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FBI Authorized Negotiations With ISIS in Bid to Free Peter Kassig

In what may be one of the most fascinating articles I've read this year, the Guardian (writers Shiv Malik, Ali Younes, Spencer Ackerman and Mustafa Khalili )reports play by play details of an attempt by the FBI, working with prominent activist New York lawyer Stanley Cohen, to free Peter Kassig. The FBI authorized and paid for Cohen and a translator to travel to Kuwait and Jordan to negotiate with ISIS for Kassig's release. There would be no ransom or prisoner release, but Cohen had come up with other terms ISIS might approve of.

At the time of the rescue effort, Cohen was awaiting sentencing on criminal tax charges, having plead guilty in April, 2014 to two indictments, one in the Northern District of NY and one in the Southern District. The Southern District case was transferred to the Northern District for sentencing. His plea agreement called for an agreed upon sentence of 18 months. A few weeks after his return from the rescue effort, he was sentenced to 18 months as agreed, and is scheduled to report to prison on January 6. A few days ago, his request for a delay was denied. [More...]

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ISIS Beheads Alan Henning, Says American Aid Worker is Next

ISIS, through al Furqan Media, released a video of the beheading of British aid worker Alan Henning. The same black-clad executioner in the Foley, Sotloff and Haines videos appears with him. (Not a link to video, just to article describing it.)

The videos seem to be getting shorter. This one is only 1 minute and 11 seconds, and the first 30 seconds or so is a tv reporter announcing Britain's intent to conduct air strikes.

The video ends with American Peter Kassig, a former Army Ranger and aid worker in Lebanon, in the kneeling position and clad in orange. The killer says he is next. He says to Obama, since he keeps striking ISIS with airstrikes, ISIS will strike the necks of "your people." Here is a 2013 interview of Kassig by Time Magazine. CNN published this article in Kassig in 2012. From an article published in Sept. 2013:

SERA was founded in late 2012 by Peter Kassig, a 24-year-old Army Ranger and Indiana native who returned from Iraq intent on mitigating the carnage of war. Kassig, who’s an EMT, lives with Eliot in Gaziantep and frequently forays into war-torn Syrian towns like Deir Ezzor to lead training sessions, distribute supplies, and provide basic medical care.

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