DON'T BE LIKE MIKE

Portland Man Strikes Plea Deal on Terror Charges (AP, August 06, 2003)

A software engineer pleaded guilty Wednesday to a charge of aiding the Taliban, agreeing to testify against other suspects in exchange for the dropping of other terrorism charges.

Maher "Mike" Hawash, one of the so-called "Portland Seven," will serve at least seven years in federal prison under the deal, which was approved by U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft.

Hawash pleaded guilty to conspiring to provide services to the Taliban. Prosecutors agreed to drop charges of conspiring to levy war against the United States and conspiring to provide material support for terrorism.

"You and the others in the group were prepared to take up arms, and die as martyrs if necessary, to defend the Taliban. Is this true?" U.S. District Judge Robert E. Jones asked Hawash during the hearing.

"Yes, your honor," Hawash replied.

We eagerly await the apologies to Mr. Ashcroft from the libertarians, civil libertarians, and Leftists who declared the arrest of this jihadi a sign that our liberties were being assaulted irresponsibly. If you want some sense of how inbred the Internet culture truly is, consider how many of the people who were outraged by his case seem to have been convinced he must be innocent just because he was a software engineer. Posted by Orrin Judd at August 7, 2003 12:19 AM