home

ISIS Executes Steven Sotloff

By Jeralyn, Section War In Iraq
Posted on Tue Sep 02, 2014 at 01:04:32 PM EST
Tags: Steven Sotloff (all tags)
Share This: Digg! StumbleUpon del.icio.us reddit reddit

ISIS has released a video (no link here please) that shows Steven Sotloff in the beheading position. It says he has been executed, and a British hostage, David Cawthorne Haines, will be next.

Update: I don't think the video was made at the same time as the Foley video. The executioner mentions the continued bombings "at Amerli, Zumar and the Mosul Dam." Amerli and Zumar hadn't happened when Foley was killed. Also, Sotloff had a shaved head and no beard in the Foley video. In today's video, he has hair and a beard.

< Obama's Latest War Authorization Letter and ISIS Update | British Hostage David Cawthorne Haines >

  • The Online Magazine with Liberal coverage of crime-related political and injustice news

  • Contribute To TalkLeft


    • Display: Sort:
    ISIS Executes Steven Sotloff | 37 comments (37 topical)

    Readers Must Login or Create an Account to Comment

    Words fail. (5.00 / 2) (#1)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Tue Sep 02, 2014 at 01:19:09 PM EST


    Sadness for his family (5.00 / 1) (#2)
    by Dadler on Tue Sep 02, 2014 at 02:07:47 PM EST
    Wishing peace to them, but I can only begin to imagine, if even that, how awful it is. His mother made such an eloquent and heart-wrenching plea. Just sick for her.

    So here's hoping the disgusting pride ISIS love to display with their inhumanity does something else besides instill obvious fear, that it does the thing they are too stupid to realize it assuredly will: send an increasingly clear message that they are simply, nothing more and nothing less, psychopaths. That we still haven't figured out that we could easily stand up and admit our faults, our crimes, talk about righting them, lay out plans and pay reparations for them, and then make the quite credible assertion that, "And as bad as we've been far too often, at least we can look in the mirror and admit our sh*t stinks, publicly discuss how we will get better as a people and nation...psychopaths who slice heads and shoot shoppers with glee can't, and can never as psychopaths, do that..." holy sheet, it's inexcusable we can figure this out, that we can't raise it like the product of freedom it should be, the real beacon, jaysus chrysler, can you imagine if someone with half a brain cell ran our propaganda department? Honesty ain't just the best policy, it's our ONLY hope for the beginning of ANY effective policy here. Because we're supposed to be BETTER.

    About time we started, no?

    Ack, what do I know? Peace to Sotloff's family again.

    Sigh...

    Psychopaths (5.00 / 1) (#4)
    by squeaky on Tue Sep 02, 2014 at 02:11:27 PM EST
    Seems to me that there is no shortage of them, particularly when it comes to committing atrocities under the shadow of a flag.

    Parent
    So true...iwe can't try reasoning with people (none / 0) (#5)
    by ruffian on Tue Sep 02, 2014 at 02:51:12 PM EST
    that look at this and think the ISIS way is the righteous path. Sooner or later, the powerful people in the region will step up to the plate and renounce these psychopaths.

    Parent
    Why do you publish this? (5.00 / 1) (#6)
    by oculus on Tue Sep 02, 2014 at 04:01:25 PM EST


    Is Their Idea to Force the US to Attack Them? (5.00 / 2) (#7)
    by RickyJim on Tue Sep 02, 2014 at 04:45:17 PM EST
    Tom Engelhardt seems to think so.  I don't see any other rationale for such actions.

    That's one way to get to the 72 virgins... (none / 0) (#8)
    by Mr Natural on Tue Sep 02, 2014 at 04:50:53 PM EST


    Parent
    I can link you to my comments here (none / 0) (#9)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Sep 02, 2014 at 04:58:53 PM EST
    Saying that for months.

    Parent
    I highly highly doubt ISIS wants us to attack them (5.00 / 1) (#31)
    by Jack203 on Tue Sep 02, 2014 at 10:07:12 PM EST
    You're giving these psychopaths WAY too much credit.  
    No, they are not playing reverse psychology against us by demanding we stop bombing by beheading Americans, but really want us to attack them.

    Furthermore, is their plan to lose the initiative and begin to lose in Iraq?

    They are currently losing ground in Iraq, and will continue to do so.

    Parent

    Gallows humor (none / 0) (#10)
    by Mr Natural on Tue Sep 02, 2014 at 05:03:21 PM EST
    Their target audience really hates us, hates us on a level most of us cannot imagine hating anything, which is tough, since most humans are capable not only of the imagining but of the unimaginable.

    Parent
    True (5.00 / 1) (#11)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Sep 02, 2014 at 05:21:43 PM EST
    And while I tend to thnk understanding their grievances is overly optimistic you do have to wonder what, if anything, we could do to change that.
    There is no denying the US even under Obama is responsible for horrific violence in the region.  But, honestly, are we to assume they are unaccustomed to horrific violence?  It seems to me Obama has really tried, perhaps inartfully,  to have a different kind of relationship with the region.  We helped get rid of Gaddafi, we at least didn't intervene to help Mubarak.  We were pretty much universally optimistic about the "Arab Spring".
    I would love to hear what anyone thinks we could do, aside from not interfering with their genocide, to make them - if not like us - hate us less.

