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[JAG CENTRAL] JAG CENTRAL Coming Back?

2008-04-04T04:39:08Z

Stay tuned... new posts on their way soon. I promise I have a good
reason for being gone so long...

[JAG CENTRAL] NATIONAL NEWSPAPERS - 4 NOV 05

2005-11-04T15:23:33Z

From the NY Times, U.N. Court Faces Fairness Issue at Milosevic Trial <[link]>:More than three years into the trial, the judges have warned that Mr. Milosevic has now used up close to 75 percent of his allotted time and that he will get no extension. But the former Yugoslav president, who acts as his own defense lawyer, has barely addressed one-third of the charges against him and has demanded more time to do so. After presenting his first 40 witnesses, he has given the court a list of 199 more witnesses, "the absolute minimum" he said he needed to lay out the rest of his case. The list, he told the judges, had been pared down from 1,630 names. Some lawyers at the United Nations tribunal say that the judges may have little choice but to give Mr. Milosevic more time. The trial, which began in February 2002, has already set a record for longevity in international law. In keeping with the present schedule, it is expected to conclude in March 2006. But under Mr. Milosevic's new plan, it could go on for another year or more. Mr. Milosevic has focused thus far only on the 1999 war in Kosovo, the Serbian province, for which he faces charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. But he also faces a long list of charges of killing and torture in Croatia and two counts of genocide in Bosnia.

[JAG CENTRAL] NATIONAL NEWSPAPERS - 3 NOV 05

2005-11-03T18:24:09Z

From the NY Times, Qaeda Operative in Southeast Asia Has Fled U.S. Jail in Afghanistan <[link]>:Omar al-Faruq, a confidant of Osama bin Laden who was one of Al Qaeda's senior operatives in Southeast Asia, escaped from an American military prison in Afghanistan in July, a Pentagon official said Wednesday. Military authorities acknowledged in July that four suspected Qaeda terrorists had escaped from the heavily fortified prison at Bagram Air Base, apparently by picking the locks of their cells and slipping past a careless Afghan guard. They remain at large.Mr. Faruq was one of Mr. bin Laden's top lieutenants until he was captured in Indonesia in June 2002 and turned over to the United States. Pentagon officials confirmed that he was one of the fugitives only after the information was disclosed this week in Texas at a military trial of an Army sergeant charged with maltreating detainees in Afghanistan. Mr. Faruq was identified by an alias at the time of the jailbreak. His disappearance, a major source of embarrassment to American officials at the base, came to light on Tuesday when defense lawyers for Sgt. Alan Driver demanded to know where he was so that he could testify at the trial.

[JAG CENTRAL] NATIONAL NEWSPAPERS - 2 NOV 05

2005-11-02T12:30:35Z

From the NY Times, Sergeant in Iraq "Fragging" Case Could Face Death Sentence <[link]>:The suspect, Staff Sgt. Alberto B. Martinez, 37, could be charged with the premeditated murders of Capt. Phillip T. Esposito and First Lt. Louis E. Allen, both of the 42nd Infantry Division, an Army National Guard unit from upstate New York. The two men were killed on June 7 in an explosion at the division's headquarters in the northern town of Tikrit. The investigating officer, Col. Patrick J. Reinert, told a court in Kuwait on Tuesday that there were "reasonable grounds" to consider trying Sergeant Martinez in a death penalty proceeding, the military said in a written statement.The decision whether to court-martial Sergeant Martinez, and whether prosecutors should seek the death penalty, will be made by a board called the Special Court-Martial Convening Authority, the military said. The board can also refer the decision to Lt. Gen. John R. Vines, who oversees day-to-day military operations in Iraq.Colonel Reinert said Sergeant Martinez used a Claymore mine and stolen hand grenades to kill the two officers, both of whom were his superiors. If proven true, it would be the first known incident of an American soldier or marine murdering another in Iraq. The killing of a superior is known in the military as fragging. The Vietnam-era word is derived from fragmentation grenade, a favorite weapon for that purpose.The colonel said Sergeant Martinez carried out the attack because he held a grudge against Captain Esposito, his company commander, according to The Associated Press. Lieutenant Allen was not an intended target and appeared to have been an unfortunate bystander, A.P. reported. Sergeant Martinez's lawyer has argued that there is not enough evidence to tie him to the attack.

