Treason is an over-used word, but I think it fits the bill here:
A former Navy sailor is accused of supporting terrorism by disclosing secret information about the location of Navy ships and the best ways to attack them.
During an initial appearance Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Phoenix, Ariz., Hassan Abujihaad, 31, accepted removal to Connecticut, where he is charged with supporting terrorism with intent to kill U.S. citizens and transmitting classified information to unauthorized people…
During a search of Ahmad’s computers, investigators said they discovered files containing classified information about the positions of
Abujihaad, a former enlisted man, exchanged e-mails with Ahmad while on active duty on the USS Benfold, a guided-missile destroyer, in 2000 and 2001, according to an affidavit released Wednesday. He allegedly purchased videos promoting violent jihad, or holy war.
The documents retrieved from Ahmad show drawings of Navy battle groups and discuss upcoming missions. They also say the battle group could be attacked using small weapons such as rocket-propelled grenades. The ships were never attacked.
But not for lack of trying. Benfold was an escort in my battle group back in 2001, so I take this rather personally. It’s too bad that Ahmad is “former” sailor, because the UCMJ has some rather brief language on this:
Stretch.His.Pocking.Neck.
Ain’t enough martyrs yet, let’s give ‘em another.
Forgive me for casting a lighter tone on such a serious post, but if he’d had four other co-conspirators onboard, would they be:
The Benfold’s Five?
As a former Tincan sailor, I say hanging’s too good for this piece of sh*t. Now keelhauling, that might satisfy me.
Doubt that the necessary will happen.
This guy will do some time, get a book deal and hit #1 on the NYT list.
While incarcerated, sales of “Free Hassan” t-shirts (as with “Free Mumia”) will become a hit with our deranged Socialist subclass.
Glad they caught the Hassanovapig.
Cap’n,
Shades of the Walker Clan (father and son)!
Since virtually every ship we have afloat can be considered a ‘tin can’ (what with the distinct lack of armor and all – OK Burke Class DDs have a steel superstructure) an RPG would be a nasty surprise. Of course, the best time to employ one of those weapons would be in port or transiting the Straits of Hormuz.
I’ve a better punishment for Mr. Abujihad, invite him to visit one of our ships as they get underway. I’m sure some of his potential targets could find many, many ways to help him up when he continually falls down ladders. Then, when he has tired of all that play, invite him to take some fresh air on the main deck (foc’sle preferrably). Of course, the fantail watch would be busy with some vitally important task for the Bos’un at that time.
Witness the actions of the House Democratic leadership today. Shouldn’t they be here with this accused person? “Birds of a Feather”?
Sorta of inline with this guys actions, I found this article while surfing about the net…not being a MilBlogs poster….maybe someone else can get it in that venue…
“Iraq: Jihadist Perspectives on a U.S. Withdrawal”.
Written on StratFor, it’s what they are up to (and have been) in their own words…
I wonder when he enlisted… there is of course the statutory obligation of 8 years service, regardless of the contractual obligation of active duty…
Shipmates,
If there is any justice left, he’ll be sent down and interred at Gitmo whilst awaiting trial.
You know, what with a war on, and all the current transfers, departmental reorganisations, et al, it might take quite some time to process this creep, especially if they lose his paperwork…….
Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy
Respects,
Yup. And how many more wear our uniform, and pretend to serve? How long does political correctness rule our country and put us all at risk? One traitor, fine, hang him and move on. The bigger question is what are we doing to eliminate the Jihadi threat both at home and abroad.
Keelhauling would be good. What Carrier has been out of drydock the longest?
I think this is what the bumper sticker author had in mind, when he wrote:
NUKE ‘EM ALL & LET ALLAH SORT THEM OUT!!!
How are we supposed to know which ones are the jihadi’s? Their sheets are all the same color afterall… Missing “The Shadow”, only Allah knows!
Since (spit) Walker (spit) wasn’t rightfully hanged for his offenses (and ditto for the others in that (spit) clan of snakes) I doubt this (spit) t#rd will see appropriate justice either. In this life.
- SJS
Speaking of Walker – he was the one responsible for the empty cupboards when the Son Tay Raiders showed up.
Lots of POWs have an awful lot to thank him for…
uh Seniord,
Request permission to add to your post “falls UP ladders” — just so it’s perfectly clear. ;^)
We coined a phrase/threat on WesPac ’87 “Make a Sturdy fellow of you.” We used itto recalibrate recalcitrant Airmen in our shop.
It was so phrased in memory of wannabe wiseguy Airman Sturdy. All the kings horses and all the kings men couldn’t find Airman Sturdy in a dead calm summer IO.
After gloating to the wrong guy he’d won too much card money from, nothing could be found. Nothing that is but a bloody dogging wrench with some of his hair stuck to it and some knife wounds on the forearms of the two Ordnancemen who later confessed to braining him and tossing him.
If only we could get out to blue water with him on board for a couple days… This guy could become a “Sturdy fellow”.
Must ask……..keelhauling(??)
Keelhauling: the act of being hauled by rope down one side of the ship and back up the other side.
It was a very severe punishment. Hulls were covered with shells and barnacles, the ship was moving forward through the sea, there was a good chance of drowning if process is not performed briskly, shredded skin and tissues could result in infections. You could come out of the water so cut up that you might bleed out.
