Mother mourns U.S. journalist ‘beheaded’ by ISIS
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The video, titled "A Message To America," was
posted on social media sites. It was not immediately possible to verify. (Photo
courtesy: YouTube)
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By Staff Writer | Al Arabiya News
Wednesday, 20 August 2014
Mother of allegedly slain photojournalist James Foley released a statement
Wednesday appealing to her son’s “kidnappers to spare the lives of the
remaining hostages.”
Diana Foley posted the statement after the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS)
released
a video on Tuesday purportedly showing the beheading of Foley and
threatening to carry out further executions until the United States
ended its air strikes against the militant group.
“We have never been prouder of our son Jim. He gave his life trying to
expose the world to the suffering of the Syrian people,” Diane Foley wrote.
In the video, which was not immediately possible to verify, a masked man
performed the beheading with a short blade after warning President Barack Obama
in spoken English against any further air strikes on ISIS'
positions.
“Like Jim, they [the remaining hostages] are innocents. They have no control
over American government policy in Iraq,
Syria
or anywhere in the world,” the statement read.
Free James Foley
A message from Jim's mom, Diane Foley:
We have never been prouder of our son Jim. He gave his life trying to expose the world to the suffering of the Syrian people.
We implore the kidnappers to spare the lives of the remaining hostages.
Like Jim, they are innocents. They have no control over American
government policy in Iraq, Syria or anywhere in the world.
We
thank Jim for all the joy he gave us. He was an extraordinary son,
brother, journalist and person. Please respect our privacy in the days
ahead as we mourn and cherish Jim.
Foley also said that she has “never been prouder of our son Jim” who gave
“his life trying to expose the world to the suffering of the Syrian people.”
The White House said they could not verify the authenticity of the video and
are were attempting to confirm if Foley had been killed, the Associated Press
reported.
"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," White House National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin said
in a statement Tuesday.
The video
The ISIS video titled “A Message To America” begins with footage earlier
this month of Obama announcing his decision to authorize military airstrikes in
Iraq against ISIS targets.
“I call on my friends, family and loved ones to rise up against the real
criminals, the U.S. government, for what will happen to me is only the result
of their complacency and criminality,” the man, who the masked man later
identifies as Foley, said.
“My message to my beloved parents: save me some dignity and don’t accept any
meager compensation for my death from the same people who effectively hit the
last nail in my coffin with their recent areal campaign in Iraq,” the man,
who is dressed in orange clothes, said.
“I call on my brother John, who is a member of the U.S. air force,
think about what you are doing, think about the lives that you destroy
including those of your own family. I call on you John: Think about who made
the decision to bomb Iraq,
to kill those people, whoever they may have been. Think John: who did they
really kill? Did they think about me, you or our family when they made that
decision?” he said.
“I died that day John: when your colleagues dropped that bomb on those
people, they signed my death certificate. I wish I had more time. I wish I
could have the hope of freedom to see my family again but that ship sailed.
“I guess all in all: I wish I was not an American,” he concludes, before the
masked man, pointing a dagger at the reporter’s head, identifies his captive as
Foley.
“This is James Wright Foley, an American citizen of your country. As a
government you have been at the forefront of the aggression toward the Islamic
State [ISIS]. You have plotted against us and gone far out of your way to find
reasons to interfere in our affairs,” the masked man said.
“Today, your military air force is attacking us daily in Iraq, your
strikes have caused casualties amongst the Muslims,” the man, speaking in what
sounded like a British accent, said.
“You [the United States]
are no longer fighting an insurgency, we are an Islamic army and a state that
has been accepted by a large number of Muslims worldwide.
“So effectively, any aggression toward the Islamic State, is an aggression
toward Muslims from all walks of life, who have accepted the Islamic caliphate
as their leadership,” he said.
The man warns Obama that any attempt to “deny the Muslims their rights of
living in safety under the Islamic Caliphate will result in bloodshed of your
people,” before conducting the execution.
"Find James Foley," the campaign run by his family to secure the
40-year-old freelancer's release, posted a public message online following the
release of the video asking for time "to seek answers."
The man then holds by the shirt a second individual who is identified as
Sotloff and warns Obama to cease targeting the militant group.
“The life of this American citizen Obama depends on your next decision,” he
warned.
David Cameron
Following the release of the shocking video, British Prime Minister David
Cameron broke off his holiday for meetings Wednesday on the threat posed by ISIS.
Cameron was returning to his Downing Street office in London
to discuss the situation in Iraq
and Syria
as work was under way to identify the executioner in the beheading video, who
spoke with a British accent.
Last Update: Wednesday, 20 August 2014 KSA 14:01 - GMT 11:01