[JAG CENTRAL] NATIONAL NEWSPAPERS - 31 OCT 05

2005-10-31T15:04:11Z

Happy Halloween!From the NY Times, 2 U.S. Soldiers Are Charged with Assaulting Afghan Prisoners <[link]>:The announcement, 10 days after details emerged about an episode earlier this month in which two American soldiers burned the bodies of Taliban fighters who had been killed in a firefight, heightened fears that the Afghan people will turn on the American forces in Afghanistan. The two soldiers, members of the 926th Engineers, an Alabama National Guard unit, are accused of striking the detainees and punching them in the chest, shoulders and stomach, Colonel Yonts said. Neither of the detainees required medical treatment as a result of the assault, he said. "They are charged with maltreatment, assault and dereliction of duty," he said. "All three of these charges could go to court-martial," he said. Since the soldiers involved and their unit are still in Afghanistan, the case could go to a court-martial in Afghanistan at Bagram air base, the main American military base in the country.It is the first case of soldiers still serving in Afghanistan being charged with abuse. The case will be reviewed by the operational commander in Afghanistan, Maj. Gen. Jason Kamiya, who will decide whether it should go forward.....The assault is reported to have occurred in July at a forward operating base in Oruzgan Province, in southern Afghanistan, where the detainees, who were captured on the battlefield, were held for about two days before being transferred to the main detention facility at Bagram air base, north of Kabul. The soldiers being charged with the assault were assigned to guard them at the base. When a third soldier heard a report in mid-September that an assault had taken place, he immediately reported it to his commander, which led to an investigation by the military's Criminal Investigation Department, Colonel Yonts said. The investigators recommended action against the two men under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, he said. One of the detainees was released earlier this month, while the other remains in custody at Bagram, and both were interviewed by the military investigators, Colonel Yonts said. Both at first denied suffering any mistreatment, and then said an assault had occurred but was less severe than a previous beating by Afghan Army soldiers, he said.

[JAG CENTRAL] NATIONAL NEWSPAPERS - 28 OCT 05

2005-10-28T06:11:20Z

Army General Bryan D. Brown, Commander, U.S. Special Operations Command, Reportedly Under Investigation in Bribery Inquiry (U.S. Army)From the NY Times, Bribe Inquiry Looks at Sale of Field Gear to Military <[link]>:The investigations, unfolding on several fronts, are examining the hiring of a former Special Operations Command official by a military contractor as well as financial contributions by military contractors to a nonprofit organization that ran social events for the special forces. A statement issued yesterday by the command, located at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla., said that the Pentagon's inspector general was examining the accusations. Among those under investigation is Gen. Bryan D. Brown, known as Doug, who heads the command. Yesterday's statement comes after a plea agreement involving a civilian procurement official at the command, who pleaded guilty in federal court this month to having accepted bribes. The official, William E. Burke, 50, admitted to accepting payments from an individual who represented military contractors seeking to equip these commandos. The special forces command is also investigating all of the contracts handled by Mr. Burke since 1999 to see whether special forces troops received inferior equipment as a result of the kickbacks. At least one other indictment is expected. The other person who represented the contractors has not been publicly identified.

[JAG CENTRAL] WORLD MJ WATCH: BRITAIN

2005-10-17T12:55:08Z

In Britain, an RAF officer faces court-martial for refusing to return to Iraq, the first such case since the war in Iraq began (article <[link]> from The Guardian):An RAF officer faces a court martial for refusing to serve in Iraq on the grounds that the invasion of the country was illegal, defence officials said yesterday.Flight Lieutenant Malcolm Kendall-Smith, a medical officer based at Kinross, in Scotland, faces four counts of disobeying a lawful command under the 1955 Air Force Act.He is the first British officer to face charges on these grounds and his prosecution is likely to add to growing unease among the military about the war in Iraq. He may face a jail sentence, though senior military officers, concerned about the effect of Iraq on the morale of British armed forces personnel, will not relish the prospect of a martyr and another focus of opposition to the war and invasion of Iraq.The 37-year-old lieutenant, who was decorated for service in Afghanistan and Iraq, believes the invasion was illegal, defence sources said.A key part of his case, according to reports yesterday, will be that under RAF law an officer is justified in refusing to obey commands if they are illegal. The Queen's commission requires armed forces officers to act according to "the rules and discipline of war". Defence sources suggested the officer also had a conscientious objection to the war.Some reservists have refused to serve in Iraq, but this is the first time that a full-time officer has objected.

