There's something fishy going on here

Midnyte_Ragebringer · Post by **Midnyte_Ragebringer** » June 28, 2004, 12:45 pm

Marine Hostage's Family Confirms Identity

Monday, June 28, 2004

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Insurgents threatened to behead a U.S. Marine and a Pakistani driver they had kidnapped unless the United States releases all Iraqis in "occupation jails," according to a videotape aired on Arab television.

Turkey rejected demands by militants holding three Turkish hostages in a separate standoff.

The family of Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun confirmed that he was the kidnapped American Marine who appeared in a videotape shown Sunday. The U.S. military said Hassoun, a Muslim of Middle Eastern origin, had been missing from his unit for nearly a week.

The hostage had a white blindfold covering his eyes. He wore military fatigues, and his mustache was trimmed.

The kidnappers claimed to have infiltrated a Marine outpost, lured Hassoun outside and abducted him. Al-Jazeera said the militants demanded the release of all Iraqis "in occupation jails" or the hostage would be killed.

They identified themselves as part of "Islamic Response," the security wing of the "National Islamic Resistance — 1920 Revolution Brigades." The name refers to the uprising against the British after World War I.

The group, which has claimed responsibility for previous anti-American attacks, first surfaced in an Aug. 12 statement claiming the United States was hiding its casualty tolls in Iraq to help President Bush's election chances.

Hassoun's family in the Salt Lake City suburb of West Jordan asked people to join them in prayers.

"We accept destiny with its good and bad," Hassoun family friend and spokesman Tarek Nosseir said in a brief statement Sunday to reporters. "We pray and plead for his safe release."

More than 40 people from several countries have been abducted in Iraq since April — many of them released or freed by coalition soldiers.

Death threats against hostages as well as insurgent attacks on U.S. and Iraqi security forces accelerated ahead of Iraq's return to self-rule on Monday.

The transfer of sovereignty had been scheduled for Wednesday but the U.S.-led coalition speeded up the move by two days in an apparent bid to head off any attempts at sabotage.

U.S. officials believe the insurgency consists of several groups with different ideologies, among them Arab nationalists, former Baath Party (search) members and Islamic extremists.

Earlier Sunday, the Pakistani driver was shown on a tape broadcast by a different Arab television station, Al-Arabiya. The hostage displayed an identification card issued by the U.S. firm Kellogg, Brown & Root (search), a subsidiary of Vice President Dick Cheney's former company Halliburton.

Four masked men holding assault rifles across their chests said they would behead the Pakistani within three days unless Americans freed prisoners held at Abu Ghraib (search) and three cities of central Iraq — Balad, Dujail and Samarra.

The gunmen said they captured the Pakistani near the U.S. base at Balad, 50 miles north of Baghdad. They did not say whether they were affiliated with any group,

The hostage, who gave his name as Amjad, urged Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to close the Pakistani Embassy in Iraq and to ban Pakistanis from coming to Iraq.

"I'm also Muslim, but despite this they didn't release me," he said, bowing his head. "They are going to cut the head of any person regardless of whether he is a Muslim or not."

In Pakistan, an official at the Foreign Ministry said they were trying to get information on the driver.

"We heard about him in the newspapers this morning," the official said Monday on condition of anonymity. "Pray to Allah for peace for that man."

It was unclear if either set of kidnappers was linked to Jordanian terror mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who claimed responsibility for the decapitation deaths of American businessman Nicholas Berg and South Korean translator Kim Sun-il last week.

In Istanbul, Turkish Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul rejected demands by al-Zarqawi's group for Turkish companies to quit doing business with U.S. troops in Iraq to spare the lives of the three Turkish hostages.

"Turkey will not bow to pressure from terrorists," Gonul told the private CNN-Turk and TV8 television stations.

The demand was issued as Bush and other Western leaders gathered in Turkey for a NATO summit Monday. Turkey, the only Muslim nation in NATO, was put in a difficult position trying to balance alliance solidarity with national interests.

The U.S. mission in Iraq is deeply unpopular in Turkey, and it was feared that any killing of Turkish hostages could intensify anger against the United States.

WTF man. This is the third US hostage. The first two had connections to Islam and now this one has a Muslim name. Something is going on here. He just disappears from his camp? Infiltrated? I'm not buying it. Something is up here.

Kylere · Post by **Kylere** » June 28, 2004, 2:17 pm

Okay not getting all conspiracy theory here, but yeah the oddities of those that kidnap make me wonder if their fellow soldiers, contractors etc are selling them out.

Midnyte_Ragebringer · Post by **Midnyte_Ragebringer** » June 28, 2004, 2:22 pm

Kylere wrote:Okay not getting all conspiracy theory here, but yeah the oddities of those that kidnap make me wonder if their fellow soldiers, contractors etc are selling them out.

Or, they are semi-willing participants, helping the "cause". It's just a little too weird.

Avryce · Post by **Avryce** » June 28, 2004, 2:29 pm

Midnyte_Ragebringer wrote:Or, they are semi-willing participants, helping the "cause". It's just a little too weird.

I was wondering this myself. More than likely these people may have been lured in somehow thinking they would be helping the "cause" in some manner. Why they would still continue doing it after multiple beheadings is beyond me though.

Or maybe it's just dumb luck they've grabbed people sharing similar religious beliefs.

Kylere · Post by **Kylere** » June 28, 2004, 2:37 pm

Well it could be dumb luck, or divine guidance LOL

noel · Post by **noel** » June 28, 2004, 2:40 pm

It's definitely interesting. The history on the first guy killed was just a bit too coincidental in my opinion...

Pherr the Dorf · Post by **Pherr the Dorf** » June 28, 2004, 6:13 pm

Not to point out the obvious but...

Imagine you followed Islam

Imagine yourself in one of the holiest places in Islam

Imagine someone you have seen and gotten to know to some extent offering to show you a holy site, some cool assed site, some site that as a follower of Islam you thought you'd never see, and now you have a chance to

now imagine what you'd do

It isn't hard to see how these people are lured away when they are in their own holyland surrounded by things they wish to see.

Kylere · Post by **Kylere** » June 28, 2004, 6:43 pm

That makes a lot of sense Pherr