News-Info-Alerts

Re: NAF Bits 'N' Pieces

To: ALL

From: Andi Wolos & Bob Necci

(POW-MIA InterNetwork)

Date: June 23, 2002

"BITS 'N' PIECES
THE NEWSLETTER OF THE
NATIONAL ALLIANCE OF FAMILIES
FOR THE RETURN OF AMERICA'S MISSING SERVICEMEN
+ WORLD WAR II + KOREA + COLD WAR + VIETNAM + GULF WAR +

June 1, 2002

Rolling Thunder - Unbelievable they just keep getting bigger and better. The run this year was HUGE! We've never seen this many riders. Bikes filled the North Pentagon Parking lot, spilled over to the South lot and lined the roads waiting to join up with Rolling Thunder for their 15th Annual Run.

To Artie Muller, the men and women of Rolling Thunder and Run For the Wall, all we can say is OUTSTANDING JOB!



Speicher Alive? - Two separate sources, with access to know, have told us that Speicher is still alive and that is what the Speicher family is being told.

We leave it to our readers to decide who and what to believe . . .



It Is Business As Usual At DPMO - that comment along with our take on information provided on the Speicher case during an April 5th meeting between Adrian Cronauer, Special Assistant to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for POW/MIA Affairs, Dolores Alfond, Michael Benge and Lynn O'Shea, sparked considerable debate.

In the May 18th edition of Bits N Pieces we shared Mr. Cronauer's points and objections to our take on the meeting. One point of our concern was a conversation we had regarding the 60 Minutes II segment on the Speicher Case. We were told and reported in the May 11th Bits, that:

"The CBS report contained many inaccuracies. DPMO sent them a letter, after the program aired, pointing out inaccuracies. CBS ignored it."

Mr. Cronauer, in his response of May 13th, dealt with this point saying "Absolutely true. And your point is?"

We responded stating exactly what our point was. We also asked that Mr. Cronauer provide a copy of the letter to CBS, so we could share the inaccuracies of the story with our readers. Many of our readers requested we obtain a copy of this letter. We contacted sources with the clout to request the letter, outside FOIA channels and we pursued sources involved with the original production.

By May 22nd, three independent sources confirmed to us that no such letter existed. On May 23rd Lynn O'Shea left for D.C.. We were unable able to check email until late afternoon of the 24th. The morning of the 24th, a fourth source confirmed what we were already convinced of. No letter was ever sent to CBS regarding the 60 Minutes II segment on the Speicher case.

When Lynn O'Shea finally got to check email in the late afternoon of May 24th, she found an email from Adrian Cronauer, time coded May 23 5:40 PM. The email was lengthy. We will share the full text with you in a future Bits. For now we will deal only with the portion of the email relating to the "CBS Letter."

Mr. Cronauer's May 23rd email response, dealing with the "CBS Letter:"

"As you know, the 60 minute II program occurred quite some time before I came to DPMO and what I know (or think I know) about that program comes to me second hand. I stated to you that "we" had written a letter to 60 Minutes II regarding the broadcast on Commander Speicher's case. That was information I had picked up in my discussions with many of the individuals and/or agencies involved in the resolution of his case. However, I've learned, the "we' does not include DPMO as, after trying to run it to ground, I find we do not have such a letter on file. I probably heard the report from some of our associates outside this office."



"I received a call from Christine Spolar who, as you know, was the producer of the CBS program and she tells me she never received any such letter. I don't know the lady and have no reason to disbelieve her so I'll take what she says at face value and must, therefore, conclude that if a letter was sent, she did not get it."



"The best I can figure out is that in all probability, although several people disagreed with some of the points as presented on the show, someone, somewhere in DOD decided it was not worth getting into an continuous, ongoing dialogue with CBS over the matter and they let it drop."

End email section dealing with the CBS Letter.

Once you get past the:

"the 60 minute II program occurred quite some time before I came to DPMO"

"what I know (or think I know) about that program comes to me second hand."

"I probably heard the report"

"The best I can figure out"

"in all probability,"

The bottom line is: THE CBS LETTER NEVER EXISTED!

So what happened to ""Absolutely true. And your point is?"



Some background on the position of Special Assistant to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for POW/MIA Affairs. Until recently this position did not exist. Mr. Cronanuer was not brought into DPMO to fill an existing position. The position he holds is not part of the organizational structure of DPMO. As Mr Cronanuer explained to us, in the organizational chart, he is a dotted line off to the side.

So, out of all the political appointee positions available in Washington D.C, to a lawyer with Mr. Cronanuer's media background, why was he appointed to this position? Were there those within the government who felt they could capitalize on Mr. Cronanuer's status as a Vietnam Veteran and media personality? Was it hoped his status could be used to lull POW/MIA family members and advocates into believing they had someone on their side at DPMO?

We have the highest respect for our Vietnam Veterans. However, being a Vietnam Veteran does not automatically bestow expertise in the POW/MIA issue or the background to deal with the deceitful ways of the DPMO.

