Judge bars 'defense' argument in Ft. Hood slayings

FORT HOOD, Texas -- A uniformed Army psychiatrist had no justification for gunning down U.S. troops and won't be allowed to tell jurors that he was protecting Taliban leaders in Afghanistan, a military judge ruled yesterday, appearing to clear the way for the Fort Hood murder trial to begin.

Maj. Nidal Hasan's "defense of others" strategy fails as a matter of law, Col. Tara Osborn said during a 45-minute hearing. That strategy must show that a killing was necessary to prevent the immediate harm or death of others.

Osborn said no soldiers at the Texas Army post on Nov. 5, 2009, posed an imminent threat to anyone in Afghanistan and that the legitimacy of the Afghanistan War is not an issue at Hasan's court-martial. She also ordered that Hasan not present any evidence or arguments about his claims that deploying U.S. troops posed an immediate threat to Taliban fighters.

Hasan, an American-born Muslim, faces the death penalty or life without parole in the rampage that left 13 dead.

He asked for a three-month trial delay to prepare after his request to serve as his own attorney was granted last week. Osborn has not ruled on it.-- AP