[JAG CENTRAL] NATIONAL NEWSPAPERS - 17 OCT 05

2005-10-17T12:41:35Z

Former Iraqi Dictator Saddam Hussein, Facing Trial Wednesday (CNN)From the Washington Post, this update on the upcoming Hussein tribunal entitled, Victims' Relatives Await Hussein Trial <[link]>:A source close to the special Iraqi tribunal that will hear the case has said that although the trial will start this week, it will likely be delayed after a day or two of hearing motions and resolving technical issues that surround the historic and yet untested legal proceedings. It is not clear when the court would reconvene.The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, described the start of proceedings this week as "the beginning of an ongoing process." But the source added, "I don't think this will be a process dragged out by technicalities."Hussein will be tried by a five-judge panel under a mixture of international law and Iraqi criminal law. If convicted, he could face the same fate as the 143 men from Dujail.

[JAG CENTRAL] FORT CAMPBELL PT SHOOTING UPDATE

2005-10-14T04:32:59Z

The Army Times seems to have the most information to date on this horrible tragedy at Fort Campbell. The article is entitled Fort Campbell Soldier Fires Into PT formation On Post <[link]>:A soldier reportedly dressed in Ninja-like attire fired live rounds from a .357-caliber Magnum into a physical training formation at Fort Campbell, Ky., this morning. No one was hurt in the 7 a.m. shooting and the soldier, who has not yet been identified, was arrested by military police.“Military police apprehended the solider and brought him into custody. He did have a weapon, it was a handgun, nonmilitary issue,” said Fort Campbell spokeswoman Cathy Gramling.Charges have not been filed and Fort Campbell officials declined further comment, but according to a soldier in the area at the time of the alleged attack, the suspect fired three shots at a group of soldiers in formation for PT in front of the division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team headquarters. After firing the first volley of shots, he ran behind the headquarters building of 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry, where several troops were at work, said the soldier, who spoke on the condition his identity not be revealed.He said that when a soldier from the 2-327 opened a back door, the armed soldier allegedly fired another round of shots, which ricocheted off the ground and the building, then continued running.After evading soldiers at the 2-327, the gunman allegedly ducked into a building of the 3rd Battalion, 327th Infantry, shed a tactical holster, black jacket and balaclava mask, then walked out of the building and allegedly pointed to an area away from the building and told MPs at the site he had seen a man running in that direction, the soldier said. The MPs arrested the soldier on the spot and placed him in confinement.The 101st Airborne Division is in the process of deploying for its second rotation in Iraq and the Thursday shooting harked to a deadly incident two and a half years ago. According to the source, the suspect in Thursday’s shooting is a member of 326th Engineer Battalion, the same unit of former Sgt. Hassan Akbar, who was convicted of a grenade attack that killed two soldiers and wounded 14 others in the 1st BCT. The fragging incident took place March 23, 2003, in Kuwait, hours before the division crossed the berm into Iraq. In April, a jury of soldiers at Fort Bragg, N.C., sentenced him to death. Almost 10 years ago to the day of Thursday’s incident, Sgt. William Kreutzer opened fire on hundreds of paratroopers in formation at Fort Bragg, killing one injuring 18 others. He was captured by Special Forces soldiers performing PT nearby. Kreutzer was convicted and sentenced to death, but the sentence was overturned.

[JAG CENTRAL] NATIONAL NEWSPAPERS - 14 OCT 05

2005-10-14T04:19:38Z

From the NY Times, Shots Fired at Soldiers <[link]> ("A soldier was arrested after firing five shots at a group of comrades during their morning workout, the Army said. No one was hit, said Cathy Gramling, a Fort Campbell spokeswoman. The soldier under arrest was not identified, and no immediate charges were filed. Ms. Gramling said the soldier was armed with a nonmilitary-issue handgun, in violation of regulations. The Army gave no motive for the shooting and would not say whether the soldier belonged to the unit fired on.").Categories: Attempted+Murder <[link]>, Newspapers <[link]> --Posted by Centrist to JAG CENTRAL <[link]> at 10/13/2005 09:03:00 PM

