By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist

Back in 2007, Nidal Malik Hasan said the military ought to let Muslim soldiers out of fighting the war on terror against Muslim enemies.

That's according to The Washington Post, and it means the feds missed a red flag about the feelings of the man who wound up serving as a psychiatrist at Fort Hood, Texas.

Last week, Hasan allegedly killed 13 people at Fort Hood.

The Post reported that Hasan gave a presentation at Walter Reed Army Medical Hospital in Washington in 2007, saying:

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.

Here was the presentation's conclusion:

Department of Defense should allow Muslims Soldiers the option of being released as 'Conscientious objectors' to increase troop morale and decrease adverse events.

Other media have reported that various federal agencies also kept an eye on Hasan for some of his communications, especially with Anwar al-Awlaki, a former imam at an Islamic center in Virginia.

In the end, though, none of this observation paid off by halting Hasan from taking part in his deadly rampage.