Posted on 01/21/2005 4:21:14 PM PST by Middle-O-Road
The brother of a Utah Marine twice accused of desertion said he and his brother were in the middle of negotiating a $1 million book deal and movie rights up until Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun disappeared over the holidays.
Wassef Ali Hassoun
Mohamad Hassoun told the Deseret Morning News that his brother's second disappearance in the face of pending desertion and theft charges has soured any interest in selling the missing Marine's personal story. "There are no current negotiations right now," Mohamad Hassoun said Thursday from his home in West Jordan. Facing charges stemming from his disappearance from a Marine camp in Iraq last summer, Hassoun was allowed holiday leave from Camp LeJeune, N.C., to visit his family in Utah. Family members confirmed that Hassoun arrived in Utah and visited over Christmas and had assumed he was on his way back to Camp LeJeune when he called them on Dec. 19, saying he was in Washington, D.C. However, news sources have quoted Pentagon officials who said they traced Hassoun's credit card transactions, showing he booked travel to Canada and then on to Lebanon. Marines officially listed Hassoun a deserter for a second time on Jan. 5, saying he failed to report for duty on Jan. 4. There is currently a nationwide warrant for his arrest. The 24-year-old Marine was scheduled to appear at a military pre-trial court hearing at Camp LeJeune last week, after which it would be decided if he would face court-martial. If convicted, Hassoun faced a maximum penalty of life incarceration. Since his second disappearance, Mohamad Hassoun said neither his family in Utah nor family members in the family's home town of Tripoli, Lebanon, have heard from Hassoun. "We are worried for his safety. We pray, that's all we can do for him," Mohamad Hassoun said. Mohamad Hassoun began negotiating with the Los Angeles public relations firm Sands Digital Media in August, just weeks after the Marine was returned to the United States, said the firm's owner, Michael Sands.
No contract was ever signed, and negotiations have broken off. "Everything is off the table after what happened to my brother," Mohamad Hassoun said. "He would have to tell his story, and I don't know his story." Sands also said a $1 million fee is unlikely, mainly because whatever sympathy factor there may have been for Wassef Hassoun is gone with the second desertion. "I asked him what he wanted, and he said a million dollars," Sands said. "A million dollars? This is not Jessica Lynch." Lynch, an Army supply clerk, was rescued in a commando raid 20 days after her convoy took a wrong turn and was ambushed in Nasiriyah, Iraq, in March 2003. Nine soldiers from Lynch's unit and two others traveling with them were killed. "Jessica Lynch got a million," Sands said, but "there was proof she got captured." Hassoun, whose main duty was a truck driver, was asked to be an Arabic translator for an undercover Marine intelligence operation while in Iraq. He was reported missing June 20. Investigators later reported Hassoun had stolen a Humvee vehicle at the time. On June 27, the Al-Jazeera Arabic news network broadcast a grainy video, showing Hassoun blindfolded with a sword held above his head. Marines declared Hassoun captured but later changed his status to deserted. On July 8, Hassoun showed up in Beirut, Lebanon hundreds of miles away from Iraq where he contacted the U.S. Embassy there. In the following weeks, Hassoun underwent a repatriation process in Germany and was returned to Camp LeJeune, after which he was allowed leave to spend time with his family in Utah. In his only two public statements, Hassoun has maintained that he was captured in Iraq and stressed his loyalty to the U.S. Marine Corps. "We had been aware there had been discussions of a book and a movie," said Marine spokesman Maj. Matthew Morgan. Just after Hassoun's return to the United States, Morgan said numerous publicists were beating down the doors to get the Hassoun story. "There were numerous folks with agencies attempting to get in touch with Wassef and his family members," Morgan said. Morgan said he could not say if the Marines knew where Hassoun was, but added the Marines will continue to list Hassoun as deserted. Sands said he would only reopen negotiations on a book deal if the military were to drop all charges against Hassoun. "I think he should give himself up and come back and tell us the real story," Sands said. Mohamad Hassoun said there is still a chance that there may be a book through another deal. He said his brother wanted to "get his story out." When asked what information, or message, that Hassoun wanted to get out, Mohamad Hassoun said, "You would have to read the book."
NOT!
after each so that the article does not run on .. otherwise excellent post.
Get a rope; hang this subhuman muslim sleeper-traitor filth.
I would have to agree.
Nice to get paid for desertion, eh?
Sometimes I wonder about this ol' world.
The family knows where he is.
After the paragraph put P in between < >. Sorry that it did not show up the first time.
LOL!
Naw, tell us what you really think.
Not that I disagree or anything ...
Thanks for the suggestion.
I will do.
I do not think there is one person who would disagree. Exactly what makes his story worth telling, then again if Amber Frey (just a witness) can make a cool million why not capitalize on their family member's desertion.
This is just down right pathetic.
No problem. It is sometimes hard to know if you need to add the P in brackets to break up the story in the paragraphs intended. When you hit preview, you will see whether it is formatted the way the author intended.
