Posted on 02/04/2005 5:56:57 PM PST by Indy Pendance
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Anti-Muslim bias prompted military officials to treat an AWOL Marine charged with desertion more harshly than others, the man's brother said in an interview with The Associated Press.
The pressure of the charge filed against Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun, coupled with an argument with his newlywed wife the day he was to return to his base, drove Hassoun to flee, said his brother, Mohamad.
Neither Mohamad Hassoun nor military officials know where to find the younger Hassoun, a Lebanese-born, naturalized American citizen. He failed to return to Camp Lejeune, N.C., on Jan. 5 - the second time the Marines have deemed him a deserter.
"Instead of them giving him medals and making him feel good about his service and what he was doing for his country, they gave him an Article 32," Hassoun said of the military court proceedings that are on hold against his brother until he is found.
"I think there is some kind of bias, yes," he said.
Mohamad Hassoun believes his brother's claim that he was kidnapped in Iraq last summer and held against his will before being released. Hassoun said the military charges are built on hearsay.
He said thousands of deserters have gone AWOL, but haven't shown up on the Naval Criminal Investigative Services' most wanted list like his brother.
All five people currently being sought by the military and featured on the NCIS Web site are charged with desertion.
Maj. Matt Morgan, a spokesman for the Camp Lejeune-based 4th Marine Expeditionary Brigade, denied that Hassoun was treated differently because of bias and said any action being taken against Hassoun is based on evidence, not religion.
Mohamad Hassoun declined to say whether he has spoken to his brother after the 25-year-old soldier failed to return to Camp Lejeune early last month after an authorized leave. He would only confirm that he spoke to Wassef Hassoun Dec. 29, when the Marine called from the Washington airport.
"He should come to defend himself and to face these charges," Mohamad Hassoun said. "Until the truth is known, no one should be jumping to conclusions."
WHATEVER
Oh well, if it was anti-Musim bias that explains it all. Next case.
/sarcasm
I said it before I'll say it again; I know from personal experience that the majority of muslims in the US are traitors and cant be trusted!!!
Bias? BIAS?!! You're right!! And your Islamonazi buddies earned it!
In a more rational world, AP would not this story with such a wide-eyed pretence of innocence.
Oh, we didn't see that one coming. Did we?
Bull-stuff-O-meter is pegged out
Wait for CAIR to chime in.
I guess he should get preferential treatment for deserting. Twice.
Me thinks he doth protest too much.
Hey, Mohamad Hassoun, who about we put you in an orange jumpsuit with machetes in our hands and ask you where your coward brother is?
OK, all you non-muslims can now desert without fear of being charged. Only muslims are being charged because the military is obviously biased. /sarcasm
Well Mohamad, your puke of a brother was UA, not AWOL, before he became a deserter.
Conservatives are at distinct disadvantage. We use logic (well, for the most part) to argue our positions. They use a self-perceived sense of ultimate knowledge (e.g., "If I believe it, it's true."), We have a very slim chance of conversion, and preaching to the choir quickly loses its luster.
What I'm doing is writing newspaper columns in communities littered with moderates (i.e., the silent majority)
Those who earn medals and ribbons do not run when things get tough.
He should have never been out of custody. He splits from Iraq, claiming he was kidnapped, turns up unscathed in Beirut, then deserts? And this is bias? Who knows where he was, who he was with, and what he told. This guy has sleeper written all over him!
No more BS just hang him.
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