McCain meets with Israeli soldiers' families

JERUSALEM (AP)-- Sen. John McCain, who spent five grueling 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 known about their captivity, and Hezbollah has not provided any evidence 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," McCain, R-Ariz., said after his meeting with the soldiers' relatives.
McCain, a former Navy pilot and current U.S. presidential hopeful, was shot down over North Vietnam during a bombing run in 1967. During his five years in captivity -- two spent in solitary confinement -- McCain was frequently beaten and tortured by his captors.
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