Navy SEAL acquitted of assaulting Iraqi detainee

Norfolk, Virginia (News Today) - Navy SEAL Matthew McCabe, who was accused of punching an Iraqi detainee, was found not guilty on all charges by a military jury Thursday.

McCabe, a 24-year-old petty officer 2nd class, had been charged with assaulting Iraqi detainee Ahmed Hashim Abed, who was arrested in September in Iraq for allegedly orchestrating the 2004 murders of four U.S. contractors in Falluja. The contractors' burned bodies were later hung from a bridge.

Besides assault, McCabe had been charged with dereliction of duty for failing to protect a prisoner and with lying to investigators.

"It's over and done with," McCabe said at a press conference after the four day court-martial. "We're moving on with our careers."

Two other Navy SEALs -- Petty Officer Jonathan Keefe and Petty Officer 1st Class Julio Huertas -- were charged with dereliction of duty for allegedly abusing the same detainee, but were acquitted in April in military court in Iraq.

Maj. Gen. Charles Cleveland, the convening authority in all three cases, on Thursday defended his decision to let the courts-martial go forward.

"Despite the opinions of some who preferred that these charges not proceed, I allowed these charges to go forward because I truly believe that the best process known for uncovering the truth, when the facts are contested, is that process which is found in our adversarial justice system," Cleveland said in a statement after McCabe's acquittal.

"There is no better way to discover the truth than by presenting the evidence to an unbiased panel of members, having witnesses testify under oath, and having rigorous cross examination," he said.

One of two defense witnesses, Huertas said Thursday he was with McCabe during the alleged incident and did not see McCabe strike the detainee.

The second defense witness, Dr. Curtis Schmidt, said blood found on Abed's clothing could have been caused by Abed biting a canker sore. During cross-examination, Schmidt, who phoned in his testimony from Iraq, also said the bleeding could have been caused if Abed fell.

On Wednesday, the government's key witness, Petty Officer Kevin Demartino, testified that he saw McCabe hit Abed in the abdomen.

Demartino, who is not a SEAL, testified that he did not initially report the September assault to his superiors because "this is these guys' lives. Some guys can see something and start singing like a bird. I couldn't do it," he said.

"I should've done it. By the book, it's a failure to report," he added.

Demartino testified that his conscience eventually got the better of him, so he finally reported his version of the events surrounding the detainee's beating.

"It was either being in the good graces of the SEALs or being in the good graces of God," Demartino said.

McCabe's defense attorneys called a series of witnesses who questioned Demartino's version of events and said he was distraught due to his deployment. Some directly contradicted Demartino, saying that statements he attributed to them during his testimony were false.

"He had issues," McCabe said of Demartino after his verdict was announced. "Everybody made that clear."

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Judge allows bail for militia suspects

(News Terupdate) - Nine people who federal prosecutors say belong to a "Christian warrior" militia can be released on bail until the criminal charges against them are resolved, a judge has ruled.

A federal grand jury has indicted the nine on charges of seditious conspiracy, attempted use of weapons of mass destruction, teaching the use of explosive materials and possessing a firearm during a crime of violence.

The government appealed the decision Monday afternoon and filed a motion to stay the order.

U.S. District Judge Victoria Roberts in Detroit, Michigan, ruled that the nine, members of a group called Hutaree, can be released but will be confined to their homes and will be electronically monitored. Some of the nine are prohibited from using the internet.

The defendants will also be required to surrender all weapons and gun permits they hold, court documents show.

They will be expected to either seek or maintain employment while they await their trial, and they are restricted from consuming alcohol and drugs. They must also surrender their passports.

The government failed to convince the court that the nine presented a danger to the community or were flight risks, the court order states.

The judge considered the seriousness of the alleged offenses and the evidence that the government held in making her decision.

Some of the evidence that the government has against the Hutaree members includes a video of a U.N. flag being burned as a Hutaree flag is raised and a speech given by one of the members about reclaiming America.

The government also presented transcripts of conversations among Hutaree members referring to a real "operation" that was to happen in April.

