<p>February 23, 2003 -- Americans held hostage in Iraq in the months before the Gulf War have an urgent message for a group of peace activists in Baghdad offering themselves as human shields: Get out while you can.</p>
<p>As the countdown to war shifts from weeks to days, Americans who were kidnapped and used to protect Iraqi targets from attack are appealing to the peaceniks to leave the volatile country before their protest backfires.</p>