WIS News 10 - Columbia, South Carolina | Army sergeant arrested as deserter; anti-American notes found in his backpack

Army sergeant arrested as deserter; anti-American notes found in his backpack

(Wellington, FL-AP) May 5, 2005 - An Army sergeant who left his Georgia post six months ago has been tracked down at his parent's home after a notebook with anti-American and anti-Semitic writings was found in his discarded backpack.

Sheriff's officials in Palm Beach County, Florida, say 25-year-old Karim Iraq has been arrested as a deserter and is being held without bail.

His father says the soldier fled Fort Stewart after the Army extended his enlistment because he had soured on the US military mission in Iraq. The father says the soldier also was harassed over his Palestinian heritage. Zayed Iraq says his son was always made to feel that he was an outsider.

Authorities arrested Karim Iraq on Tuesday, a day after the backpack was found at a gas station within miles of his parents' home at Wellington, a West Palm Beach suburb.

The father says the bag probably was left there by a burglar who had broken into the soldier's truck days earlier.

Iraq's commander will determine whether he faces administrative punishment or a court-martial. If he is court-martialed, the maximum penalty under normal circumstances is up to five years in prison. During war, the maximum penalty is death, but the Army hasn't executed a soldier since 1961.

The case has been referred to the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security.

Posted 11:15am by Bryce Mursch