The court found the evidence not specific enough to warrant the detentions of the nine until their trial.

In its appeal, the government argued that the militia members were recorded speaking expressly about killing a police officer and then bombing a police officer's funeral as a way to kill several law enforcement officers.

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Alleged militia members due in court to challenge detention

(News Terupdate) - Nine alleged members of an anti-government militia are due in federal court Tuesday to challenge being held without bond pending their trial on a variety of charges.

The charges range from conspiring to overthrow the government to attempted use of weapons of mass destruction.

A similar hearing earlier this month for David Bryan Stone Sr., 45, the alleged head of the so-called Hutaree militia, and his co-defendants prompted government prosecutors to play a secretly recorded audiotape in which Stone expresses anger over the "new world order" and the "brotherhood" of law enforcement officers.

"In this nation, we think we are free, but you need a certificate to be born, a license to drive, a permit to build, a number to get a job and even a paper after you die," says Stone on the tape. He is accused of conspiring to overthrow the government and plotting to kill police officers.

"These are permission slips from the terrorists organization called the new world order," Stone says in the tape, which was recorded clandestinely by an FBI agent who infiltrated the militia and which was obtained by CNN.

At that hearing on April 2, prosecutors argued that the defendants would be a danger to the community and a flight risk if they were freed on bail before trial.

A federal magistrate in Detroit, Michigan, agreed and ordered the suspects to be held in jail pending their trial.

On Tuesday afternoon, the defendants are scheduled to be in U.S. District Court in Detroit, to challenge their detention without bond before Judge Victoria A. Roberts.

Stone, his sons, Joshua, 21, and David Brian Stone Jr., 19; as well as the eldest Stone's wife, Tina Stone, 44, have been charged with seditious conspiracy, attempted use of weapons of mass destruction, teaching the use of explosive materials and possessing a firearm during a crime of violence.

Alleged militia members Joshua John Clough, 28; Kristopher Sickles, 27; Michael David Meeks, 40; Jacob Ward, 33; and Thomas Piatek, 46, face the same charges.

The defendants have pleaded not guilty.

At the earlier hearing, prosecutors said the tape of Stone was recorded last winter when Hutaree members were driving to Kentucky for a meeting with other militias but were forced to turn back due to bad weather. Stone allegedly gave a speech inside the van.

"People in this nation as well as some around this world are waiting for those individuals like you see sitting in this room to actually make the decision to go to war against this evil, greedy new world order," Stone says on the tape.

"They need leaders who are not afraid to stand up and actually mean, 'No more.' We are free, and we should not be afraid or ashamed to admit that we are the American militia. We outnumber them. As long as we let them terrorize any American through fear and intimidation, then they are winning this battle and we should step up to the fight that they have started and finish it."

Defense attorneys dismissed the tape as just talk, and talk protected under freedom of speech.

But prosecutors have portrayed the Hutaree militia as a dark-hearted group with evil intent.

They said Stone's plan was to create his own country carved out of four Michigan counties, then defend that country against attack by the "One World Order" army.

The group allegedly planned to incite that attack by making a false 911 complaint, shooting any police officer who responded, and then attacking attendees at the funerals of those officers with improvised explosive devices.

Conviction on the charge of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction would carry a maximum penalty of life in prison, while seditious conspiracy and teaching the use of explosive materials each would carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

The firearm charge would carry a mandatory minimum penalty of at least five years in prison, according to authorities.

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Twin brother hopes to succeed late Polish president

(News Terupdate) - Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the twin brother of the Polish president killed in a plane crash earlier this month, will be a candidate to succeed him, his party announced Monday.

Poland will hold elections on June 20 to elect a successor to Lech Kaczynski, who died April 10, along with 95 others including his wife and many top military leaders and officials.

Acting President Bronislaw Komorowski has also said he will be a candidate.

Jaroslaw Kaczynski was prime minister for about two years, until the brothers' Law and Justice party lost parliamentary elections to the Civic Platform in 2007.