    Parent
    That's simple, (5.00 / 1) (#13)
    by NYShooter on Tue Sep 02, 2014 at 05:36:13 PM EST
    "I would love to hear what anyone thinks we could do?"

    Convert to their brand of Islam. And, you better not fake it cause, if you do, they'll cut your head off, sew it back on, and, cut it off again.

    Parent

    Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Syria, Iran, Jordan, Iraq (none / 0) (#16)
    by squeaky on Tue Sep 02, 2014 at 05:48:03 PM EST
    Seems to me that there a lot more countries in the mid-east who have much more to lose than the US..

    ISIS does not like royalty... and going back to the 15th century may be going a bit to far.

    This is a muslim against muslim war. US can only make it worse.

    We can support an alliance of strange bedfellows.

    Parent

    How about... (5.00 / 2) (#24)
    by unitron on Tue Sep 02, 2014 at 06:40:04 PM EST
    ...an alliance of strange Bedouin fellows?

    : - )

    Parent

    I don't disagree with that (none / 0) (#19)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Sep 02, 2014 at 05:54:03 PM EST
    But the fact is Obamas name is coming up an awful lot.  I don't disagree they are baiting us/him.  

    Parent
    They like some Royalty (none / 0) (#25)
    by NYShooter on Tue Sep 02, 2014 at 07:18:58 PM EST
    according to Germany's development minister, Gerd Müller, Qatar is financing ISIS with big, big bucks. But, that pip-squeak country, with the big time oil wells, has been financing terrorists for years. Hamas, The Muslim Brotherhood, and, now, ISIS are very appreciative beneficiaries of those petro dollars.

    What's weird, though, and, I have to read up on it, its been said that Obama is very friendly with the Royal family there, and, that Qatar is the President's "favorite."

    But, don't quote me yet; I gotta do some verifying.

    Of course, its been well known for years and years that the Saudis have been paying bribes and blackmail to a potpourri of terrorist groups as "protection." They're also the main incubator for future terrorists through the countless wahhabi schools they operate. I know they're worried about ISIS, but, I don't know what their present association with them is.

    What a screwed up mess the M.E. is!

    Parent

    Saudis and Kuwaitis Too (none / 0) (#26)
    by squeaky on Tue Sep 02, 2014 at 07:40:06 PM EST
    Big time... Now they are having second thoughts.... big time

    Parent
    Yeah, forgot about (none / 0) (#28)
    by NYShooter on Tue Sep 02, 2014 at 08:26:29 PM EST
    the Kuwaitis.

    Money may not buy you happiness, but, keeping the head you were born with ain't bad either.

    Parent

    I may (none / 0) (#29)
    by Ga6thDem on Tue Sep 02, 2014 at 08:43:22 PM EST
    be wrong on this but at one time Qatar was the safest middle eastern country for an american.

    Parent
    These days that's sort of like (none / 0) (#30)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Sep 02, 2014 at 09:15:48 PM EST
    Beng the best dressed person at WalMart probably.

    Parent
    But if it wasn't us, wouldn't it be someone else (5.00 / 1) (#14)
    by nycstray on Tue Sep 02, 2014 at 05:43:54 PM EST
    they would hate/blame? They have goals . . .

    Parent
    Not About Us (none / 0) (#12)
    by squeaky on Tue Sep 02, 2014 at 05:34:44 PM EST
    ISIS wants to build a Sunni (Wahhabi style) Caliphate, and kill all muslims and others that stand in their way.

    Their focus is not America, but building a state, and mass extermination of all who do not join them.

    The beheading videos are recruitment videos.. not so much as a call to bring it on, but to bring in recruits.

    And the more we go for it, the more they get free advertising for recruits.

    Parent

    What's really freaky is how many (5.00 / 3) (#15)
    by nycstray on Tue Sep 02, 2014 at 05:47:13 PM EST
    messed up people there are out there. What part of you has to turn off to think this sh!t is okay? And then to carry it out. . .

    Parent
    Exactly (none / 0) (#18)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Sep 02, 2014 at 05:50:52 PM EST
    I hesitate to use the word evil but ....

    Parent
    Some of the younger kids that get caught up (5.00 / 1) (#21)
    by Militarytracy on Tue Sep 02, 2014 at 06:03:04 PM EST
    In it, I have read that ISIS confiscates their passports once they have them.  You are a different sort of hostage from a journalist then.

    I think it is probably similar to any young person heading into a war thinking they will find a kind of idealistic meaning and belonging.  I don't think the reality is ever what most think it will be.

    And some of them, well obviously some of them are just psychopaths that found a warm fire.

