Trial begins for US Marine accused of twice deserting to Lebanon
A US Marine accused of deserting the military in Iraq in 2004 before turning up in Lebanon claiming to have been kidnapped and then deserting again the following year decided on Monday to have a military judge decide his fate instead of a jury.
Corporal Wassef Hassoun, 35, is being tried at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina on charges of desertion, destruction of government property and larceny, according to the Marine Corps. The Arabic language interpreter was listed as a deserter for nearly a decade before being taken into custody last summer.
