Lt. Col. William H. Steele, one-time commander of a prison in Iraq, has been charged with aiding the enemy. Steele is said to have passed an unmonitored cell phone to detainees.

What most media accounts of the charges filed against Steele leave out is that he is also charged with sleeping with a detainee's daughter. So, this appears to be a case of a soldier who is asked to do a "favor" for the father of the girl he's sleeping with.

------
UPDATE: Commenter Y7 thinks he knows who the girl is. He reports that Steele is said to have had a hot interpretter. To quote him:

And she was frickin' HOT. And by hot, I mean, SMOKIN....And she wasn't just wartime hot, she was anywhere hot.

Just kidding. It doesn't excuse him, but now we get it. Kind of makes the SNAFU analogy below all the more relevant. And, just to clarify, Y7 isn't 100% sure that Steele was sleeping with the same smokin hot interpreter or not. But, we kind of gather that he has a stiffy just thinking about her....
----------

Why does this remind me of the WWII War Department cartoon featuring the voice of Mel Blanc as Private SNAFU? In the particular episode, which I've posted below, SNAFU reveals classified information to a "dame" while drunk.

My first reaction when I heard about this on the radio was, "this man is a traitor! Get a rope." But the charges actually read more like a case of an officer who was recklessly careless and naive.

Below the video you'll find the official list of the charges filed against Lt. Col. William H. Steele. There are actually four charges against him. Oddly, one of the specific instances of violating military rules is that he possessed pornography. Gee, that would be odd for a soldier to have porn. UPDATE: Steele was the commander of the 451st Military Police Detachment at Camp Cropper just outside of Baghdad. Some of the charges (porn??) unrelated to the most serious of aiding the enemy are said to have been at a later posting where he was in charge of a provisional transition team at Camp Victory.

Also, I do not mean to minimize his offenses--there is no excuse for letting your penis cloud your judgement. In addition, the other offenses seem to indicate that he was an overall lousy officer (except for the porn, which is against the rules, but silly rules indeed). But he does not seem to be a "traitor", but, rather, a SNAFU type careless idiot.

Baghdad, Iraq- Lt. Col. William H. Steele has been charged with offenses under the provisions of the Uniformed Code of Military Justice.

These charges are merely an accusation of wrongdoing. Lt. Col. Steele is presumed innocent unless and until he his proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of any alleged offense.
CHARGE I: Violation of the UCMJ, Article 104
Specification: In that Lieutenant Colonel William H. Steele, did, between on or about 1 October 2005 and 31 October 2006, aid the enemy by providing an unmonitored cellular phone to detainees.

CHARGE II: Violation of the UCMJ, Article 134
Specification: In that Lieutenant Colonel William H. Steele, did between on or about 31 October 2006 and 22 February 2007, having unauthorized possession of classified information, violate Title 18, United States Code, Section 793(e), by knowingly and willfully retaining the same and failing to deliver it to the officer or employee of the United States.

CHARGE III: Violation of the UCMJ, Article 133
Specification 1: In that Lieutenant Colonel William H. Steele, did, between on or about 20 October 2005 and 22 February 2007, knowingly and wrongfully fraternize with the daughter of a detainee, wherein such acts constituted conduct unbecoming an officer in the armed forces.

Specification 2: In that Lieutenant Colonel William H. Steele, did, between on or about 1 December 2005 and 11 December 2006, knowingly and wrongfully provide special privileges to and maintain an inappropriate relationship with an interpreter, wherein such acts constituted conduct unbecoming an officer in the armed forces.

CHARGE IV: Violation of the UCMJ, Article 92
Specification 1: In that Lieutenant Colonel William H. Steele, did, between on or about 18 February 2007 and 21 February 2007, violate a lawful general regulation, to wit: paragraph 7-4, Army Regulation 380-5, dated 29 September 2000, by wrongfully and knowingly storing classified information in his living space.

Specification 2: In that Lieutenant Colonel William H. Steele, did, between on or about 1 September 2006 and 21 February 2007, violate a lawful general regulation, to wit: paragraph 4-32, Army Regulation 380-5, dated 29 September 2000, by improperly marking classified information.

