john adams kidnapped?

[thebiggameover]

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/...age/index.html

So-called U.S. hostage appears to be toy

Tuesday, February 1, 2005 Posted: 5:37 PM EST (2237 GMT)


This image was posted on an Islamist Web site.


(CNN) -- A photograph posted on an Islamist Web site appears to be that of an action figure and not a U.S. soldier being held hostage.

Liam Cusack, the marketing coordinator for Dragon Models USA, said the figure pictured on the Web site is believed to be "Special Ops Cody," a military action figure the company manufactured in late 2003.

"It pretty much looks exactly like the same person," he said.

Cusack said he was contacted Tuesday morning by one of his retailers, who informed him that the alleged hostage appeared to be one of the company's action figures.

"I thought it was a joke at first," he said.

But after reading a report on a news Web site about a U.S. soldier allegedly being captured, "I looked at it and said, 'It does look like one of our action figures.'"

"Cody" is an action figure the company made for the Army and Air Force Exchange Service, which supplies U.S. military bases worldwide with various items. The doll was meant to look like a U.S. soldier who might be serving in Iraq, Cusack said.

On the Islamist Web site, a group calling itself the Al Mujahedeen Brigade, posted a photograph of a man it claimed was a captured U.S. soldier named John Adam, and it threatened to behead him if Iraqi prisoners are not released by U.S. forces.

Staff Sgt. Nick Minecci of the U.S. military's press office in Baghdad told The Associated Press that "no units have reported anyone missing."

The photograph showed the figure against a black flag with white lettering reading, "God is great, there is no god but Allah." A U.S. military assault rifle was pointed at its head. It appears that "rifle" was part of the plastic weaponry that came with the action figure.

The photograph immediately raised questions.

CNN military analyst James Marks, a retired Army general, questioned its authenticity.

He told CNN in a phone interview that the flak jacket in the picture had a kind of trim along the edges that he'd never seen before, and that the open-legged pants, as opposed to gathered hems, struck him as odd.

He also questioned what appeared to be camouflage paint on the face.

"We have not used camo paint with conventional forces serving in Iraq," Marks said.

[AChimp]

I could tell right away by the small head and the fact that the gun is all gray and plastic.

[El Blanco]

Who is going to rescue him? Duke and Snake Eyes?

[KevinTheOmnivore]

COBRA-LALALALALALA!

[Helm]

haah that was excellent

[mburbank]

So, is this a legitmate extremist website or a hoax? Did they post the piecture or is it a hack?

Because the idea that Ilsmaic terrorists have a sense of humor is... unsettling.

[El Blanco]

I'm not sure its so much a sense of humor as it is a sign of desperation.

[Helm]

no, if this is a doll, it's definately humour. All the desperation's busy in the suicide bomber department.

[Sethomas]

I was hoping for a picture of Islamic extremists pointing a gun at a turn-of-the-19th-Century Aristocrat.

[El Blanco]

Well, it could be desperation if they believed we'd be fooled by this.

As for the suicide bomber front, I read that one of the more recent attacks used a person with Down Syndrome. Is that the bottom of the barrel yet?

[mburbank]

A.) THEY DID FOOL US! Did or did not the story get wide play before it was realized it was a doll? Granted the army did say no one was missing, but it took someone from the DOLL COMPANY to point out it was a DOLL!

B.) Where did you read about the guy with Down's Syndrome? Is this confirmed? Personally I think talking folks into blowing themselves up is pretty shitty no matter what.

[davinxtk]

The incident with the mentally disabled guy happened a while ago, it was at some DMZ checkpoint or something... we all talked about it on here, the kid was given $20 (american equivalent) and told he'd be met by 43 virgins in the afterlife or something.

[Cosmo Electrolux]

all religions prey on the weak.....I know several mentally retarded individuals who would, right this minute, kill themselves or others if you told them Jesus would get provide them pussy and candy in heaven.....

[mburbank]

There isn't pussy and candy in heaven?





WHAT THE HELL AM I BEING GOOD FOR HERE ON EARTH THEN?!

[El Blanco]

Originally Posted by mburbank

A.) THEY DID FOOL US! Did or did not the story get wide play before it was realized it was a doll? Granted the army did say no one was missing, but it took someone from the DOLL COMPANY to point out it was a DOLL!

They fooled the talking heads at CNN and the rest of the news sources. That article was the firs time I'd even heard of this happening and I knew it was a fake. Then again, I still have someof my old GI Joes from when I was a kid, so I should be able to spot that.

B.) Where did you read about the guy with Down's Syndrome? Is this confirmed? Personally I think talking folks into blowing themselves up is pretty shitty no matter what.

This happened the day before their elections. Nothing 100% sure, but if it is true, thats pretty bad.

Yes, sending anyone as a suicide bomber is awful. But, using someone without the full mental capacity to understand what they are doing, thats just a special kind of shitty. I hope that recruiter has a special place in hell for that.