America's FAILED raid to rescue James Foley: White House reveals how US special forces stormed ISIS camp just a month ago - only to find hostages weren't there...as Obama goes back to his golf
- The U.S. attempted to rescue Americans held hostage by ISIS (also known as ISIL) in July, but the mission failed because it was the wrong location
- ISIS reportedly requested a $100million ransom for Foley's release, but it was not paid since the U.S. doesn't negotiate with terrorists
- It has also emerged Foley made at least one escape escape while imprisoned but was caught and brutally punished
- President Barack Obama seemed to double down on attacking ISIS after a militant beheaded Foley in a shocking video
- 'One thing we can all agree on is a group like ISIL has no place in the 21st century,' a defiant Obama said
- U.S. Secret Service and UK intelligence are searching for Foley's executioner, who spoke with a British accent in the video
- Nearly a dozen new airstrikes near the Mosul Dam came after gruesome video showed an ISIS militant cutting off photojournalist's head
- ISIS threatened to kill a second American journalist if airstrikes continue
- Obama spoke from his vacation on Martha's Vineyard and played golf immediately after delivering his remarks
- Despite threats to kill second American, U.S. has launched 14 new strikes
Special forces attempted to rescue Americans - including James Foley - held hostage by ISIS in Syria earlier this summer but failed, it was revealed today.
The mission to save the journalist and others was carried out in early July but was unsuccessful because the hostages - being held by a group of British jihadists known as 'The Beatles' - could not be found.
'This operation involved air and ground components and was focused on a particular captor network within ISIL [also known as ISIS and IS],' the White House said in a statement last night.
'Unfortunately, the mission was not successful because the hostages were not present at the targeted location.'
It came as President Obama's conduct attracted growing criticism after he played golf immediately after he gave a speech condemning the murder of Mr Foley.
Four minutes after leaving the podium Obama teed-off and was seen laughing with friends and fist-bumping them during a five-hour round at Farm Neck Golf Course on Martha's Vineyard - his seventh 18-holes in ten days.
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Obama delivered a statement from Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, during his vacation on Wednesday. His remarks come after 'Islamic State' insurgents released a video showing the beheading of U.S. journalist James Foley, who had gone missing in Syria nearly two years ago
Dignified: Diane and John Foley talked to reporters after the death of their son, photojournalist James Foley, at the hands of ISIS
Vacation continues: Directly after the Foley press conference, Obama went to play a round of golf with businessman Glenn Hutchins (center) and Cyrus Walker (right), the cousin of White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett
Meanwhile his administration was briefing on its rescue attempts this summer and said it would not release more details on the raid, but sources told the New York Times that the mission was carried out by two dozen special-ops members, who were dropped off in Syria in early July and were met with gunfire.
'While on site, it became apparent the hostages were not there,' one of the officials said.
The sources wouldn't say where the raid was held, but pointed out that if it had happened in a heavily-populated area - it likely would have already made news. They also wouldn't comment on how many hostages were believed to be held captive at the location, or their names.
During the fight the ISIS forces suffered 'a good number of casualties' while only one American was slightly wounded. The American team was then able to retreat back to their helicopters and escape.
The administration kept the raid a secret until now in order to 'preserve future opportunities' for another mission.
Details of the mission were revealed after President Obama spoke about the execution of James Foley and promised new strikes on ISIS. In a stark contrast to the somber mood of his speech, the president then returned to his vacation and the golf course where he was pictured laughing and smiling with friends.
Since the video U.S. forces have carried out 14 new strikes on IS targets near the Mosul dam despite the threat that another American hostage would be murdered.
Earlier in the day the Obama Administration revealed that they knew about an email sent to Foley's family last week, warning 'that they would execute Jim'.
Right after receiving the email, the Foley family made the White House aware, according to Philip Balboni, who founded the Global Post – a Boston news outlet that published Foley's photographs.
Balboni told reporters that the kidnappers' email was 'full of rage against the United States for the bombing' of ISIS targets.
'[We] explained to them that Jim was an innocent journalist, had done no harm to the Syrian people,' he said. 'Sadly they showed no mercy to Jim.'
Frightening: James Wright Foley tenses as his executioner addresses the camera who says this act of revenge is in responce to US airstrikes on Iraq
He also said he was confident the federal government knew where Foley was kept – always in Syria, he told reporters. He said the government had likely made efforts to save him, but he did not know the details, as they were classified.
WCVB-TV reported that the administration did not engage in any negotiations for Foley's release, leaving Global Post and its hired-gun investigators to make contact.
It also appears that Foley was 'brutally' beaten by his captors before, for planning an escape, a former freelance journalist from France told ABC News.
