Thursday, July 08, 2004
The story of Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun gets weirder and weirder
Now the A.P. is reporting that he's in Lebanon. How the hell did he get there?
The story reviews the history of this bizarre case:
Remember that the Marines originally reported this guy as AWOL, but revised his status after he appeared on television with a blindfold on and a sword hanging over his head. Then his family freaks out and the Marines get all vigilante over him, and the next thing we know he is in a "safe place," among the jihadists, as if such a place were a priori conceivable. Now the U.S. Embassy is reporting that he may be back in Lebanon, his native country.
Hmmm.
UPDATE (July 8, 1:25 pm EDT): We have recovered our Marine, and are talking to him in our embassy in Beirut.
The story reviews the history of this bizarre case:
There have been several contradictory reports about the missing Marine since [his disappearance]. An Iraqi militant group said Monday it was holding the 24-year-old Muslim in a safe place but hadn't killed him. [He's in a safe place, "but" they haven't killed him?!? - ed.] Al-Jazeera television broadcast the statement from "Islamic Response," which claimed responsibility June 27 for Hassoun's kidnapping.
On Saturday, a statement posted on a Web site known for extremist Muslim comment said Hassoun, a Lebanese-born Muslim, had been beheaded. A day later, another Web statement declared the Marine had not been killed.
Reports emerged that he might have been freed after his family in West Jordan, Utah, said Tuesday that they had had word that he had been released and was safe, but they didn't know where.
Meanwhile, NBC reported that the Navy was investigating whether Hassoun's disappearance may be part of a kidnapping hoax. A Marine spokesman confirmed that the Navy investigation remains open.
Remember that the Marines originally reported this guy as AWOL, but revised his status after he appeared on television with a blindfold on and a sword hanging over his head. Then his family freaks out and the Marines get all vigilante over him, and the next thing we know he is in a "safe place," among the jihadists, as if such a place were a priori conceivable. Now the U.S. Embassy is reporting that he may be back in Lebanon, his native country.
Hmmm.
UPDATE (July 8, 1:25 pm EDT): We have recovered our Marine, and are talking to him in our embassy in Beirut.
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