Call me weird. But it seems anymore that reports about these beheadings are wrought with incongrueties and come across as terribly written scripts for television. They really are simply odd. The latest is the supposed beheading of Wassef Ali Hassoun.
Saturday's Report, the AP, and Nadia Abou el-Magd
On Saturday, an AP report by NADIA ABOU EL-MAGD reported that the group Ansar al-Sunna claimed on an Arab website that Wassef had been beheaded. The group, of course, was a different group than who claimed to have kidnapped him--the Iraqi Resistence. This in itself was odd because we had not seen this type of behavior with terrorist groups--that one group captures their victims and the other one does the beheading. The article seemed to lack authenticity when El-Magd failed to give the name of the website that posted the statement by Ansar al-Sunna.
Another aspect of this article that intrigued me, like the other AP reports we so often read lately, is that it reads like a laundry list of things that are happening in Iraq, rather than concentrate on the main story. The impression I got imparticular with el-Magd's information was that she was doing nothing more than spitting out information that she was being told to write. Do our AP journalists in Baghdad get all of their information from the US military?
I have been intrigued with the names of the AP journalists who have been listed on these beheadings and captures, mainly Chris Tomlinson, Nadia Abou el-Magd, and Paul Foy. Going to the AP website and viewing a list of the AP writers, 1) I'm only viewing the list of the domestic writers and 2) I suspect that this list is only the managers of the foot soldier journalists out in the field. There is no comprehensive list of journalists out in the field so it makes it hard to verify if these writers are indeed AP writers. The AP website did offer a search tool about the latest reports they have published. Chris Tomlinson's reports do show up in a search. But Nadia Abou el-Magd's name is not even recognized. I don't know the business practices of the AP. Maybe el-Magd is not an AP journalist, per se, but a freelance writer who submits articles to the AP. Maybe the AP allows the writers of accepted reports to use the name AP writer. If she was a legiitimate AP writer, wouldn't you think their own search engine would recognize her name and reports? I'd also like to know why it is so hard to find a list of AP journalists.
Ansar al-Sunna Denies Beheading Wassef
On Sunday, the group Ansar al-Sunna Army made the statement that they had not beheaded Wassef.
What we know from this revelation is that the information in el-Magd's article on Saturday can now be considered spurious in hindsight because it gave us two unknown facts-- 1) It pinpointed the leader of the al-Sunna group as witnessing the beheading of Wassef : "....[The statement was] signed in the name of the group's leader, Abu Abdullah al-Hassan bin Mahmoud." Knowing what we know today, that al-Sunna militant group did not behead Wassef or make that statement on that un-named website, someone or some group of people were trying to pin Hassoun's death on bin Mahmoud. And 2) it fleshed out the "lured off base" claim by explaining that Wassef was involved in a love affair with an Arab woman.
When this revelation came out, I went back to read el-Magd's entire article. But the link for the article now directs me to an article about the Iraqi Cleric who wants the cease-fire to work. If you notice in the link, the date is clearly yesterday's date, not today's. (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&;u=/ap/20040704/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq&cid=540&ncid=716)
Even though al-Sunna declared they did not behead Wassef, Paul Foy of the Associated Press noted in his article that the National News Agency in Lebanon still beleives that Hassoun had been beheaded based off of the report by the Foreign Ministry, which was informed of the death by "Lebanon's charge d'affairs in Baghdad."
Paul Foy's article was not the only article seeming to confirm this fact. An online Australian magazine, Bignewsnetwork, in its article "Arabs Angry at Coverage of US Marine Beheading," states two interesting talking points. 1) That a statement was indeed made that Hassoun had been beheaded, but that there was also video. And because of this, 2) Arabs are saying that the Western media is not covering Hassoun's beheading like the previous beheadings because Hassoun is Muslim. Here is an excerpt substantiating point 1:
Hassoun was reported beheaded after a video surfaced showing his execution in Iraq. A statement subsequently issued by the group responsible has denied the beheading took place.
Here is an excerpt substantiating point 2:
Meantime sections of the Arab press are reportedly angry at the coverage the 'beheading' was given. The Western media saturated coverage of the execution of American Nick Berg and was generous in the space it allocated a similar execution of a South Korean hostage last week.
The Arab media is unhappy the death of a U.S. Marine who is a Muslim in a similar fashion has received little coverage. The Khaleej Times, the largest circulation English language newspaper in the Gulf dedicated its lead front page story Monday to the Lebanese-born Hassoun under the headline, "West Calls Muslims terrorists! But they now behead a Muslim American, proving our stand not to equate religion with terrorism." A sub-headline followed, "Western Media Fails To Give Enough Space To This American Muslim Soldier Who Was Beheaded."
The headline startled usual readers as the paper is highly regarded as a conservative publication with balanced and accurate reporting. The content of the story, derived from agencies AFP and DPA concentrated on the conflicting reports of Hassoun's fate. Rather than a religious bias it may well be the lack of coverage afforded the incident is that Hassoun is in the U.S. Military. The Pentagon is slow to report events where confirmation is lacking. From the outset the military indicated it had concerns about the authenticity of the video which purportedly showed the Marine's beheading. From the events that followed it appears that concern was justified.
Another Paul Foy article, posted today (Hostage's Family Wait for News on Fate) focuses on Hassoun's family. But it reveals two more interesting twists to the story: 1) Wassef is alive and being kept by the same captors who kidnapped him-- the Islamic Response. And 2) Wassef says that "[he has] promised not to return to the American military."
Consider this excerpt:
In a statement sent to Al-Jazeera television, the group calling itself "Islamic Response," said Monday that Hassoun was safe at an undisclosed location. The statement also claimed that Hassoun had promised not to return to the American military.
"At this point we are uncertain about the destiny of our brother, our son, our friend, Wassef," Tarek Nosseir, a family spokesman, said Monday.
"We pray that the news of his safe release is true. If he is still in captivity, we remind the captors of the saying of our beloved prophet: Be merciful to those on earth, mercy will descend upon you from heaven," Nosseir said in front of the family's home in West Jordan.
Nosseir would not say why the family thought Hassoun may have been released.
Based off this information, are being lead to assume Hassoun is a deserter again?
Why would the militants reveal that Wassef no longer wants to return to the American military? Was it an option for his release? If he was being tortured and was told that by stating he won't return to the American military that he'd be released, wouldn't Wassef agree, adamantly? Is it just to get the goat of the US military?
Whatever happens in the next few days in regards to the actual fate of Wassef Ali Hassoun, I'm leary of this facts:
- The changing of the militant groups from Islamic Response to Ansar al-Sunna, back to Islamic Response.
- How accurate should we consider the reports from today, considering el-Magds report on Saturday was discredited by the al-Sunna militant group's denial?
- The fact that the name of the website publishing the statements about his capture and beheading was never named.
- The changind of the story of how Wassef was lured away from base-- 1) he was lured away from militant Iraqi's posing as base workers; 2) he was a psychologically disturbed soldier who had witnessed the death of a soldier and needed to get out; 3) he was having an affair with an Arab woman; 4) he has promised not to return to the American military.
