Officer calls for soldier's court-martial in Iraq grenade attack

FORT KNOX, Ky. -- An Army investigating officer recommended Friday that Sgt. Asan Akbar, a Los Angeles soldier accused of a grenade and rifle attack on his superior officers in Kuwait, stand trial at a general court-martial.

Lt. Col. Patrick Reinert ruled swiftly after the close of a weeklong preliminary hearing that the March 23 ambush was "a surprise attack executed by stealth." During the hearing, Army prosecutors and defense lawyers argued about whether Akbar deliberately planned the attack or whether he was being falsely accused because of his deeply held Islamic religious beliefs.

"There are reasonable grounds to believe the accused committed the offenses," Reinert said. "Due to the extremely serious nature of his office, I recommend that this case be referred to a general court- martial."

Reinert, a military reservist who also serves as an assistant federal prosecutor in Iowa, by law had about 10 days to make his recommendation. Instead, he surprisingly announced his findings shortly after closing arguments.

Before the decision was announced, Akbar rocked nervously in his chair. Afterward, he showed little emotion, except an occasional deep shrug. A devout Muslim who is in the 101st Airborne Division, Akbar allegedly had expressed fears before the attack that U.S. soldiers were going to "rape and plunder" Muslim women and children during the war with Iraq.

Reinert's recommendation now goes to Lt. Col. Peter DeLuca, who as Akbar's battalion commander could overrule the finding and suggest that Akbar be set free.

But if DeLuca does not overrule the decision, the case would be forwarded to Maj. Gen. David H. Petraeus, who could dismiss the case or send Akbar to a general court-martial proceeding. Petraeus also could designate the matter as a capital murder case. Both DeLuca and Petraeus are serving in Iraq.

Two officers were killed and 14 others were injured in the attack at Camp Pennsylvania in Kuwait near the Iraqi border. Akbar is charged with two counts of premeditated homicide and three counts of attempted murder.

Reinert discounted testimony from two witnesses who had insisted that Akbar did not match the description of the man they saw firing on officers as they ran from the burning tents. He noted that it was dark outside, and that evidence showed that Akbar had turned off the exterior lights.

But military defense lawyers said the government's case had too many "gaps," the crime scene was contaminated and two soldiers had insisted that Akbar did not match the description of the man they saw firing an M-4 rifle.

According to prosecutors, Akbar lobbed grenades into tents filled with sleeping army officers. The tents burst into flames and injured officers screamed in pain, while other supervisors rushed outside thinking that they were under attack from Iraqi forces. As they ran out, prosecutors said, Akbar fired his M-4 rifle, killing Capt. Christopher Seifert and wounding Maj. Kenneth Romaine. A second officer, Maj. Gregory Stone, later died from grenade wounds.

In defending Akbar, Lt. Col. Victor Hansen said the government offered no expert witnesses to explain ballistic tests on the bullets and Akbar's rifle.

He also said many shell casings were not recovered at the scene, and that the campsite, inside and outside the tents, was trampled by soldiers and not properly preserved for investigators to review.

At the campsite, he said, "people were groping in and out of that crime scene for hours and hours before (criminal investigators) arrived. This crime scene was a state of confusion for many hours, people moving weapons and moving gear and taking equipment into and out of the tents."

Hansen noted that several other officers initially were missing, as was Akbar, and that two Kuwaiti translators, first suspected as assailants, have not been thoroughly investigated. In fact, Hansen said, the identities of the translators are not even known, and their names were not included in the government's 2,000-page report on the case.

Hansen said Col. Ben Hodges, the highest-ranking officer at the camp, decided instead to suspect Akbar, based on his ethnicity and religion.

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