Abducted Marine Had Deserted the Military -NYT

[Rose Siding]

BAGHDAD, Iraq, June 29 — The American marine who is being threatened by his kidnappers with beheading had deserted the military because he was emotionally traumatized, and was abducted by his captors while trying to make his way home to his native Lebanon, a Marine officer said Tuesday.

The officer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said he believed that Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun was betrayed by Iraqis he befriended on his base and ended up in the hands of Islamic extremists.

The officer said Corporal Hassoun, a 24-year-old Marine linguist who was born in Lebanon, was shaken up after he saw one of his sergeants blown apart by a mortar shell.

"It was very disturbing to him," the officer said. "He wanted to go home and quit the game, but since he was relatively early in his deployment, that was not going to happen anytime soon. So he talked to some folks on base he befriended, because they were all fellow Muslims, and they helped sneak him off. Once off, instead of helping him get home, they turned him over to the bad guys."

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/30/international/middleeast/30MARI.html

[DenverDem]

1. This story stinks.

Hard to believe these guys ever.

[saigon68]

26. That's why his family learned of his Capture from NBC Nightly News

The military said F U to his family

[Media_Lies_Daily]

2. Bull. See the enclosed link that will take you to a USA Today story...

<http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x655201>

[wellst0nev0ter]

8. Well Looks Like We Have Another Steaming Pile Of . . .

I mean, another feather in the Screw York Time's cap :eyes:

[Oilwellian]

3. Hmmmmm

You'd think the captors would want to flaunt this guy deserting our liberating forces. :eyes: Especially a fellow Arab saying "Cheney this." Odd twist to the "official" story.

[BrotherBuzz]

4. Why does this surface now?

Hmmmm.

[rocktivity]

5. My bullshit meter just went

:nuke:

The officer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity...

Now that Georgie has officially washed his hands of the Iraqi debacle, stories of US soldiers held hostage can't be allowed to matter anymore. So here's a made-to-order psyop: The guy was a deserter, so he asked for it!

:headbang:
rocknation

[daleo]

6. Sounds like you nailed it

The subconscious meme is "Not only was he a deserter, but a Muslim as well".

[Disturbed]

7. Cuts both ways

If his captors film him stating this it is good for their PR but then they would be foolish to execute him. They could send him where he said he wants to go. His life is probably ruined if the story is true or not.

[daleo]

9. This war has ruined a lot of lives

I hope he is released and survives, at least.

[Samoflange]

10. From a "Patriot Games" point of view...

It could be an attempt by military officials to deflect attention away from just how in the hell a US Marine could have been lured away and kidnapped by locals from a heavily defended fire-base in the middle of a war zone.

It's easier for them to say he deserted than it is to admit they might have serious security flaws in the base defenses. I can see their reasoning (what with not wanting the insurgents to know you might have a weak spot in your base), but it's sure as hell not a good way to win the propaganda war; especially when his family is agonizing over his fate right now.

Then again, this "blame the other guy" attitude fits right in with how the administration has run things (into the ground) so far...

Just my two cents, from a newbie

[Oggy]

14. Welcome to DU

Your assesment is as good as any. Lets be frank, what ever the real story might be ( and we will probably never know for sure ), the fact that over the last 3 1/2 years we have so much spin, twisting and lying , that any theory seems much more likely to be true than any official story!

[diamond14]

21. Hi Samoflange !! Welcome to DU...we're glad you joined us....

:hi: :hi: :hi: :hi: :hi: :hi:

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

:hi: :hi: :hi: :hi: :hi: :hi:

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:


:hi: :hi: :hi: :hi: :hi: :hi:

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:


:hi: :hi: :hi: :hi: :hi: :hi:

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

29. It could be an attempt by military officials to do something else

Officers to troops: "See? The punishment for deserting is handing your ass over to the towelheads for them to do as they please!"

[newyawker99]

30. Hi Samoflange!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[0007]

11. This story has the smell of a dead fish

[fortyfeetunder]

12. Zero credibility

Wny would a guy sneak off base wearing his uniform fatigues? Duh, wouldn't stealth play a role in disappearing? Damn, the media thinks people are stupider than a fence post....

