(This is a good chunk of the initial story. We will run more updates later in the day.)
As expected, American hostage Paul Johnson, Jr. has reportedly been beheaded by his terrorist captors.
It was clear from the start that the REAL reason behind holding him captive was just that: to behead him, get it on video, and scare foreignors into leaving Saudia Arabia....thus weakening the country's royal family and installing a more pure (read that TALIBAN STYLE) government. Here is the sad-but-expected news report, which reads, in part:
- (CNN) -- An Arabic TV news network said Friday that American hostage Paul Johnson Jr. has been beheaded by his Saudi captors.
Al Arabiya said its bureau chief had been shown the video of the killing.
Earlier Friday, Al Arabiya had aired an emotional statement from the wife of Johnson.
Johnson's wife, Noom, who is Thai, said she hoped the Saudi government "can help my husband."
U.S. and Saudi investigators concluded an intensive meeting Friday, Saudi officials said, as security forces spread all over the kingdom searching for Johnson.
Johnson, 49, a Lockheed Martin Corp. employee, had been kidnapped Saturday in the Saudi capital of Riyadh. He helped maintain U.S.-built Apache helicopter gunships for the Saudi military.
Johnson's captors had threatened to kill him by Friday unless the Saudi government releases al Qaeda prisoners and Westerners leave the Arabian Peninsula.
Abdel Aziz al-Muqrin , the self-proclaimed military leader of al Qaeda in Saudi Arabia, claimed responsibility for Johnson's kidnapping and the death of another American on the same day on behalf of a group called the Al Falluja Squadron, which says it has ties to al Qaeda.
The State Department has urged all Americans to leave Saudi Arabia, but Johnson's sister, Donna Mayeux, said her brother "always felt safe in Saudi Arabia."
"My brother is an honorable man," she said. "He has always treated people with dignity and respect."
But terrorists don't care about that. They want a body count (which could be you, me your infant daughter, your great grandmother and any Muslims who serve their purposes as well).
UPDATES:
---More sickening details about what they did and how much glee they have in annoucing it. Governments truly can't negotiate with Al Qaeda because they're not after that. We cannot win their hearts and minds...but we can arrange it to release their souls to start on the inevitable journey downwards to a very hot place......
--The family is in seclusion.
--Johnson's body is found.
--Photos posted by Drudge. WARNING: They're explicit.
--President Bush denounces terrorists and calls them "barbaric."
---Now they say the body WASN'T found after all -- and they're looking for it (curious). (Sat June 19)
BLOG REACTIONS:
A Small Victory . "You should all be taking this very personally. Because it was personal. They would kill you just as swiftly as they killed Paul Johnson. I know I am not rounding this corner alone. We're an angry mob, aren't we? And quite helpless, which makes us despair even more."
--TalkLeft :"We are disgusted. We offer our sincerest condolences to Mr. Johnson's family."
--David Smith, The True Nature of Reality:"That's why we're in Iraq and Afghanistan. Not about Oil. Not about Bin Laden. Not about 9/11. Not about freeing Iraq or removing Saddam, or enforcing UN resolutions, good and just as these reasons are. We're in Iraq as the last, best hope of avoiding a major, possibly genocidal, nuclear strike on the Middle East. The Middle East, and Islam, must reform, or die. America will not take this forever."
--Stephen Green, VodkaPundit (who feared Johnson had been killed days ago) :"So it has happened: The same fate that Nick Berg suffered in Iraq has befallen Paul Johnson in Saudi Arabia. ...I feared as much. Other than that, I've run out of words. How many more of these atrocities before they cease being tragedies, and instead become statistics? Keep an eye on the usual "anti-war" suspects for details."
--Kathy Kinsley: "The more I see, the more I think that the Geneva convention should be amended to quite particularly not apply to terrorists. We should be convincing al Qaida that being led around on a leash by American females is the least of their worries."
