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| Down Under |
| Army manual 'at accused's home' |
| 2006-05-09 |
| A UNITED States army officer today identified material allegedly found at the home of accused Sydney terrorist Faheem Khalid Lodhi as excerpts from a US army training manual. Prosecutors in Lodhi's NSW Supreme Court trial say the extracts, under the heading "The Mujahid's Handbook", were among material inciting jihad allegedly seized during an ASIO search of his home in October 2003. The manual was recommended as "a great resource for those of us travelling to the battlefield or for those wanting to learn more on the tricks or methods used by our enemies, so that we may defeat them", the jury has previously been told. Lodhi is accused of plotting to bomb the national electricity supply system or several Sydney defence sites. The 36-year-old architect has pleaded not guilty to four terrorism-related charges. His trial today heard evidence from Lieutenant Colonel Kevin Croteau, the US army's liaison officer based at Sydney's Victoria Barracks. Crown prosecutor Richard Maidment SC showed him four lever-arch folders of material downloaded from the internet. Lt Col Croteau, who has served in the army for almost 30 years, said they were accurate copies of the US Army Field Manual used in military training. The field manual was available to the public through US freedom of information laws and was accessible on the Internet, he said. Cross-examined by defence counsel Phillip Boulten SC, Lt Col Croteau said the material was not secret. "You can confirm that the material is circulating on the Internet at various sites and therefore is absolutely freely available to anyone in the world?" Mr Boulten asked. "That's correct," the officer replied. The trial continues tomorrow before Justice Anthony Whealy. |
| Posted by:Oztralian |
| #2 We'll be screwed when terrorists take up baseball. |
| Posted by: ed 2006-05-09 22:08 |
| #1 "We not only found a copy of Army Field Manual 21-20 in his home, but he had circled the passage about Army Conditioning Drill 1, Exercise 4, 'The Push-Up'. Such information, in the wrong hands, could result in significant improvements in the enemies' upper body strength, which could be used to directly menace our soldiers!" |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2006-05-09 22:06 |