Posted on 08/07/2004 4:59:15 AM PDT by Former Military Chick
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 no record of a man by that name traveling to Iraq.
The tape showed a hand with a knife cutting at the motionless man's neck, but did not show his head actually removed from the body.
The man on the tape says he lives at 1510 Eddy Street in San Francisco. A Ben Vanderford has a Web site in which he says he lives at that address. The picture of Vanderford on the Web site closely resembles that of the man on the video.
"We need to leave this country alone. We need to stop this occupation," he said on the video, adding that he had been offered for exchange with prisoners in Iraq.
"We need to leave this country right now," he said. "Everyone's going to be killed this way."
Unlike in previous videos of hostage killings, no militants were seen on the footage. He was clad in a t-shirt, not the orange jumpsuit that other hostages have been dressed in.
The video was titled "Abu Musab al-Zarqawi Slaughters an American" and had no indication of when, or where, it was made. Zarqawi is an al-Qaeda linked militant whose group, Tawhid and Jihad, has claimed responsibility for numerous deadly attacks across Iraq, including the beheadings of U.S. businessman Nicholas Berg, South Korean translator Kim Sun-il and a Bulgarian man, Georgi Lazov.
Their beheadings were filmed and the video posted in the Internet.
There is no mention on the Vanderford Web site of him traveling to Iraq — and no record anywhere else that anyone by that name has been captured.
On the Web site, Vanderford says he is 22 years old, and is running for supervisor of San Francisco's District 5. It also says he makes music for the label Record Label Records and is an independent video game programmer.
The video of the apparent killing also showed images of disfigured and injured people in Iraq. A recording of the Quran, Islam's holy book, played in the background.
Militants have abducted over 70 foreigners, many of them truck drivers entering Iraq with supplies for the U.S. military or contractors involved with Iraqi reconstruction efforts. At least eight of them have been killed, some by beheading.
The kidnappings are apart of an insurgent campaign aimed at forcing coalition forces out of the country and scaring foreign companies away.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Got his voice mail with a recording in his voice. I gave em a piece o me mind :D
Watch how fast this erroneous report is corrected. Compare the velocity of correction with the (still uncorrected) report that Swift boat veteran Elliott has retraceted ANY part of his July 21 affidavit (he has not retracted any part of it, never did).
You are right.
American fakes own decapitation in tape
BREAKING NEWS
The Associated Press
Updated: 8:16 a.m. ET Aug. 7, 2004SAN FRANCISCO - A video aired Saturday that purportedly showed an American being decapitated was a hoax. The man, reached by The Associated Press in San Francisco, said he videotaped the staged beheading at his friend’s house using fake blood.
On the tape, Benjamin Vanderford, 22, sat on a chair in a dark room, his hands behind his back, trembling and rocking back and forth. The tape showed a hand with a knife cutting at the motionless man’s neck, but did not show any militants.
© 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Interesting phone #. SF is 415 area code. Probably lives with Mommy and Daddy in Walnut Creek (affluent east bay suburb).
After further review, that phone prefix initiates from Hayward, Ca. East Bay south of Oakland.
It's a cell phone number according to the voice mail. But his voice comes on and states his name :|
You know Herb Cain! Was hoping somebody would...
Oh well, he's a fruitcake anyway.
Locking up the endorsement from Al Qaeda will be a big boost for his campaign.
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