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| No Evidence Navy Pilot Was in Iraqi Hands | |
| 2004-03-03 | |
| Investigations in Iraq since the fall of Baghdad have found no evidence that missing Navy pilot Michael Scott Speicher was held in captivity after being shot down on the first night of the 1991 Gulf War, the Navy's top admiral said Tuesday. U.S. officials have been interrogating Iraqis and searching throughout the country for evidence of Speicher's fate since the regime of Saddam Hussein was toppled by U.S. forces in early April last year. Despite having found no evidence that the Iraqis captured Speicher, the Navy is sticking to its position, declared publicly in October 2002, that Speicher is "missing-captured," Clark said. "We have not found out new specific intelligence revelations that have changed our fundamental conclusion," Adm. Vern Clark, the chief of naval operations, told reporters at a breakfast interview. The Iraqi government under President Saddam Hussein maintained from the start that Speicher died in the crash on Jan. 17, 1991, although his body was not recovered. Asked directly whether evidence had emerged to reinforce the theory that Speicher had been taken captive by the Iraqis, Clark said no. He said there is no evidence either for or against it. Other officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Tuesday that prewar assertions by informants that Speicher had been seen in a prison in Baghdad have been discredited. In October 2002 the Navy changed Speicher's status from missing in action to "missing-captured," although it has never said what evidence it has that he was in captivity. In announcing that decision, Navy Secretary Gordon England wrote at the time, "I have no evidence to conclude that Captain Speicher is dead. He also wrote, "While the information available to me now does not prove definitively that Captain Speicher is alive and in Iraqi custody, I am personally convinced the Iraqis seized him sometime after his plane went down." Hours after his plane when down, the Pentagon had declared Speicher killed in action, with no body recovered. But 10 years later, in January 2001, the Navy changed his status to MIA, citing an absence of evidence that he had died. Clark said in the interview Tuesday that resolving the fate of Speicher is a high priority for the Navy. "We do not have new intelligence that adds clarity and definition to what happened to him" after he was shot down, Clark said. "If you think about what I just told you, that tells you something about the discovery or lack of discovery." Speicher was 33 when he was shot down. He held the rank of lieutenant commander at the time; he has since been promoted to captain.
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| Posted by:Steve White |
| #7 Thanks. Responding to annon. We follow, not because of where we are going. But because we know we'll come back. From professional leadership throughout, to brave medics, to loggies carrying the fallen, to searchers in our forgotten wars. We know we'll come back. I always think of Chief Roberts. And those who died to bring him back. You can forgive. But, please, never forget. |
| Posted by: gimpy 2004-3-3 3:54:27 PM |
| #6 Mike, regardless of whether Anonymous' question was serious or not, I and probably many others appreciate the behind-the-secnes information you provided. Thanks. |
| Posted by: Carl in N.H 2004-3-3 12:53:57 PM |
| #5 Anon- I'm probably feeding a troll here, but keep in mind that for twenty years before CAPT Speicher went down - dead or alive, most likely dead from a MiG-25/AA-6 combination - there was a great deal of flat out suspicion on the part of many military members (myself included) that if we suddenly went MIA, the government would NOT do everything in its power to get us back. The decision was made very early in the runup to Operations Desert Shield/Storm that MIAs happened again, there would be NO effort spared to either get our people back or find out what happened to them. In the event, the first part didn't go so well. IIRC, not a single downed pilot or aviator was recovered during the war. Bravery or desire wasn't the problem - the fact was that SAR ops and equipment now came under Special Ops, and since there was no longer enough equipment to stand by for rescue and do special ops at the same time, HQ very reluctantly decided to hold the stuff for special ops use...which in the event never happened, because CINCCENTCOM wasn't real fond of special ops. Okay, Speicher went down. Contrary to most of what you've read, the USAF and the USN knew exactly where CAPT Speicher's plane went in and when it happened. Afterwards, DOD made every possible effort to get in and get to the crash site. The only reason things dragged on as long as they did was that DOD wanted to go the absolute last mile for him...and as far as I'm concerned, they did. Were it YOUR father, or brother, or son - would you not want to know that every last possible lead had been tracked down? |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2004-3-3 10:38:11 AM |
| #4 Anonymous - we worry about them too. Do I even need to point out that the death looming overhead has the US flag painted on the wings? |
| Posted by: BH 2004-3-3 10:20:12 AM |
| #3 Anon - allow me to enlighten you. Much of the reason a man will live like an animal and fight like hell is because he knows that, God forbid, should he fall, he won't be left behind. It doesn't matter if it's ten years later and the only remains are a fragment of bone. You are still going home. RE the active troops in Iraq (and, Afganistan, Pak, etc., etc.) - as odd as it may seem, good unit commanders worry over each and every one of their men - all day every day. |
| Posted by: Doc8404 2004-3-3 10:17:31 AM |
| #2 They still worry about the fate of a guy who crashed and burned more than a decade ago. What about all the soldiers right now sitting in Iraq watching death looming overhead? |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2004-3-3 9:45:29 AM |
| #1 They still worry about the fate of a guy who crashed and burned more than a decade ago. What about all the soldiers right now sitting in Iraq watching death looming overhead? |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2004-3-3 9:45:28 AM |