News Snips

Two recent articles that mention hostages Jonathon Cote (deceased) and Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl (alive), who is still held captive in Afghanistan.

Motorcyclists hit the road in memory of local man
By Kathleen Ronayne, Buffalo News, August 13, 2012

More than 300 motorcycle riders turned out Sunday afternoon for the fourth annual Memorial Motorcycle Run in honor of Jonathon Coté, who was kidnapped and killed in Iraq while working as a private security contractor.

In the on-and-off rain, the group rode from Williamsville North High School, from which Coté graduated, to Lewiston. […] Proceeds from Sunday's ride will go to a scholarship for a local high school student and to Western New York Heroes.

Obama tells family: Hostage soldier is a focus
By John Miller, Army Times/Associated Press, August 9, 2012

President Barack Obama called the parents of an American prisoner of war to assure them that he and the U.S. Department of Defense were doing everything in their power to free Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl three years after his capture in Afghanistan.

The soldier's father, Bob Bergdahl, told The Associated Press on Thursday through a spokesman that the family is now confident that everything that can be done to return their son to U.S. control is being done.

SIGIR - Casualties in Iraq

Via David Isenberg, a new report from the SIGIR.

Special Report Number 2:
The Human Toll of Reconstruction or Stabilization during Operation Iraqi Freedom PDF
Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR)
July 27, 2012

Excerpt from page 5

We accounted for at least 198 people kidnapped while working on U.S.-supervised
reconstruction or stabilization projects. USACE reported at least 148 Iraqis kidnapped while working on USACE reconstruction projects from May 2006-December 2007. USAID reports identified 42 Iraqis as well as 8 third-country nationals kidnapped while working on USAID projects from 2004-2010. We do not know how many of these kidnap victims were taken simply because of their involvement with U.S. reconstruction efforts or how many were later freed.

The math above: 198 people kidnapped - 148 Iraqis - 42 Iraqis - 8 TCN =  0 kidnapped Americans

The table of Americans Missing in Iraq lists at minimum 46 abductions in Iraq between 2003 - 2012. Certainly not all of those were related to reconstruction. But to imply there were none - zip - is just ludicrous.

Status Report

After the declaration of the end of hostilities in Iraq on May 1, 2003, an estimated 46 Americans are thought to have gone missing and/or held hostage.

Of those 46 Americans: 19 Americans are still believed missing. Of those 19, the names of 8 remain unknown.

An additional 2 American's names are known but the date of their disappearance is not. As a result, they represent 2 of 10 listed with the designation "unknown."

Details, including name, date of incident and status of a missing person can be found at the chart of Americans Missing in Iraq.

The chart was last updated on May 20, 2012.