Advertisement
Al-Qaeda boss slain after hostage beheaded: Busch (the beer? typo) decries ‘barbaric people’
By Noelle Straub
Saturday, June 19, 2004
Al-Qaeda terrorists beheaded American Paul M. Johnson Jr. in Saudi Arabia yesterday, posting ghastly images of his body on the Internet but suffering a retaliatory blow hours later with the killing of the cell's leader.
U.S. and Saudi officials cheered the death of the high-profile terrorists, though it came too late to save Johnson.
President Bush [related, bio] said the nation wouldn't be intimidated by the ``barbaric people.''
``They're trying to intimidate America; they're trying shake our will; they're trying to get us to retreat from the world,'' President Bush said. ``America will not retreat.
``America will not be intimidated by these kinds of extremist thugs.''
The group calling itself al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula posted graphic photos of Johnson's decapitated body and severed head on an Islamic Internet site.
The killing came after the expiration of a 72-hour deadline the group had set for the Saudi government to release jailed militants. Saudi officials refused the demands.
Johnson, 49, worked on Apache helicopters for Lockheed Martin. His beheading was the first in Saudi Arabia and raised fears that al-Qaeda may use the new tactic again.
``To the Americans and whoever is their ally in the infidel and criminal world and their allies in the war against Islam, this action is punishment to them and a lesson for them to know that whoever steps foot in our country, this decisive action will be his fate,'' the al-Qaeda statement said, according to The Associated Press.
The al-Qaeda group has taken responsibility for fatally shooting two American military contractors outside their homes in Riyadh earlier this month.
In a swift retaliation shortly after discovering Johnson's body, Saudi police swooped down on the al-Malz neighborhood in central Riyadh and exchanged fire with al-Qaeda suspects.
Abdulaziz al-Moqrin, the reputed leader of al-Qaeda in the kingdom, was killed along with two other militants, Saudi officials said.
The killing of al-Moqrin, 31, would be a coup for the Saudi government, which has been under intense pressure to halt a wave of attacks against Westerners in the kingdom.
Johnson's family had made emotional appeals on television asking the terrorists to release him.
Lockheed Martin called Johnson's death a ``tragic and senseless death.''
``Paul was a valued and respected employee who bravely carried out his duties, and the news of his loss is a shock to everyone in the Lockheed Martin family,'' its statement said.
The U.S. Embassy in Riyadh issued a warning to Americans in Saudi Arabia that more attacks are likely, especially against private residences and residential compounds, and again urged them to leave the country.
A Saudi spokesman said his government does not agree with the call for Americans to leave the country, saying it may inadvertently play into the hands of the terrorists.
Last month, American Nicholas Berg was beheaded in Iraq, and the videotape of his death was posted on an al-Qaeda-linked Web site.
Sen. John F. Kerry [related, bio] also condemned the killing and said Americans are ``united against the terrorists who committed this abhorrent act.''
news.bostonherald.com/interna.../view.bg
By Noelle Straub
Saturday, June 19, 2004
Al-Qaeda terrorists beheaded American Paul M. Johnson Jr. in Saudi Arabia yesterday, posting ghastly images of his body on the Internet but suffering a retaliatory blow hours later with the killing of the cell's leader.
U.S. and Saudi officials cheered the death of the high-profile terrorists, though it came too late to save Johnson.
President Bush [related, bio] said the nation wouldn't be intimidated by the ``barbaric people.''
``They're trying to intimidate America; they're trying shake our will; they're trying to get us to retreat from the world,'' President Bush said. ``America will not retreat.
``America will not be intimidated by these kinds of extremist thugs.''
The group calling itself al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula posted graphic photos of Johnson's decapitated body and severed head on an Islamic Internet site.
The killing came after the expiration of a 72-hour deadline the group had set for the Saudi government to release jailed militants. Saudi officials refused the demands.
Johnson, 49, worked on Apache helicopters for Lockheed Martin. His beheading was the first in Saudi Arabia and raised fears that al-Qaeda may use the new tactic again.
``To the Americans and whoever is their ally in the infidel and criminal world and their allies in the war against Islam, this action is punishment to them and a lesson for them to know that whoever steps foot in our country, this decisive action will be his fate,'' the al-Qaeda statement said, according to The Associated Press.
The al-Qaeda group has taken responsibility for fatally shooting two American military contractors outside their homes in Riyadh earlier this month.
