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The British security contractor accused of murdering two western colleagues in Baghdad and critically wounding an Iraqi appeared in court today and "made a full confession" about his role in the alleged rampage, according to a senior Iraqi official. Daniel Fitzsimons, a former Paratrooper, appeared before an investigative judge who told him he faces the death penalty if convicted. Interior ministry spokesman Major General Abdul-Kareem Kalaph said last night that Fitzsimons had confessed during the brief hearing to shooting dead his colleagues.

WASHINGTON, May 13, 2009 – Defense Department officials today released the names of four soldiers killed in a shooting at a combat stress clinic at Camp Liberty, Iraq on May 11. The name of a fifth victim, Navy Cmdr. Charles K. Springle, 52, of Wilmington, N.C., was released yesterday. Dead are: -- Army Maj. Matthew P. Houseal, 54, of Amarillo, Texas, assigned to the 55th Medical Company in Indianapolis; -- Army Sgt. Christian E. Bueno-Galdos, 25, of Paterson, N.J., assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 172nd Infantry Brigade, Grafenwoehr, Germany; -- Army Spc. Jacob D. Barton, 20, of...

SHERMAN, Texas -- The father of a U.S. soldier accused of killing five fellow troops in Iraq said his son "forfeited his life" but the military bears some responsibility for the rampage. Wilburn Russell said Tuesday that 44-year-old Army Sgt. John M. Russell wasn't typically a violent person, but counselors "broke" him before gunfire erupted in a military stress center Monday in Baghdad. "John has forfeited his life. Apparently, he said (to his wife), 'My life is over. To hell with it. I'm going to get even with 'em,'" said the elder Russell, 73. His father said the younger Russell,...

Arabic source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/arabic/news/newsid_8044000/8044972.stm Analysis at http://ibloga.blogspot.com/2009/05/camp-liberty-shooter-was-muslim.html JVeritas might want to take a look at this to verify. The Camp Liberty shooter was muslim according to BBC Arabic report� "BBC Arabic is saying the the Iraqi Army claims that the perpetrator was a Muslim, in fact the Imam at Camp Liberty's mosque..."

An American Army sergeant shot and killed five fellow soldiers following an altercation at a military counseling center in Iraq Monday, officials said. [First sentence only, due to AP copyright policy.]

BAGHDAD – A U.S. soldier opened fire at a counseling center on a U.S. base Monday, killing five fellow soldiers before being taken into custody, the U.S. command and Pentagon officials said.

WASHINGTON, May 11, 2009 – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said the Defense Department will devote its “highest-priority attention” to the slaying today of five U.S. servicemembers in Baghdad. “I would like to express my horror and deep regret over today's shooting incident at Camp Liberty in Iraq,” Gates said at a Pentagon news briefing. “I offer my sympathy and condolences to the families of those who were killed.” As details about the incident continue to emerge, the U.S. military is holding in custody an American soldier suspected of involvement in the shooting deaths that occurred around 2 p.m....

WASHINGTON, May 11, 2009 – An American soldier suspected in involvement in the shooting deaths of five U.S. servicemembers today in Baghdad is in U.S. custody, defense officials said. The incident occurred around 2 p.m. local time at the U.S. military base Camp Liberty in the Iraqi capital. Defense officials characterized the killings as an unexpected tragedy. “Any time we lose one of our own, it affects us all,” said Army Col. John Robinson, Multinational Corps Iraq spokesman. “Our hearts go out to the families and friends of all the servicemembers involved in this terrible tragedy.” Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman...

LATEST:Five US soldiers killed in shooting at American base in Baghdad, US military says. More to follow. _

FAYETTEVILLE, NC: Colin Powell's intervention did not surprise me. I knew that he thought America was on the wrong track. Last summer I was speaking to one of his closest freinds. He phoned Colin Powell while I was with him and the former secretary of state was fixing his roof at the time. The message of the friend - a man who had also been in government - was that America was alienating the world by showing a harsh face. He went on: America was at its strongest when it was at its most generous. The country, he said, had...

Following the controversy created by her new book "Godless: The Church of Liberalism," Ann Coulter has stirred up new outrage with a comment about outspoken anti-Iraq war Congressman John Murtha. In an e-mail interview with John Hawkins at the Right Wing News Web site, Coulter was asked for comments on several prominent individuals. When the name of Pennsylvania Democrat and ex-Marine Murtha came up, Coulter remarked: "The reason soldiers invented ‘fragging.’”

