Friday, September 08, 2006
Office for abductions in US embassy in Baghdad
Security
The White House has revealed the US embassy in Baghdad houses a formal "Office of Hostage Affairs" to handle abductions of American citizens and other nationals. In an official document the White House said, "The United States, through the Office of Hostage Affairs in Embassy Baghdad, is addressing the scourge of kidnapping in Iraq, a key source of terrorist financing."
The US embassy in Baghdad makes no mention of such an office on its Internet site, and a search of the US State Department Internet site does not turn up any mention of such an office anywhere else. US officials have long referred to joint efforts by US government agencies to rescue hostages taken in Iraq, but Thursday's release was believed to be the first reference to a formal office to handle such issues in Baghdad.The White House and the US State Department declined to say whether the office was the only one of its kind in operation, or to confirm that it had not ever been discussed publicly before.
