US soldier charged in Fort Hood bomb plot (AFP)

WACO, Texas (AFP) – A soldier suspected of planning an attack on fellow soldiers near a US military base refused to stand up for the judge during a brief court appearance and was escorted shouting from the room.

Army Private Naser Jason Abdo has been charged with possession of an illegal firearm after his Wednesday arrest at a Killeen, Texas motel where police found bombmaking materials and literature in his room, along with a copy of the Al-Qaeda English-language magazine, Inspire.

"Abdeer Qassim al-Janabi, Iraq 2006! Nidal Hasan, Fort Hood 2009!" Abdo shouted as he was escorted out of the Texas courtroom, apparently referring to an Iraqi girl who was raped and killed by US soldiers in Mahmudiyah in 2006, and Major Nidal Hasan who is facing a court martial for killing 13 people and wounding 32 others at a Fort Hood deployment facility in November 2009.

Friday's hearing lasted just five minutes. Abdo, who was wearing a white prison jump suit, refused to stand up when the bailiff called "All rise," as Judge Jeffrey Manske entered the courtroom. Eventually four US marshals took him by the arms and made him stand before the judge.

Manske questioned Abdo about his education, and the AWOL soldier said he graduated from high school and had one year of college. When the judge asked if he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, Abdo responded with a "no."

During an interview with FBI officials, Abdo admitted he planned to build two bombs in his budget hotel room by packing gun powder and shrapnel into pressure cookers he would then detonate at a restaurant popular with soldiers from Fort Hood, a sprawling US Army base in Texas, according to the affidavit.

Items found in his room included a .40 caliber handgun, ammunition, an Inspire article entitled "Make a bomb in the kitchen of your Mom" and bombmaking components -- including six bottles of smokeless gunpowder, shotgun shells, shotgun pellets, two clocks, two spools of auto wire, an electric drill and two pressure cookers, court documents said.

The criminal complaint filed against him was unsealed in Waco, Texas, by Judge Mankse. If convicted, Abdo faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a maximum $250,000 fine.

Attached to the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, Abdo had sought conscientious objector status to refuse deployment to Afghanistan, saying he could not fight other Muslims.

But after his status was granted in May, Abdo was charged with possession of child pornography on a computer. He then left Fort Campbell without permission early this month.

The Washington Post, citing congressional and federal officials, said Abdo had been inspired by Hasan and his shooting spree at Fort Hood in 2009.

Hasan, who mowed down fellow soldiers before he was set to deploy to Afghanistan, goes on trial March 5 and faces the death penalty if convicted.

Investigators allege that Hasan, like Abdo born in the United States of Palestinian descent, had been in contact with key Al-Qaeda cleric Anwar al-Awlaqi, a US citizen at large in Yemen.

Abdo was arrested following a tip from a clerk at Guns Galore, a store where Hasan had bought weapons used in the deadly attack. Abdo had purchased gunpowder, shotgun ammunition and a magazine for a semi-automatic handgun from the shop.

View the original article here

AWOL soldier defiantly shouts '09 suspect's name (AP)

WACO, Texas – Coolly defiant, Pfc. Naser Abdo shouted "Nidal Hasan Fort Hood 2009!" as he was led out of the courtroom Friday, an apparent homage to the suspect in the worst mass shooting ever on a U.S. military installation. He condemned the attack less than a year ago, but is now accused of trying to repeat it.

Investigators say Abdo, who cited his Muslim beliefs in requesting conscientious objector status last year, was found in a motel room three miles from Fort Hood's main gate with a handgun, an article titled "Make a bomb in the kitchen of your Mom" and the ingredients for an explosive device, including gunpowder, shrapnel and pressure cookers. An article with that title appears in an al-Qaida magazine.

Abdo went absent without leave from Fort Campbell, Ky., early this month after being charged with possessing child pornography.

Police and the Army say Abdo admitted plotting an attack, but in Fuhais, Jordan, his father insisted the allegations were "all lies from A to Z."

"My son loved people no matter who they are, whether Jews or Christians," Jamal Abdo said. "Naser is not the kind of a person who harbors evil for the other people, he cannot kill anyone and he could not have done any bad thing."

Jamal Abdo, 52, is a Jordanian who lived near Fort Hood in Killeen for 25 years until he was deported from the United States last year after being convicted of soliciting a minor.

His 21-year-old son was ordered held without bond Friday. He is charged with possession of an unregistered destructive device in connection with a bomb plot and has yet to enter a plea. If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison.

It was not immediately known if he would face additional charges. "Our office will pursue federal charges where the evidence takes us," said Daryl Fields, spokesman for federal prosecutors.

In court, Abdo refused to stand when the judge entered — U.S. marshals pulled him from his seat — but he answered the judge's questions politely.

On his way out, he yelled "Iraq 2006!" and the name of Abeer Qassim al-Janabi, a 14-year-old Iraqi girl who was raped that year before she and her family were killed. Five current or former U.S. soldiers went to prison, one for a life term, for their roles in that attack.

He also shouted the name of Hasan, an Army major and psychiatrist who is charged with killing 13 people at Fort Hood.