<p>A criminal probe is being opened into the death of former NFL star Pat Tillman, who was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan.</p>

A community college in northwestern New Jersey is investigating a part-time instructor who vowed to intimidate students who host conservative speakers at the school. The teacher also called for U.S. soldiers in Iraq to kill their superiors. At issue is a personal e-mail written by John Daly, adjunct instructor in writing and developmental English at Warren County Community College in Washington, N.J. He sent it to a student after she asked him and other faculty members to announce that a veteran of the war in Iraq would appear at the school.

Death Sentence Possible for U.S. Soldier Wednesday November 2, 2005 1:01 AM AP Photo WXS101 By DIANA ELIAS The Guardian (UK) Associated Press Writer CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait (AP) - A U.S. soldier could face the death penalty after an Army probe recommended Tuesday he be court-martialed in the Iraq war's first case of alleged ``fragging,'' slang for the murder of superior officers. Staff Sgt. Alberto B. Martinez of Troy, N.Y., had a ``personal vendetta'' against one of two higher-ranked officers who died in an explosion June 7 on a U.S. base near Tikrit, north of Baghdad, military investigator Col. Patrick...

Associated Press KUWAIT CITY – A military tribunal began hearings today for a U.S. Army sergeant charged with killing two superior officers in Iraq, with a witness testifying that the defendant told him he wanted to kill one of the victims. Staff Sgt. Alberto B. Martinez, of Troy, N.Y., faces murder charges in the June 7 killings of Capt. Philip Esposito and Lt. Louis E. Allen in a bomb blast at Forward Operating Base Danger, near the central Iraqi city of Tikrit, the hometown of the deposed Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein, some 80 miles north of Baghdad. It is believed...

A military tribunal began hearings Monday for a U.S. Army sergeant charged with killing two superior officers in Iraq, with a witness testifying that the defendant told him he wanted to kill one of the victims. Staff Sgt. Alberto B. Martinez, of Troy, N.Y., faces murder charges in the June 7 killing of Capt. Philip Esposito and Lt. Louis E. Allen in a bomb blast at Forward Operating Base Danger, near the central Iraqi city of Tikrit, the hometown of the deposed Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein, some 80 miles north of Baghdad. The tribunal, held at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait,...

An Article 32 hearing for a former 42nd Infantry Division soldier accused of killing two of his officers in Iraq has been rescheduled to begin Oct. 31, officials said Thursday. Staff Sgt. Alberto B. Martinez, formerly assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 42nd ID, faces two counts of premeditated murder in the June 7 killings of Capt. Phillip T. Esposito and 1st Lt. Louis E. Allen. Their deaths initially were reported as an indirect-fire attack on Forward Operating Base Danger, headquarters of the New York National Guard division. A few days later, the military said it had opened a criminal...

University of Colorado professor Ward Churchill's latest toxic remarks, this time condoning - if not encouraging - attacks on military officers, are beyond outrageous. "Conscientious objection removes a given piece of cannon fodder from the fray," Churchill said at an anti-military forum last week in Portland, Ore. "Fragging an officer has a much more impactful effect." Fragging is the killing or injuring of a military officer by a subordinate. How is it that CU can produce Nobel prize-winning research but still can't find a way to get Churchill off its payroll? Until he's removed as a tenured professor, double-digit tuition...

Approaching the fetid core, what is being Left is ultimately personified by the likes of Professor Ward Churchill. His own words and ideas speak for themselves... as they do for those Liberals and Democrats that support him, sponsor him, and invite him to speak to their sensibilities. Portland's Independent Media Center, for instance. (HT. Michelle Malkin) The Denver Post reports on the Professor's recent visit to Portland, Oregon to speak at an... Anti-Military forum? Indeed! What is being Left supports the troops, if they see fit to murder their fellow Americans. "Conscientious objection removes a given piece of the cannon...

Controversial University of Colorado professor Ward Churchill says he does not advocate "fragging" U.S. military officers in spite of how recent comments he made have been portrayed. Churchill, speaking at an anti- military forum in Portland, Ore., military remarks "Conscientious objection removes a given piece of the cannon fodder from the fray," he said. "Fragging an officer has a much more impactful effect." His remarks were posted Sunday on the Pirate Ballerina blog site, which carries mostly anti- Churchill content. On Wednesday, Fox News' Bill O'Reilly played a tape of the remarks. Reached at his home in Boulder County on...

Churchill: "Fragging an officer has a much more impactful effect"Ward Churchill has made some more discpicable comments. This time, he is advocating military personnel to "roll a grenade under their line officer." When will this anti-American slimeball be fired? You can watch the video HERE. Note: I am curious how the moonbat left will try to spin this. Freedom of speech I'm sure.... that's getting tired, especially when someone is advocating the murder of US military officers. Transcript: Churchill: "For those of you who do, as a matter of principle, oppose war in any form, the idea of supporting a...

