LEX 18 NEWS  
Lexington, KY

Fort Knox, KY  A criminal investigator testified Tuesday that when he arrived at the scene of deadly grenade attack on American soldiers in Kuwait he was told a soldier had been detained who had admitted doing the attack because he said soldiers were going to be raping and killing Muslims. Staff Sgt. David Maier, an agent from the military Criminal Investigation Division, said he was given the information by Col. Ben Hodges, the commander of the 101st Airborne Division's 1st Brigade.

The attack on officers from the Fort Campbell-based division's 1st Brigade happened days before the brigade was scheduled to move into Iraq. Maier said when he interviewed Sgt. Hasan K. Akbar, who had been detained inside a military bunker, Akbar evoked his right to have defensive council present, and the interview ended. Maier did not provide any other details about the alleged comment. A lunch break was taken in the hearing Tuesday before defense attorneys had the opportunity to cross-examine Maier.

The hearing was to resume Tuesday afternoon. Akbar, 32, of the 101st Airborne Division's 326th Engineer Battalion, is accused of killing two officers and injuring 14 others in the March 23 attack on a group of tents. Army Capt. Christopher Scott Seifert, 27, of Easton, Pa., and Air Force Maj. Gregory Stone, 40, of Boise, Idaho, were killed. The Article 32 hearing is similar to a civilian grand jury. If convicted at a court-martial, Akbar could face the death penalty. Maier said inside Akbar's gas mask case, two incendiary grenades and one fragmentation grenade were found. The mask was found in a military bunker, Maier said.

Three empty grenade canisters and two grenade safety clips were found inside a J-list bag with Akbar's name on it, Maier said. The bag, used by soldiers to store chemical weapons protective gear, was found outside the bunker, Maier said. A rifle and three rifle casings were found at the crime scene, Maier said. The casings from the rifle matched fragments taken from a wound in Seifert's abdomen, Maier said. Col. Eric Berg, a medical examiner, testified earlier Tuesday that Seifert had died from a gunshot to the abdomen that had entered his lower back.

Maier said a fingerprint taken from a generator at the crime scene was a match with Akbar's. First Sgt. Rodlon Stevenson testified earlier Tuesday that after the attack, he noticed it was dark outside the tents and that the power generator was off. Stevenson testified he was sleeping in his tent and awakened by a loud noise the night of the attack. He said he looked out and saw Seifert running, holding his gas mask and other equipment. Stevenson then said he saw a black male in a brown T-shirt and desert camouflage pants shoot Seifert in the back from about one to two feet away and run away.

He started treating Seifert, who was complaining about being tired and cold, Stevenson testified. "He was alive and I knew as close as he got shot, he was in a bad way." Stevenson said he told Seifert they he couldn't go like this. "You gotta fight for your family. You got a newborn baby," Stevenson said. Stevenson testified that he saw Akbar being treated for a leg wound a few hours after the attack. He said he told investigators in Kuwait that day that he didn't think Akbar was the man who he saw shoot Seifert because the shooter appeared to be smaller and Akbar was wearing a uniform top and poncho liner, which the shooter was not.

Akbar was subdued and still Tuesday morning, as he was on Monday, the first day of the hearing. Maj. Verner Kiernan testified Monday that Akbar was the last noncommissioned officer who had been guarding a cache of grenades and that four grenades were unaccounted for after the attack. Under cross-examination Monday from Akbar's lawyers, Sgt. 1st Class Patricia Ann Lewis, the brigade's equal opportunity adviser, said there have been cases of Muslim soldiers' complaining about being treated unfairly. Akbar, who is Muslim, had told relatives he was wary of going to war in Iraq, and his mother has said she was concerned he might have been accused because he is a Muslim.

The Army has not suggested a possible motive in the attack. But George Heath, a Fort Campbell spokesman, said soon after the attack that Akbar had "an attitude problem." It is the first time since the Vietnam War that a U.S. Army soldier has been prosecuted for the murder or attempted murder of another soldier during a period of war, said Maj. Steve Stover, an Army spokesman at the Pentagon.

Story filed June 17, 2003

i volunteer to be on the firing squad

Is that the sound of this being quietly swept under the rug by the mainstream media?

Johnny Taliban made national news, why not this? This is much worse.

Well the military doesn't help by keeping a lid on things. They are used to keeping the media away from court martials in order to limit their embarrassment. They are not used to the concept of publicising one.

I always thought the military courts went much faster than this though?

Dotting I's and crossing T's.

You certainly don't need military cooperation or approval to discuss this on CNN.

Hopefully a patriotic inmate will string this little fucker up by his turban and let him be found dead the next morning...

I heard on the news today that the recommendation is for court martial. They said the death sentence is a very real possibility.

He never should have benn allowed to step foot on US soil again.

Let me piss on him first.

Sounds like a job for the OJ Dream Team. I expect to see Johnny C. there with Jesse J. sticking his nose in.