But a visit to the crash site that took place in 1995 found remains of the aircraft, which showed signs that the pilot had successfully ejected.Four years later, an Iraqi defector reported another sighting, and on 11 January 2001, just before he left office, President Clinton ordered that Commander Speicher be reclassified from “killed in action” to “missing in action”.Iraqi officials have always denied the story, and Bill Speicher, Michael’s cousin, said this week that he was “sceptical”. American authorities are investigating new evidence that a Navy pilot shot down on the first night of the 1991 Gulf War may still be alive and locked up in one of Saddam Hussein’s prisons.The mystery over the fate of Lieutenant Commander Michael Scott Speicher was reopened this week by The Washington Times, which reported that British intelligence had recently passed on to the Pentagon information from a recent visitor to Iraq, who had heard that an American pilot was a prisoner there.The development is the latest twist in a tale that began a few months after Commander Speicher’s F-18 was shot down on 17 January 1991, at the very start of Operation Desert Storm to drive Iraqi forces from Kuwait.It was first assumed that Commander Speicher had died. Only in Israel, whose Prime Minister thinks he is fighting a “war on terror”, will he hear what he wants to hear Will that be enough?. They want Mr Cheney to glance over his shoulder at the bloodbath in Israel and “Palestine”.And that is what they will politely tell him in Amman and Riyadh and Kuwait. But listening to Tony Blair remind the world for the umpteenth time that Saddam used chemical weapons “against his own people” only reminds Arabs that Saddam also used chemical weapons – in far greater quantities – against Iran when the West was enthusiastically backing Iraq’s aggression against the Islamic Republic.Put simply, the Arabs don’t want the Americans to package a new war for them; they want Washington to re-examine its entire policy in the Middle East. “Why do the Americans need another?”It’s not that the Arabs like Saddam They know he is a cruel dictator. “They already have one war on their hands out here,” one Lebanese commentator said.

But they did just that in 1991 and it is still possible – just – that the Saudis might close their eyes if US jets operated out of the kingdom for a short time.Mr Cheney’s mission appears in the Middle East to be more a symptom of Washington’s myopia than any long-term US strategy. The Egyptians, slow to anger in the best of days and virtually silent during the bombardment of Afghanistan, may not be able to stomach both an American war against Iraq and the bloody attempt to suppress the Palestinian intifada by America’s only real ally in the region.The Saudis, who flew their odd little “peace plan” this month, courtesy of Crown Prince Abdullah and Tom Friedman of The New York Times (Lebanese journalists suspect the prince’s personal adviser, Adel al-Jubair, dreamt it all up) will not want American planes flying to bomb Iraq from bases in the country of Islam’s holiest shrines. For if Iraqis were helped to overthrow their dictatorial government, what if Egyptian or Saudi citizens also decided on a little “regime change” of their own?President Hosni Mubarak, for example, is known to be fearful of the effect of an anti-Iraqi strike. Privately, pro-western leaders in the Arab world have grave concerns about the Bush theory of “regime change”. The Saudis are just as unenthusiastic and even Kuwait, rescued by America and its allies in 1991, has serious reservations.Most Middle East nations opposed the bombardment of Afghanistan but insisted that even if the Americans struck the Taliban, an assault on Iraq would be met with Arab hostility.

“Striking Iraq represents a catastrophe for Iraq, and threatens the security and stability of the region,” he said. King Abdullah, whose father, Hussain, was forced by public opinion to stay away from the last anti-Iraqi coalition, said a war against Saddam would have a “catastrophic effect” on the Middle East. “While the Iraq issue hangs over us like a nightmare, you can’t expect much new investment to come to Turkey,” he said.Jordan was far more pointed in its remarks. Bulent Ecevit, Turkey’s Prime Minister, talked of the “very sensitive balances” of the Turkish economy, adding that an Iraqi war would seriously affect his country.

Most Arabs would prefer Mr Cheney to deal with the Arab-Israeli war so Mr Bush’s ineffective envoy, General Anthony Zinni, could burn up his energies encouraging a war that no one here wants.Turkey was among the first to warn of the effects of an attack on Iraq. US Vice-President Dick Cheney arrived yesterday in a Middle East far more concerned with the firestorm between the Palestinians and the Israelis than with Washington’s plans for a war with Iraq.President George Bush may believe Iraq is part of an “axis of evil” but it was clear from their reactions to Mr Cheney’s mission that there will be no chance of an Arab “coalition” against Saddam Hussein of the kind that Mr Bush’s father rallied 12 years ago. She’s not a criminal, she’s a mother who just wants to see her son and they stopped her.”. “The al-Habtoor family want to treat this as a minor offence of child abduction as they don’t want the details to come out in court,” he said.”They want to force Sarra to leave as quickly as possible, but Sarra just wants her son back.”She was desperate to see Tariq after his father and his family cut off all communication with him.”I can’t even contemplate what they will do to her I will deal with it when it comes Sarra has three more children desperate to see her. If she does, we will ensure she has proper legal representation.”Neil Fotheringham said the couple’s three other children were anxious about their mother, but the battle for custody of Tariq would continue. A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: “We expect a court to decide [today] whether or not she will face charges.