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View Full Version : Terrorists Capture G.I. Joe! (Or how the media will run with ANY story)


Rschoeneck
02-01-2005, 14:08
So for those of you who may have not heard, CNN reported that a islamic website had posted a short video of what they claimed to be a captured U.S. Soldier and would behead him if their demands were not met.

What makes this story so different is, well; I think you should see the U.S. Soldier in question (still image captured from the islamist website) then look at the second picture of a toy sold on the 'net.

:munchin

Kyobanim
02-01-2005, 14:32
Here's the story. Just so I know, what's wrong with it? It states facts and makes no observation or commentary.

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A group calling itself the Al Mujahedin Brigade claimed Tuesday it captured a U.S. soldier in Iraq and threatened to behead him unless prisoners are released.

The claim and a photo -- neither of which have been authenticated -- were posted on an Islamist Web site.

A statement on the Web site identifies the kidnap victim by name, but the U.S. military has not confirmed that any soldier is missing or captured in Iraq.

The photograph shows a man dressed in military fatigues sitting on the ground against a black flag with white Arabic lettering saying, "God is great, there is no god but Allah."

A military assault rifle is pointed at his head.

The photograph is being examined at the Pentagon, officials told CNN.

The Web site statement says:

"Our heroes were able to abduct the U.S. soldier ... after having killed a number of his comrades and taking the others hostage, and with God's permission we will behead him if our prisoners in the jails of the occupying forces are not released."

"They have up to 72 hours from the date of the posting of this statement to answer our demand, otherwise we will sacrifice the blood of this infidel animal and offer it as a sacrifice to God, and his fate will be like that of hundreds of his comrades in the army of the occupation."

In the photograph, the assault rifle -- either an M-16 or an M-4 -- is pointed at the man's head, said CNN military analyst James Marks.

Marks, a retired Army general, said he has several questions about the photograph's authenticity.

A flak jacket the man is wearing in the picture has an unfamiliar kind of piping or trim along its edges, Marks said. The man's open-legged pants, as opposed to gathered hems, seem odd, he said.

Marks also questioned what appeared to be camouflage paint on the man's face. "We have not used camo paint with conventional forces serving in Iraq," Marks said.

Rschoeneck
02-01-2005, 14:44
My problem is with the credibility of the story based off of the photo taken from the website. Clearly a fake IMO.

Just posted on Yahoo News 7 minutes ago-

"BAGHDAD, Iraq - The U.S. military said Tuesday that no American soldiers have been reported missing in Iraq (news - web sites) after a Web statement claimed that an American soldier had been taken hostage.


The authenticity of the statement and photo could not be verified, and Staff Sgt. Nick Minecci of the U.S. military's press office in Baghdad said "no units have reported anyone missing."


The posting, on a Web site that frequently carries militants' statements, included a photo of what that statement said was an American soldier, wearing desert fatigues and seated on a concrete floor with his hands tied behind his back.


But questions were raised about the authenticity of a photo purporting to show a hostage with a gun to his head. The figure in the photo appeared stiff and expressionless.


Liam Cusack, of the toy manufacturer Dragon Models USA, inc., said the image of the soldier portrayed in the photo bore a striking resemblance to a military action figure made by the company."

SgtUSMC8541
02-01-2005, 14:59
If they can get to GI Joe………. Just think how vulnerable Barbie is! I hope she gets a EP detail, and quick!

drawbreaker
02-01-2005, 15:05
Okay...so they're getting desperate for attention. What does this tell us about their current state of mind?

Archangel
02-01-2005, 15:53
I thought you guys were pulling my leg until I found the story on Yahoo:

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050201/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_soldier

:D

Kyobanim
02-01-2005, 15:56
My problem is with the credibility of the story based off of the photo taken from the website. Clearly a fake IMO.


Clearly, it is a fake. I can do a better job with photoshop. But think about this, what if it wasn't a fake? And it wasn't picked up by every major news source like this was. They'd still be wrong in most peoples' eyes.

Like I said before, it was well written and didn't make suppositions. If they had come out and said Here's a picture of an American Soldier captured by the insergents. But they didn't, they didn't even post a picture.

Sweetbriar
02-01-2005, 19:17
Do you suppose the Islamist website has been hacked? I guess we'll know when someone puts up an "Owned" banner across the photo.

Kyobanim
02-01-2005, 19:22
That thought crossed my mind. Would be funny as shit if it was. BTW, did you know that the majoirity of these pro-insurgent sites that put this stuff up are housed in the US? Their servers, that is. I think I have the link at work that shows a chart of the most active sites and their host providers. I'll see if I can find it.

Kyobanim
02-01-2005, 19:28
Found it.

This link has a listing of some of the different islamic terrorist type organizations along with their service providers and hosting service as well as where they are located. Click the links under Quiries in a Can. Interesting stuff.

http://haganah.us/jihadi/

Huey14
02-01-2005, 20:58
That's pretty bloody cheeky.

Isn't there some Inciting Violence type law that can take these sites down?