US soldier to plead guilty in Iraqi abuse case News
US soldier to plead guilty in Iraqi abuse case

[JURIST] US Army Sgt. Javal S. Davis [CBS News profile] will plead guilty to reduced charges next week after reaching a deal with prosecutors, Davis' attorney Paul Bergrin said Thursday. Davis had been charged [charge sheet] with maltreatment of detainees and other charges in the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal, but he will instead plead guilty to simple assault and making false statements. Davis faces a maximum 1 1/2 year prison sentence under the deal, rather than the 8 1/2 years he could have been sentenced to under the old charges. The deal must still be approved by Lt. Gen. Thomas Metz, the top US commander in Iraq. Davis' court-martial is scheduled to begin Tuesday at Fort Hood, TX. A breakthrough in negotiations came after Spc. Charles Graner Jr. was convicted [JURIST report] on abuse charges stemming from events at Abu Ghraib. Bergrin planned to use a similar defense in Davis' case. AP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

UN General Assembly approves Palestine partition plan

The UN General Assembly approved UN Resolution Resolution 181 (II) on November 29, 1947, recommending that the British Mandate for Palestine be split into a Jewish state, an Arab state, and an international zone for Jerusalem. The vote in the assembly was 33 for to 13 against, with 10 abstentions. The resolution sparked a war between Palestinian Arabs and Jews in 1947 and a wider war after Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, and Lebanon invaded the new State of Israel in 1948. Read Resolution 181 (II).

UN divided Palestine between Arabs and Jews

On November 29, 1947, the UN General Assembly voted to partition Palestine into Jewish and Arab territories, leading to the establishment of a Jewish state the following year. Read UN General Assembly Resolution 181.

Defense Secretary Robert McNamara resigns during Vietnam Conflict

On November 29, 1967, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara announced that he was resigning from his office to accept an appointment as head of the World Bank. The announcement came as the Vietnam Conflict was becoming increasingly unpopular in the United States and abroad.