For those who don’t know, according to the Washington Post,
Foley was a seasoned video journalist who reported primarily for GlobalPost, a Boston-based news outlet.
Here is an archive of Foley’s articles at the Global Post. Required reading for those who have been so quick to judge.
http://www.globalpost.com/bio/James%20Foley/articles?page=1
I would also suggest anyone dancing on his corpse read the following:
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/afghanistan/100917/location-firefight-kunar-province. ;
A few excerpts:
“....It always amazes me how brave these guys are. But I’m a civilian with no previous military experience. Not only are these guys used to taking fire several times a week, they have leaders – soldiers who have had more than one deployment and performed under many horrific, mind-boggling conditions. One yell or decisive action from such a leader can make all the difference in how the younger soldiers act and ultimately ensure the safety of the entire patrol....”
“....It usually takes one patrol for the soldiers to start talking to you. I’ve never had anyone give me any trouble beyond some joking, probably because I try to go out on every patrol I can, as most embedded reporters do. Soldiers are remarkably candid. They’ll usually tell you about bad things that have happened totally unprompted. They don’t forget you’re a reporter, it’s just they see you as a person who’s interested in what they do. And in a war zone that’s infectious.
I find I often have trouble leaving a unit even if I spend only a week with them. These guys would easily risk their own lives to save mine. They are mostly young kids compared to me, and they share everything from sweets they got from their mom to swapping photos and videos....”