[url]http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/07/world/asia/pakistan-captured-american/index.html?hpt=hp_t3[/url]
[quote](CNN) -- The Obama administration is aware of a video of an American hostage urging the president to meet al Qaeda demands so he is not killed, a senior State Department official said Monday, but added that the United States "does not negotiate" for hostages.
Warren Weinstein, 70, makes the emotional to President Barack Obama in a video released on several Islamist websites Sunday.
"My life is in your hands, Mr. President," Weinstein says in the video. "If you accept the demands, I live. If you don't accept the demands, then I die."
Weinstein, a development consultant, was abducted in August from his home in the Pakistani city of Lahore. In December, al Qaeda claimed responsibility for his capture.
Ayman al-Zawahiri, leader of the terror network, listed eight demands that he said, if met, would result in Weinstein's release. The demands related to issues in the Middle East, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Somalia.
"It is important that you accept these demands and act quickly and don't delay," Weinstein said in the video posted Sunday.
"U.S. officials including the FBI are assisting in the Pakistani-led investigation and cooperation with the Pakistani authorities in the investigation continues," the State Department official said Monday.
The State Department remains in close contact with the family, the official said, asking not to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue.
In the video, Weinstein makes references to Obama's daughters and to his own children.
He says he wanted to let his wife know he is "fine and well" in the video, which is less than three minutes long.
Al Qaeda's demands include the lifting of the blockade on movement of people and trade between Egypt and Gaza; an end to bombing by the United States and its allies in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia and Gaza; the release of anyone arrested on charges of belonging to al Qaeda and the Taliban; the release of all prisoners in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and American secret prisons and the closure of Guantanamo and the other prisons; the release of terrorists convicted in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center; and the release of relatives of Osama bin Laden, the founder of al Qaeda who was killed last year in Pakistan.
In August, Weinstein's kidnappers managed to overcome the three security guards who were protecting him.
As the guards prepared for the meal before the Ramadan fast, three men knocked at the front gate and offered food for the meal -- a traditional practice among Muslims during the holy month of Ramadan, according to the Lahore police.
Once the gate was opened, the three men forced their way in, while five others entered the house from the back, tied up the guards and duct-taped their mouths, according to the police.
They pistol-whipped the driver and forced him to take them to Weinstein's room, where they hit Weinstein on the head with a pistol and forced him out of the house and into a waiting car, the police said.
A police official said in August that three suspects had been arrested in Weinstein's kidnapping.
Weinstein was working for J.E. Austin Associates Inc., a consulting firm based in Arlington, Virginia.[/quote]
Looks like he's gonna die.
My our blessed president lay his clenched hand upon those evildoers.
God Bless the USA.
There's obviously not a single fact to back this up with but the whole situation sounds awfully useful for whoever is going to go against Obama in the election.
[QUOTE]Al Qaeda's demands include the lifting of the blockade on movement of people and trade between Egypt and Gaza; an end to bombing by the United States and its allies in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia and Gaza; the release of anyone arrested on charges of belonging to al Qaeda and the Taliban; the release of all prisoners in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and American secret prisons and the closure of Guantanamo and the other prisons; the release of terrorists convicted in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center; and the release of relatives of Osama bin Laden, the founder of al Qaeda who was killed last year in Pakistan.[/QUOTE]
Yeah no, unfortunately I think he's going to die, those demands are just huge.
Something tells me even the hostage knows it's not gonna happen.
Honestly if I were the hostage at that point. I would realize im fucked either way and just taunt em til im killed horrifically.
[QUOTE=Jetblack357;35863595]Honestly if I were the hostage at that point. I would realize im fucked either way and just taunt em til im killed horrifically.[/QUOTE]
doubt it
[QUOTE=Jetblack357;35863595]Honestly if I were the hostage at that point. I would realize im fucked either way and just taunt em til im killed horrifically.[/QUOTE]
No you'd probably be doing the exact same thing this guy is doing.