Abdo's court-appointed attorney did not comment. His next hearing was set for Aug. 4.

According to court documents, Abdo told investigators he planned to construct two bombs in his motel room using gunpowder and shrapnel packed into pressure cookers and then detonate the explosives at a restaurant frequented by soldiers.

FBI Agent James E. Runkel said in an affidavit filed in federal court that police found Abdo carrying a backpack containing two clocks, wire, ammunition, a handgun and the "Make a bomb in the kitchen of your Mom" article. Such an article was featured in an issue of Inspire, an English-language magazine produced by al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, a Yemen-based branch of the terror group.

The allegations and Abdo's defiance in court contrast with the words he used as he was petitioning for conscientious objector status. In an essay he sent to The Associated Press last year he said acts like the Fort Hood shootings "run counter to what I believe in as a Muslim."

He was born in Texas to a non-denominational Christian mother and a Muslim father. Jamal Abdo said they divorced in 1993.

Naser Abdo said he became a Muslim when he was 17. He said he enlisted thinking that Army service would not conflict with his religious beliefs, but reconsidered as he explored Islam further.

"I realized through further reflection that god did not give legitimacy to the war in Afghanistan, Iraq or any war the U.S. Army could conceivably participate in," he wrote in his conscientious objector application.

Abdo was approved as a conscientious objector this year, but that status was put on hold after he was charged in May with possessing child pornography. Abdo denied the charge before this week's arrest.

Abdo went AWOL during the July 4 weekend. FBI, police and military officials have said little about whether or how they were tracking Abdo since he left Fort Campbell.

Jamal Abdo disputed both the child pornography charges and the bomb plot allegations against his son, and said Naser was discriminated against in the Army because of his religion.

"Fellow soldiers slurred him and treated him badly. They mocked him as he prayed. They cursed him and used bad language against Islam and its prophet," he said.

"He reported these incidents, but nothing was done about it," the elder Abdo said. "Therefore he wanted to leave the Army. I always told him to be calm and to focus on his duty and he used to tell me, `Yes, Papa.'"

He said Naser never mentioned al-Qaida and that he last spoke to his son a week ago.

Abdo was arrested after a gun-store clerk told authorities he bought six pounds of smokeless gunpowder, shotgun ammunition and a magazine for a semi-automatic pistol on Tuesday — while seeming to know little about what he was buying. Killeen Police Chief Dennis Baldwin has suggested that without the tip, a terror attack could have been imminent.

Two veterans groups that supported Abdo in his bid to be a conscientious objector said they have not had direct contact with him recently.

"If any of these allegations are true, any sort of violence toward anyone goes completely against what a conscientious objector believes," said Jose Vasquez, executive director of Iraq Veterans Against the War.

Another group, Courage to Resist, said in a statement that it had removed Abdo's profile from its website. It said it has paid $800 of Abdo's legal fees in the conscientious objector case.

Vasquez provided a copy of a statement Abdo sent to his group last year that claimed soldiers often associated terror with Islam "during routine training exercises."

"Only when the military and America can disassociate Muslims from terror can we move onto a brighter future of religious collaboration and dialogue that defines America and makes me proud to be an American," Abdo wrote.

___

Associated Press writers Jamal Halaby in Fuhais, Jordan; Kristin M. Hall in Nashville, Tenn.; Janet Cappiello in Louisville, Ky., contributed to this report.

View the original article here

Psychiatrist: Suspect in soldier death delusional (AP)

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – A forensic psychiatrist told a jury Friday that the man accused of fatally shooting a soldier at a military recruiting station in Arkansas suffers from a mental disorder.

Dr. Shawn Agharkar testified that Abdulhakim Muhammad has delusions — fixed, false beliefs — that puff up his perception of himself and make him think he's being persecuted because he's a Muslim.

"He clearly has a different version of reality than the rest of us," Agharkar said.

Muhammad, 26, is charged with capital murder for killing Army Pvt. William Long and attempted capital murder for wounding Pvt. Quinton Ezeagwula in 2009. He confessed to the shootings and could be sentenced to death if convicted.

His defense attorneys argue that he isn't guilty because he has a mental disease or defect. Muhammad and prosecutors say otherwise.

"I have no mental defect or disease, neither past or present," Muhammad wrote in a letter to Circuit Judge Herbert Wright in May. "I was well aware of my actions June 1, 2009."

Muhammad says the shootings were justified because American troops have killed Muslims in the Middle East. He's professed ties to al-Qaida and called his act jihad.

On Friday, Agharkar said there's no proof to back up his claims.

"Saying you're an operative of a major terrorist group is grandiose," Agharkar said.

But a forensic psychiatrist with the Arkansas State Hospital reached a far different conclusion in an evaluation last year.

"He did not have mental disease or defect," Dr. R. Clint Gray wrote in his forensic report. Gray is expected to testify next week when the trial resumes.

Prosecutors rested their case Thursday after playing video of Muhammad confessing to the shootings. Proceedings ended abruptly Friday afternoon as prosecutors tried to suggest that Agharkar benefits financially from finding mental problems in the people he evaluates.

