FORT HOOD (November 12, 2009)--Two days before the deadly Nov. 5 shooting spree at Fort Hood’s Soldier Readiness Center, the post distributed a routine threat assessment in which a post analyst warned “the greatest threat to the Fort Hood Community is most likely the Lone Wolf offender,” which the analyst defined as “individuals who are unaffiliated with a group, but act in furtherance of an ideology…”

Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, 39, is charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder in the shooting deaths of 12 soldiers and a civilian and could face additional charges, as well, officials said Thursday.

Twenty-nine others were wounded in the attack.

Investigators said Monday that Hasan evidently acted alone and without outside direction.

There’s no indication that post officials had any information that could have provided advance warning of the rampage, but at the same time it’s clear that the accused gunman was on the government’s radar.

The FBI confirmed this week that the U.S. government knew about 10 to 20 e-mails between Hasan and a radical imam beginning in December 2008.

The imam, Anwar Al-Awlaki was formerly an imam at a mosque in Falls Church, Va., where Hasan and his family occasionally worshipped.

Two officials told the Associated Press that a Washington-based terrorism task force was notified of the communications between Hasan and al-Awlaki, and that the information was turned over to a Defense Criminal Investigative Service employee assigned to the task force.

That worker wrote up an assessment of Hasan after reviewing the Army major's personnel file and the communications and concluded the psychiatrist did not merit further investigation.

Officials said the contacts appeared to be consistent with the focus of Hasan’s research into posttraumatic stress disorder resulting from U.S. combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Al-Awlaki, who was a spiritual leader at two mosques where three of the 9/11 hijackers worshipped, writes a blog, which, among other things, denounces U.S. policies as anti-Muslim.

On his Web site Monday a posting appeared that said American Muslims who condemned the deadly shooting last week are hypocrites who have committed treason against their religion.

The message on the site said the only way a Muslim can justify serving in the U.S. military is if he intends to "follow in the footsteps of men like Nidal."

The posting called Hassan a hero and described him as “ 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.”

Yemeni authorities arrested Anwar in 2006 on suspicion of giving religious approval to militants to carry out kidnappings and they’re searching for him now to determine whether he has ties to al-Qaeda.

They believe he’s hiding in a region of the mountainous nation in the southwest corner of the Arabian Peninsula, which has become a refuge for Islamic militants.

And the e-mails were not the only hint that Hasan might have been waging an internal battle.

A group of doctors who oversaw his medical training discussed concerns about his overly zealous religious views and strange behavior months before the rampage, The Associated Press reported.

The AP quoted a military official familiar with discussions about Hasan as saying that Hasan as a psychiatrist in training was belligerent, defensive and argumentative in his frequent discussions of his Muslim faith.

The Washington Post reported Thursday that Hasan warned a year and a half ago that to "decrease adverse events" the U.S. military should let Muslim soldiers be released as conscientious objectors.

The report said Hasan said in his recommendation to senior Army doctors at Walter Reed Medical Center that the release would help, instead of having Muslim soldiers fighting in wars against other Muslims.

"It's getting harder and harder for Muslims in the service to morally justify being in a military that seems constantly engaged against fellow Muslims,” the presentation said.

The Associated Press also reported that some of the accused gunman’s relatives said Hasan wanted out of the Army and had sought legal advice, suggesting his anxiety as a Muslim over his pending deployment might have been a factor, but the Pentagon says it has found no evidence that he formally sought release from the Army.

Hasan's aunt, Noel Hasan of Falls Church, Va., told The Washington Post that Hasan was harassed about being a Muslim after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and that he wanted out of the Army.

She said he had sought a discharge from the military for several years, and even offered to repay the cost of his medical training.

Osman Danquah is the co-founder of the Islamic Community of Greater Killeen said Hasan asked him for advice about what he should tell soldiers who had concerns about going to fight Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Danquah said he had a bad feeling about Hasan after the two talked twice in late summer.

He said Hasan never mentioned any anger toward the Army or indicated any plans for violence, but said he seemed incoherent during their second conversation.

Danquah says he told Hasan that there was "something wrong with you."

On Thursday, the White House said President Barack Obama ordered a review of all intelligence related to Hasan, and whether the information was properly shared and acted upon within government agencies.

The order was issued a day after the deadly rampage.

John Brennan, assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism, will oversee the review, the first results of which are due to the White House by Nov. 30.

Mr. Obama also ordered the preservation of the intelligence.