News-Info-Alerts

Re: UN & Iraq Discuss Gulf War Pilot

From: POW-MIA InterNetwork

Date: January 18, 2003

"Missing pilot's fate raised in talks

From Rym Brahimi
CNN

Navy Lt. Cmdr. Michael 'Scott' Speicher was shot down on the first day of the Gulf War.


BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri and the U.N. coordinator charged with investigating claims of people and property missing since the 1991 Gulf War discussed the fate of a missing U.S. pilot on Saturday.

It was Yuli Vorontsov's first visit to Baghdad since he was appointed more than three years ago and took place a month after Sabri invited him to the Iraqi capital.

Navy Lt. Cmdr. Michael "Scott" Speicher was shot down over Iraq in January 1991 during the early hours of the Gulf War, and was listed as "missing in action" the next day.

His status was later changed to "killed in action."

Last year, the Navy promoted him to captain and changed his status to "missing-captured."

"Since Mr. Speicher is now a missing-in-action person, he now falls into these negotiations," Vorontsov told reporters. Asked about the result of the discussion, Vorontsov said, "We shall see."

Speicher's change in status was based on:

• An analysis of the wreckage that concluded he survived the initial damage to the aircraft and ejection

• His flight suit, which was found near the wreckage and turned over by Iraqi, and showed no signs of a crash impact

• A report from a Red Cross team that investigated the wreckage and found that the cockpit had been expertly dismantled

• Information received since Speicher was shot down that suggests the Iraqi government can account for him

Vorontsov also said Iraq and Kuwait had made progress on the issue of citizens missing since the war.

Iraq contends that hundreds of Iraqis in Kuwait have gone missing since then. Kuwait says Baghdad has yet to account for at least 600 Kuwaitis in Iraq.

Saturday's meeting was held a month after Iraqi President Saddam Hussein officially apologized to Kuwait for invading in 1990 while denouncing the Kuwaitis' decision to allow the United States to station troops in their country.

It came two months after Iraq returned a number of archives to Kuwait.

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