[Travis McGee]

[mbynack]

That cartoon pretty much sums up the problem with denying Constitutional rights to people on a government watch list. The government can put you on a "watch list" any time they want, for any reason they want. They don't have to inform you. You have no right to a trial and no way to refute or appeal it or be removed.

The real reason behind Hasan's success was that the Army and the FBI didn't do their jobs. The Army should have prosecuted Hasan for his anti-US statements under the UCMJ. The federal conviction would have gotten him out of the military and prevented him from purchasing firearms legally.

By the way - had the other military members in the Readiness Center been armed, Hasan would probably have not even tried to murder his fellow soldiers. If he had, he might have gotten one or two before being turned into swiss cheese.