    Parent

    I doubt many recruits (5.00 / 1) (#27)
    by Jack203 on Tue Sep 02, 2014 at 07:59:36 PM EST
    are attracted by the beheading, but by the standing up to the West (or the Crusaders).

    But I also highly doubt they want us to bomb them using drones and collaborate intelligence with the Iraq Shiites, Kurds and Assads regime.  They've clearly lost the initiative in Iraq the last 20 days, and the same thing will happen in Syria if we help there too.  

    If we are stupid enough to invade them though, we will be playing into their hands.  As another guerrilla war will have the same outcome as the last one.

    The Sunni lands are simply ungovernable right now by anyone not Sunni.  That is why Obama needs to proceed with caution.  There is no good outcome.  If the Sunni's stop the aggression, we should too.
    Otherwise everybody is just spinning their wheels killing each other for no good reason.

    Parent

    David Corn has retweeted this tweet... (none / 0) (#3)
    by magster on Tue Sep 02, 2014 at 02:09:28 PM EST
    from someone claiming to be from Syria Report...

       MT @SyriaReport_net BREAKING:Dozens of US Blackhawk helicopters heading from Turkey to Syria following execution of American Steven Sotloff
        -- Laura Wells (@wellsla) September 2, 2014

    Haven't seen it confirmed anywhere else....

    Wish he wouldn't have (5.00 / 1) (#17)
    by Militarytracy on Tue Sep 02, 2014 at 05:50:37 PM EST
    Always an ever present necessary organic friction between everyone's right to know what their nation is up to, and the need for troop movements to not be given out during those movements.

    I personally would really like to free whatever captives they still have, and have these phuckers stand trial!

    Parent

    Can we force them to become (none / 0) (#20)
    by nycstray on Tue Sep 02, 2014 at 06:01:24 PM EST
    born again Christians first?

    Parent
    Probably not :) (none / 0) (#22)
    by Militarytracy on Tue Sep 02, 2014 at 06:09:17 PM EST
    My husband has said that soldiers who care about this conflict and participate in the humanitarian efforts should all convert to Islam, in support of true Islam :)

    He says this suggestion usually makes other US soldiers gasp about giving up their true God.  It's just an idea :)  Isn't it all the same God? Aren't Muslims our cousins in the Bible? Even the Koran says you can hide your true faith when you need to :)

    Parent

    Forget waterboarding (none / 0) (#23)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Sep 02, 2014 at 06:12:17 PM EST
    Sit them clockwork orange like in front of a 50" locked on Trinity Broadcasting.

    Parent
    Interesting Omission (none / 0) (#32)
    by squeaky on Wed Sep 03, 2014 at 07:03:16 PM EST
    Bloomberg reports:

    Sotloff, who was from Miami, worked as a journalist in Libya and spoke fluent Arabic, according to a former colleague. He was kidnapped near Aleppo, Syria, on Aug. 4, 2013. He had reported for publications including Time magazine and the Christian Science Monitor.

    Interesting omission that Sotloff was an israeli citizen who also wrote for the Jerusalem Post..  he must also have been fluent in Hebrew..

    According to Reuters, this biographical detail had been previously withheld to minimize the risks that Sotloff's captivity already engendered. Sotloff also seemed to have successfully hidden his Jewish faith from his captors...

    The Times of Israel is reporting that Sotloff had emigrated to Israel in 2005 becoming a citizen and attending school there before he started his career in journalism.

    Atlantic

    Just saw a bit of Rev Al (none / 0) (#33)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Sep 03, 2014 at 07:06:50 PM EST
    Discussing this.  Apparently he told them he was ill to avoid eating on Yom Kippur.  Al pronounced it Yom Kipper.

    Parent
    Yes (none / 0) (#34)
    by squeaky on Wed Sep 03, 2014 at 07:33:56 PM EST
    An old delta blues song..  yorn kipper in her slipper done me wrong...

    he got it confused, no doubt.

    Parent

    Yom me a kipper... (none / 0) (#35)
    by unitron on Wed Sep 03, 2014 at 07:50:02 PM EST
    ...I'll be back for breakfast.

    Parent
    That's interesting (none / 0) (#36)
    by NYShooter on Wed Sep 03, 2014 at 10:22:52 PM EST
    and, what else is interesting, to me, anyway, is why ISIS hasn't been blasting Israel, publicly, at least?

    Is it that they don't want to start a direct fight with Israel? Of all "Western" countries, Israel knows how to deal with terrorists. And, they're not as constrained in dealing with them as we are. Or, is it, as you said, Squeaky, that they're more interested, rights now anyway, with converting other Muslims into their Caliphate?

    Anyway, as I said, interesting stuff.

    Parent

    SITE VIOLATOR (none / 0) (#38)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Sep 06, 2014 at 11:01:16 AM EST
    I love the name

    Was there really 302 other Rumahprediksibolas?

    ISIS Executes Steven Sotloff | 37 comments (37 topical)

    Readers Must Login or Create an Account to Comment