Free Republic

Press Release - Robert F. Martin 8/8/2004 I would like to clear some issues up regarding the video I co-produced. First, the video we produced should not be viewed in a partisan light. This video is not meant to be a pro or anti war commentary. The comments of Ben in the movie regarding ending the occupation were simply emphasize realism in what someone being held hostage would have potentially said while pleading for their life. How the video should be viewed is that it exposes problems in the media. We rely much too heavily on Reuters and Associated Press...

Latest beheading video a US hoax Aug 8, 2004 The latest video showing the beheading of an American hostage by militants in Iraq has been exposed as a hoax set up by US man.The video, which appeared on a web site used by Islamic militants, showed a man who identified himself as Benjamin Vanderford appealing to the United States to leave Iraq.The web format was that used by al Qaeda ally Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and was introduced by a headline that said it showed Zarqawi killing an American.   "If we don't (leave Iraq), everyone is gonna be killed in this way......

CAIRO (AP) — New video aired Saturday purportedly shows a San Francisco man being depacitated moments after he urges the United States to end its occupation of Iraq. The man on the tape identified himself as what sounds like Benjamin Vanderford, from San Francisco. He sat on a chair in a dark room, his hands behind his back, trembling and rocking back and forth. There was no way to immediately determine the authenticity of the tape and the U.S. military in Iraq and the U.S. Embassy said they were unaware of the video and had no immediate comment. There was...

A video purporting to show an American being beheaded in Iraq has been posted on a militant Islamic website.      The hostage said he was from San Francisco and urged American troops to leave Iraq, it is reported.The al Qaeda-linked group led by the Jordanian Abu Musab al Zarqawi claimed responsibility for the killing.    The man named himself as Benjamin Ford on the video.   "My name is Benjamin Ford. I am from San Francisco, California," he says, dressed in a plain beige T-shirt as he sat on a chair.   "We need to leave this country right now. If we don't, everyone is gonna be killed...