I don't want this to turn into a Muslim bashing thread, but I have a question that maybe needs to be addressed.
Given these two developments (The Muslim chaplain and the interpreter)and the Muslim American soldier who threw a grenade into our GI's tent and killed (a few?) of them- is it time to question the wisdom of putting Muslims in the military?
IIRC there weren't this many Italian Americans, or German American or Japanese American U.S. soldiers in all of WWII that couldn't be trusted.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,98082,00.html
Airman at Guantanamo Bay Charged With Espionage
Tuesday , September 23, 2003
WASHINGTON — An Air Force airman who had worked at the U.S. prison camp for suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base (search) has been charged with espionage and aiding the enemy -- charges that could carry the death penalty -- a military spokesman said Tuesday.
Senior Airman Ahmad I. al-Halabi worked as an Arabic-language translator at the prison camp, spokesman Maj. Michael Shavers said.
Al-Halabi knew Yousef Yee (search), the Muslim chaplain at the prison arrested earlier this month, but it was unclear if the two arrests were linked, Shavers said.
The enlisted airman has been charged with nine counts related to espionage, three counts of aiding the enemy, 11 counts of disobeying a lawful order, and nine counts of making a false official statement.
Espionage and aiding the enemy are military charges that can carry the death penalty, said Eugene Fidell (search), a civilian lawyer in Washington and president of the National Institute of Military Justice. The commanding general in charge of al-Halabi's case would have to decide whether military prosecutors could seek the death penalty in his case, Fidell said.
If the death penalty is an option, the 12-member military jury that hears the case would have to vote unanimously to impose it, Fidell said.
Al-Halabi, who was based at Travis Air Force Base in California and assigned to a logistics unit there, is being held at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, Shavers said.
Earlier Tuesday, senior military officials told Fox News that a member of the Navy was also in custody, under suspicion of espionage and possible improper communications with the camp's detainees. The Navy member's role at the camp has not been disclosed.
Fox News has learned al-Halabi and the Navy member both were detained roughly two weeks before Yee was arrested. Officials said the two were being surveyed for some time before Yee came to their attention.
About 660 suspected Al Qaeda (search) or Taliban (search) members are imprisoned at the U.S. Navy base. American officials have been interrogating them for information.
Yee, 35, was arrested Sept. 10 in Jacksonville, Fla., after getting off a flight from Guantanamo Bay and is being held at the consolidated Naval Brig in Charleston, S.C. A senior law enforcement official said authorities confiscated classified documents Yee was carrying.
Determining what Yee’s intentions were may be difficult, according to one senior official. The official told Fox News he was having a difficult time assessing the meaning of the articles said to be in the chaplain's possession when he was arrested.
Yee was detained in part because he carried classified information without having something called a "courier card" in his possession. Such mistakes are not uncommon, the official said.
Yee also possessed a laptop equipped with a modem, which are strictly forbidden at the base. The official pointed out that nearly every laptop now sold is equipped with a dial-up modem.
A Pentagon official told Fox News that classified information was also found on the laptop of the Air Force member now in custody. But the official said slip-ups such as this — which he described as "sloppy computer security" — are somewhat common.
A military magistrate ruled on Sept. 15 there was enough evidence to hold Yee for up to two months while the military investigates.
Given these two developments (The Muslim chaplain and the interpreter)and the Muslim American soldier who threw a grenade into our GI's tent and killed (a few?) of them- is it time to question the wisdom of putting Muslims in the military?
IIRC there weren't this many Italian Americans, or German American or Japanese American U.S. soldiers in all of WWII that couldn't be trusted.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,98082,00.html
Airman at Guantanamo Bay Charged With Espionage
Tuesday , September 23, 2003
WASHINGTON — An Air Force airman who had worked at the U.S. prison camp for suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base (search) has been charged with espionage and aiding the enemy -- charges that could carry the death penalty -- a military spokesman said Tuesday.
Senior Airman Ahmad I. al-Halabi worked as an Arabic-language translator at the prison camp, spokesman Maj. Michael Shavers said.
Al-Halabi knew Yousef Yee (search), the Muslim chaplain at the prison arrested earlier this month, but it was unclear if the two arrests were linked, Shavers said.
The enlisted airman has been charged with nine counts related to espionage, three counts of aiding the enemy, 11 counts of disobeying a lawful order, and nine counts of making a false official statement.
Espionage and aiding the enemy are military charges that can carry the death penalty, said Eugene Fidell (search), a civilian lawyer in Washington and president of the National Institute of Military Justice. The commanding general in charge of al-Halabi's case would have to decide whether military prosecutors could seek the death penalty in his case, Fidell said.
If the death penalty is an option, the 12-member military jury that hears the case would have to vote unanimously to impose it, Fidell said.
Al-Halabi, who was based at Travis Air Force Base in California and assigned to a logistics unit there, is being held at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, Shavers said.
Earlier Tuesday, senior military officials told Fox News that a member of the Navy was also in custody, under suspicion of espionage and possible improper communications with the camp's detainees. The Navy member's role at the camp has not been disclosed.
Fox News has learned al-Halabi and the Navy member both were detained roughly two weeks before Yee was arrested. Officials said the two were being surveyed for some time before Yee came to their attention.
About 660 suspected Al Qaeda (search) or Taliban (search) members are imprisoned at the U.S. Navy base. American officials have been interrogating them for information.
Yee, 35, was arrested Sept. 10 in Jacksonville, Fla., after getting off a flight from Guantanamo Bay and is being held at the consolidated Naval Brig in Charleston, S.C. A senior law enforcement official said authorities confiscated classified documents Yee was carrying.
Determining what Yee’s intentions were may be difficult, according to one senior official. The official told Fox News he was having a difficult time assessing the meaning of the articles said to be in the chaplain's possession when he was arrested.
Yee was detained in part because he carried classified information without having something called a "courier card" in his possession. Such mistakes are not uncommon, the official said.
Yee also possessed a laptop equipped with a modem, which are strictly forbidden at the base. The official pointed out that nearly every laptop now sold is equipped with a dial-up modem.
A Pentagon official told Fox News that classified information was also found on the laptop of the Air Force member now in custody. But the official said slip-ups such as this — which he described as "sloppy computer security" — are somewhat common.
A military magistrate ruled on Sept. 15 there was enough evidence to hold Yee for up to two months while the military investigates.