Specification 3: In that Lieutenant Colonel William H. Steele, having knowledge of a lawful order issued by the 89th Military Police Brigade Deputy Commander, did, at or near Camp Victory, Iraq, on or about 22 February 2007, fail to obey the order.

Specification 4: In that Lieutenant Colonel William H. Steele, did, between on or about 18 February 2007 and 21 February 2007, violate a lawful general order, to wit: paragraph 2e, Multi-National Corps-Iraq General Order Number 1, dated 16 December 2006, by wrongfully and knowingly possessing pornographic videos.

Specification 5: In that Lieutenant Colonel William H. Steele, between on or about 1 October 2005 and 31 October 2006, was derelict in the performance of his duties in that he willfully failed to fulfill his obligations as an approving authority in the expenditure of Field Ordering Officer funds.

Posted by: Rusty at 04:27 PM | Comments (40) | Add Comment
Post contains 955 words, total size 6 kb.

1 Bloomberg is reporting 9 counts against him.
Steele was commander of Camp Cropper where most of the high value prisoners were held, including Sadaam. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=a_HtSvzqZoRs&refer=us

Posted by: John Ryan at April 26, 2007 09:46 AM (TcoRJ)

2 I could see a private or corporal to make a mistake like that; but for a Lieutenant Colonel to be seduced ......... Let's just say I'm hoping the charges are proved to be false.

Posted by: Garduneh Mehr at April 26, 2007 09:50 AM (j97MF)

3 Hang him if he's guilty.

"Coercion by female" is a favorite tactic, it reminds me of the 1987 Marine Spy Scandal.

Posted by: blackflag at April 26, 2007 10:08 AM (Mq5jS)

4 Also Rusty EVERY major news organization that I saw that carried the story always mentioned the detainee's daughter. It would be hard for any to pass up placing THAT count in the story. No word yet if he will at a later point be charged with "sleeping with the enemy"

Posted by: John Ryan at April 26, 2007 10:13 AM (TcoRJ)

5 There are four "charges" but 9 "counts".  That means that he violated four military rules, but there are 9 specific cases of these charges.

Posted by: Rusty at April 26, 2007 10:14 AM (JQjhA)

6 any man that can get hard over a filthy muslim deserves death. this is a subhuman race of animals we should be slaughtering not consorting with.

not only does this traitor need to be executed but his entire family should also face execution as this is obviously a genetic flaw in his line.

disgusting.

Posted by: Don Bell at April 26, 2007 10:16 AM (Nhfns)

7 I'm sorry, I'll have to post "as of this writing" next time.  I'm not sure if you're becoming a bigger dick or just getting downright petty with what you disagree with John Ryan?

Posted by: Rusty at April 26, 2007 10:16 AM (JQjhA)

8 Uh huh.

When does harry reid get tried for being a traitor? And when does nancy pelosi get tried for sedition?

I'm just askin'....

Posted by: locomotivebreath1901 at April 26, 2007 10:19 AM (Cy7OH)

9 Its probably not forbidden or uncommon for soldiers to have porn, but in the Middle East, remember, we must at all times maintain an order of civility so as not to upset the tender sensibilities of our Muslim hosts. Sarcasm off. This is the same type of bullshit that prevents our guys from having a beer after going on patrol.

Posted by: Jack's Smirking Revenge at April 26, 2007 10:33 AM (mak/j)

10 Possession of porn is a direct violation of General Order #1.  If it can be proven that he had the female in his quarters, it would be a direct violation of General Order #2.  No booze, no porn, no private time with the opposite sex behind closed doors. Them there are the rules (and are the most devastating for morale!)

To clarify, there were times that Hussein was in Cropper but he was mostly kept in an island prison near the Al-Faw palace. Cropper was originally the HVD center but the desire to close Abu Ghraib resulted in a brand new prison complex being built at Camp Cropper. When Abu closed all the regular disposable terrorists were transferred there.

Posted by: y7 at April 26, 2007 12:23 PM (NxCJt)

11 Violating the UCMJ to get some poontang doesn't make it less of a violation. As a matter of fact, it only serves to turn the offense into treason AND immoral behavior.