Nicolas Henin was taken hostage in Syria for 10 months and was released last April. He spent seven months housed with Foley, and at some point during that time was abused for an escape plot.
'James a bit punished for a presumed attempt to escape but it had no real chance,' Henin said.
Henin and other European hostages were released earlier this year, leaving three Americans (excluding Foley) and three Britons behind since neither country negotiates with terrorists.
That policy may have also contributed to Foley's execution as the Times revealed that ISIS previously demanded a $100million ransom for the photojournalist's release. They also asked for the release of MIT-trained neuroscientist Aafia Siddiqui, who is currently imprisoned in Texas.
A representative of the family and a man who was held with Foley confirmed the amount, but no bargain was struck because the U.S. and UK refuse to fund jihadist organizations by paying ransoms.
'We communicated ... as quickly as we could with the captors,' Balboni explained, 'and pleaded with them for mercy.'
On Wednesday, Obama declared that 'the entire world is appalled by the brutal murder.'
Obama didn't mention any advance warnings when he delivered five minutes of remarks Wednesday afternoon, while on vacation on Matha's Vineyard. But he said the U.S. won't back down from ISIS , the militant terror group behind Foley's death.
'No just God would stand for what they did yesterday, and for what they do every single day,' he said
"One thing we can all agree on is a group like ISIL has no place in the 21st century"
-President Barack Obama
'ISIL speaks for no religion,' he said, aiming his words at the Islamist faction that claims to have established a Muslim caliphate in portions of Syria and Iraq. 'Their victims are overwhelmingly Muslim, and no faith teaches people to massacre innocents.'
Foley stood 'in stark contrast' to his captors and executioners, he said, blaming them for a series of 'cowardly acts of violence.'
Americans 'are all heartbroken at their loss and join them in honoring Jim,' he said, somber but not wearing a necktie, as has been his practice during his extended family holiday.
But the president said the terror group has tortured and killed ethnic and religious minorities in Iraq, including women and children.
'They have rampaged across cities and villages, killing innocent civilians,' he said.
'They have murdered Muslims, both Sunni and Shia, by the thousands. They target Christians and religious minorities, driving them from their homes, murdering them when they can, for no other reason than that they practice another religion.'
'One thing we can all agree on is a group like ISIL has no place in the 21st century.'
He seemed to double down on the threat of airstrikes, even though Foley's executioner claimed another journalist will die if they continue.
'There has to be a common effort to expel this cancer so it does not spread,' Obama said.
Directly after the press conference, Obama went to play a round of golf where he was pictured in a good mood, laughing with ex-NBA basketball player Alonzo Mourning and fist-bumping Cyrus Walker, the cousin of White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett. Businessman Glenn Hutchins was also pictured out on the course.
The president's decision to go golfing following the disturbing beheading of an American citizen was heavily criticized, especially on Twitter where many called out his behavior.
In an interview with Fox, retired U.S. Army Lieutenant found it hard to contain his anger about Obama's post-presser round of golf.
'There is no way the president should be stupid enough to go play golf' after breaking such news, Peters said.
'Not only did he insult the Foley family; he sent a message to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and all of the other jihadi terrorist militants – now soldiers of a jihadi army – that he doesn't take it all seriously.'
Ex-NBA basketball player Alonzo Mourning (left) also joined the president out on the Vineyard Golf Club course
A somber Balboni said the latest email from Foley's captors was unusual in that it included only threats and no demands
No mercy: Global Post President and CEO Philip Balboni revealed the Foley family had received a 'rage'-filled email from ISIS threatening to execute the journalist a week ago, and that the White House had been aware of the threat
Difficult speech: President Barack Obama spoke in Edgartown, Massachusetts on Wednesday, but didn't mention anything about an advance warning of Foley's execution
'WE WILL BE VIGILANT AND WE WILL BE RELENTLESS': PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA'S STATEMENT FROM MARTHA'S VINEYARD
'Good afternoon, everybody. Today, the entire world is appalled by the brutal murder of Jim Foley by the terrorist group, ISIL.
'Jim was a journalist, a son, a brother, and a friend. He reported from difficult and dangerous places, bearing witness to the lives of people a world away. He was taken hostage nearly two years ago in Syria, and he was courageously reporting at the time on the conflict there.
'Jim was taken from us in an act of violence that shocks the conscience of the entire world. He was 40 years old – one of five siblings, the son of a mom and dad who worked tirelessly for his release. Earlier today, I spoke to the Foleys and told them that we are all heartbroken at their loss, and join them in honoring Jim and all that he did.
