Posted on 08/25/2014 10:16:07 AM PDT by marthemaria
THE VIDEO of a British jihadist beheading an American hostage was probably staged, with the actual murder taking place off-camera, according to forensic analysis.
Footage of James Foley’s death at the hands of a man with a London accent provided a powerful propaganda tool for Islamic State when it was uploaded on to the internet and broadcast around the world last week.
Now it has emerged that the Briton might be a frontman and not the killer. His identity has almost certainly been established by the security services, but they have yet to act for fear of endangering the lives of 20 western hostages still being held.
A study of the four-minute 40-second clip, carried out by an international forensic science company which has worked for police forces across Britain, raises a number of questions about what really happened on a patch of desert land, thought to be somewhere in northern Syria.
No one is questioning that the photojournalist was beheaded, but camera trickery and slick post-production techniques appear to have been used.
“I think it has been staged,” said one expert in visual forensics, after he was commissioned by The Times to examine the footage. “My feeling is that the execution may have happened after the camera was stopped.”
Aymenn al-Tamimi, a fellow at the Middle East Forum think-tank, suggested that “they show it’s an English guy because he is English-speaking for an English-speaking audience”.
He said: “It sends a message to both the UK and the US who are intervening at this stage in some way in the conflict. I think it sends a powerful message that it doesn’t matter where you are from, your allegiance is with the Islamic State and one day the Islamic State will encompass the entire world in terms of their thinking.”
He added: “Islamic State really revel in beheading. They have definitely improved the production quality of their videos over the past couple of years.”
KILLER: Spies know jihadist’s name
The analysis highlights a number of discrepancies that could indicate that the beheading scene broadcast to the world was not the genuine killing.
Firstly, no blood can be seen, even though the knife is drawn across the neck area at least six times. Secondly, sounds allegedly made by Foley do not appear consistent with what may be expected. The forensic analysis expert said that no incision could be seen on Foley’s neck, though the right hand of the jihadist partially blocked the shot.
The commentary provided by the forensics company, which requested anonymity, did not reach a definitive answer. It concluded: “No one is disputing that at some point an execution occurred.”
The video begins with a clip of President Barack Obama raising the prospect of US air strikes against Islamic State targets in Iraq. This footage appeared to have been downloaded directly from the White House website. Interference was imposed on to the picture, making it look dated and old-fashioned.
Footage of Foley, 40, with his head shaven and kneeling upright in a bright orange robe, is filmed from two cameras running at the same time. Foley’s words, which run for one minute and 24 seconds, appear to have been scripted. The analysis highlighted a blip in the imagery that could indicate the journalist had to repeat a line. Scrutiny of the subsequent speech by the masked jihadist, in which he warns the US of attacks, indicate that the words are spoken by the militant even though his mouth is obscured by his headscarf.
Next comes the beginning of the supposed beheading. The militant wraps his right arm around the journalist’s head, holds his chin in his right hand and makes quick slicing movements with the knife in his other hand.
“After enhancements, the knife can be seen to be drawn across the upper neck at least six times, with no blood evidence to the point the picture fades to black,” the analysis said. The next shot is of Foley’s decapitated body, with his severed and blood-covered head on his upturned back.
The video concludes with the jihadist standing next to Steven Sotloff, a second kidnapped US journalist. Analysis raised the possibility that this clip was filmed before the footage of Foley.
It has also emerged that Foley wrote a last letter to his family, saying he hoped to be back in the US for his sister’s wedding. He was banned from sending it but a Danish photojournalist, who spent 13 months imprisoned with Foley, committed the words to memory. When Daniel Rye Ottosen, 25, was released in June his first call was to Foley’s mother, Diane. He dictated every word.
The Times
Wow, was I wrong. I thought it was on a sound stage in Burbank.
Why would they stage a fake beheading if they were really going to behead the guy anyway???
IS their argument that cutting the head off of a dead body is somehow less evil than a live person’s?
Postmortem mutilation is it’s own kind of nasty evil. In my opinion.
Am I supposed to feel less angry with Jihad-Britain-man now?