Sorry, but he knew damn well what he was doing. He needed to hear a concerto played on his meat whistle, so he willingly and deliberately provided a detainee with access to the outside world. If proven guilty of such, hang him.

One charge I disagree with, however, is the pornography charge. Not because it won't stick, but because the UCMJ is beyond stupid in that respect. Of course, even an imbecilic law is still the law, I'm just saying that I never understood that nonsensical prohibition.

Soldiers are men (for the most part), and men will BE men. Their sexual urges aren't going to evaporate because they're in uniform, and no amount of counter-productive, Puritan bullshit regulations will change that.

"Counter-productive?"

Why, yes. Field brothels and acceptance of "jerking off" material have never been a way of "being nice to the soldiers", it's to keep them from raping the locals or otherwise engage in unacceptable conduct. Try to keep soldiers from shooting their wad for a year and you'll have a disaster on your hands sooner or later, I guarantee it.

But I digress wildly, so just disregard me riding my hobby horse for the last few paragraphs.

Posted by: Misha I at April 26, 2007 01:19 PM (3VtXI)

12 Ryan has no life. If he did he would not bother commenting at my site which we all know is the lamest site in the world. Amen. How did the dude get to be an O-5 anyway if he is such a loser?

Posted by: SeeMonk at April 26, 2007 02:37 PM (2HM/d)

13 This isn't about pornography.  It's about a memeber of the military that betrayed his mission and should defiinitely be punished.  He let a prisoner use an UNMONITORED phone.  Who knows where those calls went to?  He could have placed his troops in danger!

Posted by: pivalleygirl at April 26, 2007 03:14 PM (x/ji8)

14 The way I read it, the detainee's daughter in Charge III Spec I is te interpreter from Charge III Spec II. Its been awhile but when I was on Abu I remember LTC Steele and there was a rumor about him and an interpreter. And he was frickin' HOT. And by hot, I mean, SMOKIN.

But that is beside the point. I thought a Staff Sergeant was hitting that one since he was never more than a foot away from her. She was that hot...

Anyway, one story was that she was an interpreter up north in Mosul who was fired due to ties to the insurgency.  Steele hired her innocently enough on Abu where she worked virtually unnoticed until someone from up north recognized her.  Then Steele did some things to try to protect her, can't remember everything.

I don't know if this all the same story or not. If it is, all I can say is: she was that frickin' hot!!  (Especially so on the tight red shirt days! On red shirt days in the chow hall, faithful husbands would lose the ability to communicate verbally.  There would be groups of guys circling the salad bar waiting for her to pick a spot to sit and trying to box out that SSG.)

And she wasn't just wartime hot, she was anywhere hot.

Posted by: y7 at April 26, 2007 04:05 PM (NxCJt)

15 Correction. Third sentence. Do I even need to point it out?

Posted by: y7 at April 26, 2007 04:06 PM (NxCJt)

16 Hey! And looking at the dates, some of this happened on Abu Ghraib!  Abu didn't close until July or Aug 2006 and this dates to Oct of 2005.

Interesting, when I read it I immediately thought of when they were going to ban cell phones for servicemembers (we could buy Iraqna prepaid phones and call home with them) or they were going to jam the signals because they couldn't figure out how detainees had charged cell phones but no chargers.

Makes sense now.

Posted by: y7 at April 26, 2007 04:12 PM (NxCJt)

17 John Ryan you terrorist pig! You are scum, The lowest of low. You think we are infidels but it is you who is the idiot. Lay off the soldiers. We are not STUPID JOHN RYAN go peddle your propoganda elsewhere. We have not grown up in caves as your like has. I don't know if you are a convert or "home grown" but you can bet your boots we will be watching you. I have been reading your comments on other sites and have your number. We all have the right to bear arms and remember that JOHN RYAN . Your comments are typical as what has been taught...to break down the resistance  We are not stupid and understand your motives. Tell me , when are you going to strap on the suicide vest or are you in propoganda department?  I spit on you, you coward!

