Marine Hassoun Set to Return to U.S. from Germany
by Will Dunham
(Reuters)
WASHINGTON -- A Lebanese-born U.S. Marine who resurfaced last week in Beirut after disappearing under mysterious circumstances in Iraq said on Wednesday he was in "good health and spirits" as he left a U.S. hospital in Germany before a scheduled return to the United States.
Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun was expected to fly from Ramstein Air Base to the United States on Thursday bound for a Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia, about 35 miles south of Washington, said Maj. Tim Keefe, a Marine spokesman traveling with Hassoun.
Maj. Nat Fahy, a Marine Corps spokesman at the Pentagon, said Hassoun's "repatriation" process will continue at Quantico, after which he will be questioned by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and others.
Investigators will look into whether he was abducted by militants in Iraq, whether the abduction was a hoax or whether Hassoun was deserting the U.S. military, Fahy said.
"Nothing is being ruled out," Fahy said.
After Hassoun's disappearance, he was seen in a videotape blindfolded with a sword poised over his head. A militant group later claimed to have beheaded him.
After leaving Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, Hassoun released his first public comment since turning up at the U.S. Embassy in the Lebanese capital on July 8 after disappearing from his unit in Iraq three weeks earlier.
"I am in good health and spirits. I look forward to my return home to friends and family," Hassoun said in the statement read by Keefe.
"I am happy to have completed this phase of my repatriation. The people here at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center have treated me very well, but I am excited to be going home," Hassoun said.
"All thanks and praise are due to God for my safety. I am also very thankful for all the kind wishes, support and prayers for me and my family from my fellow Marines, all the people in the U.S., Lebanon and around the world."
Hassoun ended the statement with the Marine Corps motto "Semper Fidelis," which translates to "always faithful."
Hassoun had been scheduled to fly back to the United States on Wednesday, but the flight was postponed a day due to aircraft mechanical problems, officials said.
An Iraqi militant group called the Islamic Response Movement said it freed Hassoun because he pledged to quit the U.S. armed forces and urged other soldiers to do the same to escape their "predicament" in Iraq. There was no independent verification of this account.
Hassoun underwent a debriefing process at Landstuhl, although details were not made available.
by Will Dunham
(Reuters)
WASHINGTON -- A Lebanese-born U.S. Marine who resurfaced last week in Beirut after disappearing under mysterious circumstances in Iraq said on Wednesday he was in "good health and spirits" as he left a U.S. hospital in Germany before a scheduled return to the United States.
Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun was expected to fly from Ramstein Air Base to the United States on Thursday bound for a Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia, about 35 miles south of Washington, said Maj. Tim Keefe, a Marine spokesman traveling with Hassoun.
Maj. Nat Fahy, a Marine Corps spokesman at the Pentagon, said Hassoun's "repatriation" process will continue at Quantico, after which he will be questioned by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and others.
Investigators will look into whether he was abducted by militants in Iraq, whether the abduction was a hoax or whether Hassoun was deserting the U.S. military, Fahy said.
"Nothing is being ruled out," Fahy said.
After Hassoun's disappearance, he was seen in a videotape blindfolded with a sword poised over his head. A militant group later claimed to have beheaded him.
After leaving Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, Hassoun released his first public comment since turning up at the U.S. Embassy in the Lebanese capital on July 8 after disappearing from his unit in Iraq three weeks earlier.
"I am in good health and spirits. I look forward to my return home to friends and family," Hassoun said in the statement read by Keefe.
"I am happy to have completed this phase of my repatriation. The people here at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center have treated me very well, but I am excited to be going home," Hassoun said.
"All thanks and praise are due to God for my safety. I am also very thankful for all the kind wishes, support and prayers for me and my family from my fellow Marines, all the people in the U.S., Lebanon and around the world."
Hassoun ended the statement with the Marine Corps motto "Semper Fidelis," which translates to "always faithful."
Hassoun had been scheduled to fly back to the United States on Wednesday, but the flight was postponed a day due to aircraft mechanical problems, officials said.
An Iraqi militant group called the Islamic Response Movement said it freed Hassoun because he pledged to quit the U.S. armed forces and urged other soldiers to do the same to escape their "predicament" in Iraq. There was no independent verification of this account.
Hassoun underwent a debriefing process at Landstuhl, although details were not made available.
