The Star's Saturday editorial

There were warning signs that U.S. Army Major Major Nidal Malik Hasan, 39, was unstable long before he allegedly shouted “God is great” in Arabic and opened fire at Fort Hood Thursday.

Press reports quickly found that Hasan — who is believed to have killed 13 and wounded 30 before he was shot, wounded and arrested — had drawn attention because of his behavior at Ft. Hood and at Walter Reed Medical Center, where he worked previously.

Relatives said he was terrified of a scheduled deployment to a war zone and had asked for a discharge.

They and others said he was deeply opposed to fighting Muslims. He was called a loner by co-workers, allegedly referred to suicide bombers as brave heroes on a Website and reportedly once replaced a lecture on the treatment of soldiers with a warning about the horrible deaths awaiting those who don’t believe in the Koran.

In short, there were plenty of warning signs. If reporters can uncover this much about the man within a day of the rampage, U.S. military officials must have known as much and more.

Congress would demand action if a single incident in a war zone led to this large number of deaths and injuries. They must demand more attention be paid to the psychological state of this country’s warriors, here and abroad.