A video has surfaced purporting to depict American journalist James Wright Foley being beheaded by those who claim to be ISIS rebels. James Wright Foley disappeared in northwest Syria on November 22, 2012.
The video features text saying "Obama authorizes military operations against the Islamic State effectively placing America upon a slippery slope towards a new war front against Muslims." It then cuts to a clip of Obama announcing airstrikes against ISIS and then to Foley kneeling in orange, next to a man wearing black with his face covered. In it, Foley is forced to read a letter urging Americans to rise up against his "real killer," the "U.S. government." I call on my friends, family and loved ones to rise up against my real killer, the U.S. government. What will happen to me is only a result of their complacency and criminality."
According to Time's Mirren Gidda:
American airstrikes began earlier this month in an attempt to help thousands of people—members of the Yazidi, an ethnic minority in the region—who were trapped on a mountain range by fighters of the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS). President Barack Obama formally told Congress on Sunday that he had sanctioned additional air raids, though he said they would be limited. The new strikes, requested by the Iraqi government, were intended to help Iraqi and Kurdish security forces who had been battling the militants for control of the strategic Mosul Dam. Aided by U.S. air support, these troops successfully recaptured it on Aug. 18.
The video also shows a man on his knees who is allegedly Steven Sotloff, a freelance journalist who went missing in Syria on Aug. 3, 2013. According to the video, Sotloff's fate depends on Obama's "next decision."
[embedtweet id="501832266394640385"]
[embedtweet id="501834251742875649"]
[embedtweet id="501831309065715712"]
[embedtweet id="501833580302331904"]
Salon has chosen not to share the video.
Shares