Posted by: allahakchew at April 26, 2007 04:23 PM (BrndJ)

18 He let a prisoner use an UNMONITORED phone.  Who knows where those calls went to?

He just wanted to vote for American Idol

Posted by: Randman at April 26, 2007 05:08 PM (Sal3J)

19 I'm witholding judgement until I see pic's of the Smoking hot daughter...........
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
http://www.mp3.com.au/artist.asp?id=16834
 

Posted by: doriangrey at April 26, 2007 05:36 PM (XvkRd)

20
I'm witholding judgement until I see pic's of the Smoking hot daughter

Where is Ragnor when you need him?

Posted by: Randman at April 26, 2007 07:35 PM (Sal3J)

21 God damn right where is that slacker...........
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
http://www.mp3.com.au/artist.asp?id=16834

Posted by: doriangrey at April 26, 2007 07:51 PM (XvkRd)

22 OH……

Posted by: Tracy at April 26, 2007 07:56 PM (8lLqk)

23 http://www.igametc.com

Posted by: Tracy at April 26, 2007 07:57 PM (8lLqk)

24 Passed unmonitored cellphones to detainees. Boot him out of the military. (No pension please) and don't allow him back in the United States. A son of a bitch that would put getting laid before the safety of our military doesn't deserve any pity. If any calls placed on the cellphones he supplied the enemy resulted in harm to our team he should be hung. I will be glad to pull the rope.

Posted by: greyrooster at April 26, 2007 08:20 PM (jmD0W)

25 My wife has been in Norfolk, Va all week on military business. I did pass up a hottie at the American Legion hall. Diffenately looked better than any muslim could. So proud of myself. Then again I was a Marine.

Posted by: greyrooster at April 26, 2007 08:36 PM (jmD0W)

26 greyrooster,
 

It depends on the circumstances. Kick him out of the military, Yes. If it was just a potential father-in-law talking to relatives trying to get out of jail, then no harm no foul. If he was talking to terrorists then the SSG needs to be charged with treason. Otherwise let the man bring his new bride home and make a regular life for the two of them. There is no need to make enemies out of people we really don’t need to and even SSG’s need love. Before we decide to crucify the man lets find out what really happened otherwise we are no better then the fucking commie/liberal leftards………..

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
http://www.mp3.com.au/artist.asp?id=16834

Posted by: doriangrey at April 26, 2007 08:37 PM (XvkRd)

27 any man that can get hard over a filthy muslim deserves death. this is
a subhuman race of animals we should be slaughtering not consorting
with.


Don Bell,

FUCK YOU MOBY.
1. Muslim is not a race.
2. My wife was a muslim
3. Google Sarah Shahi. If you can't get a hard on for her, you are gay.

Posted by: wooga at April 26, 2007 08:53 PM (t9sT5)

28 C'MON. C'MON, you people!  Honestly, 'wooga' is of course right.  Everyone in the Middle East is not scum!  I KNOW it makes it easier to think that.  If you have to go to war with people, it seems easier to hate them.  The trouble is, if you have even ONE arab or Iranian friend, EVER, you will feel like a jerk for bad mouthing them.  They are, in fact, very nice people.  Among this majority, there is a small minority who are very, very bad people.  I'm sorry to make your life complicated, but that's the way it is.

As for ROASTING this Leut. Col. long before the trial, have a heart.  Charges like these are titillating, and exciting, but they may be totally wrong.  Obvious alternative explanations include false charges leveled against him by ex-detainees who have a grudge against him!  Remember Kobe Bryant, the Duke students, and horribly, the Haditha marines.  They are now being quietly acquitted, because of compelling video evidence of their innocence.  From the beginning, that whole thing was an Al Qaida frame-up.  The MSM roasted those poor marines alive.

Posted by: DemocracyRules at April 26, 2007 09:35 PM (L/SIz)

29 Now all of a sudden the people in the prison are detainees. She was the daughter of a detainee. Insurgent ?? No! Terrorist ?? No !! her dad was just a detainee. And of course he never allowed anyone else to use his cell phone.
Allahalchew Actually you do not spit on me. You post anonymously that you spit on me. There is a difference. And as I have said to others who post insults; does insulting me make you feel better .... about being yourself ? As for "watching me" I have posted my address on more than one occasion and post under my real name. Would you care to do the same ?
As we have seen from the list of other courts-martial the military has a high rate of convictions. I would be surprised to see a Lt Col charged without strong evidence.

