Iraq Frees 14 Americans : French and British Also on Way Out

Fourteen Americans left the Iraqi capital for Jordan today after being freed by Saddam Hussein’s government. As they departed, Britain said 33 British hostages would leave Iraq within hours.

“I was waiting for this moment. I am extremely happy, but sad at the same time, because I am leaving many of my friends and colleagues,” Jack Fraser, one of the freed Americans, told a reporter in Baghdad.

Fraser, 53, of Santa Ana, Calif., worked for a construction company and had been held in a diplomatic compound in Baghdad.

Another freed American, 44-year-old John Thompson, said he was eager to see his 68-year-old mother, Lilo Thompson of Frankfurt, Germany, because she is going blind.

Also today, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador was summoned to the State Department in Washington, where he denied the kingdom wants Kuwait to yield territory to Iraq in order to defuse the crisis in the Persian Gulf.

Hussein “should not be under any disillusion,” Prince Bandar said before meeting with Secretary of State James A. Baker III. “This is a decision for the Kuwaitis, not for us. But we don’t think aggression should be rewarded.”

There have been indications that the Arab world was softening its hard line in dealing with Iraq--including a statement by Saudi King Fahd that Hussein would not lose face if he were to withdraw his troops.

Although Hussein generally rules by decree in Iraq, he had asked his National Assembly to vote on a proposal to free all 300 French hostages in Iraq. And today, the body approved the measure by a vote of 248 to 2.

Once the French citizens get exit visas, they are apparently free to go.

Also leaving Iraq today aboard a regularly scheduled Iraqi Airways flight were William Hollingsworth of Huntsville, Ala., and Lloyd Graham of Houston.

No list of all 14 Americans was released by officials, and no other names were immediately available.

About 1,000 Americans remain trapped in Iraq and Kuwait.

White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater welcomed the freeing of the 14 Americans but demanded that the other captives be released as well.

Former British Prime Minister Edward Heath told a news conference in Baghdad today that he and 33 sick and elderly Britons would leave Baghdad within several hours and that other British hostages may follow later.

Heath said he had been assured by the Iraqi government that 30 British construction workers who are renovating Hussein’s palace will be allowed to leave when they finish their work.

There are an estimated 1,400 Britons in Kuwait and Iraq.

Several of the American men who left Iraq today appeared to be very young, and two were reportedly dependents of U.S. diplomats. It was not known why Iraq decided to free the younger Americans instead of sick and elderly people.

Kuwait’s emir, Sheik Jabbar al Ahmed al Sabah, met in London today with British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to discuss the future of his nation. Thatcher reportedly stressed that Britain stands behind the United States in demanding that Hussein withdraw all his troops unconditionally.