I refrained.
And then I refrained again.
Now this.
A U.S. Marine who disappeared in Iraq and then showed up in a purported hostage video before later appearing as a free man in Lebanon, is being charged with desertion, Pentagon officials said Thursday.
Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun will also be charged by the Marine Corps with larceny and wrongful disposition of military property in connection with his service-issued 9 mm handgun that disappeared with him and never turned up, officials said.
….
If found guilty of desertion, he could receive a dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of pay and allowances, and five years’ confinement for each specification.
Maximum punishment for each specification of larceny and for the wrongful disposition charge is a dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of pay and allowances and 10 years’ confinement.
….
Military investigators re-opened the Hassoun case last month after several personal items — including his military ID and civilian passport — were found in Falluja, the city from which he disappeared in June.
“The circumstances of his alleged capture and subsequent return to military control are still being investigated,” the Marines said in a statement.
Hassoun reappeared July 7 in Lebanon, where he was born and has relatives.
What happened to Hassoun is a mystery to military investigators.
After the initial report that Hassoun was missing, military officials assumed he had walked away from camp. He was listed as a deserter.
His status was changed to captured after the release of a videotape that showed him blindfolded with a sword suspended above his head. A few days later, a posting to three Islamist Web sites claimed Hassoun had been beheaded.
Hassoun denied being a deserter and staging his own kidnapping.
A Marine Corps official said representatives of the Naval Criminal Investigative Services did not interview Hassoun until after he completed his 30-day home leave, following his repatriation back to the United States. Its report was submitted to Hassoun’s command November 30.
I will still refrain. Innocent until proven guilty, right? Let the processes of the UCMJ run their course, right?
Yeah, I’ll refrain again. Just enough to say that, if this sonofabitch is found guilty, I want him punished to the abso-freaking-lute maximum.
Comments
2 responses to “Marine ‘Hostage’ Faces Desertion Charges”
Marine died funny(YOU NEVER UNDERSTOOD ALL THE WAY). I remember one who worked for CIA. WE put him in the ground, but they ended up thinking they could use ‘1’ operations officer. Most would have already understood we used STRIKE.
i REMEMBER ONE MARINE