 | See here for the story posted when the gentleman was indicted. Lots of interesting details not included in this article. |
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (AP) -- An Iraqi man who had claimed he was innocent of terrorism-related charges did an abrupt about-face Friday, pleading guilty to trying to funnel weapons and cash to al-Qaeda operatives in his home country.
| Fascinating. What d'you suppose brought about that change of heart? |
Waad Ramadan Alwan, 30, appeared in federal court in this south-central Kentucky college town and pleaded guilty to conspiring to attack American soldiers in Iraq and to use a weapon of mass destruction and to attempting to provide material support to terrorists.
Alwan was set to sit in solemn silence in a dull, dark dock, in a pestilential prison with a life-long lock in May in Bowling Green and had previously pleaded not guilty
"Wudn't me."
to charges in a 23-count indictment that also named fellow Iraqi Mohanad Shareef Hammadi.
| Mr. Hammadi finds himself in the classic Prisoner's Dilemma. Will he share all he knows or nobly take the fall after his partner in crime betrayed him? |
"Today in open court, Waad Alwan admitted to engaging in terrorist activities both here in the United States and in Iraq," U.S. Attorney David J. Hale said in a statement. "He acknowledged he had built and placed numerous improvised bombs (IEDs) aimed at killing and injuring American soldiers in Iraq, and he admitted that he tried to send numerous weapons from Kentucky to Iraq to be used against American soldiers."
Hale said the joint efforts of federal and local law enforcement had thwarted "the ongoing intentions of an experienced terrorist." |