--Citizen Smash :"NOTE to the beknighted editors at the Reuters news service: "Please don't dignify the monsters who committed this horrifying act by labeling them "militants." They took an innocent man hostage. They beat and tortured him. They demanded ransom. They ignored pleas for mercy from his family. Then, when their demands were not met, they cut his head off and posted the images on the ....Terrorists did this. Not "guerillas," or "rebels," or "dissidents," or "militants. Let me spell it for you, in case you've forgotten: T-E-R-R-O-R-I-S-T-S. When did that word become taboo?"
--Peoria Pundit:"Pardon me for turning into Mr. Correct Usage Nazi here, but when the State of Texas puts a man to death following a trial, it’s an execution. When fanatics behead a man they kidnapped off the street simply because he’s an American, that’s not an execution, that’s “murder.” But maybe “murder” is too judgmental. Mustn’t insult the sensibilities of those who think terrorism is just another legitimate way to fight a war ... "
--Wizbang's Kevin Aylword links back to an analysis he did when the first video of the ill-fated Johnson was aired and he wrote:"Releasing a video of the kidnapped Johnson makes infinitely more sense than only releasing a Nick Berg-style execution video only. A video of his execution is not going to get much media exposure. A hostage video is sure to run on every cable news network every hour on the hour for days. Al Queda is fighting their war on the media front as well, and adapting their strategies to the coverage."
I'm surprised it's not on Drudge yet -- blinking light and all.
God-damn these Arab cocksuckers. I will believe nothing about good intentions of this country about protecting American citizens unless and until the government extracts blood vengeance.
Arnold Harris
Mount Horeb WI
How many more beheadings, how many more 9/11's will it take before we finally get serious about this War on Islam's terror? Saudi Arabia delenda est!
Let's roll.
Steve M Anderson seems to have trouble connecting the dots... the guys who killed Johnson are also trying to get rid of the Saudi government.
So how, exactly, does working for the bad guy's goals benefit us?
"Saudi Arabia delenda est" is a cute catch-phrase, but it's an elegant statement of the speaker's inability to understand complex things.
This clearly pushes the Saidi royal family to choose a direction.
This is just horrible.
If I hear one more person say that, now, this *too* is our fault because of what we did in that Iraqi prison - I'm going to toss a clot.
I don't know if it's just me, but I'm getting a feeling that the majority of the people in this country have about had it with this Abu Grahib(sp) crap. Yes it was a dumb thing to do, but, enought already; and there is no way in hell ANY civilized person can compare what these *a*-holes did to Berg - and now Johnson - to having Fido bark in someone's face.
F-U Al Queda!
I totally agree with Dean.
The Saudi's are now reaping the benefits of playing both sides of the fence.
They better get their sh*t together - FAST.
Precisely, Notthisgirl.
The assholes will find some way to blame us, but that's just obscene.
I agree with Dean that this murderous may at last push the Saudi royal family into clamping down on the wahhabist element in their country. But that in itself could provde difficult for them. Wahhabism is exactly what provides the family of Ibn Saud their legitimacy.
The true Arab royalty of the country, or at least of Hejaz where the holy islamic cities are located, are the Hashemites, whom the British recognized as such and awarded thrones and crowns in Trans-Jordan and Iraq after the breakup of the Ottoman empire in 1919.
So no matter which way the present ruling Arabian royal family swings -- Saudi or possibly a replacement -- there are likely to be major repercussions.
In any case, as the saying goes, revenge is a dish best tasted cold.
But don't imagine that Nicholas Berg and Paul Johnson will be the last innocent Americans murdered by these bastards.
Arnold Harris
Mount Horeb WI
That's what this whole thing has been about, right from the get-go: deposing the al Saud family. The Sauds play both sides because they have to.
We here in the west are in for a world of hell, I fear. Al Quaeda has found a way to screw with world oil prices, and we could very well wind up in a recession.
Revolution and an Islamic republic in Arabia seem like distinct possibilities now. If that happens, look out. Oh, and for those that remember, things were a lot like this before the Iranian revolution.
Islam sure is a peaceful religion.
Drudge has the pics here . Warning: They'are very bad.