We have nothing personal against Mr. Cronanuer but the fact is clear - either he lied to us or he is being lied to. In our April 5th meeting, Mr. Cronanuer assured us, he would never lie to us. Those that know him say he wouldn't lie to us. So the only answer left is Mr. Cronanuer is being lied to.

Either way, it's business as usual at DPMO.

We also have to wonder how much more information Mr. Cronanuer relayed to us as "true" or "absolutely true" really isn't.

The Mindset To Debunk Is Alive And Well.



S 1339 - The Speicher Bill - With original Sponsor Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell and 16 cosponsors, we are well on our way to our goal of 51 cosponsors by June 30th. As of June 3rd, we will need 34 cosponsors with 28 days to go. The progress made on this bill in such a short time tells us, our goal is within reach. So, please make your calls and send your faxes.

The number for the Capital Switchboard is 202-224-3121.

The list of co-sponsors, in addition to Senator Campbell are: Senator Wayne Allard, of CO., Senator Robert F.Bennett, of Utah, Senator Mark Dayton, of MN., Senator Richard Durbin, of IL., Senator James Inhofe, of OK., Senator Daniel Inouye, of Hawaii, Senator Zell Miller, of GA., Senator Rick Santorum, of PA., Senator Bob Smith, of NH., Senator Robert Torricelli, of NJ., Senators Jim Bunning, and Mitch McConnell of KY, Senators Patty Murray and Marie Cantwell of WA and Senators Bob Graham and Bill Nelson of FL.


Make the calls. Send the faxes -- 34 Cosponsors in 28 Days



More On Our Email Exchange - Those that followed the email exchange between Mr. Cronauer and Lynn O'Shea are also aware of comments made regarding the source who made a photo identification of Cmdr. Speicher and who passed two polygraphs.

Our comment was: "The source who picked Cmdr. Speicher's photo out of a photo array was dismissed."

Mr. Cronauer replied "When you use words like "dismissed" it implies that the item was rejected without any serious consideration. That's not the case. I went into detail with you as to why the photo ID was VERY questionable."

[Your objection to the word dismissed could be debated. Do you feel the phrase "dismissed as not creditable" would be more acceptable?]

(When Lynn O'Shea pointed out that the source had passed two polygraphs, the results were dismissed with the following quote "there is a reason polygraphs are not admissible in court."

Cronanuer Comment: Again, ABSOLUTELY TRUE -- but that was not the sum total of my comments -- I explained about how polygraphs can be misleading or, even, outright false.

[As I remember our meeting, we discussed very little regarding the actual photo ID other than that the source was not creditable. When I brought up the double polygraph, your did discuss how someone could fool a polygraph. I believe that is when you made the statement "there is a reason polygraphs are not admissible in court." Since it is common knowledge that polygraphs are not admissible in court, I saw no reason to go further than the comment quoted.]

End email

The May 27th edition of the Washington Times Insight Magazine carried a story by Timothy W. Maier titled "Forgotten Flier," discusses this source identification saying "In December 1997, the New York Times published a story detailing previously unpublished reports on the case. The article suggested that Speicher may have survived the crash and that the Clinton administration deliberately may have misled Congress about his fate. Smith fired off letters to the secretary of defense and requested meetings with the Pentagon and POW/ MIA offices. He also asked Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), then-chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, to open an investigation into the matter. Shelby promptly instigated a probe, ordering CIA Director George Tenet to release computer files, documents, raw intelligence reports and every detail the agency had on Speicher."

"The probe was ongoing when an Iraqi defector came forward in 1999 with an astonishing story. He claimed he had driven an American pilot from the crash site to a hospital. Intelligence officials asked the defector to pick the pilot out of a photo lineup. He selected Speicher. The defector passed two lie-detector tests. When agents attempted to trick him by claiming there was a huge reward for information leading to another pilot who was shot down, the defector stuck to his story, saying Speicher was the only one he had picked up."

Either there is a massive media conspiracy (60 Minutes II, New York Times, Washington Times, et al.) to report false or inaccurate information on the Speicher case or there is a massive DPMO campaign to discredit information provided, by sources, to the media on the Speicher case.

Based on past experience and lessons hard learned, we leave it to our readers to decide which is more likely.



The following are excerpted from the Maier article:

"...Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), a former Marine and senior member of the Senate Select Intelligence Committee, fired off a stern letter in February to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld requesting that Speicher be reclassified a prisoner of war (POW). If granted, it would mark the second time Speicher's status has been changed. In 1991 the Navy reclassified him from killed in action (KIA) to missing in action (MIA). "I believe he is a POW," Roberts tells Insight."

"Insight sources say the Roberts letter has created a firestorm at the Pentagon pitting stubborn elements in Undersecretary of Defense for policy Doug Feith's policy shop, who oppose reclassification, against senior ranking Pentagon officials, who believe Speicher indeed may be a POW. Feith's people drafted a letter to Roberts outlining reasons why the senator's request should be denied, but Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz refused to sign off on it, snapping that Roberts is correct."

