What great news!

The family of a Lebanese-American U.S. Marine kidnapped in Iraq said Tuesday that a mysterious visitor had told them Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun is free and well. Hours later, a Lebanese government official said the kidnappers released Hassoun after he pledged he would not return to the U.S. military. The official, who spoke on customary condition of anonymity, said Hassoun's whereabouts were unknown.

Today's news on the Marine Hostage who reportedly was beheaded over the weekend--a report later declared false by another Islamic group:

In a statement sent to Al-Jazeera, a group, calling itself "Islamic Response," said it was holding Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun, a U.S. Marine of Lebanese heritage. The group said he was safe at a location it did not identify.

We just returned from an afternoon viewing of Fahrenheit 911. We thought, and we were right, that it would be a patriotic way to spend the afternoon. We're not much for writing reviews, so we'll leave it at a few comments. The 9/11 stuff didn't blow us away, nor did the parts about connections to the Saudis and oil. We had read most of that stuff before. We got engrossed when the film moved on to the War in Iraq. And then to Flint, Michigan and got into the subject of army recruiting. The last half hour or so was great. Better than great. Of course, the audience cheered at the end.

As we left the theater, our friend Dr. P. had the best line. The film should be required viewing before anyone is allowed to cast a ballot in November.

Back-to-Iraq informs that Michael Moore has approved free downloads of the film.

Update: The new edition of Time has Michael Moore on the cover. In the article he says he doesn't want the film to be reduced to Bush vs. Kerry. The full article is available to subsrcibers only.

In related news, Bush today said the America is safer because Saddam is in prison. That's close to absurd. Maybe the people in Iraq are better off with Saddam gone, but there has not been an scintilla of evidence Saddam posed a threat to America.

Update: The Talahassee Democrat scrutinizes the alleged inaccuracies in the film.

There's hope:

On Sunday, the Ansar al-Sunna Army - a group that has claimed responsibility for past suicide bombings - said on its official Web site that it was not behind Saturday's statement. "In order to maintain our credibility in all issues we declare that this statement that was attributed to us has no basis of truth," it said. "Any statement that is not issued through our site, doesn't represent us," it said. The statement did not say whether Ansar al-Sunna Army is the group that snatched the 24-year-old Hassoun.

Here are some blogs following the story yesterday and today as events unfold:

The Moderate Voice
Dean's World
Back Country Conservative
Chris Short
Outside the Beltway
Wizbang Blog
Amanda Doherty (heads-up: several blogs have reported the goregous girl in the picture and described as the author is not the author of the blog and that the real author is her ex-boyfriend--we don't really care one way or the other)

Here is our report from yesterday. Classical Values writes why he will watch the video if there is one. There continues to be considerable debate in the blogosphere over whether to watch beheading videos. We don't choose to. Others do. If you want to watch, Ogrish is a site that carries them. The site contains ads depicting explicit p*rn, so be forewarned.

by TChris

The Army has charged three soldiers with manslaughter and a fourth with assault.

[I]nvestigators concluded that the soldiers had transported the two Iraqis to the bridge and pushed them off. Mr. Fadhil drowned, and Mr. Fadel swam ashore ....

The four were also charged with lying about their actions.

These crimes (and others described in the linked article) raise questions about jurisdiction over soldiers who commit crimes against Iraqis now that Iraq is "fully sovereign."

Despite an agreement to consult on military matters, Iraq and the United States lack a formal accord governing the status of foreign forces and are relying on an American occupation directive covering several important matters. But no commander believes American troops will be subject to Iraqi justice at this time.

Why doesn't a "fully sovereign" country have criminal jurisdiction over crimes committed against its citizens on its own soil?

An awful holiday report...

An Iraqi militant group claimed on a Web site Saturday that it has beheaded a captive U.S. Marine. The group, called the Ansar al-Sunna Army, posted a written statement on an Islamic web site claiming that it had killed Lebanese-born Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun.

"We would like to inform you that the Marine of Lebanese descent has been killed, and you will soon see the movie with your own eyes," said the statement, signed in the name of the group's leader, Abu Abdullah al-Hassan bin Mahmoud.

We won't be watching.

Update: More details here. The Islamics claim a woman lured him Hassoun off the base.

