Associated Press photo
"American hostage" "John Adam," above, originally reported to be scheduled to be beheaded in Iraq, turns out to be an (anatomically correct, I wonder?) action figure named Cody (below). Damn.
Reuters photo
...or G.I. Joe gets it!
Every time an American is beheaded in Iraq, I blog about it and post pictures of the beheading if any are available -- because I hate sanitized war -- and I get a crazy number of hits from search engines because people want to see the latest beheading images.
Imagine my disappointment, then, when I discovered that the first American soldier slated to be beheaded in Iraq turns out to have been a hoax. In fact, it wasn't even a real live person -- it was a fucking action figure named Cody.
Yup. Someone claiming to be with some counter-occupational group in Iraq claimed on a Web site today to have captured a U.S. soldier named "John Adam" and threatened to behead him in 72 hours if the U.S. occupational authorities in Iraq did not release Iraqi prisoners. The photo of "John Adam" shown above was posted to the Web site as "proof" of his "capture." (Reuters notes that "The [Web] site has been the main channel of communication in recent months for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq.")
But the U.S. military says that no soldier is missing and The Associated Press reports:
Liam Cusack, of the toy manufacturer Dragon Models USA Inc., said the image [of "John Adam"] bore a striking resemblance to the African-American version of its "Cody" action figure.
"It is our doll.... To me, it looks definitely like it is," Cusack told The Associated Press. "Everything the guy is wearing is exactly what comes with our figure. If you look at the two pictures side by side, it'd be a huge coincidence."
The company, based in City of Industry, Calif., produced 4,000 of the figures in 2003 for the U.S. military for sale in its Kuwait bases. It was never sold in the United States but is traded on line among collectors, sometimes to use in highly realistic dioramas, he said.
Reuters notes that "Cusack, speaking from his office at City of Industry, noted the rifle being pointed at the figure in the photograph posted on the Web site also appeared to be the plastic M4 rifle included with the figure."
It's funny, because when the story broke, the image of the "hostage" looked real enough to me, but ever since it broke that it's a fucking doll, the image of the "hostage" looks like a doll to me (and using the rifle that came with the doll was a nice touch). And upon closer inspection the cloth behind the doll appears to be too thick and too roughly cut to be a life-sized banner.
Still, it was a well-executed practical joke. It had me going. I had visions of shooting up at least 10 spots in the Salon weblog rankings...
P.S. I don't really wish anyone else to be beheaded in Iraq (even though what I said about a skyrocketing number of beheading-related hits for my blog is true). My regular readers know that I would never wish death especially upon a strapping young handsome soldier.
P.P.S. Be on the lookout now for news stories like this one:
Breaking news:
Freedom-hating terrorist sand monkeys
swap U.S. soldier's head with woman's!
Because it might be a hoax.
9:52:02 PM 
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