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Douglas Wood apologizes to John Howard & George Bush
Douglas Wood, the Australian freed after being held hostage in Iraq, has apologised for comments he made while in captivity.Mr Wood arrived in Melbourne this morning, where he will reacquaint himself with family and friends as he recovers from 47 days in captivity as a hostage of Iraqi insurgents in Baghdad. At a press conference at Melbourne Airport, Mr Wood said he supports Australian and US policies on Iraq, and apologised to Prime Minister John Howard and US President George W Bush for some of the things he said while in captivity. "I'm proof positive that the policy of the American and Australian governments is the right one," he said. Mr Wood says his rescue by local police is evidence of the successful training by Australian and American troops. "I think the quicker we hire, recruit, train police and the Iraq Army up to speed, then, when they're fully engaged and ready, they can start going around door to door and start developing confidence in the Iraq population," he said. In videos of Mr Wood broadcast by Iraqi insurgents, the hostage pleaded with Australia and the US to withdraw troops from Iraq. Mr Howard says he appreciates the apology, but he was not seeking it. He says its symbolic and moving to see the family reunited. The Prime Minister has also rejected suggestions the Australian team sent to Iraq actually hindered rescue efforts. "This suggestion that in some way a botched operation by Australians meant that he would have been, that he was not released as early as he might have been, that is completely wrong," he said. Mr Wood also paid tribute to his family. "I love my family, and I knew that they'd be doing as much as they could to get me out," he said. When asked if he was feeling fragile he replied: "Not especially [but] I've got some physical ailments and I've been deprived of medication for a bit." Mr Wood also said he had not ruled out ever going back to Iraq. Yvonne Given, Mr Wood's wife, says she never lost faith her husband would be rescued. "I am so excited and so happy and very, very grateful to the Australian Government," she said. Mr Wood's brother Vernon says the family has hired a management company to deal with the media and has dismissed criticisms that his brother Douglas is seeking to profit from his ordeal. Vernon Wood says the story of his brother's capture and dramatic rescue should be told by Douglas on his own terms. "Our family has been inundated with inquiries from the media and businesses seeking to explore commercial opportunities for Doug," he said. "We took the step of securing professional support to ensure we can handle and protect Doug's interests. "Doug's story is amazing. We owe it to Doug to make sure it is told fairly and accurately in the fullness of time. Mr Wood says he has made no plans to sell his story. Mr Wood is travelling with his wife, and his family is hoping for a meeting with the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Alexander Downer. Federal Opposition Leader Kim Beazley says he is pleased Douglas Wood is looking fit and well despite his ordeal. Mr Beazley says he can understand Mr Wood's comments regarding Australia's policies in Iraq, but it does not mean things are getting better in Iraq. "We have never denied that fact, that it's important that Iraq assumes responsibility of Iraqis, assume responsibility for their own security," he said. "But if you go and extrapolate from that a discussion about whether or not things are going well, they're not going well, things are going very badly in Iraq indeed." Posted by: Spavirt Pheng6042 2005-06-20 |
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