Twenty-eight years ago today, Friday, November 2, 1990, during the Gulf War. I was a hostage in Iraq on a military site, the al-Amiriyah Complex where I was being held as a Human Shield. Today, Friday, November 2, 2018 I reflect on that day.  In a moment I will tell about my being interviewed by the Associated Press, Reuters and the French News Agency, but the following Los Angeles Times article "U.S. Families of Hostages Torn by Iraq's Offer" (November 3,
1990) makes clear how opaque things were at this time. Saddam Hussein  offered to let families come to Iraq to visit their family members who were being held as hostages at Christmas.  Although this offer was real it was such that it evoked the cynical in those to whom the offer was extended. The offer exploited the suffering the families were experiencing.

http://articles.latimes.com/1990-11-03/news/mn-3194_1_hostage-families

Things began to change, albeit, what the changes signified were unclear and at the times seemed motivated more by propaganda than by goodwill. A number of envoys from several countries traveled to Baghdad to negotiate for release of of their citizens.  One of these was the former Japanese Prime Minister Nakasone. He was successful and one of the 74 hostages who returned with him was a fellow hostage Saisho. Saisho was an executive with Japan Airlines. I came to know him as a gentle soul who was very easy to be with.

Muhammad Ali was another envoy who flew to Baghdad on November 23, 1990 and after a wait successfully negotiated with Saddam Hussein for the release of 15 hostages. The Muhammad Ali flight returned to the United States on December 2, 1990.

the Iraqis came to me and wanted me to be on TV.  I thought it was a terrible program, propaganda laden, called "Guest News".  I agreed to be on the program if they would send a video cassette of it to my family.  This was the basis of a fight with Brian as he thought I was a terrible traitor to agree to be on the program.  I was not allowed to go for exercise at 11 o'clock on Friday, 2 November as they expected the interview would be done then.  That afternoon while we were all watching TV the interviewers arrived.  To our surprise they were from the Associated Press, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse.  This was more than a Guest Interview.  Later I pieced together that Bush had been critical of the way hostages were being treated and Iraq wanted to show the United States and the world that we were being treated well.  The Associated Press interview of me describing the conditions on our site evidently aired all over the world.  I was picked because I am American.  Why I was picked to the exclusion of other Americans I have no idea.

The Washington Post, November 3, 1990
"The food is decent. I eat well and I'm treated well," said Charles Keegan, 56, an American investment strategist who worked for the Kuwaiti Investment Company.