This is what we are up against. This is what we are fighting. This guy's only crime was being an infidel and therefore according to their sick version of their religion, less than human.
Remember: They don't hate us for what we do: They hate us for who we are.
Kill. Them. All.
They want to meet Allah so badly? Let the United States Marine Corps arrange the journey.
Maybe we should put six nukes in a ring around Riyadh and then one in the center to make sure we get them.
I know thats not a reasonable response, but it sure is how I feel.
I'm still a blithering idiot and a stupid bigot, and now I understand that.
I'm so enraged right now, I can't think straight. What a bunch of savages.
Like many people, I've been anxious about this news coming out for the last few days. I'm really saddened that our fears have come true.
Out of this inhumanity, I hope it reminds America we are still at war and that anyone of us, without regard to age, sex, and religion, could be brutally murdered in the same style, given the opportunity. Americans may disagree on how to win the war, but I hope we can all agree we have a common enemy.
What I find disappointing when I surf through the blog reactions that joe put up, is how quickly it takes for some blowhard to take the opportunity to gleefully blame the US. For instance,
I honestly feel sorry for these commenters that are so filled with hate towards Bush, they are compelled to literally offer someone's brutally sawed off head as a way to score some sort of warped political point.
the REAL reason behind holding him captive was just that: to behead him, get it on video, and scare foreignors into leaving Saudia Arabia....thus weakening the country's royal family and installing a more pure (read that TALIBAN STYLE) government
Saudi Arabia's government is already like the Taliban - they're just not as miserable because they have more money.
In fact, the Kingdom is even more extreme. The Taliban didn't forbid the practice of other religions within their borders. Saudis do.
The worst-case scenario is already here. Islamists are already in charge of the world's oil supply. They never have been our allies, and they never will be.
So why are some Saudis attacking Americans? According to the Belmont Club:
"Terrorist activity has the same economic effect as a cartel-mandated reduction in production. It means that oil exporting countries can charge more for less. For so long as terrorist damage is restricted to fairly cheap sections of pipe through "Iraq's deserts" -- in the BBC's phrase -- or to expatriate Filipino cooks, Indian janitors or Australian chefs, the oil exporting countries can actually be net gainers from terrorist activity..."
From AP via the San Francisco Chronicle (SFGate.com):
(06-18) 15:17 PDT RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) --
The leader of al-Qaida in Saudi Arabia was believed killed in a raid in the capital Friday, hours after his group claimed the beheading of an American engineer, Saudi security officials said.
Forget the Saudi royal family. The real enemy center of gravity is the madrassas. Friday prayers is the best time to waste them. One good cruise missile salvo, say 400 or so, should take care of a good proportion of these hatemongers.
Hatcher wrote:
"Steve M Anderson seems to have trouble connecting the dots... the guys who killed Johnson are also trying to get rid of the Saudi government.
So how, exactly, does working for the bad guy's goals benefit us?
"Saudi Arabia delenda est" is a cute catch-phrase, but it's an elegant statement of the speaker's inability to understand complex things."
Do you work for the State Department? The U.N.? I've been hearing your line since 9/11/2001: These murders are all too complex and nuanced for simpliste Americans like you to understand. There are no absolutes, no blacks or whites. It's all relative, it's all just fine shades of gray. Instead of destroying these terrorists, we must try to understand them, get along with them, co-exist with them, give them more of our tax money, appease them, surrender to them.
I'm against that! Yes, I am dogmatic and intolerant toward murderers and toward appeasers like you. I blame _you_, your appeasement, for these murders.
Everything has a cost. Find those who profit most from the act(s)and you will reveal the true enemy.
Right, Mark. Because no one ever miscalculated and thought something was to his benefit that didn't turn out to be.
That's why drugs are so popular.