Moammar Gadhafi’s daughter has joined the international defense team representing Saddam Hussein. Aljazeera.com has this report.

Aicha Moammar Gadhafi, a law professor, prepares to form a Libyan law experts team to defend toppled Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, Ziad al-Khasawneh told The Associated Press. "The daughter of the Libyan president is welcomed to join us, and we consider her as an official member of the team," he said.

The comments following the article about Saddam's right to a defense are quite interesting.

How tough will it be to defend Saddam Hussein? From columnist John O'Farrell in today's Guardian.

Things haven't been made any easier for the defence counsel by the fact the trial is taking place in a location so secret that no one will actually tell them where the courtroom is. There will be video footage of the courtroom, but the judge's face will be pixelated to protect his identity. This is the only trial where it is the judge who has his head under a blanket as he is bundled into the courtroom. Or perhaps this is just because he's so embarrassed to be involved with such a meticulously stage-managed piece of theatre. The west's biggest baddie could have been tried by a democratic Iraqi regime, but that might have meant waiting until after the American elections.

....Of course, some sort of trial was required, if only to provide closure and a modicum of justice for the thousands who suffered under Saddam's brutal dictatorship. But this sham isn't it. And as they rejoin the world community, the Iraqis might just consider the bigger picture. This is election year in the United States and a successful prosecution of Saddam is the best fillip the George Bush re-election campaign could hope for. So to test the idea of genuine independence, in early November the Iraqis should ring up Washington and say: "We've finished the trial, George and, well, we decided to let him off..."

There's lots more.

The Washington Post has this account of Saddam Hussein's feisty court appearance today.

Update: Christine Amanpour provides a first hand account. BBC has good quotes from the hearing. [link via Norwegianity, who calls today's appearance "the mother of all perp walks.]

Update: Jeff at Protein Wisdom has a funny take on Saddam's courtroom theatrics.

Saddam Hussein's chief defense lawyer spoke out today and said any trial of his client will be a mockery of justice because his fate has already been decided:

"This is a mockery of justice. We are facing clear legal violations. ... The allegations that this is going to be a fair trial is baseless," said Mohammad Rashdan, one of a 20-member legal team appointed by Saddam's wife to represent him.

"Any trial of the president is illegal and unjust and it follows from the aggression that took place against Iraq. The trial is a farce and the guilty verdict had been issued even before the trial has begun," he added. Rashdan said he and his legal associates in the United States filed suits against the U.S. authorities for not allowing them access to Saddam. The defense team was not given any of the tons of documentation prepared by a special tribunal that will try the former Iraqi leader, he added.

by TChris

Saddam Hussein is heading back to Iraq, and it looks like he's facing a speedy trial.

Already there are pretrial negotiations over permitting Saddam's foreign legal team to work in Iraq, whether to televise the proceedings and whether to reinstate the harshest penalty in Iraq's legal code: hanging by the neck until dead.

Hussein will make his first appearance before the war crimes tribunal Thursday, when he and eleven of his lieutenants will be informed of the charges against them. Iraq will take physical custody of the prisoners on Wednesday.

Upon their arraignment, the dozen U.S. military detainees will be given the status of Iraqi criminal suspects, which gives them the right to attorneys or appointed counsel, Chalabi said.

The linked article deems Saddam the Iraqi O.J. Simpson. Don't expect the same trial result. Here's one barrier to assembling a dream team:

"How can the defense team go to a country where it doesn't enjoy any protection? They will kill us there," said an angry al-Khasawneh [one of Saddam's would-be defense attorneys].

by TChris

The Bush administration's aggressive use of the military not only means that the troops are spread thin, but that replacement troops are hard to find. The temporary solution:

The Army is preparing to notify about 5,600 retired and discharged soldiers who are not members of the National Guard or Reserve that they will be involuntarily recalled to active duty for possible service in Iraq or Afghanistan, Army officials said Tuesday.

Will they be ready to serve?

Unlike members of the National Guard and Reserve, the individual reservists do not perform regularly scheduled training. Any former enlisted soldier who did not serve at least eight years on active duty is in the Individual Ready Reserve pool, as are all officers who have not resigned their commission.