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Politics

McCain meets families of missing Israeli soldiers

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published December 18, 2006

JERUSALEM- U.S. Sen. John McCain, who spent five years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, met with the families of two captured Israeli soldiers Sunday, sharing his own harrowing story of survival and promising to work for their release.

Reserve soldiers Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser were captured July 12 by Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas in a cross-border raid that ignited a 34-day war. Nothing is publicly known about their captivity, and Hezbollah has not provided any evidence that they are still alive.

"I don't know if I was able to bring comfort, but we certainly said we would do everything in our power to bring attention to the situation and see that Geneva Conventions are observed," said McCain, R-Ariz.

McCain, a former Navy pilot and current U.S. presidential hopeful, was shot down over North Vietnam in 1967. During his five years in captivity - two spent in solitary confinement - he was frequently tortured.

Omri Avni, Goldwasser's father-in-law, said McCain's experience gave his family a shred of optimism.

"We know (McCain) was captured and held in Vietnam for five years and he suffered a lot and he is now known to be a hero," Avni said. "This is a very good hope for us, because even after five years there is new life. We are hoping that after five months we can get our boys back to start a new life."

[Last modified December 18, 2006, 06:28:07]