Time to give these Arab dumasses a good whupping, a whupping so evere that it will bring them back to their senses. Kinda like the whupping delivered to the fanatical Japanese in WWII that brought them to their knees, and bought them to their senses. But, given the large number of American leftist appeasers of terrorists, and American leftist terrorist supporters in the media and academia, and insociety in general, i wonder if the Administration would have the guts to order such destruction and mayhem on Arab society and culture like it would take to knock sense into their collective senses.
Damn - it is sad to see leftist Americans blame the current Administration for the beheading death of Mr Johnson. may he rest in peace, and my prayers go out to his greiving family.
though, raining a couple of nuclear strikes on a few Arab cities, the breeder of islamofascists seems like a wonderful option now.
Steve Anderson:
You might start with stopping. Like stop pulling facts out of the air. I never posted a thing in 2001; in fact, it wasn't until late 2002 that I first hit a blog.
I'm not State Dept, but I used to be. I also used to live and work in Saudi Arabia, over a period spanning 20 years, so I have just a bit of first-hand knowledge about the country and the people who live there.
I do not deny for a moment that there are bad Saudis. I do not accept, for a moment, the idea that all Saudis are bad, that the government is bad (in the sense you mean), or that the majority of Saudis would applaud the murder of Johnson.
There is a distinct difference between your and my approach, however. I think we should go after the bad guys. You seem to think we should go after anyone who looks like they might be bad guys.
Saudi Arabia is undergoing a massive social upheaval. You'd better be sure of what you're wishing for, which side you're rooting for, as there are very bad--and very likely--alternatives to the Sauds.
This is not fear mongering. Take a little effort and see what's going on there for yourself before your knee jerks you into a place you don't want to be.
One more for Steve,
I utterly dispute your accusation that I "appease". I have personally and directly worked to put bad Saudis in jail and to break up terror plots. I have also worked personally and directly to get at least some Saudis to realize that they need to wake up and smell the 21st Century, knock off the anti-Semitism in their media, and stop following the lead of stellar Americans like David Duke.
Your urges to jump to conclusions make it hazardous for you to be in heavily trafficked areas. Take care.
The events of today with the murder of a civilian american worker in Saudi Arabia are nothing short of tragic. And the reaction of many is anger, insult and outrage. That some commenters come to this post to vent is understandable on more than one level of understanding. I have made but one comment above and have added nothing until now because I know how pissed those that are paying attention are. However, I take exception to the comments of hatcher not because he isn't entitled to comment but because he seems to place the beheading of the american below the importance of attacking others as well as below his own expertise on Saudi Arabia. End of comment.
Sorry, hatcher. My comment above would have been longer had I noticed you commented again on a later posting (above) where you made a bigger ass of yourself than you did here.
A question for Hatcher:
How does a good Saudi male treat the women and the non-Saudis and non-Arabs in his life?
If you think the Saudis have "followed the lead of David Duke" in anti-Semitism, you're looking at history through the wrong end of the telescope.
But that's easier to do when your head is where yours is. And you lived there!
JdB
You folks need to simmer down and stop with the name-calling.
For all my fans:
In 2002, David Duke made a particular effort to enlist the financial support of Arabs. He wrote editorials for their newspapers, offered links to his websites, and solicited funds.
I was able, through the cooperation of Saudi editors, to get writers to stop quoting him and reprinting him. I got them to break links with his websites.
Equally, I was able to get a writer fired for her use of "The Protocols of the Edlers of Zion" in an article describing how Jews were using the blood of young Muslims and Christians in their rituals. I got a front page apology from the editor for allowing the article to appear in the first place.
I don't think for a moment that Saudis get their anti-Semitism from David Duke. But they do get legitimacy from him. After all, doesn't this guy have quite a successful--up to a point--political record? State congressman? Ran for US Senate? A publishing house? Unless you know his complete package--which most foreigners do not--then he looks like a pretty good source. And American, at that.
For Jerome:
A "good Saudi" treats his wife about the same way his American counterpart does. With respect, with support, with love. He treats his fellow man with respect, no matter his origin or religion. And surprisingly for you, I guess, that's the way most Saudis behave.