In a swift retaliation shortly after discovering Johnson's body, Saudi police swooped down on the al-Malz neighborhood in central Riyadh and exchanged fire with al-Qaeda suspects.
Abdulaziz al-Moqrin, the reputed leader of al-Qaeda in the kingdom, was killed along with two other militants, Saudi officials said.
The killing of al-Moqrin, 31, would be a coup for the Saudi government, which has been under intense pressure to halt a wave of attacks against Westerners in the kingdom.
Johnson's family had made emotional appeals on television asking the terrorists to release him.
Lockheed Martin called Johnson's death a ``tragic and senseless death.''
``Paul was a valued and respected employee who bravely carried out his duties, and the news of his loss is a shock to everyone in the Lockheed Martin family,'' its statement said.
The U.S. Embassy in Riyadh issued a warning to Americans in Saudi Arabia that more attacks are likely, especially against private residences and residential compounds, and again urged them to leave the country.
A Saudi spokesman said his government does not agree with the call for Americans to leave the country, saying it may inadvertently play into the hands of the terrorists.
Last month, American Nicholas Berg was beheaded in Iraq, and the videotape of his death was posted on an al-Qaeda-linked Web site.
Sen. John F. Kerry [related, bio] also condemned the killing and said Americans are ``united against the terrorists who committed this abhorrent act.''
news.bostonherald.com/interna.../view.bg
posted by:
|
Alabama
|
Advertisement
Advertisement
-
Re: GOT 'EM!!!!!
Sat, June 19, 2004 - 11:08 AMIt's great that they nailed those pricks. From what I hear, that action was P.R. suicide to any sympathy they had in Saudi Arabia. I heard that Paul Johnson was not just some contractor sent over there but was actually living over there for twelve years, loved the Saudi people, and was considering converting to Islam. He probably had a lot of friends over there and it's possible that when the news came out that he was dead, someone picked up a phone and said "Let me tell you where they are." -
-
Re: GOT 'EM!!!!!
Sun, June 20, 2004 - 7:32 AMI actually just heard that yesterday as well, and I am looking for an article to coroborate. That's most upsetting, but I can tell you this. If it turns out he was an Arab sympathizer, in the sense that he had "abandoned" America to live with them and support their philosophies, and they killed him anyway, this does not bode well for the left. I will see what I can find. THANKS!!! :-D
-
Re: GOT 'EM!!!!!
Sun, June 20, 2004 - 7:36 AMThis IS from Al Jazeera, so who knows ...
Saudi friend pleads for Johnson's release
Friday 18 June 2004, 19:01 Makka Time, 16:01 GMT
A Saudi calling himself "the believer" has used the Internet to make an Islamic plea for the release of US captive Paul Johnson.
In his internet posting, a man identified as Saad al-Mu'min said his friendship bestowed a protection on Johnson that other Muslims cannot violate. If Johnson was harmed, al-Mu'min told the captors on Thursday, "I will never forgive you. I will curse you in all my prayers."
Al-Mu'min added that Johnson, who works for Lockheed Martin on targeting and night vision systems for Apache helicopters, had expressed opposition to US foreign policy and an interest in converting to Islam.
"He was interested in reading Quran translations ... I swear to God that once he said to me in public, in a popular restaurant in Riyadh: 'I hate my country's politics. I am interested in Islam. If I convert, I will go and live with my wife in East Asia," al-Mu'min wrote. Johnson's wife is Thai.
Al-Mu'min said he was Johnson's 'colleague', but did not give any details about his job. He said he often invited Johnson over for dinner or and gave him books on Islam as gifts.
Site frequented by Islamists
The letter was posted late on Wednesday on websites where alleged al-Qaida members and other Islamists post messages.
Other contributors to the sites where the letter was posted ridiculed the message and called for Johnson's death.
Johnson's captors, believed linked to the anti-American network known as al-Qaida, have said they would kill him unless Saudi authorities release al-Qaida prisoners by Friday.
A US embassy official in the Saudi capital said that contacts with Saudi authorities were ongoing but would not comment further on the search for Johnson and/or his captors.
Al-Mu'min, a pseudonym meaning "the believer", pointed to a saying by Islam's Prophet Muhammad: "If they were granted (Muslim) protection, then killing or taking their money or harming them is forbidden."
The group holding Johnson said in a video and a written statement, posted on a website on Tuesday, that Saudi authorities would have 72 hours to respond to their demands or he would be killed.
[snipped]
english.aljazeera.net/NR/exer...1FD4.htm
-
