June 22, 2005
Woods Apology
In the "You won't see this in the MSM" section, Douglas Wood, the Australian engineer that was rescued last week in a combined US/Iraqi "cordon sweep" apololgized to both President Bush and Australian Prime Minister John Howard for his "statements made under duress". Mr. Wood had been held hostage for nearly seven weeks by members of the Iraqi Insurgency Islamofacist movement. During the course of that captivity, Mr. Wood had made a televised plea for coallition troops to withdraw from Iraq.
"I actually believe that I am proof positive that the current policy of training the Iraqi army ... works because it was Iraqis that got me out," he said."
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I would tell Mr. Woods that we understood that he was under duress, and hold no fault with him for saying what he had to, to survive. The fact that his first act on arriving home was to make a public apology shows that he is a class act.
Too bad some of our own people in leadership positions don't have the same class.
Pay attention Durbin....to a real apology.
Posted by: Jack at June 23, 2005 03:09 AMUnlike Durbin, this guy doesn't even have to apologize in my book. The simple explanation of "I had to say that drek or the bastards were going to cut off my head, but I didn't mean a word of it" is plenty enough for me.
Posted by: Graumagus at June 23, 2005 05:34 AMI also appreciated that apology. The government couldn't answer the demands, because by doing so they would have put every Australian (and other foreigners) in Iraq in graver danger of kidnapping. The apology acknowledges that they acted rightly.
As an aside, Wood upset a lot of people in Australia by announcing just after that apology that he was probably going to head back to Iraq because 'the money is really good'. (Seriously, what is his life worth to him?!) His family (who were ready to hock their homes and lives to pay ransom for him) were less than impressed, as was the public in general. He has since changed his mind.
Posted by: chosha at June 26, 2005 06:41 PM