Update: Scott Taylor has published a complete account of his story.

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The CBC is reporting that Scott Taylor, an Ottawa-based military analyst, journalist, and author is safe in Turkey following five days of captivity in Iraq:

“He said his captors thought he was an Israeli spy, moving him through seven locations while the town faced attacks from U.S. forces. Somehow he convinced his captors that he is a Canadian journalist.”

Taylor is the editor and publisher of Canadian military watchdog magazine Esprit de Corps. This was not the first time he visited Iraq:

“Since August 2000, Taylor has made a total of 15 trips into Iraq to report on the effects of the UN sanctions, the ravages of depleted uranium following the 1991 Gulf War, and the heightening tensions with the United States.”

Interestingly enough, the notion of Taylor acting as an Israeli spy is also not new. His own biography states that was asked to leave Iraq in 2003 (paragraph four, reprinted below) for the same reasons he was allegedly kidnapped last week, though it isn’t clear exactly who asked him to leave:

“In March 2003, during his last trip prior to the United States� intervention, Scott Taylor was asked to leave Iraq for fear of his being a spy for the Israeli Mossad. Following the swift U.S. victory, Taylor has returned frequently to Iraq to view first-hand the ongoing humanitarian crisis plaguing this still embattled country.”

Gladly, Taylor was released and is expected to return to Canada on Wednesday. The CBC attributes the following to Taylor, presumably via the Department of Foreign Affairs:

“Taylor said he’s still alive partly because his captors knew he was Canadian and were well aware Canada did not join the American-led invasion of Iraq.”

Isn’t it interesting to see something in print that you’ve probably wondered about privately? If that text was indeed issued by the Canadian government, I’d love to get the details.

Needless to say, I’ll be scanning Esprit de Corps over the next several weeks to see if Taylor publishes any further information.