Here's a link-rich comment on The Amboy Times blog that's worth reading. Right Truth does a good job, also. A press release about the case from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement service is quite detailed, including:

The complaint further alleges that, during another email exchange with Azzam Publications, Abujihaad described a recent force protection briefing given aboard his ship, voiced enmity toward America, praised Usama bin Laden and the mujahideen, praised the October 2000 attack on the U.S.S. Cole - which Abujihaad described as a "martyrdom operation," - and advised the members of Azzam Publications that such tactics were working and taking their toll. The email response from Azzam Publications encouraged Abujihaad to "keep up... the psychological warefare [sic]."

The complaint further alleges that, during the searches executed on the email accounts that were associated with administering the Azzam Web sites, Abujihaad's contact information - specifically, his abujihah@benfold.navy.mil e-mail account - was found in the possession of the members of Azzam Publications.

The Benfold spent some time in the Persian Gulf, hence it was a rich target for espionage. Abujihaad's emails came after Abrashoff left the ship, but I wonder if Abrashoff or his successor had any counter-espionage programs in place to prevent or detect such information leaks. Did they even see them as a possibility, or in those pre-9/11 days did Muslim converts on board not stand out as warranting any extra attention? I'd be curious to see what Abrashoff has to say on the topic.

After retiring from the Navy in 2001, Abrashoff started a consulting firm, GrassRoots Leadership. He is also on the lecture circuit, probably not getting too many questions yet about treason on board the Benfold.

He turned up in Fast Company several more times. In May 2003 he contributed a piece called "The People Who Win Wars." The closing paragraph bears reading, four years after the start of the war. Abrashoff wrote,

For the men and women in uniform today, the nation's leadership has defined a goal and given a definition of victory: Regime change in Iraq with minimal harm to Iraq's people and infrastructure. For superbly trained and equipped troops, this purpose is clear and achievable. The lesson for all of us is just as clear: Waging and winning war is all about your people. You can't win unless your people believe in their purpose far more strongly than the enemy's people do.

The thought that came to my mind when I read this: make sure your people are not, in fact, your enemy's people.