Deserter

One wonders whether this guy was simply “allowed” to go missing.

WASHINGTON - Naval investigators continued a search Thursday for missing Marine Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun, who surprised his family, attorney and military officials by not returning from a holiday leave to face charges that he deserted his unit in Iraq last summer.

Hassoun, a 24-year-old Muslim with dual Lebanese and American citizenship, failed to return to the Marine base at Camp Lejeune, N.C., on Tuesday following an authorized holiday.

The Naval Criminal Investigative Service was investigating, but a spokeswoman said she could not comment on details of the case.

Call me crazy (yeah, like that’s *not* going to happen), but I wonder if Corporal Hassoun was given just enough rope to hang himself. Or to lead the appropriate authorities to much bigger fish than he.

At least I hope that’s the case.

(Thanks to many sources)

Comments

[Samantha]

I wasn't going to say it but I thought pretty much the same thing. Could this be a nice sting op? I sure hope so. Otherwise the authorities were pretty naive to let this guy out of their sight.

[Noble Eagle]

I hope it's a sting op too, but after reading the story at the url below, I'm not brimming with confidence about the NCIS.

http://froggyruminations.blogspot.com/2005/01/blue-falcon-alert.html

[StinKerr]

I must admit to a lack of imagination. I never thought of it this way.

[jlawson]

I wouldn't have thought they'd just 'let him go' either... if they were suspicious. And frankly, they were.

Hey, maybe he DID over over to supply and request one 'rope, enough, hang yourself' as personal issue. Think they've got a hand receipt on file waiting for when he turns it back in?

If it's otherwise, he may have a tracker either somewhere in his kit or on his person. I'd like to think that his allegiance to the US and the Marine Corps would win out over his religion, and he's helping in a sting operation.

Funny thing, though... either way, whether he deserted or if he's bait, we'll likely never know what the ultimate resolution is.

J.

[Dave]

Every time I think I've sussed out some wonderful secret plan that makes all the sense in the world, I find out I'm just wrong and things really are as random and senseless as the first read indicates..

I think they just let him go, and he went. They were probably expecting him to show up at this thing...

DOH!

[baldilocks]

Dave: What I'm afraid of is that your scenario is correct.

[kimberley]

My hope is that they let him go on purpose. The alternative is just to painful.