Posted on 06/18/2004 4:20:49 PM PDT by Nasty McPhilthy
RIYADH (Reuters) - Al Qaeda militants in Saudi Arabia beheaded American hostage Paul Johnson Friday and their leader was then killed in a shootout with security forces as he tried to dispose of the body, Saudi officials said.
Abdulaziz al-Muqrin's Islamist group displayed photographs of the 49-year-old aviation engineer's severed head on a Web site. Shortly afterwards, as Muqrin and two other top militants deposited the body in the capital Riyadh, they were surrounded by Saudi security men and gunned down, a security source said.
Muqrin, a young man driven by revenge and hatred for the United States and its Arab allies, was Saudi Arabia's most wanted al Qaeda leader. His death will be portrayed as a major blow to Saudi-born Osama bin Laden by the kingdom's rulers, once chided by their U.S. allies as being soft on terrorism.
Johnson was the third American killed in Riyadh in the past 10 days, stepping up pressure on thousands of U.S. citizens and other foreigners vital to the economy of the world's biggest oil exporter and on the Saudi royal family, which bin Laden has sworn to overthrow for its close alliance with Washington.
"They killed him in cold blood," said President Bush, who declared war on al Qaeda after its September 11 attacks three years ago when a group of mostly Saudi young men flew hijacked planes at New York and Washington. "America will not be intimidated by these kinds of extremist thugs."
The U.S. embassy said more attacks were likely and the State Department was to issue a new warning to Americans across the Middle East after urging many to leave Saudi Arabia this week.
"As we promised, the mujahideen, we have beheaded the American hostage Paul Marshall after the deadline that the mujahideen gave to the tyrannical Saudi government passed," his Falluja Brigade of the Organization of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula said on its Web site, using Johnson's first names.
SHOCKING PHOTOGRAPHS
The Web site showed three pictures of what appeared to be Johnson's severed head -- one showed the bloodied head propped up on the back of a body in an orange, U.S. prison-style, jumpsuit with a knife leaning on the mustachioed face.
A second picture showed a hand lifting up the head and a third showed the body and the head from a different angle.
Militant attacks have been afflicting the birthplace of Islam for more than a year but Johnson's kidnapping was the first of its kind in Saudi Arabia and raised concerns over a new tactic by militants. Two other Americans and an Irish television cameraman have been shot dead in Riyadh this month.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Now how about killing those AQ prisoners that they wanted released?
If this is all true (dead leader) then this could not have a better ending. Well, maybe if they killed more of the thugs...
And no, I'm not going to append a "/sarcasm"
If you couldn't figure out what I meant, you're probably someone who would believe that. In which case...Echo Sierra Alpha Delta.
The Reuters story says: "His death will be portrayed as a major blow to Saudi-born Osama bin Laden by the kingdom's rulers, once chided by their U.S. allies as being soft on terrorism."
Huh? As though this mutt's death is really NOT a major blow against AQ? Reuters seems to be saying "AQ is winning, folks, just ignore whatever successes the Saudis claim to be making."
I shouldn’t have dignified their heinous act with a post from an equally despicable Reuters article, but my blood is boiling with a desire to see us make it a much less attractive manner by which to gain attention for themselves.
Wonderful, wonderful news. BRAVO!!!! I hope this story proves true. What a horrible shame they couldn't have tracked these ANIMALS before they did it.
OBL is beyond pain. He would probably be dismayed to see his big plans turn to livestock bedding material so quickly.
Exactly my thought - next time they hold an American hostage, for the release of their buddies, we should immediately behead every one of the suckers they asked for and set them out in the street. Instant gratification - they wanted em, they got em.
""" Al Qaeda militants in Saudi Arabia beheaded American hostage Paul Johnson Friday....
"Militants"? Since when are kidnappers and murderers "militants"? In whose alternate universe is such a thing so?
Maybe it would be more effective and just as deadly if we put down the AQ dogs like we do the distempered Pit Bulls in USA. Send them to their dirt naps in Paradise with a whiff of Cyanide or a little extra potassium in the IV. It's the humane thing to do. LOL
President Bush declared war, eh? Just like President Jefferson delcared war on the Barbary pirates?
Committing US troops to military action is not declaring war, and clearly the liberal Reuters maroons don't understand this, the War Powers Act, or much else it seems. The US Constitution -- Article I, Section 8, clause 11 is clear that Congress alone can declare war.
Is Reuters trying, in its own subtle, yellow-journalistic way, to insinuate that President Bush usurped Congressional power in going after al-Qaeda? Journalism is not a profession.
How many others do we have to thank for this outlook besides C*BS Right now I'd like to see Mr Nawaf's head on that spit. He is the typical Arab street - we can do nothing but kill them all. Thank you US media. I'm sure Mr. Johnson's family sees the blood on your hands.
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