a military attorney to try to have the issue resolved, pay back the government, to get out of the military. He was at the end of trying everything."

Forensic Psychologist, J. Reid Meloy identified two types of mass murderers: the first being predatory, premeditated and emotionless, while the second is angry, afraid and responding to perceived imminent threat.

It is impossible for this reporter to say that Hasan did not possess the first type of mass murderer's qualities. It is clear, however, that he was angry and afraid of being sent into a battle zone for a war he disagreed with. It seems logical then that the attack was in response to the imminent threat of being deployed.

While it cannot be ruled out that Hasan's attack was committed as an act of terrorism, it must be noted that attacks such as this one are not uncommon. Several violent outbursts such as Hasan's have been reported in the past few years, including the murder of five soldiers at a base clinic in Baghdad on May 11, 2009 by a 44-year-old Caucasian male.

After many years of war zone rotations in Afghanistan and Iraq, the rate of Army personnel experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and other mental health problems has risen alarmingly -- not to mention increased rates of drug and alcohol abuse.

This could potentially be the source of the increased rates of violent outbursts and of suicides on military bases. In 2009 alone, 81 reports of active-duty Army soldiers committing suicide have been confirmed. Ten of those were at Fort Hood. Hasan, although not a combat soldier, worked in a stressful setting.

It is not uncommon for psychiatrists treating patients for post-traumatic stress disorder to experience some of the symptoms vicariously after hearing many horrific accounts of battle zone activities.

Although Hasan's motives for the attack are still unclear, it is clear that he does fit the profile of many solo mass murderers. To declare Hasan as either a Muslim extremist or a regular soldier with mental illness would be to oversimplify the situation. Hasan is indeed a Muslim American with strong Muslim beliefs and this did play a part in the murders he committed, even if it was only minimal.

Therefore, before jumping to conclusions and demanding racial discrimination, all the facts should be assessed in order to reach the right conclusions and take the right steps to correct the problem of military base shootings and suicides that have become all too common.