Frankly, I still make mistakes.
This is really an important article to follow. If you had not had the chance to follow it, you might do a search of previous threads on this less then honorable Marine.
Again welcome to Free Republic and I am sure I am not stepping on any toes when I say if you have questions Freepers assist in a heartbeat.
Hassoun is a two-time deserter who is now eligible for the death penalty. He should get it, too.
Hassoun never should have gotten out of Lebanon after he deserted the first time. They should have flown a military commander to the US embassy over there to execute him.
In my opinion, this whole thing smells. I do think there's a story beyond what we know, but I believe that it's not a positive one for Hassoun.
Makes one wonder if he might REALLY be involved with terrorists. Hmm.
Now, it must be death.
and send his sleeper-cell family back to Lebanon.
Deseret Morning News, Friday, January 21, 2005
Hassouns lose chance for $1 million
By Geoffrey Fattah
Deseret Morning News
The brother of a Utah Marine twice accused of desertion said he and his brother were in the middle of negotiating a $1 million book deal and movie rights up until Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun disappeared over the holidays.
Wassef Ali Hassoun |
"There are no current negotiations right now," Mohamad Hassoun said Thursday from his home in West Jordan.
Facing charges stemming from his disappearance from a Marine camp in Iraq last summer, Hassoun was allowed holiday leave from Camp LeJeune, N.C., to visit his family in Utah. Family members confirmed that Hassoun arrived in Utah and visited over Christmas and had assumed he was on his way back to Camp LeJeune when he called them on Dec. 19, saying he was in Washington, D.C.
However, news sources have quoted Pentagon officials who said they traced Hassoun's credit card transactions, showing he booked travel to Canada and then on to Lebanon. Marines officially listed Hassoun a deserter for a second time on Jan. 5, saying he failed to report for duty on Jan. 4. There is currently a nationwide warrant for his arrest.
The 24-year-old Marine was scheduled to appear at a military pre-trial court hearing at Camp LeJeune last week, after which it would be decided if he would face court-martial. If convicted, Hassoun faced a maximum penalty of life incarceration.
Since his second disappearance, Mohamad Hassoun said neither his family in Utah nor family members in the family's home town of Tripoli, Lebanon, have heard from Hassoun.
"We are worried for his safety. We pray, that's all we can do for him," Mohamad Hassoun said.
Mohamad Hassoun began negotiating with the Los Angeles public relations firm Sands Digital Media in August, just weeks after the Marine was returned to the United States, said the firm's owner, Michael Sands.
No contract was ever signed, and negotiations have broken off.
"Everything is off the table after what happened to my brother," Mohamad Hassoun said. "He would have to tell his story, and I don't know his story."
Sands also said a $1 million fee is unlikely, mainly because whatever sympathy factor there may have been for Wassef Hassoun is gone with the second desertion.
"I asked him what he wanted, and he said a million dollars," Sands said. "A million dollars? This is not Jessica Lynch."
Lynch, an Army supply clerk, was rescued in a commando raid 20 days after her convoy took a wrong turn and was ambushed in Nasiriyah, Iraq, in March 2003. Nine soldiers from Lynch's unit and two others traveling with them were killed.
"Jessica Lynch got a million," Sands said, but "there was proof she got captured."
Hassoun, whose main duty was a truck driver, was asked to be an Arabic translator for an undercover Marine intelligence operation while in Iraq. He was reported missing June 20. Investigators later reported Hassoun had stolen a Humvee vehicle at the time.
On June 27, the Al-Jazeera Arabic news network broadcast a grainy video, showing Hassoun blindfolded with a sword held above his head. Marines declared Hassoun captured but later changed his status to deserted. On July 8, Hassoun showed up in Beirut, Lebanon hundreds of miles away from Iraq where he contacted the U.S. Embassy there.
In the following weeks, Hassoun underwent a repatriation process in Germany and was returned to Camp LeJeune, after which he was allowed leave to spend time with his family in Utah.
In his only two public statements, Hassoun has maintained that he was captured in Iraq and stressed his loyalty to the U.S. Marine Corps.
"We had been aware there had been discussions of a book and a movie," said Marine spokesman Maj. Matthew Morgan.
Just after Hassoun's return to the United States, Morgan said numerous publicists were beating down the doors to get the Hassoun story. "There were numerous folks with agencies attempting to get in touch with Wassef and his family members," Morgan said.
Morgan said he could not say if the Marines knew where Hassoun was, but added the Marines will continue to list Hassoun as deserted.
Sands said he would only reopen negotiations on a book deal if the military were to drop all charges against Hassoun. "I think he should give himself up and come back and tell us the real story," Sands said.
Mohamad Hassoun said there is still a chance that there may be a book through another deal. He said his brother wanted to "get his story out." When asked what information, or message, that Hassoun wanted to get out, Mohamad Hassoun said, "You would have to read the book."
Contributing: Associated Press
E-mail: gfattah@desnews.com
© 2005 Deseret News Publishing Company
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