[In this July 19, 2004 file photo, Marine Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun makes a statement to the press outside Quantico Marine Base in Quantico, Va. A hearing officer has recommended a court martial for Hassoun, a Marine accused of deserting his unit a decade ago in Iraq and later winding up in Lebanon for eight years, a defense lawyer said Thursday, Sept. 11, 2014. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)]
oped: And rightly so...however should not Sgt. Bergdahl also be charged with the same?
cue: http://nypost.com/2014/09/20/are-the-military-and-obama-whitewashing-bergdahls-crimes/
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2014/09/10/Bowe-Bergdahl-waiting-as-Army-keeps-mum-on-investigation/8531410368303/
Is Obama whitewashing a traitor?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~By JONATHAN DREW
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A U.S. Marine who vanished from his unit in Iraq and later wound up in Lebanon for eight years will face trial on desertion and other charges, the military said Friday.
Maj. Gen. William D. Beydler has referred 34-year-old Cpl. Wassef Hassoun for a general court-martial on charges of desertion, larceny and destruction of government property, according to a news release from the Marines. No date has been set for Hassoun's trial at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, where he is being held.
The case began in June 2004,
when Hassoun disappeared from a base in Fallujah, Iraq. About a week
later, he appeared in a photo purportedly taken by insurgents. Hassoun
was blindfolded and had a sword poised above his head.
Hassoun,
a naturalized American citizen who was born and grew up in Lebanon,
turned up days later at the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon saying he was
kidnapped by extremists.
But the military doubted his
story, and he was brought back to the U.S. while charges were
considered. He was allowed to visit relatives in Utah in December 2004
when he disappeared again — eventually winding up back in Lebanon.
Defense
attorney Haytham Faraj argues that Hassoun was prevented from leaving
for years by Lebanese authorities and came back to the U.S. after travel
restrictions were lifted.
Faraj,
himself a former Marine, said he's seen many similar cases dating to
the Vietnam era in which the desertion charge was changed to
unauthorized absence, and service members were given administrative
punishment. To prove desertion, the military must show a serviceman
intended not to come back.
"The intent to remain permanently away isn't there," Faraj said. "Here we have a clear case of a person who came back."
Faraj has said the report by the
military equivalent of a grand jury hearing notes that the case
consists mostly of circumstantial evidence and that many witnesses,
including some in Iraq, would be hard to find.
Military
prosecutors argue Hassoun was unhappy with his deployment and left the
Marines in Iraq in 2004. They cited witnesses who said Hassoun didn't
like how the U.S. was interrogating Iraqis and that he said he wouldn't
shoot back at Iraqis.
Military
officials say a marriage for Hassoun had been arranged with a woman in
Lebanon. They are now married and have a son who has dual U.S. and
Lebanese citizenship.
Faraj,
who maintains the kidnapping story is true, has said his client traveled
to Lebanon in early 2005 while on leave and was soon arrested. Faraj
argues that court proceedings in Lebanon were triggered by the U.S.
charges against Hassoun.
Marine prosecutors say Hassoun's
whereabouts were unknown for eight years. He was returned to the U.S.
in 2014 after he contacted officials here.
Translated
Lebanese government documents provided to the court say Hassoun was
arrested in 2005 by Lebanese authorities after Interpol issued a
bulletin triggered by his status as a deserter. The documents, which the
defense also gave to The Associated Press, say Lebanese authorities
released him but took his passport and prevented him from traveling.
The
documents indicate that Lebanese officials declined to extradite
Hassoun and he was eventually fined for theft of military tools — a
charge that mirrors the U.S. larceny count.
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