U.S. Military under Reagan's authority were training terrorists

greenspun.com : LUSENET : TB2K spinoff uncensored : One Thread

Former Army sergeant pleads guilty to embassy bombing-related charges

October 20, 2000 Web posted at: 12:14 p.m. EDT (1614 GMT)

NEW YORK -- A former Army sergeant pleaded guilty Friday to charges related to the bombings of U.S. embassies in Africa two years ago that killed 12 Americans and 212 others.

Ali Mohamed, 48, became the first person to plead guilty in connection with the bombings. He had reached a plea agreement with prosecutors.

U.S. District Judge Leonard B. Sand first said the agreement guaranteed a minimum of 25 years in prison, but after an objection by defense attorneys, the judge did not specify the length of the potential prison term.

Mohamed, who entered the courtroom in leg shackles, stood in his prison blue uniform as he admitted conspiring with Osama bin Laden and others to murder Americans anywhere they could be found.

He said the object of the conspiracy that he joined in the late 1980s was to force the United States out of the Mideast.

Mohamed was among 17 people named so far in an indictment that resulted from the August 7, 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

Mohamed, a native of Egypt, left the U.S. Army in 1989 after three years of service. In the military, he earned a Parachute Badge and an M-16 Expert Badge, teaching soldiers in the special forces about Muslim culture.

In entering his plea, Mohamed read from a statement in which he admitted he helped secretly move bin Laden from Pakistan to Sudan and trained members of his terrorist organization, al Qaeda.

Bin Laden, a Saudi-born millionaire, has been portrayed by the U.S. government as the mastermind of the bombings of the U.S. embassies.

Mohamed, during his plea, pointed the finger at bin Laden as central in a massive conspiracy by members of an Islamic jihad to target U.S. military installations and embassies worldwide.

"The objective of all of this was to attack any Western target in the Middle East," Mohamed said.

-- (republicans@betray.america), October 21, 2000

Answers

Amazing. These Republicans should be in jail, not running for president. Here is proof that Ronald Reagan was working for Bin Laden, and do you hear a peep about this in the Republican controlled media. And to think, Reagan is a better man than shrub. Just think what shrub will do to betray this country.

-- we need (gore@in.2000), October 21, 2000.

Funny thread! Thanks for the humor...

-- David (David@bzn.com), October 21, 2000.

Let's see, how many people were killed in those bomb attacks -- 224?

Where exactly do you find "humor" in this, David? Enlighten me please.

-- Patricia (PatriciaS@lasvegas.com), October 21, 2000.


In the title Patricia, thats where the humor is. Another example of laying the blame for EVERYTHING on the grave of Ronald Reagan, one of the most popular US presidents of his time. Some US soldiers of US descent have been convicted of murder against civlians in the US...shall we also blame the Presidents? Death is not funny, but nonsense such as this is.

-- David (David@bzn.com), October 21, 2000.

The title does not lay blame or allege intent, it merely states true fact. If the situation were reversed, and this had occurred under a Democratic administration, right-wingers like Rush Limbaugh would take such a finding and turn it into a full-blown intentional crime by a traitor.

-- (just@the.facts.maam), October 21, 2000.


Personally, I think that it is unfair to blame Reagan. My impression [not just from the press] is that he seldom had any idea what was being done. When he claimed ignorance, I believe he was being honest. He did a lot of damage to the country, but let us keep criticism on an honest level.

Best wishes,,,,,

Z

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), October 21, 2000.


Moderation questions? read the FAQ