Keelhauling, alas unusal and probably cruel, involves the passing of a line (rope for ye landlubbers) underneath the ship from one side to the other (or from stem to stern depending on which stories you read). The convicted miscreant is tied to the line, and then pulled over the side, under the water, down the hull underneath the keel [fore and aft part at the bottom of the ship- sorta like a backbone to which ribs are attached to shape the hull]. Continued pulling, and said miscreant will eventually emerge from the water on the other side. Reportedly the journey involved much scraping against the encrusted barnacles and other slimy crunchy crap that stick to ships below the waterline. If pulled rapidly, and the miscreant is really good at holding their breath, they may emerge alive. If not, a prompt burial at sea can be arranged, preferably omitting any honors otherwise accorded deceased seamen.
This treasonous scum should be allowed to use an oxygen tank of some sort, with a very leisurely tug on the line, which may quite sadly, make his passage longer than the O2 supply. If this is too grisly, I understand the Turks have had no qualms about hanging from the yardarms, even in recent years. I’ll buy the rope, if needed!
Umm, I don’t think my previous anti-death-penalty comment applies in a case like this. Anybody who joins up with any military organization damn’ better know that he’s signing up to deal with death. He’s not allowed to join up (in civilized countries) until he’s old enough to know what’s up. If one swears the oath to do that, and provably breaks said oath as I think happened here, I think he has no grounds for complaint if he is hanged from a cottonwood tree.
With a short rope.
Hell, cut him down when he passes out, nurse him back to health, and do it again.
Blackeagle (and, of Cap’n) -
No problem with adding to the ‘falling UP’ genre. Although, what you describe may fall under the ‘Extreme Blanket Party’ category.
In all seriousness, there are always malcontents, malingerers and other sorts populating the ranks. What irritates me about this particular sorded affair is that there are also damn good sailors listening to vile utterings from that odious group.
We serve a country that does not impose a specific religion on its citizens. We serve in our country’s Armed Forces where Chaplins are available for counseling, guidance and to act as moral compasses. Where and how did this ex-sailor develop his understanding of the tenents of Islam? More importantly, who didn’t notice the changes in his behavior or attitude?
I was taught that as a Chief, I was responsible for developing good sailors. I cared about each and every sailor under my direction. When one was off stride, he (or she) knew they could come to me and discuss the matter. Somewhere, someone missed a vital clue.
The poisonous seeds he spewed need to be caught and dealt with appropriate measures.
I apologize for the soapbox on your blog, Cap’n but the matter strikes to the core of Honorable Service.
In the old sailing navy, one of the most dreaded commands was:
“All Hand Witness Punishment”
Everyone had to watch the lash being applied. A flogging offense wasn’t just a violation of the Articles of War or the King’s regulations. It was also a crime against the community of the ship. Most certainly felt sympathy for the offender and the terrible way the sentence was carried out. But they could not feel sympathy for the offense itself, because nobody could escape or ignore the sights and sounds of the consequences. It was a horrible in-your-face reminder of the collective fate of a ship’s crew. Your life and your honor were literally in the hands of your fellow shipmates. For better or for worse. Because the cruel and indifferent sea does not give individual pardons, only group punishment. Landsmen don’t understand this —that nobody plea bargains with the ocean. Honorable service is the only shield you can count on. 300 years later that is still true today as it was then.
So treason from a former shipmate isn’t just a legal technicality, or a livestyle choice. Its a brutal personal betrayal of the worst kind.
Okay. Thanks for the lesson. Nasty. But I can see where it comes from and being a landlubber will make no comment on its deservedness or not. I wouldn’t argue about usefulness it in this case, from the point of view of a theoretical discussion anyway.
Treason may be an overused word, but it’s an under-prosecuted one.
Swift, public, nasty death. And done, with only the lesson left.
His is a betrayal of all of us that go down to the sea in ships and in a larger context all of us who rely on a Navy to protect our life, liberty and the pursuit of the above.There is no sympathy for such a person as CPT J so eloquently put it.
OFF WITH HIS HEAD says I.
Have a good friend who was the Benfolds DCCS from ’95 to ’00ish… went to see him on many occasion to conduct training missions in the Goat Locker for lunch and lie-swapping. Can’t seem to shake the feeling that I may have brushed up against this guy in a p-way. No amount of soap can wash that sensation away. Whats more… did the hair on the back of my neck stand up? Could I have just applied some direct pressure to the carotids? Damn… I was so close.
Question, then, being not familiar at all with the law as it applies to the military:
Say you commit an infraction of UCMJ. It is not discovered. A year later, you leave the service. A year after that, the infraction is discovered. Consider for purposes of argument that the infraction is at the level that would be equivalent to a felony under standard criminal law. Can you not be prosecuted for this infraction?
I’m not lawyer, not even a “sea lawyer,” but I think I have a basic understanding of how this might work: If by leaving you mean “retire,” then – so long as the statute of limitations has not run out – you can still be prosecuted under the UCMJ because you are considered to be still in the service, but being offered reduced pay for reduced services.
If you’ve left before retirement, depending on which enlistment you were on, you might still be a part of the inactive ready reserve, in which case the same process as above would apply, once again taking into account the statute of limitations.
Finally, UCMJ violations at the felony level are “federal offenses,” and as such – SOL considered again – you could be indicted by a federal prosecutor and tried in federal court. This is what’s being done in the case of the nutter charged with raping and killing an Iraqi girl before he was discharged for (unrelated) personality problems.
But this is old and dusty memory. A good guy to ask would be Army Lawyer