Thank goodness for the Judge

The Seattle Times

National Guard Spc. Ryan Anderson is facing trial for talking to people he thought were al-Qaida about helping them and defecting to them. The meeting took place only weeks before his unit was scheduled to deploy to Iraq.

How was Anderson caught and instead of talking to the real al-Quida he spoke with the FBI? Well we can thank one judge and the web.

According to testimony, Anderson first came to the attention of investigators through a Montana judge who spent her off-hours hunting for terrorists on the Internet.

Shannen Rossmiller from Conrad, Mont., testified that she was monitoring a Web site that catered to Muslim extremists when she came across a posting by an "Amid Abdul Rashid."

After a series of searches, she traced the name to Anderson and, posing as a Muslim extremist, exchanged e-mails with him. Learning that he was a member of the military, and believing that he might be a threat, she contacted authorities.

Anderson told her "he was curious if a brother fighting for the wrong side could defect," Rossmiller testified.

The judge did the right thing. She didn't try to confront or arrest Anderson herself nor take matters into her own hands. She was using the web, found something that didn't look right and contacted the correct authorities and now someone who may have betrayed his unit and other soldiers is instead behind bars and if convicted sentenced to life in prison or death.