Friday, March 28, 2003
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Citing
unspecified reports, a U.S. senator said Friday that an
American pilot missing since the 1991 Gulf War may have been
seen alive and in the custody of Iraqi authorities in the past
month.
Sen.
Bill Nelson mentioned the reports while releasing an
unclassified summary on the fate of Capt. Scott Speicher, who
was shot down over Iraq on the first night of the Gulf War and
has been unaccounted for ever since. Nelson did not elaborate
on the recent reports.
"I believe he is still alive," Nelson said.
"The question is: Can we find him and bring him home
alive?"
Speicher's FA-18 Hornet was shot down over
Iraq on Jan. 17, 1991, and the Pentagon declared him killed in
action. A decade later it changed his status to prisoner of
war after an Iraqi defector and others reported that an
American was being held in Saddam Hussein's prison system.
Speicher is the only case still unaccounted for from the
war.
The Pentagon is required to report to
Congress on Speicher every 90 days under the National Defense
Authorization Act, which was enacted in December.
The unclassified summary Nelson released is
the first to be filed and details some of the evidence that
led military officials to conclude Speicher likely survived
the shootdown. The report mentions Baghdad's false suggestion
that remains returned in 1991 were Speicher's and officials'
claims that the aircraft wreckage was tampered with before a
1995 crash site excavation.
Still, the unclassified version, dated
March 3, provides no conclusive information about Speicher's
fate and does not address the recent information about a
possible sighting.
"We assess Capt. Speicher was either
captured alive or his remains were recovered and taken to
Baghdad." In either case, the Iraqi government has concealed
information about his fate, the report said.
Cindy Laquidara, a spokesman for Speicher's
family, refused comment on the latest reports. She met
privately with Nelson on behalf of the family. |