U.S. Families of Hostages Torn by Iraq’s Offer

Family members of American hostages in Iraq say they are deeply torn by President Saddam Hussein’s offer to let them visit their loved ones over Christmas--revolted by the obvious attempt at manipulation but desperate to bring some comfort as best they can.

“It may be the women’s last chance to see their husbands,” said Leslie Kern, a Columbus, Ohio, psychologist who has organized a voluntary nationwide counseling service for families of American hostages in the Persian Gulf.

At the same time, accepting Hussein’s invitation also means “leaving the children behind--and risking the possibility that the children will be orphaned if this reunion goes tragically awry,” said Michigan psychiatrist Frank M. Ochberg.

Many hostage families also express concern that going to Iraq may undercut U.S. foreign policy. President Bush has attempted to discourage any direct link between Hussein and Americans.

The response of the hostage families to the Iraqi president’s offer could prove a key juncture in the Persian Gulf crisis, which involves a larger group of hostages than any foreign policy incident in recent years.

About 700 U.S. citizens remain trapped in Iraq and Kuwait, with more than 100 held as “human shields” at sites likely to be targeted in any U.S. military offensive. Iraq has promised to release four sick and elderly Americans, possibly this weekend.

“It’s a terrible dilemma. I keep vacillating,” said Patricia Hale, whose husband, Edward, a 52-year-old oil worker, is among the human shields being held at key Iraqi military and industrial sites. The Hales have a teen-age son, who is living at home in Spring, Tex.

Initially, Hale was “adamantly against” making such a visit. “But it’s been five months since I’ve seen my husband,” she said wistfully.

At the State Department on Friday, spokeswoman Margaret Tutwiler accused Hussein of “heartlessly toying with the anguish” of hostage families and of using them “as pawns in a cruel game.”

A visa official at the Iraqi Embassy in Washington said many hostage relatives had called by Friday afternoon to discuss Hussein’s offer.

Although nearly all the hostages’ families have refrained from criticizing the Bush Administration’s handling of the gulf crisis so far, they could emerge as a potent political force if they become more outspoken, noted John H. Stein, deputy director of the National Organization for Victim Assistance, which has been helping many of the “families-in-waiting.”

For the relatives, the prospect of a holiday visit is to some extent a no-win situation, according to mental health professionals, counterterrorism experts and clergy, some of whom are considering offering themselves as chaperones for a holiday visit.

“At best, a brief reunion under hostile conditions will be arduous and stressful,” said Ochberg, former chairman of the American Psychiatric Assn. task force on victimization. “But who can resist an opportunity to visit a loved one, to rekindle hope and to express love for perhaps the last time?”

There are serious questions about the effects of such visits on the hostages themselves. “People often adjust to captivity, and it can be very disruptive to see loved ones after you’ve adjusted to your fate--and then have them leave again,” Kern said.

Even before Hussein’s offer, at least 15 women from across the country were talking about trying to visit their husbands. And one, Kim Edwards of Carson City, Nev., arrived alone in Baghdad on Monday to see her husband.

Many of the others may make similar trips and not necessarily wait until Christmas to do so, depending on the outcome of Edwards’ visit, said Michael Saba, an Illinois businessman who has organized a support network for hostage families.

“What’s being offered for Christmas may already be possible right now,” Saba said.

Rosemary Nebesky said in a telephone interview from Carson City that her daughter, Edwards, has been reunited with husband Tony, an urban planner. But she said Edwards was “not too hopeful” that her husband will be freed.

Several developments in recent days have focused public attention on the plight of the U.S. citizens trapped in Iraq and Kuwait, especially those being held as human shields.

President Bush and Secretary of State James A. Baker III have begun to openly express their outrage at Iraq’s treatment of the Americans. Their anger was supported by a number of recently released French hostages, who said American and British hostages were being treated especially harshly. In addition, a handful of anguished letters written by hostages surfaced in the West, underscoring the ordeal of Hussein’s captives.

When asked about Hussein’s offer, White House Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater replied: “Why doesn’t he just let the hostages come home? That would be the best way.”

That sentiment was echoed by Ann Hoffman, whose son Miles, a 33-year-old Columbus, Ga., investment banker, was shot in the arm during a Sept. 5 escape attempt in Kuwait. She called the offer “ridiculous,” adding: “I just want him home.”

Ann Hoffman said she has been told by the former French hostages that her son’s arm is not healing and that he desperately needs an operation.

Ochberg, the American Psychiatric Assn. official, advised against flatly spurning Hussein’s invitation. “Despite our understandable aversion to any propaganda ploy . . . we should carefully consider the advantages that may accrue if the reunion occurs and if we take steps now to improve the chances of a positive outcome,” he said.

Ochberg and others, however, urged that very careful consideration be given to the ramifications of a reunion.

“The aftermath of a reunion could prove psychologically damaging for husbands and wives both,” Ochberg said. “Prisoners will feel the anguish of captivity even more acutely. And wives, who have made some progress in recovering from traumatic separation, will for a period of time take a long step backward.”