[sistersofmercy]

17. You nailed it with your question!

The point is he wouldn't be wearing fatigues. Good call!

[TX-RAT]

25. Why wouldn't he be wearing fatigues.

When i was in Vietnam, fatigues was all i had.

[Dhalgren]

18. You killed this story with but one question! (A bow to you)

That this story would be printed at all is sickening. Did the reporter not ask your excellent question? No one deserts wearing their uniform! His Iraqi "freinds" would have supplied him with civvies. Man I love DU (and Duers, of course)!

[stickdog]

13. The expendable deserter.

So if you desert your unit, death awaits.

They just killed two birds with one stone. Again.

Surprise, surprise, surprise.

[R Hickey]

16. However, if you desert from the Texas Air National Guard,,,

You get to be selected as President.

[jukes]

15. LIARS

n/f/n

[Dhalgren]

19. And Goddamned liars!

[LibertyLover]

20. Deserting soldier

This morning WTOP news radio in Washington DC reported that at a news conference yesterday in Salt Lake City the military had revised Hassoun's status from deserted to captured.

[jmcgowanjm]

22. You think Hassoun's the only soldier missing?

Abu 'Azzam told QudsPress, "we were able to smuggle
a number of US Army officers who were fleeing from Iraq out
of the country.

http://www.fpp.co.uk/online/04/06/wedding_020604.html

[Rose Siding]

23. He could have been one of a group of 5

Needlenose brings up the possibility that the 4 found dead w/o combat gear were connected to this guy. A photo at the link will remind of the incident:

http://www.needlenose.com/pMachineFree2.2.1/comments.php?id=1402_0_1_0_C

The latest grim news from Iraq, as reported by the New York Times:

A militant Iraqi group threatened Sunday night to behead an American marine it said it had abducted from a military base unless the United States released all Iraqi prisoners, according to a video broadcast on the Qatar-based television network Al Jazeera.

The video shows a man identified as Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun sitting on the ground in desert-patterned camouflage fatigues, with a thick blindfold over his eyes and a long, curved sword held over his head.

Marine officials said Sunday night that Corporal Hassoun, who is of Lebanese descent, had been missing since June 21.(end Times snip)

An alert Needlenose reader (of course, what other kind could there be) emailed me to note that June 21 was the same day that four other Marines were executed in Ramadi, adding the following analysis:

What was noted at the time was the lack of body armor or even helmets on the dead Marines. I would surmise that this captured fellow was part of the group but his life was spared because he apparently was a Muslim. Maybe there was some debate amongst the jihadists about what to do with him, and it was decided to declare him kafir in the end. But how did five marines get kidnapped in the first place? Were they lured out with the promise of drugs or sex? Or was their base actually infiltrated?

[natrat]

24. lured?

they just wanted out and thought they had a safe route..maybe

[Rose Siding]

27. Maybe lured

or sold? Or it could be they were looking for a way out, I guess- depending on the groups they were working with, they may have thought the uniform would protect them?

It's a cinch the military wouldn't want to say 5 at a time had left, although it may have benefited them to convince troops that they'd never be safe if they tried to leave. There've been plenty of rumors about desertions but little in our media.

[BenDavid]

28. Well hell!

See how loose the so called "liberal media" throws around this term desertion. Hell was it not Tom Brokaw that asked Wesley Clark did he agree with Michael Moore's comment that Bush was a deserter and hell they all were wringing their hands and being critical of Clark's answer. Damn, this Marine was what gone for 4 days before he turned up on the evening news as a hostage. Hell, the Times knows better then to use the term desertion. You cannot be classified a desertor until you are classified as AWOL, then the next logical step would be desertion,that is if they can prove he had no intention of coming back for duty; but he had never reached the first step.....Now if the so called Media Whores wishes to get into a damn name calling about desertion then I say hell yes and let us bring back all this excess baggage that our so call "War President" is carrying with him during his Guard duty. Oh and by the way, another anniversary is upon us come July 2. Yep a year ago Bush said' Bring them on" and well I would say they have and 651 brave American soldiers have died. NEVER FORGET!!!

[jmcgowanjm]

31. I love the way you guys & gals think n/t