"In the meantime, Iraq has issued an open invitation to send a delegation to investigate the Speicher case. Policymakers "have frozen it, and it's not going anywhere," according to a senior Pentagon source. "Once the policymakers get something, it goes into a black hole...."

"....When Speicher was shot down, his wife was told "everything had been done," Lacquidara (Speicher family attorney) says. "They were continuing to search." In 1991 the family was given this message: "All - repeat: all - theater combat search-and-rescue efforts were being mobilized." But in fact "there was no search," Lacquidara says. "They dropped the ball. A number of people did."

"Briefed by Insight on the family's description of what happened, Sen. Roberts replies: "That's pretty accurate. It's outrageous we told her there was a search. We left somebody behind! He has got to be out there wondering when on Earth his country is going to come and get him. I'm not saying there was a cover-up, but there is considerable embarrassment to the government. Our U.S. intelligence analysts showed clearly that he survived the crash. I believe he survived the crash, was hospitalized and taken to prison."

"...Sen. Robert Smith (R-N.H.), a senior member on the Senate Armed Services Committee whose own father, a Navy pilot, was killed at the end of World War II, was briefed by the Pentagon's POW/MIA unit about the excavation. He was told the Red Cross team had found nothing to indicate Speicher survived. Later, he received reports from the Pentagon's Inspector General and the General Accounting Office, praising the intelligence agencies' role regarding Speicher."

"Case closed? Not quite. A few weeks later, Smith began to hear from his intelligence sources claiming there was more to the story. He soon verified both that there was no search for Speicher when he was shot down in 1991 and that there was evidence in hand that he had survived. "I was misled," he says. "I was lied to. There are people whose heads should roll for lying to Congress, lying to me. But this isn't about me. The issue is let's bring him home, let's get the answers...."

"...In 1996, Congress received a partial briefing on the Speicher case - just enough details to support another Navy claim that he was killed in action. When the case was closed again, Smith was livid. He, and later Sen. Roberts, began pressing to have Speicher's status changed to MIA. Branded by the Pentagon brass as a "troublemaker," Smith soon was taking heavy flak."

"The intelligence community trashed me" for poking around the Speicher case, Smith tells Insight. "They told me it was 'unfortunate' and asked what 'relevance' is it that he is alive or not? What relevance?! America should not give up. We should leave no soldier behind. Period! We should do our best whether he is dead or alive."

"...Why did they wait nearly eight years after finding the Hornet to change Speicher's status? Today, neither Smith nor Roberts have the answer. More recently, Bill Gertz of the Washington Times reported that the CIA and Defense Intelligence Agency had been provided with British intelligence accounts claiming that Speicher was being held in a prison where he is visited by the chief of Iraq's intelligence service and Uday Hussein, son of Saddam. Britain has denied the report."

"...Professor Miller doubts Speicher is alive today. In fact, he and others on the left have charged the administration with using the Speicher case to gain sympathy for an invasion of Iraq. "I fully understand the emotional desire by Speicher's comrades and loved ones to find him if he's alive," Miller says. "But I still don't think there is any reason he survived that encounter. Why is all this coming up 10 years after the fact? You have to be naive to think it is unrelated to the large, ambitious, war drive that the government is now carrying out for a new invasion of Iraq."

"Asked if it is a propaganda ploy, Roberts snaps, "That's bullshit. Those charges are really out of line. They better not say that to my face."

"Miller responds, "I'm not saying it isn't true. Truth can be used as propaganda."

The National Alliance Of Families Thirteenth Annual Forum is scheduled for June 20th - 22nd, 2002. Our forum is conducted to coincide with the Governments annual POW/MIA Family Briefings. We urge all family members to attend this years government briefings, for Vietnam family members. The government will provide free airfare to two family members to attend the briefings. There is no charge or registration fee to attend the government briefings.

This years meeting will be held at the Crown Plaza Hotel (same as last year) The hotel is located at 1489 Jefferson Davis Highway, Crystal City Va. Room rates are $106.00 + tax, per night for a single or double room. Parking is $5.00 per night. Transportation to the government briefings will be available. To make your reservations call 703-416-1600. The cut-off date for the special Alliance room rate is fast approaching. Make your reservations, now. Remember to say you are with the National Alliance of Families to get the special rate.

The Alliance is an all volunteer organization. Our meetings are open to all, without charge. At this time of year, we actively seek contributions to finance our forum. If you wish to contribute, donations may be mailed to:

National Alliance Of Families
P.O. Box 40327
Bellevue, Wa. 98015.
Remember all contributions are tax deductible.

DOLORES ALFOND -
National Chairperson (dolores@nationalalliance.org)
425-881-1499
LYNN O'SHEA -
Director of Research (lynn@nationalalliance.org)
718-846-4350"