There are more than 5,000 American women married to Saudis and living in Saudi Arabia. While there have certainly been instances of abuse, of absolutely awful child-custody cases, that is not the situation for most of them. They are as happy with their relationships as most marriages are anywhere. They accept that the history and customs of the country are different and, mostly, accept the differences. They did, after all, make rational decisions about their marriages.
Things for women, and men, were much more liberal in the 1980s than they are now. Particularly since Desert Storm, conservative pressures have driven people backwards. In Jeddah, to take one example, you would see Saudi women on the streets in Western dresses, heads and faces uncovered. Now, you still find women unveiled, though they cover their dresses, in public, with abbayas and cover their hair on the street. And you'll still find mixed, unmarried couples in coffeeshops and restaurants. Still find young male and female Saudis willing and able to meet with foreigners in public places.
I'm not saying that Saudi Arabia is a great place to live a Western lifestyle. I'm saying that Saudis live in a complicated society that becomes even more complicated as a result of radical fundamentalism. That most Saudis want nothing to do with that radicalism. That they are trying to figure out the differences between religious obligation and social constructs.
I'm also saying that throwing brickbats at the entire population is "morally equivalent" to radical fundamentalist trying to paint all Americans with a single paintbrush in a single color.
There are definitely bad Saudis. There are also stupid Saudis. And there is the majority of Saudis who want to get through their lives in peace and security. Stereotyping an entire populaiton on the basis of the behavior of a few is not in our interest, nor is it morally correct.
Hatcher - there are many Saudis who contribute millions of dollars to fund terrorism and jihad factory madrassas around the world. Terrorism is a billion dollar industry. That's a lot of Saudi contributions.
There are many Saudis who are happy to see infidels die in terrorist attacks. According to polls, the majority support bin Laden's ideas. They're only unhappy about them when their own peace and security is threatened.
I'm not saying all - just many.
Some Saudis like to pay journalists, diplomats and universities to say nice things about them in the press. Have you ever met those Saudis?
Sorry, Dean, just one more name to call: dhimmi -- and it's on Hatcher.
They're torturing an East Indian Christian in Saudi Arabia right now -- for being a Christian.
Shi'a Islam is outlawed in Saudi Arabia.
I'm not saying it's a perfect society . . .
JdB
industrial catalogs surge suppressor b2b supplies business buy industrial catalogs paper bag b2b supplies business buy industrial catalogs plastic bag b2b supplies business buy industrial catalogs plastic bottle b2b supplies business buy industrial catalogs plastic box b2b supplies business buy industrial catalogs plastic container b2b supplies business buy industrial catalogs plumbing supply b2b supplies business buy industrial catalogs electric tool b2b supplies business buy
Mary,
That's a cheap shot, as I hope you know. No, I receive/have received not a penny from any Saudi. Out of curiosity, do you level the same accusations about those funded by AIPAC or who thrive on the largess of other Middle Eastern countries? Just wondering...
Jerome,
Sorry, I don't fit the definition as I'm not Christian, Jew, Sabean or Zoroastrian (i.e., People of the Book).
I am well acquainted with cases of Christians being thrown in jail in Saudi Arabia.Most frequently, it's East Africans, but others--including Americans--have gotten caught up. Since I was not the Consular officer interviewing them, I can only relay what the Consular officer reports: that the arrests are for prosyletising or too-public display of religious services. I do know for a fact, because I've attended them, that religious services do take place in Saudi Arabia--Catholic, numerous Protestant denominations, even Jewish. Those that continue do it quietly because, as you suggest, the outward practice of any religion other than Islam is forbidden.
You're inaccurate, however, in saying that Shi'ism is "outlawed". It is not. There are Shi'a mosques and imams in both the Eastern Province and the south western provinces. There are specificly Shi'a guides during Haj.
The Shi'a are, however, discriminated against. There is hope that this will change soon, though, because the Crown Prince has authorized the organization of intra-Islamic scholars, including Sunni' Akbari, Usuli and Ismaili Shi'a; and Sufis. This group has met several times since its formation in February.