[JAG CENTRAL] NATIONAL NEWSPAPERS - 12 OCT 05

2005-10-12T14:06:33Z

Veselin Sljivancanin, Miroslav Radic, and Mile Mrksic, Facing War Crimes Charges (DoState & UN)From the NY Times, War Crime Trial Opens for Serbs Linked to Deaths in Croatia in '91 <[link]>:It became known as one of the most notorious events of the Balkan wars, that day in November 1991 when Serbian forces overran a Croatian town, Vukovar, emptied the hospital and killed almost 300 people.Among the dead were patients, members of the hospital staff, journalists and Croatian fighters who had taken refuge. On Tuesday, the war crimes tribunal in The Hague began the trial of the three Serbian Army officers accused of the main responsibility for the events. They are charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes, including persecution, murder and torture.Two officers, Veselin Sljivancanin, 52, and Miroslav Radic, 43, pleaded not guilty; the third, Mile Mrksic, 58, did not speak. Prosecutors said the commanders were being held accountable because they had control over both the Serbian troops and the Serbian paramilitaries that organized and carried out the killings.

[JAG CENTRAL] NATIONAL NEWSPAPERS - 11 OCT 05

2005-10-11T10:20:38Z

From the Washington Post, Air Force Withdraws Paper for Chaplains <[link]>:The document was circulated at the Air Force Chaplain School until eight weeks ago. It was a "code of ethics" for chaplains that included the statement "I will not proselytize from other religious bodies, but I retain the right to evangelize those who are not affiliated."The code was written by the National Conference on Ministry to the Armed Forces (NCMAF), a private association of religious bodies that provide chaplains to the military. It was never an official directive of the Defense Department, but the fact that it was handed out at the chaplains school at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Ala., "might have given the impression that it was Air Force policy," said Rabbi Arnold Resnicoff, a retired Navy chaplain who is a special adviser to the secretary of the Air Force.The Air Force distanced itself from the code of ethics after complaints by Michael L. "Mikey" Weinstein, a 1977 Air Force Academy graduate who has accused the academy's current leaders of fostering pressure on cadets to convert to evangelical Christianity.Last week, Weinstein filed suit in federal court in New Mexico, alleging "severe, systemic and pervasive" religious discrimination in the Air Force. Among other evidence, the suit cited a July 12 New York Times article that quoted Brig. Gen. Cecil R. Richardson, the Air Force's deputy chief of chaplains, as saying: "We will not proselytize, but we reserve the right to evangelize the unchurched."

[JAG CENTRAL] NATIONAL NEWSPAPERS - 6 OCT 05

2005-10-06T15:55:34Z

From the NY Times, Senate Moves to Protect Military Prisoners Despite Veto Threat <[link]> ("Defying the White House, the Senate overwhelmingly agreed Wednesday to regulate the detention, interrogation and treatment of prisoners held by the American military. The measure ignited a fierce debate among many Senate Republicans and the White House, which threatened to veto a $440 billion military spending bill if the detention amendment was tacked on, saying it would bind the president's hands in wartime. Nonetheless, the measure passed, 90 to 9, with 46 Republicans, including Bill Frist of Tennessee, the majority leader, joining 43 Democrats and one independent in favor. More than two dozen retired senior military officers, including Colin L. Powell and John M. Shalikashvili, two former chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, endorsed the amendment, which would ban use of "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment" against anyone in United States government custody."); 3 Fort Bragg Teachers Charged <[link]> ("3 FORT BRAGG TEACHERS CHARGED Three people who taught foreign languages at the Joint Special Operations Command Center at Fort Bragg were arrested on immigration charges, federal officials said. Two Indonesians, Nurkis Qadariah, 34, and Sayf Rimal, 37, were arrested on Tuesday and charged with possessing and using false documents. Another man, Ousmane Moreau, 38, of Senegal, was arrested on Monday and charged with being in the country illegally."); ReimbursementFor Gear to Protect GI's <[link]> ("The Pentagon issued regulations for providing reimbursement for some combat equipment bought privately for use in Iraq and Afghanistan. The rules, effective immediately, were issued more than seven months after Congress required such a program be finalized. They allow military personnel and those who bought equipment for them to make claims of up to $1,100 for health, safety and protective gear bought from Sept. 11, 2001, to July 31, 2004."), and More Prosecutions Likely To Stem From New Srebrenica Report <[link]>:The war crimes tribunal in Bosnia-Herzegovina said yesterday that it expected to increase the number of its prosecutions in connection with the 1995 Srebrenica massacre after the announcement on Tuesday that a list of names of more than 17,000 Bosnian Serb soldiers, police officers and officials involved in the killings had been completed by a government commission.In November of last year, the Bosnian Serb authorities acknowledged responsibility for the Srebrenica massacre and apologized officially after years of playing down the extent of the violence that occurred in July 1995 and the expulsions of millions of people.The turning over of the list to war crimes officials completes a two-year investigation by the Bosnian Serb government of the Srebrenica massacre. The panel said the list included 19,473 civilians and armed forces members, of whom 17,074 were named. The massacre left an estimated 8,000 people, mostly Muslim men and boys, dead in Europe's worst massacre since World War II.A senior Bosnian Serb official familiar with the commission's work investigating the atrocity said he expected 90 people named on the list to be prosecuted by Bosnia's recently established war crimes court.

