Sudan Responsible for Attack on the USS Cole

So this is a developing story...

Federal Judge Says Sudan is to Blame for Deadly USS Cole Bombing

NORFOLK, Va. — A federal judge said Wednesday that Sudan is responsible for the bombing of the USS Cole but he needs more time to determine damages for the families of the 17 sailors killed when terrorists bombed the ship in 2000.

"There is substantial evidence in this case presented by the expert testimony that the government of Sudan induced the particular bombing of the Cole by virtue of prior actions of the government of Sudan," U.S. District Judge Robert G. Doumar said.

I like the idea of compensatory damages -- but punitive damages could bankrupt some of those places...

But this would certainly shortchange the families if Navy earnings are the basis of compensation for their losses:

Doumar said that he would issue a written opinion later to fully explain his ruling. He requested additional paperwork, including tax returns of the sailors killed, to determine the appropriate damages.

Maybe the families should be allowed to present eveidence of the "value" of a life after Navy service: Former Pres. George Bush, Bill Cosby, Johnny Carson, R. Buckminster Fuller... On the other hand, maybe we should just say "Veteran" like all these and these and these and these...

I hope the numbers when they do calculate the damages are HUGE.

A salute to the fallen

Atlantic Fleet helicopter squadrons render honors as set out in Helo Squadrons Come Together to Honor Fallen Shipmate:

Sailors assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 28, HSC-2, HSC-22 and HSC-26 participated in a "missing man" formation during the funeral of Lt. Adam Dyer, of HSC-23, at Arlington National Cemetery on March 9.

Dyer and three other crew members assigned to HSC-23, based at Naval Air Station North Island, Calif., died when their Navy MH-60S Knighthawk helicopter crashed into the Pacific Ocean while conducting a routine training mission off USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) near San Clemente Island on Jan. 26.

A bit more here.

In Memory Of...

Elizabeth Ann Meriwether Donovan, 7 Oct 1930- 13 March 2007
Elegy
A good life, well lived.
Mrs. Ann Donovan, of Columbia, passed on 13 March after a tough struggle with cancer. She is survived by her husband Tim and daughter Kathy Donovan-Hanson, of Columbia, and son John of Leavenworth, Kansas, and grandchildren Tim, Patrick, Erin, and Andy of various and sundry addresses.

Re: Riverines

There's some interesting work going on right now as well about who's going to fill those billets for the next couple of squadrons. Good possibilities there. And let's not forget the AFRICOM standup, which might could use a couple of reincarnated Swifties now and again.

Oh by the way I saw that announcement at the same place I saw a certain book get a short review in the Army/Navy/etc. Times weeklies...they noticed! They finally noticed!

Catching Curveball

ABC:

The Iraqi defector known as Curveball, whose fabricated stories of "mobile biological weapons labs" helped lead the U.S. to war four years ago, is still being protected by the German intelligence service, an ABC News investigation has found.

Intelligence sources, who provided ABCNews.com with the first known photo of the man, say he has been resettled in a small town near the Munich headquarters of the German service, which has continued to honor its original commitment made when he fled Iraq in 1999.

Curveball's false tales became the centerpiece of Secretary of State Colin Powell's speech before the United Nations in February 2003, even though he was considered an "unstable, immature and unreliable" source by some senior officials at the CIA.

Powell told ABC News he is "angry and disappointed" that he was never told the CIA had doubts about the reliability of the source.

"I spent four days at CIA headquarters, and they told me they had this nailed," Powell said.