'Jim Foley’s life stands in stark contrast to his killers. Let’s be clear about ISIL. They have rampaged across cities and villages – killing innocent, unarmed civilians in cowardly acts of violence. They abduct women and children, and subject them to torture and rape and slavery. They have murdered Muslims – both Sunni and Shia – by the thousands. They target Christians and religious minorities, driving them from their homes, murdering them when they can for no other reason than they practice a different religion. They declared their ambition to commit genocide against an ancient people.
'So ISIL speaks for no religion. Their victims are overwhelmingly Muslim, and no faith teaches people to massacre innocents. No just God would stand for what they did yesterday, and for what they do every single day. ISIL has no ideology of any value to human beings. Their ideology is bankrupt. They may claim out of expediency that they are at war with the United States or the West, but the fact is they terrorize their neighbors and offer them nothing but an endless slavery to their empty vision, and the collapse of any definition of civilized behavior.
'And people like this ultimately fail. They fail, because the future is won by those who build and not destroy and the world is shaped by people like Jim Foley, and the overwhelming majority of humanity who are appalled by those who killed him.
'The United States of America will continue to do what we must do to protect our people. We will be vigilant and we will be relentless. When people harm Americans, anywhere, we do what’s necessary to see that justice is done. And we act against ISIL, standing alongside others.
'The people of Iraq, who with our support are taking the fight to ISIL, must continue coming together to expel these terrorists from their communities. The people of Syria, whose story Jim Foley told, do not deserve to live under the shadow of a tyrant or terrorists. They have our support in their pursuit of a future rooted in dignity.
'From governments and peoples across the Middle East there has to be a common effort to extract this cancer, so that it does not spread. There has to be a clear rejection of these kind of nihilistic ideologies. One thing we can all agree on is that a group like ISIL has no place in the 21st century.
'Friends and allies around the world, we share a common security and a common set of values that are rooted in the opposite of what we saw yesterday. And we will continue to confront this hateful terrorism, and replace it with a sense of hope and civility. And that’s what Jim Foley stood for, a man who lived his work; who courageously told the stories of his fellow human beings; who was liked and loved by friends and family.
'Today, the American people will all say a prayer for those who loved Jim. All of us feel the ache of his absence. All of us mourn his loss. We keep in our prayers those other Americans who are separated from their families. We will do everything that we can to protect our people and the timeless values that we stand for.
'May God bless and keep Jim’s memory, and may God bless the United States of America.'
Secretary of State John Kerry released a statement 90 minutes after Obama's press conference, saying that Foley 'was brave and bold, and no masked coward can ever steal the legacy of this courageous American.'
He noted that Foley had been held in captivity once before – in Libya – before ultimately winning his release.
'The sheer unfairness and unlikely odds that this young journalist would again find himself in captivity in another conflict was almost unimaginable,' he said.
'It is impossible to express how much we all wanted this latest horror to end with his family reunited, as it had been the first time.'
FBI Director James Comey added to that, saying the 'full force' of the U.S. government would be used to catch the 'savages' responsible for Foley's murder.
'I’m very, very, sorry to say that these savages have turned it into a homicide investigation,' Comey said from Denver.
'So we’ll stay on it. We’ll work with our law enforcement, our intelligence and our military partners to try to bring justice to the Foley family and bring the full force of the United States to bear on these savages,' he said.
British Prime Minister David Cameron said Wednesday that Foley's killing was 'murder without any justification,' and seemed resigned to the fact that his executioner is from the UK.
'We have not identified the individual responsible,' he said from No. 10 Downing Street, 'but from what we have seen it looks increasingly likely that it is a British citizen.'
The Prime Minister condemned 'the barbaric and brutal act that has taken place.'
And 'let's be clear what this act is,' he said. 'It is an act of murder.'
'WE WILL OPPOSE ISIS WITH EVERY BREATH IN OUR BODY': BRITISH PRIME MINISTER DAVID CAMERON LEADS INVESTIGATION INTO JAMES FOLEY DEATH
Prime Minister David Cameron has since broken off his vacation and was seen returning to 10 Downing Street in London earlier today to oversee Britain's response to James Foley's 'shocking and depraved' beheading and the hunt for the 'British' executioner.
Responding to the video, Philip Hammond, the Foreign Secretary, said ISIS was waging war on the West and must be dealt with, before adding that Foley's executioner 'appeared to be British' and confirmed that the Government believed the footage to be genuine.
Calling ISIS an 'evil organization', Mr Hammond said he could send British troops to help train Iraqi government soldiers to help counter the growing threat the Islamist militants pose.