“Expert”
They probably shot him then sawed his head off, or they drugged him and didn’t like the result so they edited the thing...
So they faked the beheading video in order to really behead him?
Kind of like Dan Rather’s papers on Bush. They were fake, but it really did happen. LOL!
[ “No one is disputing that at some point an execution occurred.”
I am fed up with this PC perversion of language. These events are NOT “executions”; they are murders. They are NOT committed by “militants”; they are done by terrorists. ]
He was murdered in cold blood, either by having his head sawed off, or killed and then having his corpse desecrated by having his head sawed off..
Either way he was murdered by a pack of filthy animals in a cold pre-meditated manner.
“Wow, was I wrong. I thought it was on a sound stage in Burbank.”
Common error. Had something to do with the way the shadow hit the lander. Also, if you look into the Neil Armstrong’s helmet, you can see the reflection of the Ford dealership in the background.
[ Why would they stage a fake beheading if they were really going to behead the guy anyway??? ]
What are these fools going to say when they release the un-edited tape showing him stuggling as they saw his head off?
ISIS can then claim they edited it to spare his family and the left and the MSM will laud ISIS for their compassion...
I can see this happeneing...
Probably did it first, then thought “damn”, we could have honored Allah more by putting this fine act on youtube.
[ Postmortem mutilation is it’s own kind of nasty evil. In my opinion. ]
Yes it is and a very valid point you have made...
But watch excsues being made for ISIS by the MSM sayign they staged it after killing him in a different matter like it matters....
You know that old Alinsky trick of saying that since one small detail is wrong it invalidates the larger point....
They will say since the beheading was staged and he was shot or somethign else that it is not a big deal anymore... The MSM will try to weasel this...
Sort of like in the movies where they promote a product.
Then, I say we scalp him!
Then we tattoo him!
Then we hang him!
And then we kill him!
Agreed. I’m not sure that the death after the staged execution narrative answers that question.
Haha... Lunar Moon Landing, sponsored by Roswell Ford.
Stupid talk. The only thing anyone should be saying about this is that all subhuman savages need to be hunted down and turned into worm food.
Also, the entire network of subhuman savages that watches videos like this and enjoys them, saying that the infidel deserved it.
Subhuman savages killed Daniel Pearl, and the world didn’t get together and eliminate the death cult. Doesn’t look like the latest murder is going to get them to eliminate the death cult. 9/11 didn’t. What will?
The guy cutting off his head did not know how to do it properly and made an embarrassing botch of it. Had they shown the whole thing, we would have seen the amateur cutting and cutting and sawing and getting nowhere. He may have even ended up cutting himself pretty badly in the process.
I have seen other examples of exactly this problem. Apparently it is pretty difficult to cut off a head and it takes a lot of effort and quite a long time.
It doesn't produce the sort of drama they are expecting, and makes them look foolish. I have no doubt that they originally intended to show the whole thing, but they did not reckon with how hard it was.
Anyways, that's my theory.
Didn’t Bruce Campbell do a documentary of that? (Bubba Ho-Tep)
Here is something to think about,
ISIS is the same group of guys that are blowing up churches, chopping babies heads off, raping women, children, murdering people and eating their hearts.
Oh and this is who McCain and the Admin wanted to be their Allies against Assad in Syria.
1) Has ISIS ever faked a beheading video before???
Answer: I'll save you the time. The answer is no.
2) Has ISIS ever used a British National on a beheading video before???
Answer: The answer is no
This is a standard Problem, Reaction, Solution situation.
So who stands to benefit from this?
Here is something to think about,
ISIS is the same group of guys that are blowing up churches, chopping babies heads off, raping women, children, murdering people and eating their hearts.
Oh and this is who McCain and the Admin wanted to be their Allies against Assad in Syria.
1) Has ISIS ever faked a beheading video before???
Answer: I’ll save you the time. The answer is no.
2) Has ISIS ever used a British National on a beheading video before???
Answer: The answer is no
This is a standard Problem, Reaction, Solution situation.
So who stands to benefit from this?
Fascinating...
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