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Bashar Assad Holds American Austin Tice Hostage - Stages Fake "Jihadi" Video - US Must Bomb Now!
- Published_at:2012-10-01
- Category:News & Politics
- Channel:Souria2011archives
- tags:
- description: Video footage shows American Journalist Austin Tice still alive The cloths of the 'jihadis' in this video looks way too clean, also why are there no demands being made in this video? There are hundreds of jihadi videos from Syria and they all include the groups logo, numerous faces and long rambling speeches. All credible reports indicate Austin is being held by the Syrian regime. Interestingly, you don't see any of these Jihadi faces, who else thinks these guys are Syrian security agents. McClatchy Newspapers Austin Tice, an American freelance journalist in Syria who has not communicated with family and colleagues since mid August. The video was posted Sept. 26 but escaped notice until early Monday, when a link to it appeared on a Facebook page that appears to support the Syrian government of President Bashar Assad. Tips and other evidence previously gathered by the news organizations to which Tice contributed has suggested he is in Syrian government custody. Tice, 31, whose news articles and photos had been published by McClatchy Newspapers, The Washington Post and other news agencies, last exchanged email with colleagues on Aug. 13. At the time, he was believed to be in the Damascus suburb of Darayya and was expected to travel to Lebanon to meet friends Aug. 19 or 20. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters Monday that U.S. officials had viewed the video but were not in a position to verify its authenticity. "We continue to believe that, to the best of our knowledge, . . . he is in Syrian government custody," she said. Terrorism experts expressed skepticism about the video, saying the production quality, style and method of release don't match videos typically posted by extremist groups such as al Qaida or its affiliates. "There's so much odd about it," said Will McCants, a former government adviser on violent extremism and author of the Jihadica website. "There's no production level, no title page, nothing to indicate it was an al Qaida group. This is just a raw clip of footage." Though there's no time stamp or other clue as to when the clip was recorded, the video appears to be shot immediately after Tice was abducted, three top terrorism experts said, citing the journalist's visible disorientation. Murad Batal al Shishani, a London-based analyst of jihadists who's monitored extremist groups since the early 1990s, said many aspects of the video don't jibe with the communiqués that are typically sent out by al Qaida-style extremists. The call-and-response rhythm in the cries of "God is great" seems off, he said, and it would be unusual for jihadists to include Tice's mangled prayer, or to release such a low-quality clip when they're known for slickly produced videos distributed via their own media wings. "If it was a jihadi video, they have their own platforms. They wouldn't release it on YouTube," Shishani said. The YouTube user who posted the video had not previously uploaded to the site, suggesting the account may have been created specifically to disseminate the video. Analysts also pointed out that the captions include both English and Arabic, which would be unusual -- but not unheard of -- for a jihadist group. The clip was later shared on a Facebook page and Twitter account associated with a group called "the Media Channel for Assad's Syria," which echoes the government's line that opposition rebels are terrorists intent on destabilizing Syria. The group's tweet reads, "Important, please publish and share our clip on the truth about the disappearance of the American journalist Austin Tice." .Tice, a former infantry officer in the Marine Corps, entered Syria in May, crossing into rebel-controlled territory via Turkey and traveling in and around Damascus since late July. He contributed more than a dozen articles to McClatchy and three to the Post, with his own military experience adding nuance and detail to dispatches from the front lines of the civil war. He also freelanced for CBS News, Al Jazeera English, and the Agence France Presse news agency. Since Tice's disappearance, information has emerged from both official and unofficial sources to suggest he was captured by government authorities. References to him in pro-regime social media outlets as well as press mentions in Iran, a close ally of the Syrian regime, paint him as a spy. A Facebook page in the name of Assad, the Syrian president, includes a Sept. 16 entry that referred to Tice as an Israeli agent who had "infiltrated" the country. An Iranian news portal claimed Tice was a CIA agent who faces the death penalty after being captured by the Syrian military and held in connection with killing three air force officers.
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| 2012-10-03 | 45,111 | 10 | 67 |
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