Mr Hammond said the video had not been verified but ‘all the hallmarks point to it being genuine’.
The Foreign Secretary said his reaction to the clip was ‘horror, absolutely horror at what appears to be a brutal execution’. He added: ‘On the face of it, it appears to be a British person.’
Mr Hammond said the Government knew there were 'a significant number of British nationals in Syria and Iraq operating with extremist organizations'.
epa04361037 British Prime Minister David Cameron conceded on Wednesday that Foley's executioner was likely British, based on his accent and intelligence reports
U.S. Secret Service and intelligence services in the United Kingdom are searching for Foley's executioner who spoke with a British accent in the video, the Guardian reported Wednesday.
The Englishman is believed to be the ringleader of a group of British fighters holding other foreign hostages in Syria.
He is reportedly from London, and one of the point-men engaged in hostage negotiations in Raqqa, Syria, an ISIS stronghold.
One former hostage told the Guardian that the British executioner is 'intelligent, educated and a devout believer in radical Islamic teachings,' the paper reported.
The one-time captive added that prisoners referred to their three captors as 'the Beatles' because they were British.
Foley's mother and father called on ISIS militants to spare the lives of other captured hostages as the authenticity of the barbaric video of his death was confirmed by the White House on Wednesday morning.
James' mother Diane said Wednesday that ordinary Syrians her son interacted with loved him.
'He ate with them, he lived with them,' she said. 'He had this way of getting people to tell their story – how he did it I don't know, he didn't speak a word of Arabic.'
'We are all heartbroken at their loss,' Obama said moments later.
Beheaded: James Wright Foley in a grab taken from YouTube and posted online by ISIS
Terror: Photojournalist James Wright Foley spoke before his beheading to say ''I call on my friends, family members and loved ones to rise up against my real killers, the U.S. government.'
Obama's remarks came hours after UK Prime Minister David Cameron cut short his vacation to return to head his government's response.
America's military has carried out nearly a dozen new airstrikes in Iraq since Tuesday, with the attacks coming after the terror group's appalling video release.
Foley's executioner addressed President Barack Obama personally in the video, warning that his group would kill Steven Sotloff – another American journalist the group is holding – if the U.S. didn't stop a campaign of targeted attacks that Obama authorized on August 8.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers called on the president to cut his vacation short and return to Washington to deal with the threat to US citizens posed by ISIS.
Rogers used the example of Cameron: 'The optics of being on vacation and not coming away from that vacation, I just think are bad,' he said on Fox News.
'That is why I think Cameron is going back. He is going to show he is the prime minister and he is taking this matter seriously, and he is on the job making the decisions that you need to make to keep Britain safe.'
Disturbing footage of the execution appeared on Tuesday in a video titled 'A message to the US', in which an apparently coerced Foley, 40, recites a prepared script presumably given to him by his captors which he delivers unflinchingly to the camera.
Addressing the camera: James Wright Foley's executioner holds his knife and unfurls his reasons for taking the American journalists life before he beheads him
Kidnapped in Syria on Thanksgiving 2012 while working for the GlobalPost agency, Foley brands the U.S. government his real killers in the video and denounces the country of his birth, while his soon-to-be murderer stands over him dressed in black robes and armed with a small knife and gun.
Wearing an orange jumpsuit, with his head shaven, Foley's voice is strong, but he often pauses to take deep breaths and appears to struggle at times to swallow as he battles against fear.
It appears the journalist wasbeen coerced into blaming the United States by his brutal captors
Foley also leaves a haunting message for his brother, John, who he is heard to say is either a past or serving member of the US Air Force.
Referring to airstrikes launched nearly two weeks ago in Iraq, Foley says: ‘I died that day, John, when your colleagues dropped that bomb on these people. They signed my death certificate’
Foley goes on to blame the 'complacency and criminality' of the US for his impending death.
In his tragic final message to the world, no doubt prepared for him word-by-word by his captors, a resigned says he wished he'd been able to see his family again.
And in a last insult from his vengeful executioners before his brutal beheading Foley is made to deny his birthright as a citizen of the United States.
'I wish I had more time, I wish I could have the hope of freedom and see my family once again, but that ship has sailed. I guess all in all, I wish I wasn’t American,' he says.
It is not immediately clear why Foley would have released an anti-American statement knowing that he was going to die, but it was likely he was engaging in bargaining with his captors, possibly for the life of another fellow hostage.