Posted by: John Ryan at April 26, 2007 09:44 PM (TcoRJ)

30 To: wooga
OK, I just googled (and oogled) Sarah Shahi.  I see your point, yess, I see your point.  Eyes like headlights, a body on fire, and approximately 25 sq ft, of soft, light brown skinn...

Posted by: DemocracyRules at April 26, 2007 09:46 PM (L/SIz)

31 To: allahakchew
Uh, time for hate management class, this is called channeling.  Could you please channel your anti-muslim hatred so as to arrange to deport Sarah Shahi?  She lives in Texas, and I want you to deport her to CANADA.  Please? Just one little deportation?  I promise to pick her up at the airport.

Posted by: DemocracyRules at April 26, 2007 09:57 PM (L/SIz)

32 Bullshit! This guy should have had the intelligence not to do something that dangerous to others. If he believed it was okay he should have gotten permission from a superior. I don't make excuses. We are at war. He's toast.

Posted by: greyrooster at April 26, 2007 09:59 PM (jmD0W)

33 And as I have said to others who post insults; does insulting me make you feel better

You have the maturity of a 12 year old John. You can dish it out but you sure as hell can't take it.

Posted by: Randman at April 26, 2007 10:08 PM (Sal3J)

34 Wooga: Your ole lady was a muslim because everyone else around her was a muslim. If a person grows up in a tribe of cannibals he will be a cannibal. What the cannibal does when he moves to America is what counts. Some Eskimos grow up eating muck luk. If you know what that is you can understand that enviroment means everything. And I hate all muslims.  If they change then I don't hate them anymore. I hate mosquitos that bite. If they quit biting I won't hate them anymore. If muslims stop their shit. I won't hate them anymore. Pretty simple huh.
 
 
 
 
And quit parading your wife. Friggin showoff. And no I didn't goggle her. I'm shit faced and may try to get her number. I get slapped a lot. But I used to get a lot. Ah! for the good ole days. Getting old is a pain in the ass. If I had to do it over again, I wouldn't. Just stay young. It's cheaper.

Posted by: greyrooster at April 26, 2007 10:13 PM (jmD0W)

35 John Lyin Ryan: Bullshit! Your posted address was a phoney. And you're a lucky little traitor.

Posted by: greyrooster at April 26, 2007 10:34 PM (jmD0W)

36 Don Bell: What are you still doing here? Didn't I tell you to go screw yourself?

Posted by: greyrooster at April 26, 2007 10:38 PM (jmD0W)

37 "Coercion by female"  The woman is called a 'swallow' in spy-speak, and her specific purpose is to compromise the targets affections.         So far, it looks like it worked here.             
                          USA, all the way!

Posted by: Michael Weaver at April 27, 2007 01:59 AM (2OHpj)

38 Any info on if this interpreter had ties to Qods Force?

This sounds too smooth to be an Al Qaeda operation, they'd offer goats or camels. The Iranians on the other hand have been nasty and global since the 1980's.

I'm intrigued by her coming from the North. IIRC both Yon and Michael Totten have reported lots of Qods Force Iranian terror activity up there.

Sorry, to me this stinks of Iran. Too smooth for Al Qaeda in Iraq.

Any info on how the troops felt about this Officer hob-nobbing with the hottie and trying to protect her? Yeesh. An Officer is supposed to protect his men and live like they do.

Probably a Clinton officer.

Posted by: Jim Rockford at April 27, 2007 03:16 AM (4878o)

39 "not just wartime hot"
LOL! We had a female in our unit who bluntly described herself as a "New York 6, Desert 10"

Posted by: BohicaTwentyTwo at April 27, 2007 07:17 AM (oC8nQ)

40 I'd have nailed her and told her some ridiculous lie. Then passed her around to anyone else horny in the desert.

Posted by: greyrooster at April 27, 2007 09:55 PM (7p5VY)

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