Intelligence officials in the U.S. and Britain believe that they are closer to identifying the terrorist who beheaded American journalist James Foley in the grotesque video released by the Islamic State, formerly known as ISIS. The U.S. continues to follow a policy against such ransoms, though many have charged that the Obama Administration broke that policy in the controversial trade of five Taliban leaders for Bergdahl in addition to violating federal law. Europe has long rejected the policy and, according to media reports, has sent millions to fill the coffers of ISIS, which then uses the money to fill coffins around the world. France alone paid $13.2 million for four of its citizens and Islamic State is now known to have special kidnapping squads looking for Westerners. While we often discuss the financiers of terror in places like Saudi Arabia, we may have to start to look closer to home in the West.
The man shown in the picture with Foley is believed to be part of the operation to kidnap and ransom Westerners. He is part of a group of at least three British-born ISIS fighters known among former hostages as “The Beatles.” They are believed to include 23-year-old Abdel Majid Abdel Bary(left), who we previously discussed. He is the former rap artist and DJ from London. Bary, who only arrived in Syria last year but has been extolling the murder of nonbelievers since his arrival in what he describes as a type of Islamic paradise. He is the son of Adel Abdul Bary, an Egypt-born terror suspect who is in the U.S. awaiting trial for his alleged role in the 1998 Al Qaeda bombings of the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
Bary has given up rap in favor of celebratory picture holding the heads of those who do not accept Islam as he and ISIS understand it.
The two other Beatles are Abu Hussain al-Britani, 20, and Abu Abduallah al-Britani, 23, (no known relation). Hostages describe all three as sadists who would torture hostages with tasers and were so cruel that even the homicidally insane ISIS leaders ordered that they could no longer guard the hostages.
While the world has been repulsed by these stories and scenes, some Muslims are clearly attracted to the movement and its blood-soaked history. Thousands of volunteers have flooded into these areas to join the Islamic State. In one surprising story, there are now twice the number of English muslims fighting for the Islamic State than serving in the English military.
It is not only raw recruits that Islamic State is receiving from the West. The New York Times has reported that “Al Qaeda and its direct affiliates have taken in at least $125 million in revenue from kidnappings since 2008, of which $66 million was paid just last year.”
This creates an obvious market for Westerners who are held and often tortured until Western countries buckle. Thus, France rewarded ISIS with over $13 million for four hostages. It is possible to be religious murderous fanatics and be still rational criminal actors. Obviously, with Westerners bringing in millions, Islamic State will go out and capture more Westerners. Given the past payments, they are likely to be even more vicious if countries do not pay. So we have the bizarre appearance of ISIS militants using captured U.S. weapons and operating off European funds. A true Fellinesque moment in history.
Last week, the CEO of GlobalPost, a media organization where Foley had worked, revealed that ISIS had demanded a ransom of $132 million in exchange for Foley.
Given the ambition of the Islamic State to kill scores of Westerners, the payments by France and other countries is truly breathtaking.
Wait . . . did we just have a discussion about Muslim extremists running amuck without bashing Christians? Miracles do happen.
Seriously, a toddler plays in a dirty toilet and someone gets a camera while another stands just off screen? Get the kid out and give him a bath!!! And some hand sanitizer! And clean that potty!
I’ve been reading about this recently. These ransoms are subsidizing the kidnapping industry and terrorism.
But I can understand the terror and desperation of anyone whose family member is in the hands of these maniacs.
My perfect idea of a ransom (as I’ve stated before) is to either use counterfeit money, or an ink bomb that would render it useless. Or show up with some spec ops and recover the money and the perps.
But let’s recall that ISIS is led by a terrorist Obama released. So releasing top terrorists is a bad idea, for anyone who’s not sure . . .
Paul,
Really? How old are you?
rafflaw – old enough to be aware of my surroundings.
Haz, LOL! Obama needs someone to teach him throw. It’s an embarrassment. At least his advisers told him “NO MORE FIRST PITCHES.” And, no more momma jeans.
