News-Info-Alerts

Re: Speicher Search Continues

From: POW-MIA InterNetwork

Date: August 14, 2003

"Speicher search continues in Iraq

By:Jack "Miles" Ventimiglia, Editor

Chances for a flag-waving, coming-home crowd to greet prisoner of war Michael Scott Speicher may seem remote, but not impossible, said Marian Nevelli, a board member with Friends Working to Free Scott Speicher.
peicher is a former Northlander and the first casualty of the first Gulf War under the first President Bush. Speicher's F/A-18 Hornet went down Jan. 17, 1991.

The military has a tradition of leaving no one behind, but in Speicher's case the military assumed he perished.

Only years later, after careful research by journalists did the government finally conduct an investigation that revealed Speicher had parachuted alive into Iraq, became a POW and ended up in Baghdad.

Upon making that admission, the military took the unique action in 2001 of upgrading his status from killed in action to prisoner of war. In addition, Speicher received a promotion to captain.

As Round II with Saddam Hussein loomed, U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts said finding Speicher, now 46, would be a priority. After U.S. forces seized Baghdad, the military found the initial "MSS" carved into the wall of a prison cell and CIA and Defense Intelligence Agency members have been to Iraq seeking Speicher.

"It's been such a long time and we would have definitely expected some resolution way before now," Nevelli said.

Political and military leaders seem intent on determining Speicher's fate, said Nevelli, who attended high school with him in Jacksonville, Fla., after his family moved there from Clay County.

"There are efforts being made and they did appoint a general to be in charge of the investigation, which was very good because that actually means there is someone over there that people have to report to," Nevelli said. "But that's been a good month ago."

With former top leaders in Saddam's government in custody, including Abid Mahmud - No. 4 on the United States' "55 most wanted" list - the chances of finding Speicher are improved, Roberts' spokeswoman Sarah Ross said on Friday.

No. 1 on the list is Saddam, with Nos. 2 and 3 being his now confirmed-dead sons, Uday and Qusay Hussein. Abid Hamid Mahmud al-Tikriti is the highest-ranking member of Saddam's regime in custody.

"Former Secretary Mahmud is believed to have essential knowledge of the Captain Speicher case," Ross said.

Nothing has been released suggesting any prisoners taken by coalition forces have revealed information useful in the search for Speicher. Since his arrest in June, al-Tikriti has not led investigators either to Speicher or to the weapons on mass destruction used as the reason the government launched its preemptive invasion of the country. Bush administration members continue to assert that such weapons will be found.

Sometimes reports suggest Speicher is dead, but Nevelli said Speicher's family continues to hold out hope that he will be found alive.

"They have not give up hope, they told us not to give up hope," Nevelli said. "They said that people are over there doing everything they can to get to the bottom of where he is."

Some have offered the theory that Saddam continues to hold Speicher hostage.

"Speculation is that Saddam is holding him, and if found, he will use (Speicher) possibly as a bargaining tool," Nevelli said.

Ross said the effort to locate Speicher has not run its course.

"The bottom line is the senator continues to pray that Scott Speicher is alive, even if he is still being held by remnants of the regime leadership."

©Sun-News of the Northland 2003 "