American soldier accused of aiding the enemy

A senior officer in the U.S. Army is facing nine charges, including aiding the enemy and fraternizing with the daughter of a detainee.

Lt. Col. William H. Steele commanded the 451st Military Police Detachment from Fort Cropper. The aiding the enemy charge comes from the fact that he gave unlimited and unmonitored phone calls to the detainees he was charged with securing.

He is also charged with possessing classified information that he was not supposed to have access to, stored classified information where it could have easily been seen by others or stolen as well as having several pornographic videos. A military spokesman said this was a case of improper relationships, not espionage, according to msnbc.com. He also said there is no evidence the classified information in Steele's possession was ever seen by or given to the enemy. He also stressed that theses were just allegations at the moment, but that actual charges are a future possibility.

As for the fraternizing with the daughter of a detainee, it is alleged that Steele knew the woman was the daughter of a detainee and that he had improper relations" with an interpreter.

The charges span from Oct. 2005 to Feb. 2007.

This is just the latest in a string of alleged abuses within military police units in Iraq.