TROUBLE SPEAK Ward Churchill backs fragging Controversial '9-11 prof' suggests rolling grenades under line officers Posted: June 26, 2005 10:39 p.m. Eastern © 2005 WorldNetDaily.com Prof. Ward Churchill University of Colorado professor Ward Churchill suggested to a forum on conscientious objection they might be more effective in opposing war if they supported the "fragging" or killing of line officers. In a Portland meeting on resistance to military recruiting, Churchill, famous for comparing Sept. 11, 2001, victims in the World Trade Center to "little Eichmanns," twice suggested anti-war activists should support those who kill their officers. "For those of you who...

Towns in New York and Pennsylvania struggled yesterday with an episode in Iraq so confounding that it stood apart from other troubling events from the war: an American soldier faced charges of killing fellow Americans, in this case two superiors. Military prosecutors say that on June 7, Staff Sgt. Alberto B. Martinez, 37, killed two of his commanding officers in the 42nd Infantry Division, Capt. Phillip T. Esposito, 30, and First Lt. Louis E. Allen, 34, at a base in Tikrit, Iraq. The military said little yesterday to advance the public understanding of the case, again describing how investigators first...

Sgt. Alberto Martinez of the New York National Guard is accused of killing his two superior officers after reportedly being disciplined by one of them and is believed to be the first soldier in Iraq to face such charges. MSNBC military analyst and retired Army Colonel Jack Jacobs joined MSNBC's Amy Robach on Friday to discuss the charges and whether there is a danger of fragging becoming a growing trend.

A New York National Guardsman was charged yesterday with murdering two of his superiors at a military base inside one of Saddam Hussein's former palaces. Staff Sgt. Alberto Martinez, of upstate Troy, allegedly used an explosive device to blast Capt. Phillip Esposito and 1st Lt. Louis Allen to death June 7 while the two officers chatted about the next day's mission, the Army said in a statement. Martinez, a 37-year-old father of two who worked at an Army arsenal upstate, is charged with two counts of premeditated murder and is being held in Kuwait. He faces a death sentence if...

Staff Sgt. Charged With Murder Associated Press June 17, 2005 BAGHDAD, Iraq - The U.S. military charged a Staff Sergeant from the New York National Guard with murdering his two commanders at a base outside Baghdad, in what is believed to be the first case of an American soldier in Iraq accused of killing his superiors. The military initially concluded that the June 7 deaths of Capt. Phillip T. Esposito, of Suffern, N.Y., and 1st Lt. Louis E. Allen, of Milford, Pa., were caused by a mortar round. But this week the military charged Staff Sgt. Alberto B. Martinez of...

BAGHDAD, Iraq — A U.S. Army staff sergeant was charged with murdering his two commanders last week at a base outside Baghdad, the military said Thursday in what is believed to be the first case of an American soldier in Iraq accused of killing his superiors.

BAGHDAD, Iraq - An Army National Guard staff sergeant has been charged with premeditated murder in a “fragging incident” that killed two senior officers at a U.S. base near Tikrit last week, the U.S. military said Thursday. Army officials told NBC News that Staff Sgt. Alberto B. Martinez had been disciplined by the two officers, a possible motive for the attack. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, did not disclose the nature of the disciplinary action. (snip) A military statement said that Martinez, 37, a supply specialist with the Headquarters and Headquarters Company of the 42nd Infantry Division,...

This story is flying under the radar of the MSM...wonder why. Originally published in the New York Post, the story detailed the mysterious deaths of two friends, Captain Phillip Esposito and Lieutenant Louis Allen, both NY Army National Guard, who were killed by an explosion in Tikrit on June 7 as they slept. Staff Sergeant Alberto Martinez was arrested today and charged with murder.

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A U.S. Army staff sergeant was charged with murdering his two commanding officers last week at a base outside Baghdad, the military said Thursday in what is believed to be the first case of an American soldier in Iraq accused of killing his superiors. Staff Sgt. Alberto B. Martinez, 37, a supply specialist with the Headquarters and Headquarters Company of the 42nd Infantry Division, New York Army National Guard, was charged Wednesday in connection with the June 7 deaths of the two officers at Forward Operating Base Danger, near Tikrit — Saddam Hussein's hometown 80 miles north...

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. – A key prosecution witness in the case of a Marine officer accused of murdering two Iraqi detainees acknowledged yesterday that the defendant had stripped him of a unit leadership role days before the shootings. Sgt. Daniel Coburn testified that 2nd Lt. Ilario Pantano forced him to take on a radio operator's job after finding part of Coburn's squad relaxing near abandoned buildings that hadn't been properly secured. Pantano then elevated a lower-ranking Marine to take Coburn's job as squad leader. Coburn testified earlier last week that he was present when Pantano opened fire on the two...

