Marine Who Vanished Says He Didn't Desert

Associated Press ^ | 7/19/04 | MATTHEW BARAKAT

[TexKat]

QUANTICO, Va. - Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun, the Marine who disappeared under mysterious circumstances while on duty in Iraq, insisted on Monday that he was captured

"I did not desert my post," he told reporters outside Quantico Marine Corps Base. "I was captured and held against my will by anti-coalition forces for 19 days. This was a very difficult and challenging time for me."

He did not answer any questions during his brief appearance. He was joined by his brother, who had recently arrived at Quantico from Utah.

Hassoun is in the midst of what the Marines call a "repatriation process" in which he is debriefed and given time to decompress and avoid the media spotlight, Marine Corps officials said.

Hassoun, 24, of West Jordan, Utah, disappeared June 20 from his base near the troubled Iraqi city of Fallujah and turned up unharmed at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut on July 8. It remains unclear how he traveled from Iraq to Lebanon, where he was born and still has some relatives.

On June 27, Arab television showed a videotape of a blindfolded Hassoun, a sword hanging over his head. At one point during his disappearance, a group claiming to represent his captors announced that he had been beheaded after being lured from the base by a love affair.

The Navy is investigating whether the reported kidnapping was a hoax.

Hassoun arrived at Quantico on Friday after six days of medical evaluation at a military hospital in Germany. In the coming days, he will leave Quantico for Camp Lejeune, N.C., his home base, said a Marine spokesman, Lt. Col. Dave Lapan. He will continue the repatriation process there, Lapan said.

Marine officials said it may be weeks or months before Hassoun returns to active duty.

The Naval Criminal Investigation Service is not expected to question Hassoun until his repatriation procedure is completed, the Marine Corps said.

[TexKat]

Marine Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun walks up an embankment as he prepares to make a statement to the press outside Quantico Marine Base in Quantico, Va., Monday July 19, 2004. Hassoun, who disappeared under mysterious circumstances while on duty in Iraq, insisted on Monday that he was captured by enemy forces. 'I did not desert my post,' Wassef Ali Haasoun told reporters outside Qauntico Marine Corps Base. 'I was captured and held against my will by anti-coalition forces for 19 days.' (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

[RightOnTheLeftCoast]

There is one question, and one question only: how and why did he escape alive?

[Howlin]

[TexKat]

U.S. Marine Corporal Wassef Ali Hassoun arrives at the Marine Corps Base in Quantico, Virginia, July 15, 2004, after flying in from Germany. Hassoun, who was born in Lebanon and went missing in Iraq and was reported beheaded by an Islamic extremist group, turned up safe in Lebanon last week. Hassoun will remain at Quantico for further questioning regarding the incident. PHOTO TAKEN JULY 15 REUTERS/Handout/USMC

[Howlin]

I'd like to know why he didn't appear in an orange jumpsuit, wouldn't you?

[TexKat]

Ya mean you ain't buying? LOL!!!

[76834]

Lets just give the benefit of the doubt and let the investigators do their job.

If he DID desert in time of war then a court martial and a firing squad is in order.

[TomServo]

Everybody who believes this crap - please raise your hands.

I'll go first....

Next?

[gilliam]

Funny this guy is not fighting to get back to his unit.

[MineralMan]

"Lets just give the benefit of the doubt and let the investigators do their job.
"

My sentiments, exactly. The man's a Marine. There are other Muslim Marines serving in Iraq. I won't question the man's loyalty until the investigation is complete. No doubt the Marines will find out the truth.

[Howlin]

Exactly.

[Lopeover]

If you noticed with regard to the insurgent/terrorist killings....they don't kill muslims.

Personally, I'd like Franklin D. Roosevelt back as President so he would "intern" the entire muslim populace of the US and send them back to the desert.

[TexKat]

Marine Lt. Col., Dave Lapan, at podium, speaks to the press outside Quantico Marine Base in Quantico, Va., Monday July 19, 2004. Lapan discussed the repatriation of Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun who disappeared in Iraq and turned up in Lebanon three weeks later. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

[rintense]

Good looking man. Another reason not to buy the story. ;)

[gcruse]

If you noticed with regard to the insurgent/terrorist killings....they don't kill muslims.

All the Iraqis killed by 'insurgents' might not agree with you.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

"I did not desert, I swear...I fought off all the insurgents by myself and escaped!"

[TexKat]

[EX52D]

Ok...HOW LONG will it be until we know HOW he got to Lebanon from Iraq? Will we EVER know? That throws a black cloud over everything...who's not talking? Opinions?

[Redbob]

"Personally, I'd like Franklin D. Roosevelt back as President so he would "intern" the entire muslim populace of the US and send them back to the desert."

Agreed.
AFAIC, the internment camps were the only thing Rosevelt did right.

[Aaron0617]

Is it common for Marines to leave their base by themselves and just hop in a car with Iraqis?

If so, maybe that's how it happened. He got abducted while went out with some local guys to get a pizza or something.