CO skipped testifying in his court-martial

[GreatAmerican]

<p><a href=“http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/10/ap_steele_071018/[/url]”>http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/10/ap_steele_071018/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>

A former U.S. commander at the jail that held Saddam Hussein chose not to testify in his own defense Thursday in the first court-martial on charges of aiding the enemy since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.</p>

<p>Lt. Col. William H. Steele, 52, faces a life sentence if convicted on charges he allowed high-ranking former regime prisoners use his cell phone for unmonitored calls. It is not known if Saddam was among them.</p>

<p>Steele’s case has raised issues on defining who is considered an “enemy.” The defense maintains that Saddam regime detainees, once in jail and on trial, should be viewed as civilians in U.S. custody…

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[GreatAmerican]

<p><a href=“http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/19/AR2007101900562.html?hpid=moreheadlines[/url]”>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/19/AR2007101900562.html?hpid=moreheadlines&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>

A former U.S. commander at the jail that held Saddam Hussein was acquitted Friday of aiding the enemy by loaning an unmonitored cell phone to an inmate, but a military judge convicted him of three lesser charges. </p>

<p>Lt. Col. William H. Steele, 52, had faced a life sentence if convicted of accusations he allowed high-ranking former regime prisoners use of his cell phone for unmonitored calls. </p>

<p>The judge, Lt. Col. Timothy Grammel, found him not guilty of that charge but convicted him of unauthorized possession of classified documents, behavior unbecoming an officer for an inappropriate relationship with an interpreter, and failing to obey an order…

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