I'm probably paranoid

[capt. apathy]

but does anybody else find it odd that after almost 30 years later the remains of Deans brother show up as he becomes a presidential candidate?   I wonder who else they could find if they thought his family might have some influence in their lives.

how many are we still missing? 1,500?  2,000?

like I said, I'm the suspicious type.  it just struck me as an odd coinsidence of timing.

[straffo]

Sorry but it pass right over my head , what are you speaking about ?

[capt. apathy]

sorry, meant to include a link

basicly this guys brother comes up missing, is acused of being a spy, executed (and body unrecovered) in southeast asia in 1974.

now his brother is a candidate for president here in the US.  it just seems odd to me that here we are almost 30 years later, and his remains are suddenly findable at this time.

[rpm]

From what I understood, the site has been known for some time and has been previously visited by Dean. No body was found or even looked for until recently. Laotians were not exactly keen on the idea of looking or even allowing a search for remains to take place. I don't think Dean would stoop to the level of using his dead brothers remains as a campaign stunt.

[Batz]

From your own link

Howard Dean, the former Vermont governor, visited Laos in February 2002 during an investigation that led to the excavation.

Theres no telling how long they have investigated but if Dean went over in Feb 2002 he most likely did so expecting some information. There is also no telling how many sites they visited beofre they finally found him.

Dean doesn't seem to be politic'ing this up

In his statement Tuesday, Dean said, "We greet this news with mixed emotions but are gratified that we may now be approaching closure to this painful episode in our lives. We ask that you respect our privacy as we arrange for the transfer, identification and ultimate burial of what we believe are Charlie Dean's remains."

Even if he is, so what? It is only effective if you buy into it.

[Yeager]

Does Dean look perfectly straight ahead or his he just slightly cross-eyed?

[capt. apathy]

I don't think Dean would stoop to the level of using his dead brothers remains as a campaign stunt.

not what I meant to imply at all (I was kinda tired when I made the post).  

I don't know enough about the guy to toss something that horrible out there.

what I meant was.  I wonder how many more missing in that area could be found if their relitives where in a possiition of 'coming to power' (he's a long way from being president but he is in the running).  

it was meant more as a question about the level of help we get over there finding missing americans, and the political motivations behind the level of co-operation.

[Mickey1992]

I saw a TV interview with the guy in charge of Dean's bother's search.  They have been searching for his remains since October.  It sounded to me that the Pentagon's POW/MIA office is researching these POWs on a case-by-case basis based on how good the information they have is regarding location, etc.  They aren't just digging holes to see if they can find some remains, they are looking for specific people in specific locations.

It seems to me that the search for Dean's brother would have a high probability of success because they knew where he was being held the months before he was executed.  Whereas trying to find the remains of a downed pilot would be very difficult.

From a related Reuters news story:
"Greer said 383 other Americans, including nine civilians, were listed as missing in Laos from that period. Some 1,875 Americans still are listed as missing from the Vietnam War in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and China, while 708 bodies have been recovered."