Who kidnapped the Christian Peacekeepers? (Updated)

Four members of a non-missionary Christian peace group -- opponents of Mr. Bush's war -- were kidnapped more than three weeks ago in Iraq by a group no-one had heard of before called the Swords of Righteousness Brigade. The brigade has called the Peacemakers "spies," even though the group is known for its aid work -- and for helping Seymour Hersh uncover the Abu Ghraib scandal. The group has also denounced George Bush's most recent speech.

Muslims around the world, including many with strong anti-U.S. feelings, have called for the release of these prisoners, who have provided a consistent anti-war voice.

Privately, a few have wondered: Who are the kidnappers? Why would they target a group which has taken great risks to antagonize the Bush forces?

Are we dealing with what British General Frank Kitson once called a "pseudo-gang"?

No-one doubts, these days, that the CIA and other American agencies are perfectly willing to perform kidnappings of both Americans and non-Americans. But is there precedent for the presence of a kidnap-crazed "pseudo-gang" in Iraq?

Many will recall the example of Nick Berg, whose grisly behading video seemed unconvincing to many. I took the evidence of murder at face value, but I still wonder why Berg wore an orange jumpsuit similar to the those seen in the Abu Ghraib photos, and why the surrounding details (the floor, the walls, the chair) matched interior shots of that prison. In my eyes, the murder of Nick Berg remains mysterious. (Many details of his life were also puzzling, but we must go into those enigmas at another time.)

On July 13, 2004 -- when few people paid attention to this blog -- I published a piece on another Iraq kidnapping, where the indications of fakery were stronger. Even mainstream periodicals voiced suspicion. This post may have some bearing on the current episode. I'll repeat it here (beneath the asterisks).

* * *

I actually started to write it. A note of apology.

I may still publish it. After all, I've long castigated the rightists for their psychological inability to apologize for anything; if they step on your foot, they blame you for putting your foot there. That's why no right-wingers ever admitted that they were wrong about Whitewater or the Clinton hit squad or the Vince Foster "murder" or any of the other wacky conspiracy stories they peddled.

Then came the l'affaire Berg, a wacky conspiracy story that, rightly or wrongly, captured the attention of yours truly. I never wedded myself to the popular "fake beheading" thesis. But who can deny the Fleming-esque fascination of this outlandish idea?

More intriguing still, to me at least, are the manifold oddities -- and even (dare I say it?) hints of espionage -- in the career of Nick Berg.

Alas, the "spooky" aspect of the case did not interest others quite so much as it did me. Those who fixated on the Berg mystery were primarily drawn to the possibility of video fakery. And there is some evidence to support their view -- for example, this analysis of the voice of "Zarqawi," as heard on the Berg tape, notes some very unexpected details.

Like many others, I was stunned to see Berg wearing an Abu Ghraib-style orange jump suit. For many, that was the detail that permeated this business with an unmistakable odor of fish.

And then...and then...

Others were kidnapped: Paul Johnson. Kim Sun-il. Marine Cpl. Wassif Hassoun. All three men were displayed wearing American-style orange prison jumpsuits, as though Middle Eastern terrorists had found a discount store that carried such uniforms in bulk.

This turn of events placed the Berg "buffs" in an uncomfortable position. Even the hard-core conspiracy theorists tend to admit that the Johnson murder was precisely what it seemed to be. If a "real" beheading offers details similar to those found in the Berg video, then we can fairly presume that the Berg atrocity was genuine as well.

And then...and then...

Corporal Hassoun turned up alive.

The news reports are sketchy and contradictory to the point of infuriation. At one point, we were told that Hassoun went AWOL to be with a girlfriend in Lebanon. No, other reports countered: The girlfriend was Iraqi. Friends in Iraq, according to some news accounts, conspired to shuttle Hassoun off to his native land of Lebanon. No, said other news accounts: Those "friends" were actually terrorists who kidnapped him for real. Now that he has spent some days in American hands, Hassoun's de-briefers aren't telling the press much. Initial accounts indicate that they take his kidnapping at face value. Yet the majority of news articles continue to treat the whole affair as a hoax.

I've just begun to list the oddities surrounding this episode. The ultimate oddity is this: There was a videotape of Hassoun in captivity -- wearing the now-ubiquitous orange jumpsuit.

Don't underestimate the ramifications. If this kidnapping was indeed a hoax, then it was a very elaborate prank involving a number of perpetrators. They were able to replicate the essentials of the Berg video, and they were able to send the video to the internet without being traced.

Which means, at the very least, that we may well possess at least one verifiable instance of a staged video documenting a terrorist "kidnapping." And the existence of one staged video means we cannot discount the possibility of others.

More than that: If the Hassoun kidnapping was a fake designed to help the Marine shuffle off to Lebanon, then we must presume that Hassoun had no serious objection to the idea of his family being informed of his murder. The man cared so much about beating the AWOL rap that he let his mother, rather and siblings believe that decapitation had occurred. Or so some news stories would have us think.

More than that. Various news accounts imply that Hassoun intended to start a new life, probably under a new identity. Would he really take such a drastic step just to impress a girl?

The "fake kidnapping" reports place us -- egads! -- directly in the middle of conspiracy-land. The only question concerns the conspiracy's size. We are permitted to consider the notion that Hassoun and his buddies worked up an elaborate scheme of this sort on their own, ad hoc. But if we don't want reasonable, sober-minded folk to snarl or guffaw at us, we must never, ever, ponder the possibility that the American military or espionage apparat might have engineered such a deception. To allow such a notion to percolate in our noggins would constitute Thoughtcrime Most Foul.

Far be it from me to wallow in Thoughtcriminality. But...well, you remember that apology I was going to offer for my interest in the Berg controversy? I may yet offer my mea culpas.

But not today.

* * *

Update: End of self-quotation; this is my December, 2005 self writing again. I'm going to include in the body of this post some information that first appeared in the comments section.

First, a reader notes that this CBS News photo does not depict Hassoun in the infamous orange jumpsuit. I recall that the jumpsuit was mentioned in some reports published at the time.

Wikipedia tells the follow-up story as well as anyone:

A preliminary result of the United States Navy into the activities of Wassef Ali Hassoun concluded that he deserted the United States Marine Corps on June 21, 2004. The investigation is ongoing [1]. In mid-July, he publicly denied desertion

On December 9, 2004, The Pentagon announced that Hassoun would be charged with desertion, larceny and wrongful disposition of military property in connection with his service-issued 9 mm handgun that disappeared with him and never turned up. If convicted, he could receive a dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of pay, and from five to ten years incarceration on each specification.

In a further twist, on January 4, 2005 he was again labelled a deserter after failing to return to his base in North Carolina from authorised leave. He is reportedly in Canada or Lebanon.

Finally, this January 7, 2005 story in the Deseret News includes confirmation that Hassoun was engaged in an undefined intelligence operation:

Questions of Hassoun's involvement in intelligence were raised last month when Marine officials disclosed that Hassoun, whose main duty was to drive trucks, was called to help in undercover intelligence operations in Iraq. However, Wims said the fact that Hassoun was not charged with divulging classified information may indicate that Hassoun's role in that operation was minimal. If Hassoun was a threat to military security, he would have been treated differently, Wims said.

The writer of this article did not consider the possibility that the kidnapping was the "undercover intelligence operation."

If...if we credit the theory that Hassoun participated in a fake kidnapping arranged by American operatives, we can only guess at the purpose. Those who surmise along these lines will presume that the operation was blown, and that Houssan was allowed to disappear.