Wassef Ali Hassoun

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Wassef Ali Hassoun (born January 1, 1980) is a United States Marine Corps Corporal who was charged with desertion for leaving his unit and apparently engaging with others in a hoax to make it appear that he had been captured by terrorists on June 19, 2004 while serving in Iraq. Originally listed as having deserted, the Lebanese-American Marine was then thought to have been taken hostage by Iraqis who were thought to have befriended him.

Al Jazeera broadcast a video of Hassoun on June 27, 2004, blindfolded and with masked men holding assault rifles and a sword over his head, saying that he had been captured. On July 3, 2004, Al Jazeera reported that the terrorist group Jaish Ansar al-Sunna had released a statement declaring they had beheaded Hassoun, and their website confirmed this. On the 4th it was reported al-Sunna denied this, and on July 6, Al Jazeera reported receipt of a message he'd been "taken to a safe location" after he promised to desert from the Marine Corps. (NYT) On July 7, CNN reported that Hassoun had contacted his family in West Jordan, Utah and Lebanon from the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, asking to be picked up at an unspecified location. The Houston Chronicle 1 stated later that afternoon his family, as well as the embassy in question, deny that the telephone call had taken place.

On July 8, U.S. State Department spokesman (at the time) Richard A. Boucher announced that Hassoun had arrived at the embassy in Beirut at 11 am EDT, and was in good health.

A preliminary result of the United States Navy investigation into the activities of Wassef Ali Hassoun concluded that he deserted the United States Marine Corps on June 21, 2004. In mid-July, he publicly denied desertion [1].

On December 9, 2004, The Pentagon announced that Hassoun would be charged with desertion, larceny and wrongful disposition of military property in connection with his service-issued 9 mm handgun that disappeared with him and never turned up. If convicted, he could receive a dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of pay, and from five to ten years incarceration on each specification.[2].

In a further twist, on January 4, 2005 he was again labelled a deserter after failing to return to his base in North Carolina from authorized leave. He is reportedly in Lebanon.

Hassoun, who had been working in Iraq as an Arabic translator, repeatedly denied he had deserted. "I would like to tell all the Marines as well as all those others serving in Iraq to keep their heads up and spirits high. Once a Marine, always a Marine, Semper Fi."