National Guardsman has been charged with espionage

[southerngirlwriter]

http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/02/12/natl.guard.espionage/index.html

[Nihil]

1. <Sniff> <Sniff> Hmmm

<snip>

Anderson allegedly offered to pass the information to al Qaeda agents
through an Internet chat room, Pentagon officials said. But it is not
believed he actually made contact with al Qaeda members, the sources
said.

<snip>

Officials said Anderson, a tank crewman with the 303rd ... was the
only target of the sting.

<snip>

Sources said Anderson converted to Islam several years ago.

<snip>

So this report is basically stating that a single member of a tank
unit undergoing basic training (i.e., pretty damn inexperienced with
the ways of the wicked world) was targeted with a agent provocateur
operation (involving how many agents?) and responded with an "offer"
(allegedly) to pass "information" through an internet chat room???

And the justification for setting up this sting was what?
The anonymous sources that claim he converted to Islam years ago?
Are these the same anonymous sources that acknowledge that he HASN'T
actually made contact with "Al Qaeda" anyway?

Poor bastard. Not only stitched up in going to Iraq but stitched up
good and proper before he even leaves the country!

Sounds like someone in the Pentagon decided that Mr.Anderson would
best serve his country by being splattered across the newspapers as
1) a distraction from the other news
2) a reminder that converting to Islam turns All-American Boys into traitors
3) an excuse to scare the crap out of any newbies venturing onto the
internet in the search for the truth that isn't printed by US media.

I trust you realise that if I was somehow tied into this mythical
"al Qaeda" (defence requires proving a negative), all of you good
people on the board who have written informative threads would be
in the same situation as that kid ...

Nihil
(Edited for a typo)

[FatSlob]

3. Wait, I'm not sure what you are saying here...

Nihil wrote:

"I trust you realise that if I was somehow tied into this mythical
"al Qaeda" (defence requires proving a negative),..."

Maybe I'm dumb, but could you further explain this line? Do you think a-Q doesn't exist? Also, please explain the (defense requires proving a negative) part of your post. Call me a dumb NuBee if you will. Thanks.

[Nihil]

5. al Qaeda is the bogeyman of this decade

> Do you think a-Q doesn't exist?

Yes and no. That helped didn't it? :-)
Yes, some entity named "al Qaeda" exists.
No, it isn't the "OH MY GOD! THEY'VE KILLED KENNY!!" terror that the
politicians and media would have us believe.

Previous decades have had their own bogeymen (including the infamous
"Reds under the bed" and the "Yellow Peril") but since 1998 or so,
the current one has taken precedence.

Check out Snowball in "Animal Farm".

Everything that goes wrong is blamed on "al Qaeda". I'd guess that
at least half the American population think al Qaeda worked for Saddam
Hussein. Not necessarily their fault, just their indoctrination.

> please explain the (defense requires proving a negative) part

How would you (hypothetically) prove that I'm a member of al Qaeda?
How would you prove that I'm not a member?

One answer requires the belief of a statement by me. My "word" (if
you'll pardon a slightly archaic phrase).

The other requires the production of a false statement (and as many
false witnesses as the "judge" requires) with the sole intention of
smearing my name, generating adverse publicity and keeping the hype
level high.

If I had to fight against the latter false statements, I would have
to prove that I was NOT a member of an organisation - proving a
negative.

> Call me a dumb NuBee if you will.

Not in the least. Welcome to DU! :hi:

Nihil

[FatSlob]

6. I think I get it.

Proving a negative would be like being in a court where the burden of proof was on the defendant. Like the Salem Witch Trials, they were accused of being witches and had to prove that they were not witches in order to not be executed. Whereas a "normal" system would force the accusers to prove that defendants were witches.

Also, from reading your post, you think that a-Q is a real organization, but are not nearly as screemy-meemy scary and huge and insidious and widespread as some believe.

Did I get it all right?

Thanks for your reply and helping out the NuBee!

[Just Me]

4. Nihil, I agree with your assessment *eom*

[Nihil]

2. BBC report (in case anyone's interested)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3484377.stm

Appears that the chap is 26 - not as young as I'd thought (they seem
to be showing a high-school photo with each article).

<snip>
Our correspondent says details of this case remain murky and
precisely why Mr Anderson might initially have come under suspicion
is not immediately clear.

This apparent security scare could raise new alarms in the minds of
the American public, at least about the reliability of some Muslim
military personnel, he adds.

But US military officials aren't drawing any wider conclusions right
now. They are anxious to attract more Muslim recruits to help with
operations in Iraq.
<snip>

Talk about sending mixed messages ...

Nihil