Posted on 04/25/2005 8:31:24 AM PDT by Former Military Chick
(FORT BRAGG) - The commander of the 101st Airborne Division brigade hit by a grenade and rifle attack two years ago says he never thought there was danger within the camp where the assault occurred.
Colonel Ben Hodges opened testimony Monday morning in the sentencing phase of Sergeant Hasan Akbar's trial.
Akbar was convicted last week of killing two officers and wounding 14 more, including Hodges. Akbar, 34, also could be sentenced to life in prison.
Hodges, who commanded the First Brigade Combat Team as it prepared to invade Iraq, said he never thought the first casualties his five-thousand-person unit would sustain would come before invading Iraq. The attack came during the night of March 22 and 23, 2003, just two days before the 101st soldiers crossed into Iraq.
After jurors hear from prosecution witnesses, the defense is expected to call witnesses before the jury retires for deliberations to ponder Akbar's sentence.
Not sure he will be sentemced today.
Hasan Akbar UPDATE PING
I have also been wondering how long this is going to take.
correction to comment 1, "sentenced"
Hang 'em high!
A true enemy within the gates. A traitor. Death by firing squad or hanging. Should have had a summary tribunal on the battlefield and done it there IMHO. One of the officers killed was from Boise, Idaho ner where I live.
A true enemy within the gates. A traitor. Death by firing squad or hanging. Should have had a summary tribunal on the battlefield and done it there IMHO. One of the officers killed was from Boise, Idaho ner where I live.
I hate it that they refer to this traitor as SGT. He's an E-nothing.
Hang him. This POS should have been shot the minute they nabbed him.
Jeff,
"Should have had a summary tribunal on the battlefield and done it there IMHO"
Right on!
Agreed...and I am afraid that there are many others around the nation. They need to have the hammer come down on them immediately if it can be shown that they are indeed inoctrinating and, in effect, sending out their Jihad Warriors amongst us. They are like a human, stealth, cruise missile that could go off at any time amongst us.
The man is nuts, but knew exactly what he was doing. He deserves a worse punishment than our justice system will hand him. Eternity of pain and regret.
A thorough examination of this perp; psycho profile and network connections is more beneficial long-term than an immediate slug to the skull. He get to burn in hell sooner or later.
Shooting's way too good for him. Put him in the middle of about ten survivors of his treason.
That will be changed, and you are right, sooner rather than later.
Well, they've had over TWO YEARS to accomplish that bit of thorough investigative study. IMHO, now it's time to send him on to that eternity...forthwith.
UPDATED: 11:30 am EDT April 25, 2005 FORT BRAGG, N.C. -- A military judge on Monday blocked the introduction of evidence of a recent fight between an MP and Army sergeant convicted in an attack on his comrades in Kuwait two years ago.
Sgt. Hasan Akbar was convicted last week of killing two officers in the 101st Airborne Division while they were stationed in Kuwait during the early days of the war against Iraq. The attack also wounded 14 soldiers.
Akbar faces either a life sentence or a death sentence. Testimony in the sentencing hearing began Monday morning, as Col. Ben Hodges, the commander of the brigade that was attacked, said he never thought the first casualties his 5,000-person unit would sustain would come before invading Iraq.
Prosecutors had asked that they be allowed to introduce evidence of the March 30 fight between Akbar and the MP in the restroom at Fort Bragg's legal building to show a pattern of behavior.
Judge Stephen Henley said he didn't think what he called and "opportunistic stabbing" two years after the attack inside the Army camp in Kuwait showed a pattern.
Akbar took a sharp item from an office where he was meeting with lawyers and attacked the MP who was assigned to escort him to the men's room.
The defense has already told the jury that Akbar committed the attack, but argue he was too mentally ill to plan it.
A 15-member panel needed just two and a half hours of deliberation before convicting him Thursday. He was the first soldier since the Vietnam era to be prosecuted for the slaying of fellow soldiers during wartime.
Akbar Fubar!
The defense has already told the jury that Akbar committed the attack, but argue he was too mentally ill to plan it.
This simply does not compute - he was savvy enough to steal a sharp object, but too mentally ill to plan what to do with it? What utter gobshite!
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