Lech Kaczynski and his wife were laid to rest on April 18, marking the end of a journey filled with grief for the central European nation.

Their bodies were taken along Krakow's historic "royal route" from St. Mary's Basilica to Wawel Castle after the funeral mass.

Kaczynski's coffin was draped in the presidential flag, while his wife's was covered with the red-and-white Polish flag during the ceremony at the huge, elaborately decorated cathedral.

Jaroslaw Kaczynski, ashen-faced, led mourners at St. Mary's. Dressed in a simple black suit and tie, the surviving twin was joined by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, former President Aleksander Kwasniewski, Lech Kaczynski's daughter and foreign dignitaries.

Tens of thousands of Poles dressed in black lined the streets and tossed flowers at the motorcade carrying the president and first lady, who were killed in a plane crash in Russia April 10.

About 50,000 mourners, some waving flags, sat in silence in Market Square outside the cathedral, where giant monitors televised the service, the Polish government press office said.

Images of Poland's collective grief

Ninety-six people died in the plane crash, including dignitaries and top military leaders. The group was on its way to a service commemorating Polish prisoners of war massacred in Russia during World War II. The plane crashed in bad weather.

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Japan PM Hatoyama feels heat in Okinawa base feud

Tokyo, Japan (News Terupdate) - An ongoing feud with the United States over the future of an American military base in Okinawa may end up costing Japan's prime minister his job, a weekend poll shows.

Two out of three Japanese say they disapprove of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, according to a Nikkei newspaper poll. It shows that 68 percent of voters disapprove of the prime minister's performance and 59 percent say he should resign if he can't resolve the fight over the future of the Futenma Air Base in Okinawa.

The poll comes on the heels of a massive rally in Okinawa, where nearly 100,000 residents gathered Sunday to demand the base move off the island.

In 2006, the United States and Japan agreed to move the base from a city center to a rural part of Okinawa.

But last year, as then-candidate Hatoyama campaigned for the country's top job, he promised to move the base off of Okinawa altogether. The issue is an emotional one for Okinawans who currently give up 10 percent to 20 percent of the island to the U.S. military.

Okinawans say the U.S. military has been responsible for a number of blights in Okinawa, from serious crimes like rape and drunken driving, to environmental and noise pollution.

The residents, energized by an anti-U.S. campaign pledge in the last election, voted overwhelmingly for Hatoyama. But as prime minister, Hatoyama has found the promise difficult to keep, prompting residents to demand that he fulfill that pledge.

The U.S., Japan's closest ally, says Japan should live up to the 2006 agreement. Hatoyama has pushed back, saying his government will look at other options. The two governments have established a working group to find an agreeable solution, but in the meantime, it has frayed the normally lockstep relationship between the allies.

In Japan, analysts say the lack of a quick solution to the base issue is dragging down Hatoyama's poll numbers and entire agenda.

"When a politician picks up a populist issue, he has to put it down in a populist manner, to please all the Japanese people," said Keith Henry, principal officer at Asia Strategy in Tokyo.

"Mr. Hatoyama has failed completely as a Japanese politician, as a leader of this country to take control of that issue," Henry said. "What should have been a regional issue within Okinawa has become a national referendum on Hatoyama himself, and unfortunately, on the state of U.S.-Japan relations."

Turning up the heat even more, Okinawans are taking their protest this week to the United States. The Japan-U.S. Citizens for Okinawa Network and the Network for Okinawa have paid for a full page ad to run in The Washington Post this week. The ad reads: "Would you want 30 military bases in your backyard?" and asks: "Tell the Obama Administration: We don't need this base in Okinawa."

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U.S. military plans against Iran being updated

Washington (News Terupdate) - The Pentagon and U.S. Central Command are updating military plans to strike Iran's nuclear sites, preparing up-to-date options for the president in the event he decides to take such action, an Obama administration official told CNN Sunday.

The effort has been underway for several weeks and comes as there is growing concern across the administration's national security team that the president needs fresh options ready for his approval if he were to decide on a military strike, according to the official who is familiar with the effort.

