U.S. Says No Westerners Held in Iraq

AP via The Las Vegas Sun ^ | September 18, 2003 | staff?

[Pan_Yans Wife]

U.S. troops in Iraq are not currently holding any American or British citizens in custody, the commander of coalition forces said Thursday.

An official said earlier this week that six people held on suspicion of guerrilla activity had claimed to be Americans and two others claimed to be British. The coalition has been investigating the claims.

Asked on Thursday about the claims, Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez said, "We currently have no Americans under arrest in our detention facilities."

Asked if any Britons were being held, he replied: "None."

At least one American was arrested around the end of major combat operations May 1 but he was released after an investigation determined he was not involved in illegal activities, Sanchez said without giving further details.

On Tuesday, Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski, who is in charge of coalition detention centers in Iraq, told reporters about the eight prisoners who said they were American or Britons. But, he said, the claims were shaky. "The details become sketchy and their story changes," Karpinski said.

American officials have spoken of foreign involvement in some attacks against American and other coalition forces but had not mentioned any involvement by Westerners.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

ping

[Herodotus]

Two ways to read it:
(1) they've been moved out of Iraq into another prison system. That's a literal interpretation of Gen. Sanchez's remarks.

(2) They were faking their American/British citizenship in hopes of getting some kind of leniency, but the story fell apart under proper examination.

[boxerblues]

Two ways to read it:
(1) they've been moved out of Iraq into another prison system. That's a literal interpretation of Gen. Sanchez's remarks.

(2) They were faking their American/British citizenship in hopes of getting some kind of leniency, but the story fell apart under proper examination.

(3) They were American and were shot trying to escape :)

[Pan_Yans Wife]

I go for number 2.

[Herodotus]

Me too.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

I may be conceited, but I think it would be really hard to impersonate being an American, under interrogation. Americans are definitely a unique breed.

[wideawake]

They were probably claiming to have born on US soil - "My parents lived in Flint, MI briefly in the mid-70s before they moved back to Iraq/Syria/Jordan" kind of thing.

[Herodotus]

Not particularly. You just have to claim you have an American passport and are an American citizen, for which even a little bit of English will suffice. The U.S. troops would then have to take this seriously and not bundle you off to the depot with all the other captured locals.