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Military Official Defends Embattled Iraqi-American

Col. Wes Martin
Col. Wes Martin

By Eileen Buckley

Buffalo, NY – A colonel with the US military comes to the defense of an Iraqi-American who is accused of allegedly misusing a United Nation's grant to fund a radio station in Iraq.

The man known as Steve Jabar and Steve Shariff turned himself into authorities in August when he arrived back in the US from Iraq. But Jabar says he is innocent of the federal charges against him. He's been charged for misusing a grant from UNIFEM along with Deborah Bowers of Clarence to establish Voice of Women Radio in Baghdad.

Both are not allowed to talk about the case, but Colonel Wes Martin, who was back in the United States this month, came to our studios to talk about his work with Jabar.

Click the audio player above to hear Eileen Buckley's interview now or use your podcasting software to download it to your computer or iPod.