WARNING: Graphic video content may not be suitable for all ages.
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| Still pic from the James Wright Foley beheading video showing Steven Joel Sotloff being threatened. |
BREAKING: Islamic State (IS) Releases Video Showing Beheading of U.S. Journalist Steven Joel Sotloff
Mikhael Love, IIO
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| U.S. journalist Steven Joel Sotloff; Daily Caller profile pic. |
The Islamic State (IS) released a video today, 02 Sept. 2014, purporting to show the beheading of American hostage Steven Joel Sotloff. This seems to of raised the stakes in its confrontation with Washington over U.S. air strikes on its fighters in Iraq.
The Sotloff family was aware of the video Tuesday and was grieving, a family spokesman told the Associated Press.
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| American journalist Steven Sotloff (center with black helmet) talks to Libyan rebels on the Al Dafniya front line in June 2011 in Misrata, Libya. |
The video is similar to the one James Wright Foley was beheaded in and ends with threatening another captive, a Briton, David Cawthorne Haines. (at the end of the accompanying video )
In Washington, the White House said it could not immediately confirm that Islamic State had released a video of Sotloff's beheading.
“We have seen a video that purports to be the murder of U.S. citizen Steven Sotloff by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The intelligence community is working as quickly as possible to determine its authenticity," National Security Council spokesperson Bernadette Meehan said in a statement.
"If genuine, we are appalled by the brutal murder of an innocent American journalist and we express our deepest condolences to his family and friends. We will provide more information when it is available.”
The United States is taking the Islamic State insurgents far more seriously now than it did six months ago, when Obama told the New Yorker magazine that they were the "JV team," which is short for "junior varsity" and means they are not the best players on the field.
On Aug. 24, al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front militants in Syria freed an American writer, Peter Theo Curtis, who had been missing since 2012, following what officials said were efforts by the Gulf Arab state of Qatar to secure his release.
The authenticity of the video, which took an unusually long time to reach ISIS forums, often the first sources for such videos, has yet to be confirmed. The video was titled “A second message to America,” and again started with footage of oratory from U.S. President Barack Obama, before cutting to a scripted anti-US monologue delivered by an emotionless Sotloff, draped in orange clothing (reminiscent of Guantanamo inmates) and on his knees in another arid hilltop landscape beside his executioner.
The authenticity of the video, which took an unusually long time to reach ISIS forums, often the first sources for such videos, has yet to be confirmed. The video was titled “A second message to America,” and again started with footage of oratory from U.S. President Barack Obama, before cutting to a scripted anti-US monologue delivered by an emotionless Sotloff, draped in orange clothing (reminiscent of Guantanamo inmates) and on his knees in another arid hilltop landscape beside his executioner.
It appears from chatter on ISIS forums that the initial video release was an unintentional leak from within ISIS circles. An ISIS-affiliated twitter account (now suspended) published the video ahead of the prescribed time. Another ISIS-affiliated account, @Khattabyaz pulled them up on their error, but at that point it was too late, and the video was in circulation. The group then apologised to its followers for the lack of discipline in a text missive on Justpaste, saying:
“A clarification about the mistake was made by “Uyun al-Ummah” account, that has published the video before the official time.
The user saw a tweet with the video and thought it was published officially. We tried to remove the video after we understood that his was published by mistake, and we are sorry to the followers of the Islamic State.”
The accompanying 2 minute, 46 second video was produced by the group’s al-Furqan Media Foundation, and was uploaded on a file-sharing website on September 2, 2014. In the video, Sotloff describes himself as “paying the price” for the U.S. intervention in Iraq with his life, and telling U.S. President Barack Obama: “You've spent billions of U.S. tax payers dollars and we've lost thousands of our troops in our previous fighting against the Islamic State, so where is the people's interest in reigniting this war?” The same masked fighter who appeared in the video with James Wright Foley stands with Sotloff and states:
“I'm back, Obama, and I'm back because of your arrogant foreign policy towards the Islamic State, because of your insistence on continuing your bombings and [unclear] on Mosul Dam, despite our serious warnings. You, Obama, have but to gain from your actions but another American citizen. So just as your missiles continue to strike our people, our knife will continue to strike the necks of your people...
“We take this opportunity to warn those governments that enter this evil alliance of America against the Islamic State to back off and leave our people alone.”
The executioner once again warned that there would be further killings unless U.S. foreign policy changed, and specifically said that Briton David Cawthorne Haines, who was shown after a gruesome picture of the beheaded body of Sotloff.
The executioner once again warned that there would be further killings unless U.S. foreign policy changed, and specifically said that Briton David Cawthorne Haines, who was shown after a gruesome picture of the beheaded body of Sotloff.
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| Briton David Cawthorne Haines as he appears near the end of the American Steven Joel Sotloff beheading video |
WARNING: The accompanying video of the IS beheading American Steven Joel Sotloff might contain content that is not suitable for all ages. Proceed only if you are 18 years and older.
"A second message to America"
Following is a transcript of the video:
A Second Message to America
I am Steven Joel Sotloff. I'm sure you know exactly who I am by now and why I am appearing before you.
And now this time for my message:
Obama, your foreign policy of intervention in Iraq was supposed to be for the preservation of American lives and interests, so why is it that I am paying the price of your interference with my life. Am I not an American citizen? You've spent billions of U.S. tax payers dollars and we've lost thousands of our troops in our previous fighting against the Islamic State, so where is the people's interest in reigniting this war?
Form what little I know about foreign policy, I remember a time you could not win an election without promising to bring our troops back home from Iraq and Afghanistan and to close down Guantanamo. Here you are now, Obama, nearing the end of your term, and having achieving none of the above, and deceivingly marching us the American people in the blazing fire.
[Executor]
I'm back, Obama, and I'm back because of your arrogant foreign policy towards the Islamic State, because of your insistence on continuing your bombings and [unclear] on Mosul Dam, despite our serious warnings. You, Obama, have but to gain from your actions but another American citizen. So just as your missiles continue to strike our people, our knife will continue to strike the necks of your people...
We take this opportunity to warn those governments that enter this evil alliance of America against the Islamic State to back off and leave our people alone.
Steven Sotloff: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know
1. Sotloff Is a Nationally Recognized JournalistSotloff is a renowned journalist who has worked for TIME Magazine, among others, and been a guest on CNN and Fox News. He apparently filed his last piece for TIME on November 26, 2012. The piece was about “Libya’s New Crisis.”
2. He Has Been Missing for 12 Months
He had been missing, believed kidnapped since August 4, when he was taken in Aleppo, Syria. Sotloff, a Miami native, sent his last tweet on August 3, 2013. His second to last tweet was more relevant to conflicts in the region:
3. He’s a UCF Graduate
According to his LinkedIn page, Sotloff says that he is a graduate of he University of Central Florida. He refers to his job “Traveling Man.” On his Twitter page, Sotloff frequently tweeted about his beloved Miami Heat.
4. Sotloff Was Based in Libya
His social media posts were largely about the locals and scenery he encountered while working in Libya.
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| This photo was posted on Steve Sotloff’s Facebook page. |
5. The NSC Has Reacted to the Video
On Wednesday, 27 August 2014, Shirley Sotloff called on ISIS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the self-declared Muslim Caliph, to "grant amnesty" to her 31-year-old son and freelance journalist. (Al Arabiya)
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