He's paid $350 per hour and he said he's logged between 100 and 120 hours on Muhammad's case. The state foots that bill.

"I'm paid for my time, not my testimony," Agharkar said.

Muhammad, who was born Carlos Bledsoe in Memphis, Tenn., changed his name after he converted to Islam in college. He later traveled to Yemen in 2007 and was deported back to the U.S. after he overstayed his visa.

In court on Friday, Agharkar looked at the jury — not Muhammad — as he said people with mental problems don't often think there's anything wrong with them.

"Denial of mental illness is very common," Agharkar said.

___

Jeannie Nuss can be reached at http://twitter.com/jeannienuss

View the original article here

Court-martial for soldier accused of assault (AP)

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. – An Army prosecutor says a soldier suspected of crimes while based in afghanistan was a key part of talks among Stryker platoon soldiers accused of plans that included killing Afghan civilians.

Maj. Dre Leblanc said he intends to show at a court-martial that Sgt. Darren Jones of Pomona, Calif., was part of conspiracies to harm Afghans and to intimidate a whistleblower who led Army investigators to the platoon.

Jones is accused of joining others in his unit in beating up a soldier who told authorities about drug use. Jones is charged with assault and impeding an investigation.

Defense lawyer Kevin McDermott countered in his opening statement Thursday that Jones had no role in conspiring to kill Afghan civilians. McDermott also contended that Jones and other soldiers were upset at the whistleblower, then-Pfc. Justin Stoner, simply because of his attitude and his performance.

Jones is one of seven 5th Stryker Brigade soldiers accused of crimes while deployed in Afghanistan.

View the original article here

U.S. soldier charged with Afghan murder freed from brig (Reuters)

By Laura L. Myers Laura L. Myers – Sat Jun 11, 1:54 am ET

SEATTLE (Reuters) – One of five U.S. soldiers accused of killing Afghan civilians in cold blood was freed on Friday from a year of pretrial detention and an Army major has recommended that the current charge of premeditated murder be reduced to manslaughter, the soldier's lawyer said.

The release of Private Andrew Holmes came weeks after an Army judge ordered fact-finding proceedings reopened and granted a defense request for a new evidentiary hearing in the case, which was referred in January for court-martial.

Major Michael Liles, the investigating officer who presided over the new hearing last month, concluded that military prosecutors lacked sufficient evidence to prove the murder charge, for which Holmes faced a life sentence if convicted.

Instead, Liles urged that Holmes be charged with the lesser offense of manslaughter stemming from the death of a young, unarmed Afghan villager. Under the military code of justice, manslaughter is punishable by a prison term of up to 15 years.

Ultimately, the decision to accept or reject Liles' recommendation rests with the top two commanders at Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma, Washington, the home installation for Holmes' Army unit.

Liles' report was issued June 7 and furnished on Friday to Holmes' civilian lawyer, Dan Conway, who provided it to Reuters. Conway said the recommendation "reenergizes us."

Holmes is the youngest of five members of an infantry unit formerly called the 5th Stryker Brigade charged with murder in connection with three Afghan civilian slayings investigators say were staged to look like legitimate combat casualties.

One of the other soldiers, Jeremy Morlock, was sentenced to 24 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to three counts of murder and agreed to testify against his co-defendants.

Another of the accused, Michael Wagnon, was released in April from pretrial confinement, and two others remain in detention -- Adam Winfield and the alleged "kill team" ringleader, Calvin Gibbs.

Holmes, who is from Boise, Idaho, remains restricted to Washington state and is required to wear an electronic monitor on his ankle, Army spokesman Christopher Ophardt said.

He said Army commanders let Holmes out of detention after deciding "he is no longer a flight risk or will conduct serious misconduct in society." He immediately returned to his unit for administrative duty, Ophardt said.

Family members said in a statement on Friday that Holmes had been incarcerated since returning to duty in Afghanistan from a home leave in May of 2010, and expressed hope that his release from the brig marked a turning point in his favor.

"We are guardedly optimistic that this may also be the first step taken toward a larger, more definitive release from custody and dismissal of charges."

The investigation into the incidents involving Holmes and the four Stryker troops, which began as a probe of hashish use by soldiers, has grown into the most serious prosecution of alleged atrocities by the U.S. military during 10 years of war in Afghanistan.

Holmes faces a single count of murder stemming from the death of a 15-year-old Afghan boy in January 2010.

Both he and Morlock appear in photos published in March showing them, posed separately, crouched over the bloodied, prone corpse of the Afghan youth, holding his head up for the camera by the hair.

At his first evidential hearing last year, Holmes professed his innocence to the presiding officer, declaring, "I want to tell you, soldier to soldier, that I did not commit murder."

Liles said that photos of the victim's body presented as defense evidence last month showed the "lack of bullet pattern that would be consistent with" the type of machine-gun Holmes was carrying at the time. Holmes has admitted firing his weapon on orders from Morlock but that he intentionally missed.

A trial date of September 19 has been set, Conway said.

(Writing by Steve Gorman; Editing by Jerry Norton)

View the original article here