ex-hostage Wood returns to Australia, says he may return to Iraq

[Kadie]

Wood returns to Australia, says he may return to Iraq; Muslim cleric knocks forces for rescue raid
Chuck Squatriglia, Chronicle Staff Writer

Monday, June 20, 2005


An Alamo man held captive in Iraq for more than six weeks was back home today in his native Australia, where he apologized for his televised plea for the Australian government to withdraw from that war-torn country and said he might return there to pursue “business opportunities.”

snip...
“Frankly, I’d like to apologize to both President Bush and (Australian) Prime Minister (John) Howard for the things I said under duress,” Wood said, flanked by his wife and two brothers. “I actually believe that I am proof positive that the current policy of training the Iraqi Army, of recruiting, training and bloodying them worked because it was the Iraqis that got me out. Perhaps I’m proof positive that the current policies of the American and the Australian governments is the right one.”

snip...
But Australia’s highest-ranking Muslim cleric, who went to Iraq shortly after Wood’s capture in an effort to broker his release, criticized coalition forces for the raid that ultimately freed Wood, saying their hasty action has jeopardized the lives of two Iraqis held captive alongside Wood.

“The stupid action that was taken last week has exposed the fathers of these families to death,” said Sheik Taj el-Din al Hilaly, identifying the two hostages as Wood’s driver and an engineer who accompanied him in Iraq. “There is a 90 percent chance that they will not be released now. What the raids also risk is that we will lose the contacts and the friendships that we built with contacts in Iraq.”

more...
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/06/20/MNwood20.DTL

[CottonBear]

1. This guy is either crazy or greedy: he says he might go back to Iraq.

:wtf: