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WASHINGTON
– Navy pilot Michael "Scott" Speicher was called the first casualty of the
1991 Gulf War. But his true status was a mystery, and the Pentagon didn't
know whether he was dead or missing. For nearly two decades, Speicher's family,
from outside Jacksonville, Fla., pressured the Defense Department to find
an answer. Finally, the Pentagon announced Sunday that his remains had been
found. Shot down over west-central Iraq on a combat mission on Jan. 17, 1991,
Speicher was declared killed by the Pentagon hours later. Defense Secretary
Dick Cheney went on television and announced the U.S. had suffered its first
casualty of the war. But 10 years later, the Navy changed his status to missing
in action, citing an absence of evidence that Speicher had died. In October
2002, the Navy switched his status to "missing/captured," although it has
never said what evidence it had that he ever was in captivity. More reviews
followed, without definitive answers. His story never waned in Jacksonville.
A large banner flying outside a firefighters' credit union has a photo of
him with the words "Free Scott Speicher." At his church, a memorial was put
up in his honor. The tennis complex at his alma mater, Florida State University,
was named for him. A high school classmate who helped form the group "Friends
Working to Free Scott Speicher" said Sunday his biggest fear was that Speicher
had been taken alive and tortured. "This whole thing has been so surreal for
all of the people who have known Scott," said Nels Jensen, 52, who now lives
in Arkansas. Jensen said the group was frustrated the military didn't initially
send a search and rescue team after the crash, and then grew more perplexed
as reports of his possible capture emerged. "Never again will our military
likely not send out a search and rescue party for a downed serviceman," Jensen
said. (M.ANANTH KUMAR) Pak SC adjourns Saeed's detention hearing The Pakistan Supreme Court has adjourned the hearing in the JuD chief Hafiz Saeed case indefinitely. Hafiz Mohammad Saeed has been accused by India of being the mastermind of the Mumbai attacks. The apex court's direction comes two days after India said there was "enough evidence" to continue investigation against the Jamaat-ud Dawa (JuD) chief in connection with the 26/11 attacks. The hearing of two petitions filed by the Federal and Punjab governments had been adjourned indefinitely by the apex court, Saeed's counsel A K Dogar told reporters. Sources said the move was apparently linked to the resignation on Sunday of Punjab's Advocate General Raza Farooq, who was representing the provincial government in the hearings. The provincial government sought time from the apex court to appoint a new Advocate General and asked for the hearing to be adjourned, sources said. On July 16, the apex court had adjourned the matter for two weeks following a request from the Federal government that it should be given time to present fresh evidence against Saeed. Earlier, the Punjab government had threatened to withdraw from the case, saying the Federal government was not cooperating with it. It decided to review its stance after Attorney General Latif Khosa intervened in the matter.
