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Interview With Amay Waters Yarsinske
Aired April 24, 2003 - 13:35 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: As we reported at the top of the show, some initials carved into the wall of an Iraqi prison cell suggest a Navy pilot, missing since the first Gulf War, might possibly have been captured and held in Iraq.
Joining me now to talk about Michael Scott Speicher, a woman who knows the story well. Amy Waters Yarsinske is a POW and MIA expert and the author of "No One Left Behind: The Michael Scott Speicher Story." She joins us from Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Good to have you with us, Ms. Yarsinske.
AMY WATERS YARSINSKE, AUTHOR, "NO ONE LEFT BEHIND: THE MICHAEL SCOTT SPEICHER STORY": Thanks. Thanks, Miles.
O'BRIEN: First of all, what do these initials mean to you when you see them?
Well to me, they indicate Scott Speicher. I mean, if you know the way that he would have trained, he would have tried to indicate in some way that he had been there, and it looks like he did so in this case.
O'BRIEN: All right. But we see "M.S.S." Do you have any idea what that "H" might been there?
YARSINSKE: He may have started another word. You know, it could very well have been stopped midway, in him doing this. He may have had other things to scratch in the wall and didn't make it. Have no idea what the "H" can mean in this case. The intelligence officer studying the case may know further. As they look at documentation they also seized in the prison.
O'BRIEN: What -- what about other messages that he might have also scrawled on there? Is it -- isn't it kind of interesting that if in theory, this was Michael Scott Speicher who did this...
YARSINSKE: Right.
O'BRIEN: ...would he not have tried to put some other additional message on there -- maybe his call sign, something?
YARSINSKE: Well, no, he would have used a part of his -- what they call his identification. It was his isoprep (ph) his code. He would have used a short word for the week he took off from the ship or the letter of the day. He would have used something that was unique only to him and only his command would recognize, or we would recognize in the Joint Personnel Recovery Agency. And he may well have tried to do that on the wall. Having not seen all of the footage on the wall, there may be something else there that would indicate also strongly to the intelligence officers that that's definitely his initials.
O'BRIEN: So that wall will be gone over thoroughly.
YARSINSKE: Thoroughly, absolutely. Absolutely. And they seized other information in this prison, as they have along the way, as they've gone through the various locations looking for him. They've been up to three other location, trying to locate him. We have a good idea where to look. We just have to continue to do what we did in finding this particular evidence.
O'BRIEN: You know, since the fall of the Saddam Hussein regime, the prisons have emptied, all kinds of prisoners have been set free...
YARSINSKE: Right.
O'BRIEN: ...telling terrible tales....
YARSINSKE: Right.
O'BRIEN: If, in fact, Scott Speicher were in one of those prisons, would he not have surfaced by now?
YARSINSKE: No. As an insurance policy for Saddam Hussein himself, no. He would still be floating in that inner circle of Saddam held very close to him and may well be with Saddam himself. I think when we find Saddam Hussein or we find the remnants of his inner circle, we'll find Scott Speicher, because obviously, he's now worth more alive than ever because of a reciprocation that might be paid if he were turned over for the families of those in the inner circle that want their families sent to Jordan or Lebanon or Syria or other countries as a tradeoff.
O'BRIEN: Well, now, what you're suggesting, then, is that essentially Saddam Hussein is holding Speicher hostage.
YARSINSKE: Exactly.
O'BRIEN: But what's the point of holding a hostage if you don't let people who value that person know about it?
YARSINSKE: I think that he will. I think he will eventually. When we catch up with that inner group, I think that they will use him. But he's never used him in the past, he's never used any other prisoner he's held for a long period of time in the past either, as an open bargaining tool. He's always done something quietly, with the Iranians, the Kuwaitis, anyone else he's had like this, he's simply put them back over a border, returned them as a gesture at a propitious moment for himself. So Saddam's not big on releasing someone unless he's ready, unless, you know, in his mind, it makes sense. O'BRIEN: So in -- quickly in your heart of hearts, do you have any doubt, one way or another on this, is Scott Speicher alive, as far as you're concerned?
YARSINSKE: I think he's absolutely alive and I think he will be found. I think we'll get him back.
O'BRIEN: Wow. That would be some story.
YARSINSKE: It really would be.
O'BRIEN: All right. Thank you very much, Amy Water Yarsinske.
YARSINSKE: Thanks, Miles.
O'BRIEN: Appreciate you joining us from Virginia Beach....
YARSINSKE: Thanks for having me on.
