FBI lab probes initials of pilot

[lucky wilbury]

http://washingtontimes.com/national/20040302-094844-5334r.htm

FBI lab probes initials of pilot


By Bill Gertz
THE WASHINGTON TIMES

An FBI laboratory is investigating evidence obtained in Iraq regarding missing Navy pilot Capt. Michael Scott Speicher, U.S. officials say.

Investigators are trying to determine whether the initials "MSS" found carved on a wooden beam at an Iraqi prison were made by Capt. Speicher, who might have been held captive there after his F-18 jet was shot down in 1991.

Vice Adm. Lowell Jacoby, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, stated in Senate testimony that evidence related to the case was turned over to the laboratory in Quantico, Va., as part of "a relatively small number of active leads still being pursued" by investigators in Iraq.

"There's still some forensic work being done by FBI laboratories on the beam with the initials on it and some other materials that have been brought back, and we don't have a final report out from them," Adm. Jacoby said.

A defense official said yesterday the investigation is ongoing. The FBI is using its high-technology resources at the laboratory to analyze the letters to find out what kind of carving tool might have been used.

Adm. Jacoby said the search for Capt. Speicher remains "an active case."

The Navy's top admiral said yesterday there is no evidence to change Capt. Speicher's status from "missing-captured."

"We have not found out new specific intelligence revelations that have changed our fundamental conclusion," said Adm. Vern Clark, the chief of naval operations.

Cindy Laquidara, a Florida lawyer who represents Capt. Speicher's family, said yesterday she has heard about talk in the Pentagon of changing Capt. Speicher's status back to "killed in action."

A Navy official, however, said there is not enough evidence to reclassify Capt. Speicher as killed in acton.

Mrs. Laquidara said the U.S. military has top Iraqi officials in custody who would have information on Capt. Speicher and that she wants to interview them.

Iraq insisted before the recent war that Capt. Speicher was dead, and Saddam Hussein had told military interrogators in December, shortly after his capture, that he knew nothing about the fate of the pilot.

The letters "MSS" were found scrawled on a cell wall in the Hakmiyah prison in Iraq where informants have said an American prisoner was held.

Capt. Speicher went missing on Jan. 17, 1991, after his F-18 Hornet was hit by a missile on the first night of the Persian Gulf war.

The Navy initially classified Capt. Speicher as killed in action, but later reclassified him as missing, based on intelligence that he had survived the crash and that Iraq was holding an American pilot. During a visit to the crash site several years ago, investigators found Capt. Speicher's flight suit.

[knuckleboner]

i wish they would just stop reporting on this. if they haven't found the body, it doesn't do any good.

today, the guy is dead. period. but all this shit is just like acid in the family's wounds. they need a body and closure. but if we can't get that, let's at least not hype the false hope.

(no, i'm not saying we need to stop investigating. but until there's something CONCRETE, i think the media needs to stop reporting.)

[lucky wilbury]

you don't think his initials are concrete? iraq said they never had him then his initials show up where intel said he was held thats pretty big. grant it this is old news the initials it came out last year the fbi angle is new. anything is possible with iraq. like i've said before saddam held an iranian pilot for 18 years even though they said they never had him. as far as the family goes as far as i know they want this info out there that way they don't stop looking. keeps the profile up:


http://www.freescottspeicher.com/

We're inviting you and the entire world to do the right thing. Join us in our efforts—make your voice heard. Our mission is simple:

To heighten public awareness about Scott Speicher's plight worldwide

To keep this issue on the forefront of local, national, and international news

To form alliances and partnerships in our home of Jacksonville, Florida, the nation, and the world with citizens' and veterans' groups who will work as volunteers with us to achieve the immediate release and return of Captain Speicher

To create the largest army of volunteers ever who will work together as friends to free Captain Speicher

To work tirelessly to spread the word around the world, requesting help in pressuring the United States government to take immediate action to free Captain Speicher

[knuckleboner]

no dude. "MSS" on a wall is not enough concrete evidence for a story.

finding his body is. that's it. that's all i want to read about. like i said, i don't think the government should stop investigating.

but everytime there's some detail that may or may not shed evidence on the issue, i don't want to hear how, "lt. speicher may still be alive..."

it doesn't bother me. but it's not fair to the family. unless we have a body then i don't really want to see the media reporting on it.

though...i do hear you on the family wanting to keep pressure on the government to keep investigating. i just personally feel that as of 3/3/04, scott speicher is dead. and any so-called evidence that he's alive only plays with the family's emotions. if the guy's definitely dead, then i want the closure for them. and if they can't get a body, i at least don't want them spending the next 13 years hoping that every time they hear the story in the news that it will lead to a happy reunion with a living speicher.

[lucky wilbury]

the initials were in the same prison and the same cell a defector said he was held in in the early 90's. you can never know with iraq. the guy could be with al duori and to be used a human shield. he could have been shipped out to syria etc etc etc. all evidence shows he survived the crash where is he now who knows but you can never rule out anything.

[knuckleboner]

i'm not trying to rule anything out, lucky. i DO hope he's found alive.

but my overwhelming guess is that he's dead. whether it was in the crash, or in a dungeon, he's dead.

either way, though, i personally hope the government keeps after it full force, and that the press doesn't report on every possible lead which generates hope, but little likelihood of actually finding speicher alive.

[lucky wilbury]

time will tell on this.

[Viking]

The poor bastard's dead, and probably buried in a maas grave we haven't found yet. As many people as the Saddam regime murdered, his body may never be positively identified.