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Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., and the Homeland Security panel’s ranking Republican, Maine Sen. Susan Collins, talk Wednesday after holding a press conference about Fort Hood.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Maine Sen. Susan Collins wanted to know if 13 people died in a shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, this month because someone failed to "connect the dots."

Sen. John McCain of Arizona wanted to know if "political correctness" prevented the Army from identifying Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan as a potential threat to his fellow soldiers.

Senators examined those questions and others Thursday during a hearing by the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. The hearing focused on Hasan's rampage Nov. 5 at the Texas Army base, where 12 soldiers and one civilian were killed and at least 30 people were injured.

Hasan has been charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder and could face the death penalty if convicted.

The committee's chairman, Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, said the purpose of the hearing was to investigate whether the shootings "could have been prevented, whether the federal agencies and employees involved missed signals in a way that enabled Hasan to carry out his deadly plan."

Lieberman called the shootings a "homegrown terrorist attack."

Collins, the ranking Republican on the committee, compared the information that was available to officials about Hasan before the shootings with the missed warning signs that preceded the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Collins said the investigations that followed the 2001 attacks uncovered vital information "that might have prevented the deaths and destruction of that terrible day if only the dots had been connected. In the wake of the mass murder at Fort Hood, we once again must confront a troubling question: Was this another failure to connect the dots?"

During the hearing, committee members referred to publicly reported information that Hasan, a Muslim, had communicated with a cleric known as an al-Qaida associate and had made statements questioning his military oath to defend the U.S. Constitution.

Members questioned whether the information was shared and acted upon appropriately, and whether Hasan's position as a psychiatrist and a major, or concerns over "political correctness," may have shielded him from inquiry.

"I have talked to military officers who stated that, at least up until now, that they have had a significant reluctance to pursue these implications because of political correctness," McCain said.

Frances Fragos Townsend, homeland security and counterterrorism assistant to George W. Bush when he was president, echoed the concerns raised by McCain.

"I do fear that because this was a senior member of the military," Townsend said, "there was a reluctance to follow the facts" due to fear of being criticized.

Collins told reporters after the hearing that the issue deserves further scrutiny.

"I do believe there was a hesitancy to investigate Maj. Hasan due to the fact that there was such a severe shortage of psychiatrists in the Army, and I believe the fact that he was a pretty high-ranking officer may have insulated him from questions," she said. "Beyond that, we need to do more investigative work to reach a conclusion."

Members also raised the issue of First Amendment rights and questioned where the line may be drawn for a soldier's freedom to express his or her beliefs.

Lieberman said diversity of religion should be respected but "shouldn't be a cover for bad behavior."

Panelists also noted that the Fort Hood attack was hard to predict because Hasan is believed to have acted alone.

"The threat of an American lone wolf in the United States presents that most difficult problem for U.S. law enforcement," said Juan Carlos Zarate, senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Thursday's session was the first public hearing related to the Fort Hood incident, but it was the latest in a series of investigations by the Homeland Security Committee into the...