FBI tracked Hasan in December 2008

FORT HOOD, Texas, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- The FBI said Monday the man accused of the Fort Hood, Texas, massacre came to its attention in December 2008 but was not suspected of "terrorist activities."

In a statement, the FBI said it took notice of Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan as part of an unrelated investigation being carried out by a Joint Terrorism Task Force -- an FBI-led team made up of FBI agents and investigators from other federal, state and local law enforement agencies.

"Investigators on the JTTF reviewed certain communications between Major Hasan and the subject of that investigation and assessed that the content of those communications was consistent with research being conducted by Major Hasan in his position as a psychiatrist at the Walter Reed Medical Center," the statement said. "Because the content of the communications was explainable by his research and nothing else derogatory was found, the JTTF concluded that Major Hasan was not involved in terrorist activities or terrorist planning."

Intelligence agencies intercepted communications between Hasan and cleric Anwar al-Aulaqi, who was an imam at a mosque in suburban Virginia where Hasan worshiped but now lives in Yemen, officials said Monday. It was not clear what the exchanges were or whether they provided a clue about Hasan's views or emotional state, The New York Times reported.

Aulaqi reportedly crossed paths with al-Qaida figures, including two of the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackers, The Washington Post reported.

Since Aulaqi left Falls Church, Va., mosque in 2002 for Yemen, his lectures promoting strategies of an al-Qaida military leader were found in computer files of suspects in terrorism cases in the United States, Canada and Britain, officials said. It is not clear whether Hasan knew the imam well then, or only later through his Internet-based lectures.

The exchanges provide the first indication the Army psychiatrist communicated with the cleric, who Monday praised the major on his Web site, saying he "did the right thing," the Times reported.

"He is 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," Aulaqi posted on his Web site.

U.S. officials said the communications did not change the most likely scenario that Hasan acted alone, the Times said.

In an interview with ABC News Monday, President Barack Obama declined to say directly whether he was concerned that the federal government may have had an internal communication failure. He said he would not comment further until the matter is investigated

"We are going to complete this investigation and we're going to take whatever steps are necessary to make sure that something like this doesn't happen again," he said.