O'BRIEN: ...Virginia.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired April 24, 2003 - 13:35 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: As we reported at the top of the show, some initials carved into the wall of an Iraqi prison cell suggest a Navy pilot, missing since the first Gulf War, might possibly have been captured and held in Iraq.
Joining me now to talk about Michael Scott Speicher, a woman who knows the story well. Amy Waters Yarsinske is a POW and MIA expert and the author of "No One Left Behind: The Michael Scott Speicher Story." She joins us from Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Good to have you with us, Ms. Yarsinske.
AMY WATERS YARSINSKE, AUTHOR, "NO ONE LEFT BEHIND: THE MICHAEL SCOTT SPEICHER STORY": Thanks. Thanks, Miles.
O'BRIEN: First of all, what do these initials mean to you when you see them?
Well to me, they indicate Scott Speicher. I mean, if you know the way that he would have trained, he would have tried to indicate in some way that he had been there, and it looks like he did so in this case.
O'BRIEN: All right. But we see "M.S.S." Do you have any idea what that "H" might been there?
YARSINSKE: He may have started another word. You know, it could very well have been stopped midway, in him doing this. He may have had other things to scratch in the wall and didn't make it. Have no idea what the "H" can mean in this case. The intelligence officer studying the case may know further. As they look at documentation they also seized in the prison.
O'BRIEN: What -- what about other messages that he might have also scrawled on there? Is it -- isn't it kind of interesting that if in theory, this was Michael Scott Speicher who did this...
YARSINSKE: Right.
O'BRIEN: ...would he not have tried to put some other additional message on there -- maybe his call sign, something?
YARSINSKE: Well, no, he would have used a part of his -- what they call his identification. It was his isoprep (ph) his code. He would have used a short word for the week he took off from the ship or the letter of the day. He would have used something that was unique only to him and only his command would recognize, or we would recognize in the Joint Personnel Recovery Agency. And he may well have tried to do that on the wall. Having not seen all of the footage on the wall, there may be something else there that would indicate also strongly to the intelligence officers that that's definitely his initials.
O'BRIEN: So that wall will be gone over thoroughly.
YARSINSKE: Thoroughly, absolutely. Absolutely. And they seized other information in this prison, as they have along the way, as they've gone through the various locations looking for him. They've been up to three other location, trying to locate him. We have a good idea where to look. We just have to continue to do what we did in finding this particular evidence.
O'BRIEN: You know, since the fall of the Saddam Hussein regime, the prisons have emptied, all kinds of prisoners have been set free...
YARSINSKE: Right.
O'BRIEN: ...telling terrible tales....
YARSINSKE: Right.
O'BRIEN: If, in fact, Scott Speicher were in one of those prisons, would he not have surfaced by now?
YARSINSKE: No. As an insurance policy for Saddam Hussein himself, no. He would still be floating in that inner circle of Saddam held very close to him and may well be with Saddam himself. I think when we find Saddam Hussein or we find the remnants of his inner circle, we'll find Scott Speicher, because obviously, he's now worth more alive than ever because of a reciprocation that might be paid if he were turned over for the families of those in the inner circle that want their families sent to Jordan or Lebanon or Syria or other countries as a tradeoff.
O'BRIEN: Well, now, what you're suggesting, then, is that essentially Saddam Hussein is holding Speicher hostage.
YARSINSKE: Exactly.
O'BRIEN: But what's the point of holding a hostage if you don't let people who value that person know about it?
YARSINSKE: I think that he will. I think he will eventually. When we catch up with that inner group, I think that they will use him. But he's never used him in the past, he's never used any other prisoner he's held for a long period of time in the past either, as an open bargaining tool. He's always done something quietly, with the Iranians, the Kuwaitis, anyone else he's had like this, he's simply put them back over a border, returned them as a gesture at a propitious moment for himself. So Saddam's not big on releasing someone unless he's ready, unless, you know, in his mind, it makes sense. O'BRIEN: So in -- quickly in your heart of hearts, do you have any doubt, one way or another on this, is Scott Speicher alive, as far as you're concerned?
YARSINSKE: I think he's absolutely alive and I think he will be found. I think we'll get him back.
O'BRIEN: Wow. That would be some story.
YARSINSKE: It really would be.
O'BRIEN: All right. Thank you very much, Amy Water Yarsinske.
YARSINSKE: Thanks, Miles.
O'BRIEN: Appreciate you joining us from Virginia Beach....
YARSINSKE: Thanks for having me on.
O'BRIEN: ...Virginia.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
