Small Wars Journal

Report Details Depravity of SEALs' Accuser

Mon, 05/10/2010 - 6:19am
Report Details Depravity of SEALs' Accuser - Rowan Scarborough, Washington Times.

The just-concluded military trials of three exonerated Navy SEALs showed the terrorism suspect at the center of the case to be one of the most dangerous men in Iraq. Ahmed Hashim Abed initially was described as the insurgent who planned the killings of four Blackwater security guards in Fallujah in 2004, with two of their charred bodies infamously hung from a bridge over the Euphrates River. But the three SEALs who captured Abed - and were court-martialed afterward - nabbed a far more notorious figure, according to trial testimony and an intelligence report.

Abed is thought to have committed a series of killings, including beheadings, in western Anbar province as a leading al Qaeda operative. He remains in an Iraqi prison awaiting trial in that country's criminal court system. A SEAL team captured Abed in Iraq in September. The team's post-capture report, a copy of which was obtained by The Washington Times, said Abed had in his possession a loaded pistol, nearly $6,000 in U.S. cash, five identification cards and one passport...

More at The Washington Times.

Comments

Sorry I hit the send button early. I concur - he was obviously a master of his craft, and whilst beheadings are not a nice way to go, were common once upon a time in the West, especially in France - Madame La Guillotine was still in use the 20th Century. Being fried with 10,000 volts isn't exactly a pleasant way to go either.

Hanging charred bodies from bridges isn't pleasant but they aren't the only ones that did it. Plenty of honest God fearing citizens lynched people in the United States not two generations ago. Small Wars are known as dirty little wars for a reason.

Anonymous (not verified)

Tue, 05/11/2010 - 5:00pm

I agree - he was obviously a master of his craft, and whilst beheadings are not a nice way to go, were common once upon a time in the West, especially in France - Madame La Guillotine was still in use the 20th Century. Being fried with 10,000 volts isn't exactly a pleasant way to go either.

Hanging charred bodies from bridges isn't pleasant but they aren't the only ones that did it. Plenty of honest God fearing citizens lynched people in the United States not two generations ago. Small Wars are known as dirty little wars for a reason.

Schmedlap

Mon, 05/10/2010 - 6:37pm

I don't disagree with the ruling, nor do I disagree that the guy they captured is a d-bag. However, some perspective...

<em>"Ahmed Hashim Abed initially was described as the insurgent who planned the killings of four Blackwater security guards in Fallujah in 2004... a far more notorious figure, according to trial testimony and an intelligence report... is thought to have committed a series of killings, including beheadings."</em>

Okay. Definitely a bad guy. That was enough. This follow-on information didn't really add much...

<em>"... Abed had in his possession a loaded pistol, nearly $6,000 in U.S. cash, five identification cards and one passport... he was responsible for recruiting insurgents, trafficking weapons and staging ambushes and attacks with improvised explosive devices."</em>

That describes about 300 people I encountered in Iraq.