Cleric says hostage from CA rescued in Iraq was about to be freed

[Gormy Cuss]

"An Australian engineer from California who was dramatically rescued in Baghdad last week after being held hostage for six weeks would have been released without military intervention, Australia's most senior Muslim cleric insisted Sunday.


Iraqi and U.S. troops freed Douglas Wood, a 64-year-old resident of Alamo, California, early on July 15 from a Baghdad house where insurgents were holding him for ransom.


Sheik Taj El Din al-Hilaly, an Egyptian-born Sunni cleric who flew from his Sydney home within days of the April 30 abduction to negotiate a release, said Wood was to have been released the day of the rescue......"

www.sfgate.com

[havocmom]

1. Not as pretty as Jessica Lynch, but he'll have to do...

Yep, I can hear the wheels turning in Rummy's evil little head all the way from Montana.

[KharmaTrain]

2. He Looked Awfully Good To Be A Captive

When they showed the video of this dude, he was clean shaven and his bald head also looked like it had been gone over recently. This is a far cry from the dirty, beard-laden hostages I've seen in the past. At the time I thought how well the "insurgents" were taking care of him...or...maybe he was either about to be released or they let him go on purpose.

I hope someone follows up on this story.

[Igel]

3. Maybe. Maybe not.

On the other hand, al-Hilaly was there to secure the Aussie's release, had been there for a while, and hadn't done so.

Being ineffectual doesn't help his reputation, and claiming he was undercut would serve to prevent much of the damage, and undermine the Iraqis'; there's been no report that I've seen that would confirm his claim, and you'd think that somebody would have been told about it.

Motive for him to fib? Check.
Confirmation of potential truth telling? No check.

On the other hand, self-delusion's also a distinct possibility.