If the US Government has to meet those demands for the release of this one hostage... I really hope they find another way.
[quote]Al Qaeda's demands include the lifting of the blockade on movement of people and trade between Egypt and Gaza; an end to bombing by the United States and its allies in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia and Gaza; the release of anyone arrested on charges of belonging to al Qaeda and the Taliban; the release of all prisoners in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and American secret prisons and the closure of Guantanamo and the other prisons; the release of terrorists convicted in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center; and the release of relatives of Osama bin Laden, the founder of al Qaeda who was killed last year in Pakistan.[/quote]
I feel sorry for the poor guy, but there is no way that the government is going to do that much, heck they're practically demanding a surrender, just to save one man.
Although another SEAL raid may not be out of the question.
I'm pretty sure he was forced to say those demands in the video, I sincerely doubt that he thought any of that was reasonable. If he had a choice and his captors weren't watching he'd probably beg for a raid or something.
I thought Hostahe was a guy who just liked Obama too much.
[editline]7th May 2012[/editline]
I was a bit disappointed.
[QUOTE=Awesomecaek;35863444]There's obviously not a single fact to back this up with but the whole situation sounds awfully useful for whoever is going to go against Obama in the election.[/QUOTE]
Why? How could it be useful in anyway?
He's dead.
[QUOTE=BusterBluth;35864306]Why? How could it be useful in anyway?[/QUOTE]
Are you kidding? The media is going to explode over this; "President Obama let an American Citizen DIE!"
[QUOTE=Mr. Someguy;35864500]Are you kidding? The media is going to explode over this; "President Obama let an American Citizen DIE!"[/QUOTE]
No, they wont.
[editline]7th May 2012[/editline]
Well I take that back, they could make the argument that Obama isn't doing enough to combat terrorism. But no one is going to hold him personally responsible.
[editline]7th May 2012[/editline]
Well I take that back, they could make the argument that Obama isn't doing enough to combat terrorism. But no one is going to hold him personally responsible.
[QUOTE=Mr. Someguy;35864500]Are you kidding? The media is going to explode over this; "President Obama let an American Citizen DIE!"[/QUOTE]
More like they'll use it to show how unreasonable these groups are and how they must be eradicated from the earth.
Here come SEAL Team Six or the A-team.
[QUOTE=teslacoil;35864997]Here come SEAL Team Six or the A-team.[/QUOTE]
SEAL Team Six died. Where's Mr T?
[editline]7th May 2012[/editline]
[QUOTE=Fourm Shark;35863247]I'm sorry, but looks like he is going to die. You can't just demand the president to meet with an enemy organization in war time to negotiate hostages. For all he knows, it could be an assassination attempt.[/QUOTE]
Did you read past the first 10 words? He's not being asked to meet with them, he's being asked to meet DEMANDS.
Bloody hell, how can Al-Qaeda even think that the US government would fall under all those demands to one man who holds no importance to them what so ever. It would be like me kidnapping a random dog and telling Walmart to shut down a 5th of their shops or the dog dies.
Heart goes out to the guy.
[QUOTE=G71tc4;35865649]SEAL Team Six died. Where's Mr T?
