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Iraq | |
U.S. Probing Iraqis About Missing Pilot | |
2003-06-24 | |
U.S. forces interrogating some Iraqi prisoners are seeking details about the case of Navy pilot Michael Scott Speicher, missing since his fighter jet was shot down on the opening night of the 1991 Persian Gulf War, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Tuesday.
Past reports say that we were looking all along. Nelson said there were no breakthroughs in the search for Speicher, and any new details on the case were classified. In April, American investigators found Speicher's initials - ``MSS'' - carved into the wall of a cell in an Iraqi prison. U.S. officials said they had other evidence Speicher may have been held at the Hakmiyah prison, but added that Saddam Hussein's regime frequently moved prisoners of war. Speicher's F/A-18 Hornet was shot down over Iraq on Jan. 17, 1991, the first night of the Gulf War. Months later, the Pentagon listed him as killed in action, although his remains have never been recovered. Last year, the Defense Department changed his status to ``missing-captured'' amid new intelligence about his possible survival. Saddam's government said Speicher was killed and denied holding him as a prisoner. Rat bastards may well have killed him at some point in the run-up to this war. If we ever prove that, there should be Iraqi prison officials swinging from a rope. | |
Posted by:Steve White |