The official did not want to be identified because of the sensitive nature of the work being conducted.

Meanwhile, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad continued to amp up his rhetoric against the West on Sunday, claiming that Iran is so powerful today that no country would dare attack it.

"Iran's army is so mighty today that no enemy can have a foul thought of invading Iran's territory," the Iranian leader said in a speech, according to state media.

The Iranian leader has had choice words for Obama and other Western leaders, especially after not receiving an invitation to the nuclear summit hosted in Washington last week. Obama has been pressing the U.N. Security Council to slap Iran with tougher sanctions for its nuclear ambitions. Iran says that its nuclear program is intended for civilian purposes.

In January, Defense Secretary Robert Gates wrote a classified memo to the White House raising concerns about whether the administration had a sufficient policy in place, along with military options, for stopping Iran's progress in getting a nuclear weapon, the official confirmed.

The memo was first reported Sunday in the New York Times.

Gates spokesman Geoff Morrell initially declined to confirm the memo, but Gates said later Sunday in a written statement, "The New York Times sources who revealed my January memo to the National Security Advisor mischaracterized its purpose and content.

"With the administration's pivot to a pressure track on Iran earlier this year, the memo identified next steps in our defense planning process where further interagency discussion and policy decisions would be needed in the months and weeks ahead," Gates said. "The memo was not intended as a 'wake up call' or received as such by the president's national security team. Rather, it presented a number of questions and proposals intended to contribute to an orderly and timely decision making process.

"There should be no confusion by our allies and adversaries that the United States is properly and energetically focused on this question and prepared to act across a broad range of contingencies in support of our interests."

The planning effort for potential strikes against Iran actually has been underway for some time, the official said.

In December, Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told his planners he didn't believe they were taking "seriously enough" the need for fresh thinking about how to attack Iran's nuclear sites if the president ordered such a strike, the official said.

"He wanted to create a higher sense of urgency to create military options for the president," the official said. Mullen "wanted a more robust planning effort to provide the president with options, should he choose a military option," he said.

The official strongly emphasized that the U.S. military is always updating plans in order to be ready for the president. If Obama were to order a strike against Iran, he would turn to Mullen, Gates and Gen. David Petraeus, the head of Central Command, for their advice on how to proceed. The official would not discuss how any of the updated plans might differ from previously existing military strike options.

Mullen and other Pentagon officials have continuously endorsed diplomacy as the preferred option against Iran. In February Mullen publicly noted that a military strike against Iran's nuclear program would not be "decisive" and would only delay and set back Iran's efforts.

Gates recently expressed growing concern about understanding exactly what Iran's intentions may be.

"How you differentiate, how far have they gone. If their policy is to go to the threshold but not assemble a nuclear weapon, how do you tell that they have not assembled? So it becomes a serious verification question. And I don't actually know how you would verify that," Gates said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

"So they are continuing to make progress on these programs. It's going slow -- slower than they anticipated, but they are moving in that direction," he said.

In general, the U.S. military develops what is sometimes called targeting "folders." These files detail all the known facts and intelligence about a target, include precise location, how deeply buried it might be, the civilian population surrounding the target, the geology of the land and rock around the area, and detailed options about which U.S. weapons might be best used to destroy it.

The U.S. intelligence community is also currently involved in the updated planning effort, providing the latest assessments about Iran's nuclear progress at various sites around the Islamic republic.

There have been several public hints about the new target planning. Last week, a Pentagon official told the Senate Armed Services Committee in a written statement, "Through prudent military planning we continue to refine options to protect U.S. and partner interests from Iranian aggression, deter Iran's destabilizing behavior, and prepare for contingencies."

Back in December, Mullen deliberately, the official said, made a reference to Iran in a public document called "the chairman's guidance," posted on the Internet saying, "should the president call for military options, we must have them ready."

There have been growing signs of Iranian efforts to militarily protect their nuclear sites. The U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency notes that last year Iran established a separate air defense force, with the stated intention of defending nuclear sites with missiles and air defense radars.

Source : CNN

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