U.S. considers Iraqi offer for talks on MIA pilot

Speicher's plane was shot down on the first day of the Gulf War.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. officials considered an Iraqi offer Sunday for talks in the Middle Eastern country about an American pilot missing since the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

The Iraqi Foreign Ministry reiterated an offer made several times previously inviting an U.S. delegation to come to Iraq and discuss the case of Lt. Cmdr. Michael Scott Speicher, a Navy pilot shot down in January 1991.

Iraq maintains Speicher was killed in the crash, but the U.S. Navy has received reports in recent years indicating he may be still alive.

Asked about the Iraqi offer, Vice President Dick Cheney told CBS's "Face the Nation" that U.S. officials would evaluate the proposal to "see whether or not this is a serious proposition or whether (Iraqi President) Saddam Hussein is simply trying to change the subject."

Speicher, then 33, was piloting a Navy F/A-18 Hornet jet when it was shot down by enemy fire on January 17, 1991 -- the first day of the Gulf War. He was subsequently declared the war's first combat death, but the Navy changed his status to missing in action in 2001 after receiving information that he may have survived.

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Rear Adm. Steven Pietropaoli said that, while the Navy knew of no plans to send a U.S. delegation to Iraq, officials remained "extremely interested" in any information about Speicher.

"We're committed to obtaining the facts on this issue, and we'll continue to work closely with (the Defense Department) and other agencies working on this issue," Pietropaoli said.

A State Department statement issued Sunday said that discussions about Speicher should be conducted by the Tripartite Commission, which was set up to resolve issues relating to missing and captive service members after the Persian Gulf war.

State Department spokeswoman Jo-Anne Prokopowicz noted that Iraq has refused to attend commission meetings for the last three years, including a meeting scheduled two weeks ago. But the department has not explicitly rejected the idea of sending a delegation to Iraq.

The United States "is deeply committed to resolving the fate of all Gulf War missing in action," including Speicher, Prokopowicz said.