[JAG CENTRAL] NATIONAL NEWSPAPERS - 4 OCT 05

2005-10-04T05:14:24Z

Army BG Rhett Hernandez, Human Resources Center Commander, Reportedly Deciding Not To Punish AWOL IRR Soldiers (U.S. Army)From USA Today, in one of their very few scoops, Army Not Punishing Absent Special Reserve Soldiers <[link]>:Seventy-three soldiers in a special reserve program have defied orders to appear for wartime duty, some for more than a year, yet the Army has quietly chosen not to act against them.“We just continue to work with them, reminding them of their duty,” says Lt. Col. Bryan Hilferty, an Army spokesman.The soldiers are part of the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR), a pool of about 110,000 inactive troops who still have contractual obligations to the military but are rarely summoned back to active duty. But an Army stretched thin by the demands of war in Iraq and Afghanistan began a phased call-up of 6,545 of those soldiers in June 2004. About half have served. About one-fifth have been excused for reasons such as finances, family or health.The Army has failed to reach 386 of the reservists, often because of invalid or outdated addresses or phone numbers. But Lt. Col. Karla Brischke, who supervises call-ups, says some reservists may simply be avoiding the orders.Only one officer is among the 73 soldiers who either ignored their orders or refused to serve. Brischke says Army staffers keep calling and reminding them of “duty, honor, country” and their need to fulfill their obligations.Hilferty says the Army hasn't acted in part because IRR troops have historically not been expected to serve. “It's sensitive because we understand they're different soldiers.” The decision to declare these soldiers AWOL or a deserter is up to their commanding officer, Brig. Gen. Rhett Hernandez, the Army's personnel management director. He could not be reached for comment.Failing to punish those who disobey an order “sets a bad precedent, especially for those in the IRR who have accepted the call to serve,” says retired major general John Meyer Jr., the Army's former chief of public affairs.

[JAG CENTRAL] NATIONAL NEWSPAPERS - 3 OCT 05

2005-10-03T15:42:17Z

From the NY Times, Reimbursement Program for Troops Stalls <[link]>:The Pentagon has not completed guidelines for allowing soldiers, their families and charities to be reimbursed for some combat equipment they bought for use in Iraq and Afghanistan, a year after the passage of legislation calling for such a program.The measure, which allows for groups and individuals to make claims of up to $1,100, called for the Department of Defense to set rules for a reimbursement program by February 2005. The sponsor of the original legislation, Senator Christopher J. Dodd, Democrat of Connecticut, says he plans to introduce an amendment to a defense bill this week to take authority for the program from Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and give it to military commanders in the field."We should not be sending our young men and women into harm's way less than as well prepared as their nation can prepare them and provide them with the kind of protection they deserve," Mr. Dodd said. "The Pentagon has never acted on this legislation despite the fact that it is the law of the land.""It has been frustrating," he said. "And the problem still persists."On Friday, a Pentagon spokeswoman, Lt. Col. Ellen Krenke, said in an e-mail message that Defense Department officials were "in the final stages of putting a reimbursement program together and it is expected to be operating soon." Colonel Krenke declined to discuss a reason for the delay.Army surveys have shown that infantry members spend hundreds of dollars of their own money each year on gloves, boots, flashlights and other tools used in combat.