At work: James Wright Foley, had been missing since November 2012, after being taken hostage at gunpoint by militants from the pre-ISIS group Jabhat al Nusra while reporting from Taftanaz, northern Syria
'I GUESS I WISH I WASN'T AMERICAN': PHOTOJOURNALIST JAMES WRIGHT FOLEY'S FINAL WORDS TO THE CAMERA BEFORE HIS DEATH
'I call on my friends family and loved ones to rise up against my real killers, the US government. For what will happen to me is only a result of their complacency and criminality.
'My message to my beloved parents: save me some dignity and don’t accept any (unclear, possibly says media) compensation for my death, from the same people who effectively hit the last nail in my coffin with a recent aerial campaign in Iraq.
'I call on my brother John, who is/was (this part is also unclear) member of the US Air Force, think about what you are doing, think about lives you destroy including those of your own family.
'I call on you John, think about who made the decision to bomb Iraq recently and kill those people, whoever they may have been.
'Think John, who did they really kill? Did they think about me, you our family when they made that decision?
'I died that day John, when your colleagues dropped that bomb on those people – they signed my death certificate.
'I wish I had more time, I wish I could have the hope of freedom and see my family once again, but that ship has sailed. I guess all in all, I wish I wasn’t American.'
Foley then stops speaking and his executioner steps forward.
‘This is James Wright Foley, an American citizen of your country. As a government you have been at the forefront of the aggression towards the Islamic State,' begins the executioner.
'You have plotted against us and gone far out of your way to find reasons to interfere in our affairs. Today, your military airforce is attacking us daily in Iraq,' the executioner says.
'Your strikes have caused casualties amongst Muslims. You are no longer fighting an insurgency.
'We are an Islamic Army and a state that has been accepted by a large number of Muslims worldwide.
'So effectively, any aggression toward the Islamic State is aggression towards Muslims from all walks of life who have accepted the Islamic Caliphate as their leadership.
'So any attempt by you, Obama, to deny the Muslims their rights of living in safety under the Islamic Caliphate will result in the bloodshed of your people.’
At this point, with the camera rolling, the executioner beheads Foley, who is kneeling bravely with hands tied behind his back.
He then pulls forward Steven Joel Sotloff.
In a chilling warning at the end of the grisly film, the executioner shows another American journalist, Steven Joel Sotloff, who went missing in August 2013, saying: 'The life of this American citizen, Obama, depends on your next decision.'
Horror: In another chilling warning, the executioner holds another man, on his knees with his hands tied behind his back, by the scruff of the neck. A caption claims it is missing American Steven Joel Sotloff
Speaking after the video emerged, Foley's mother Diane had issued a statement saying that she and her husband John have nothing but admiration for the bravery of their 'extraordinary' son, who they say gave his life to expose the suffering of the Syrian people.
FULL MESSAGE FROM JAMES WRIGHT FOLEY'S MOTHER:
'We have never been prouder of our son Jim. He gave his life trying to expose the world to the suffering of the Syrian people.
'We implore the kidnappers to spare the lives of the remaining hostages. Like Jim, they are innocents. They have no control over American government policy in Iraq, Syria or anywhere in the world.
'We thank Jim for all the joy he gave us. He was an extraordinary son, brother, journalist and person. Please respect our privacy in the days ahead as we mourn and cherish Jim.'
Senior members of the U.S. Congress weighed in on Wednesday with varying degrees of outrage and practical prescriptions.
Rep Ed Royce, a California Republican who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said that ISIS 'is a profound threat to humanity as it brutally targets the most vulnerable. We must get serious about confronting this force, including by aggressively arming those battling it.'
But Sen Dianne Feinstein, the California Democrat in charge of the Senate Intelligence Committee, counseled a more measured response that's in line with Obama's attempts at nation-building and diplomacy.
Calling for 'serious consequences by the international community,' she said the U.S. 'must continue to provide our support to the new Iraqi government once it is formed and help solidify gains by Iraqi and Kurdish forces.'
Foley had been missing since November 2012, after being taken hostage at gunpoint by militants from the group Jabhat al Nusra while reporting from Taftanaz, northern Syria, for the GlobalPost.
Jabhat al Nusra subsequently joined forces with ISIS – which did not exist in anything like its current form when Foley was taken – which explains how he ended up in their hands.
ISIS posted the extremely graphic video shot at an unknown location, on social media sites as proof of their barbaric actions.
Appeal: Foley's mother Diana and father John (pictured in left image at a vigil last year) issued a statement following the video's release, pleading with ISIS militants to release any other hostages they have taken
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2730122/The-entire-world-appalled-We-relentless-Obama-vows-punish-ISIS-beheading-American-journalist-James-Foley-said-stood-stark-contrast-cowardly-killers.html#ixzz3B2AMiMGL
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