son refused a U.S. offer in early April to board an outbound charter jet because he believed travel to the airport was too dangerous. American soldiers refer to the airport highway as "RPG Alley" because of frequent attacks by insurgents firing rocket-propelled grenades"
Once you get into the South of Iraq, you're probably relatively safe, provided you skip Najaf and Karbala. If he really did fear going to the airport, it is possible he was attempting to get to Southern Iraq where he could then travel in relative safety across the border.
Not necessarily a "complete my mission" kind of deal.
Thanks for bumping the thread. Keep up the good work.
One article on FR said that not only was he offered a free plane ride out of Iraq, but trip to airport as well.