Court martial recommended for National Guardsman

By Ray Rivera
Seattle Times staff reporter

Ryan Anderson

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Col. Patrick Reinert, an Army reserve lawyer who presided over the two-day preliminary hearing at Fort Lewis, made his recommendation following the government's closing argument.

"These are serious criminal offenses which presented a real and present danger to U.S. soldiers serving in harm's way," Reinert said.

As is typical in military Article 32 hearings, which serve the same purpose as a grand jury in civilian courts, Anderson's lawyer did not call any defense witnesses or make a closing argument.

Asked by Reinert if he would like to make a statement on his own behalf, Anderson, sitting alert in desert fatigues and a crew cut, said: "No sir."

Anderson is charged with five counts of trying to give aid and intelligence to people he believed to be members of the al-Qaida terrorist network. The most serious charge, attempting to aid the enemy, carries a maximum penalty of death.

Reinert's recommendation will now go to Fort Lewis commander, Lt. General Edward Soriano. It will be up to Soriano to determine whether to proceed with a court martial and whether Anderson will face capital charges. There was no indication of when he will make his decision.

The military's general court martial is reserved for soldiers accused of the most serious crimes. Except in capital cases, the defendant has the choice of being tried by a military judge alone or by a judge and panel of five or more members. In a capital case, a 12-member panel will be automatically imposed.

Anderson, 26, a Muslim convert who grew up in Everett, was a tank crewman with the Washington National Guard's 81st Armored Brigade. He was arrested Feb. 12 after a government sting operation at Fort Lewis, where his unit was in final training for a year-long deployment to Iraq.

Day two of the hearing began with a closed-door session for classified testimony. Reporters were not allowed in the courtroom.

The closed session was followed by closing arguments in which Army prosecutors reviewed evidence, saying it was "only appropriate" to proceed to a court-martial.
 
"It's clear Specialist Anderson believed he was communicating with the enemy of the United States," Army prosecutor Maj. Chris Jenks said.

Punctuating his words with a raised voice, Jenks added: "He described the means and methods ... of killing U.S. soldiers."

Yesterday, prosecutors showed a video of Anderson talking to undercover agents he allegedly believed to be al-Qaida recruiters. In the hour-long video, Anderson gave the agents unclassified schematics of M1A1 Abrams tanks and described ways of destroying the vehicles and killing the crews. He also spoke about the possibility of defecting to join the terrorist group and offered to help train al-Qaida fighters to assault U.S. convoys.

The agents met with Anderson in early February in a covered parking garage near Seattle Center and filmed the encounter on hidden camera.

"What organization do you think we are?" asked one of the agents, speaking in an Arabic accent and calling himself Mohammed.

"I believe you are what Americans call al-Qaida," Anderson replied.

When the other agent asked about Humvees equipped with added armor, Anderson replied that the vehicles were still vulnerable, particularly the windshield.

"It would be very easy to kill a driver, or the crew inside," he said.

According to testimony yesterday, Anderson first came to the attention of investigators through a Montana judge who spent her off-hours hunting for terrorists on the Internet. Shannen Rossmiller from Conrad, Mont., testified that she was monitoring a Web site that catered to Muslim extremists when she came across a posting by an "Amid Abdul Rashid."

After a series of searches, she traced the name to Anderson and, posing as a Muslim extremist, exchanged e-mails with him. Learning that he was a member of the military, and believing that he might be a threat, she contacted authorities.

Anderson told her "he was curious if a brother fighting for the wrong side could defect," Rossmiller testified yesterday.

Once alerted by Rossmiller, the FBI contacted military-intelligence officers, who set up a sting operation and traded dozens of text messages with Anderson. "Are you with us brother?" they asked in one. "Every step of the way, Inshallah (if God wills)," he replied, according to transcripts of the messages shown in court.

On Feb. 8, as his unit was undergoing pre-deployment training at Fort Lewis, Anderson met with undercover Officer Ricardo Romero at a bookstore in nearby Lakewood, Romero testified.

Romero said he asked if Anderson could provide a passport photo and a military manual. Anderson agreed, Romero said.

The next day, Anderson met with Romero and the second agent near Seattle Center. According to video shown of the encounter, Anderson told the men that his mother was Jordanian and that he had converted to Islam because he "found no faith in Christian teachings and looked for a way to fill the emptiness."

After being asked why he would want to help al-Qaida, Anderson replied on the video: "While I love my country, I think the leaders have taken this horrible road. I have no belief in what the American Army has asked me to do. They have sent me to die."

The prosecutors also called two civilian witnesses who work for the military. They testified that Anderson's statements about the vulnerabilities of the Abrams tanks were accurate.

Under cross-examination by Anderson's lawyer, Maj. Joseph Morse, Romero acknowledged that some of the things Anderson told him, such as his mother being from Jordan, were untrue.

Romero also acknowledged that Anderson said things that were exaggerated or untrue, such as his claim of being a qualified pilot and holding a concealed-weapons permit.

Anderson and his lawyer have declined repeated interview requests. Anderson has been held at a Fort Lewis jail since his arrest.

Ray Rivera: 206-464-2926 or rayrivera@seattletimes.com