Death recommended for Major Nidal Hassan

This from CNN this afternoon:

Washington (CNN) -- The investigating officer in the case of the accused Fort Hood, Texas, shooter has recommended that the military pursue the death penalty against Army Maj. Nidal Hasan, according to Hasan's lawyer.

Col. James Pohl, who acted as a judge during the just-completed Article 32 hearing, also recommended a general court martial for Hasan, who faces 13 counts of pre-meditated murder and 32 counts of attempted pre-meditated murder in the shootings at Fort Hood on November 5, 2009.

This will be an interesting trial to watch. Is Hasan a fanatic or a madman? This is the question that must be answered by the proceedings. The answer may determine whether he ultimately is sentenced to death or not.

If madness, rather than fanaticism,was the cause of his horrific acts, then this will go down as yet another instance of workplace violence, a phenomenon that has become far too common in the U.S. It goes hand in hand with school violence in making our day-to-day lives far more dangerous and deadly than any actual terrorists, Islamic or domestic, have ever been able to do.