FORT BRAGG, N.C.-An Army seargeant accused in a deadly grenade attack on fellow members of the 101st Airborne Division is being sent to Kentucky for a sleep study to address his inability to stay awake during court hearings.A military prosecutor said Monday that Sgt. Hasan Akbar will be scheduled for the study of his sleep problems, which have been an issue in pretrial hearings."He's going to be transferred back to tyhe (Fort) Knox confinement facility," Capt. Rob McGovern said. "So the sleep study will be conducted there."Col. Patrick Parrish the military mjudge overseeing the case, had to awaken Akbar during...

What's the U.S. military doing about radical Muslim soldiers? Not enough. The most disturbing story of the war so far is the fragging at Camp Pennsylvania in Kuwait. According to news reports, on March 23, Sgt. Asan Akbar rolled a grenade into each of three tents of sleeping officers and senior NCOs of the 101st Airborne Division. Then he allegedly shot the soldiers with an automatic weapon as they fled from their tents. Two of them, a major and a captain, died, and 14 others were injured. The episode is unsettling for a number of reasons, most of all because...

<p>Almost exactly six months ago, at the start of the liberation of Iraq, this column warned that a "fragging" incident at the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom "could be the precursor for a far larger and more dangerous problem, both for the military and for American society more generally. Call it the 'Fifth Column syndrome.' "</p>

Almost exactly six months ago, at the start of the liberation of Iraq, the Center for Security Policy warned that a "fragging" incident at the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom "could be the precursor for a far larger and more dangerous problem, both for the military and for American society more generally. Call it the ‘Fifth Column syndrome.'" This ominous forecast was prompted by a disturbing possibility: Sergeant Asan Akbar, the alleged perpetrator of a lethal grenade attack on his superiors who commanded the 101st Airborne on the eve of the unit's "jump off" into Iraq, "could have gotten murderous...

FORT KNOX, Ky. (AP) - An investigating officer Friday recommended the court-martial of a soldier charged in a grenade attack that killed two officers in Kuwait and traumatized troops days before they were to move into Iraq. Sgt. Hasan Akbar had time to get the grenades used in the attack against the 101st Airborne, and his rifle killed one of the officers, Col. Patrick Reinert said at a hearing to determine whether Akbar should face a military trial. Fourteen soldiers also were wounded in the March 23 attack. "There are reasonable grounds to believe the accused committed the offensive charges,"...

ith the Islamic connection virtually undeniable in the Asan Akbar grenade case, the question inevitably arises: Where is the Saudi money? Akbar is the black Muslim Army sergeant who, after killing two and wounding 14 of his fellow soldiers when he hurled a grenade into a tent in Kuwait, ranted, "You guys are coming into our countries and you're going to rape our women and kill our children." So, what about the Saudi money? It's not so much a case of paranoia, as it is a realization that Saudi money has an eerie habit of popping up around Islamic extremism...

The alleged grenade attack by U.S. Army Sgt. Asan Akbar on U.S. soldiers in Kuwait stirred disturbing memories of the murderous attacks by American soldiers on each other during the Vietnam War. There were a reported 209 "fragging incidents" during that conflict. The targets of the attacks were mostly junior field officers, and the men who killed their officers were in many cases African Americans. They were pushed over the top by what they considered the brutal, racist and dehumanizing actions of white officers. Their hatred was fed by resentment of being drafted and forced to fight in what they...

What's the U.S. military doing about radical Muslim soldiers? Not enough. The most disturbing story of the war so far is the fragging at Camp Pennsylvania in Kuwait. According to news reports, on March 23, Sgt. Asan Akbar rolled a grenade into each of three tents of sleeping officers and senior NCOs of the 101st Airborne Division. Then he allegedly shot the soldiers with an automatic weapon as they fled from their tents. Two of them, a major and a captain, died, and 14 others were injured. The episode is unsettling for a number of reasons, most of all because...

The fifth column syndrome (Washington, D.C.): The most traumatic loss the U.S. military has suffered to date in the war with Iraq may, ironically, have been inflicted not by Iraqi Republican Guards, regular army units or irregular "Fedayeen." Rather, it may have come at the hands of an American servicemen. 'Fragged' by One of Our Own Early Sunday morning Kuwait time, a sergeant assigned to an engineering brigade of the 101st Airborne Division allegedly attacked three tents in which many divisional commanding officers were sleeping on the eve of their unit's jump-off into Iraq. According to press reports of the...

cnn has first footage of the suspect. the light and satellite phone footage obscures his race, you can see the gunshot wound in his leg.