[/QUOTE]
From [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seal_Team_6#Afghanistan_helicopter_crash.2C_6_August_2011]Wikipedia:[/url]
[quote]On 1–2 May 2011 [b]DEVGRU Red Team[/b] undertook the covert operation codenamed Operation Neptune Spear,[45] under the CIA's authority, and killed Osama bin Laden, leader of the terrorist organization Al Qaeda, at his compound 34°11′15.3882″N 73°14′33.3954″E in the city of Abbottabad, 113 kilometers from Islamabad, the Federal capital of Pakistan.[46][47][48] The attack itself lasted 38 minutes, and there were no casualties to the team. They had practiced the mission "on both American coasts" and in a segregated section of Camp Alpha at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan in early April 2011, using a one-acre replica of bin Laden's compound.[49][50][51] Modified MH-60 helicopters from the U.S. Army's 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment carried DEVGRU operators and paramilitary operatives from the CIA's Special Activities Division. Other personnel supported with tactical signals, intelligence collectors, and navigators using highly classified hyperspectral imagers from Ghazi Air Base in Pakistan.[52]
[/quote]
[quote]
Fifteen members of [b]DEVGRU's Gold Team[/b] were among the 38 killed on Saturday, 6 August 2011 in Maidan Wardak province, Afghanistan, when a Chinook helicopter flown by B Company, 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment, was shot down by a Taliban-fired rocket-propelled grenade; the crash wiped out an entire troop of the team. The personnel killed in the helicopter crash are said to have belonged to an "immediate reaction force" that were on route to intercept a group of Taliban who were escaping the area following an operation by United States Army Rangers. [b]No member of the Bin Laden raid team was among the dead.[/b][60][61][62] It was the largest single loss of U.S. life since the beginning of the 2001 Afghan War, and is the largest single loss ever suffered by the SEALs.[63][64]
[/quote]
Point is, SEAL Team Six is still alive and kicking.
[editline]7th May 2012[/editline]
Assuming that you were referring to the specific team that took down Bin Laden and the team that died in the helicopter crash in August.
Chances are they'd kill him anyway.
Why is his life in only one of Obama's hands? Why is Obama not holding his life with two hands. It seems pretty dangerous to hold a life with only one hand, but that's just my opinion.
[QUOTE=BusterBluth;35864737]No, they wont.
[editline]7th May 2012[/editline]
Well I take that back, they could make the argument that Obama isn't doing enough to combat terrorism. But no one is going to hold him personally responsible.[/QUOTE][QUOTE=Valdor;35864894]More like they'll use it to show how unreasonable these groups are and how they must be eradicated from the earth.[/QUOTE]
You're probably right, I'm probably just spending too much time looking at the stupid on Fox Nation.
Well fuck that must make Obama feel like shit knowing this guy is counting on him to save his life, despite being in a hopeless situation.
Sorry man. Your life will be recorded in history as another American that was at the wrong place at the wrong time.
[QUOTE=Performula;35863214]My our blessed president lay his clenched, hand upon those evildoers.
God Bless the USA.[/QUOTE]
Yes you're right, an innocent soldier is about to die, let's make fun of religion, which has nothing to do with this issue. Stay classy, Facepunch.
[editline]8th May 2012[/editline]
[QUOTE=RainbowStalin;35867431]Well fuck that must make Obama feel like shit knowing this guy is counting on him to save his life, despite being in a hopeless situation.[/QUOTE]
No, he probably doesn't care at all. It's just a nameless face somewhere else entirely. Obama most likely doesn't care at all.
The whole point of the United States official policy of not negotiating with terrorists is to deter things like this happening since their demands would not be met to begin with. In reality, the culprits knew this all too well. The dude agreed to make the video simply since it's Hobson's choice, his other option is simply to just die.
It just sickens me how groups like Al Qaeda have such extreme disregard for human life. How is harming civilians left and right going to get anything done is simply beyond me.
I'm pretty sure the United States would not send a team in lead by Navy SEALs or even an Army Special Forces Unit. Of course, one life gets blown up by the media because this person has been taken hostage, but thousands of soldiers die every week, but almost none of them get real media attention like these. It just sickens me that al-Qaeda does things like this. What good does bringing terror really get you? Does it make you feel good? Do you feel like you're changing things for the better?
Think about these things first al-Qaeda, then come back and try again.
[QUOTE=DeathDoom;35867160]From [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seal_Team_6#Afghanistan_helicopter_crash.2C_6_August_2011]Wikipedia:[/url]
Point is, SEAL Team Six is still alive and kicking.
[editline]7th May 2012[/editline]
Assuming that you were referring to the specific team that took down Bin Laden and the team that died in the helicopter crash in August.[/QUOTE]
oh, what a relief
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