ninme

This sniffle’s a big one:

ABC Radio – Freed Australian hostage reunited with family

Freed Australian hostage, Douglas Wood, has been reunited with his family in the Australian city of Melbourne.

The 63-year-old engineer was rescued last week during a raid on a Baghdad house after being held for 47 days by Iraqi insurgents…

Mr Wood says it feels good to be home, but he would consider returning to Iraq for further business.

Mr Wood has apologised to the Australian prime minister and the US president for his appeals for troop withdrawals from Iraq, which he says were made under duress.

He says the calls he made in a video-taped statement did not reflect his beliefs, and his rescue by Iraqi forces shows that the policies of recruiting and training Iraqi troops are working.

“I’m proof positive that the policies of the American and Australian governments is the right one,” he said.

What a nice thing to say on his homecoming!

I love this (via Tim Blair, who’s on top of things nicely):

Victoria Herald Sun – Bloody good to be home: Wood

Mr Wood called his captors “arseholes” and said he did not know what group they were associated with.

He said there were times during his ordeal that he thought he would be killed.

But he said he tried to remain upbeat and “keep laughing”.

They’re still alive, right? Didn’t the Iraqi troops that found him just step through a big hole in a wall where they thought there would be a car bomb factory? See, they should put together a nice media package of him in all his rotund splendour calling his captors “arseholes” and release it to al Jazeera and hope they see it.

Mr Wood apologised to US President George W Bush and Prime Minister John Howard for comments he made while being held hostage about their involvement in the war on Iraq.

Those comments were made under duress, he said.

“I actually believe that I am proof positive that the current policy of training the Iraqi army … works because it was Iraqis that got me out,” he said.

The 63-year-old engineer said he had never heard of the Mufti of Australia, Sheikh Taj Aldin Alhilali, during his hostage ordeal.

Heh. Wonder what the Mufti of Australia will say to that.

But he was clearly overjoyed to be back in Australia, entering the press conference chanting Waltzing Matilda.

Aww!!!

Mr Wood said he was confused about who had taken him hostage.

“I didn’t know whether it was al-Qaeda or who it was. I didn’t know … obviously, my head is intact, so it wasn’t al-Qaeda,” he said.

A keen observation.

Earlier, news footage showed Mr Wood walking down an airport corridor carrying a broad smile and slight limp, responding jovially to a media crew who commented on his mood.

“Thanks very much. It’s good to be able to smile,” he said.

If that’s not just the loveliest man who’s ever been in the news, I don’t know who is. And to think that he of all people was kidnapped. What an attitude to come home with.