The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) claims to have beheaded an American photojournalist and has threatened the life of another American journalist if President Obama doesn’t stop airstrikes in Iraq.A graphic video obtained by NBC News purportedly shows James Wright Foley, a freelance reporter for the U.S.-based news service GlobalPost who was kidnapped while reporting from Syria two years ago, reciting threats against America before he is executed by an ISIS militant. The militant heard in the video speaks in English.
As for the authentication of the video, a spokesperson for the National Security Council said this morning, “The U.S. Intelligence Community has analyzed the recently released video showing U.S. citizens James Foley and Steven Sotloff. We have reached the judgment that this video is authentic. We will continue to provide updates as they are available.”
As Rachel noted on the show last night, Foley went missing in late 2012, and his official whereabouts were unknown until yesterday. ISIS described its murder of Foley effectively as payback for recent U.S. military operations against ISIS in Iraq.
Last night, Foley’s parents released a statement that read in part, “We have never been prouder of our son Jim. He gave his life trying to expose the world to the sufferings of the Syrian people. We implore the kidnappers to spare the lives of the remaining hostages. We thank Jim for all the joy he gave us. He was an extraordinary son, brother, journalist and person.”
He was just 40 years old. President Obama is expected to speak publicly about the murder any minute now.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."