Free Republic

A U.S. Navy destroyer was involved in a minor collision with a Japanese tugboat Saturday during a scheduled exercise, according to the U.S. Navy's 7th Fleet. The USS Benfold, a guided-missile destroyer, sustained minor damage when a tugboat lost propulsion and drifted into the ship, the Navy said. No one was injured on either vessel and an initial assessment of the damage showed that the destroyer only sustained minimal damage including scrapes. But the accident comes at a time when the Navy's 7th Fleet and the U.S. Pacific Command have come under increased scrutiny after several deadly collisions in the...

San Diego – A former sailor aboard a San Diego-based ship allegedly praised a deadly terror attack on a U.S. destroyer and communicated with a British man arrested on suspicion of having terrorist ties, according to a court document unsealed Friday. The sailor on the USS Benfold, whose name has not been released, allegedly sympathized with the jihad cause and sent e-mails to anti-Western Web sites run by Babar Ahmad. British police arrested Ahmad, 30, earlier this week on a U.S. extradition warrant charging that he used the Internet to help Taliban fighters recruit and raise money. The USS Benfold...