I do not know why you Earthlings would go to these various Pirate Territories. As one blogger on here says: Fly over if you must but flush. We are from France. My home country was smart to get out of the colony regime. It was real dumb. We went in dumb and come out dumb too. I heard a song with those words in New Orleans last night.
Beldar – your former country of France got out of the colony regime because it got kicked out. Let’s be honest here.
I’m thinking thermo-nuclear device(s).
70 years ago, Japan assimilated a similar attitudinal adjustment quite well in deed.
At some point, the powers that be in the region must be held accountable for the actions of the region.
Saudi Arabia and Turkey have the financial and military assets to influence, break things and kill people. Using one or more of those options, these regional powers can control activity.
Alternatively, Saudi Arabia and Turkey benefit from and cause regional turmoil.
That can’t be a good thing.
(for him, not them)
Hello Haz, when we discussed the Taliban/Bergdahl swap there were several conservative commenters, Karen S. being one, that repeatedly said Pres. Obama should’ve paid money for them instead. Now we see that was the exact wrong thing to do, which is what I argued at the time. I’m glad to see the President did the correct thing and Bergdahl got to keep his head.
Paul, what an inappropriate comment. Wow.
Annie – that is not an answer to the question. That is avoidance behavior.
Professor Turley, is it considered uncivil to harangue other commenter about their private lives?
“When Bergdahl was traded for the five Taliban there were comments here from that the President should’ve paid a ransom instead.”
Actually, the biggest complaint is that Obama didn’t trade for a left-handed relief pitcher. I don’t see how we get into the playoffs without one.
Strange bed fellows in the making?
Assad’s Syria foreign minister, Walid Al-Moallem said that Syria is ready to work with regional states and the international community amid the onslaught of Islamic militants there.
“Syria is ready to cooperate and coordinate on the regional and international level in the war on terror,” al-Moallem said. “But any effort to combat terrorism should come in coordination with the Syrian government.”
His comments follow the capture by ISIS jihadis of a major military air base in northeastern Syria, eliminating the last government-held outpost in a province otherwise dominated by the Islamic State group.
You can tell Obama didn’t have a man close enough. He throws like a girl.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OWzLlXBnY1g/TXZNMovSxbI/AAAAAAAAASI/ptX7bJ6Ev24/s400/Pot%2BStir%2B2.jpg
Paul, You KNOW he’s a fish @ the poker table. Unless, he has sycophants going in the tank. I could see that.
Nick – I was just thinking that the only way Obama could win at poker was through Affirmative Action.
And, so did his brother, by HIS OWN WORDS, SWM. Time to decaf, woman.
“You have a huge chip on your shoulder, raff. It’s unbecoming.” nick, raff has always been the most even tempered person here and a fine husband and father. His mother raised him very well.
That is pure baloney that “only a man can teach a boy to be a man”. Pure baloney. My son is a wonderland masculine kind decent intelligent succesful person that anyone would be proud to call their own. This is the type of ad hominem attack Spinelli has engaged in in the past, now he attemts to do so again. Would this type of behavior be something a father would teach his son? I hope not.
NO! But, as Obama wrote eloquently about, he had a yearning, a hole, in his life. Only a man can teach a boy how to be a man. Some, like yourself, have an older brother. You wrote about that. Obama had his grandfather, but he was an older white guy from Kansas. Jarrett is like his work mom, and I get the sense Michelle is like his @ home mom. You have a huge chip on your shoulder, raff. It’s unbecoming.
Rafflaw, that was a pretty disgusting comment by Spinelli.
Rafflaw was raised without a father as were my own children for a part of their childhood, Rafflaw is an upstanding intelligent succesful person, as are my own children. Some would actually be jealous and wish their own children had turned out so well. So Spinelli’s comment @12:39 about there being some ‘trait’ that children possess when they are raised without a father, is a fallacy and probably an ad hominem attack.
Annie – your defense of rafflaw makes it sound like the two of you are dating? Is there something you want to share with the group?