Media Contact: Michelle Hammontree Garcia Communications Manager [email protected] 786-606-3042

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Media Contact: Michelle Hammontree Garcia Communications Manager Mhammontree@Pinecrest-Fl.Gov 786-606-3042 Media Contact: Michelle Hammontree Garcia Communications Manager [email protected] 786-606-3042 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Donor fund created for Steven Sotloff Memorial Garden in Pinecrest Gardens Pinecrest, Fla. – A donor fund has been set up through The Miami Foundation to collect money to build a memorial garden in Pinecrest Gardens in memory of Steven Sotloff. Steven grew up in Pinecrest and his family continues to reside in the Village. Donors can send a check donation to The Miami Foundation at 200 South Biscayne Boulevard, Suite 505, Miami Florida 33131. Please include the Fund name – The Steven Sotloff Memorial at Pinecrest Gardens Fund - in the memo line. Donations can also be made with a credit card online at The Miami Foundation’s website - http://bit.ly/SotloffMemorial. Steven was freelance journalist whose barbaric murder by Islamic State militants on September 2, 2014 made headlines around the world. He was the second American journalist executed and released worldwide, causing an international response. He went missing in August 2013 while writing about the Syrian civil war as a freelance journalist for several publications. Steven was the son of Arthur and Shirley Sotloff and a grandson of Holocaust survivors. He worked for the news magazine Time, as well as Christian Science Monitor, The National Interest, Media Line, World Affairs, and Foreign Policy, and has appeared on CNN and Fox News. His work took him to Syria a number of times, as well as Egypt, Turkey, Libya, and Bahrain. Many have said that Steven was, “a man who tried to bring light into dark places.” ### .
Recommended publications
  • Alexander Meleagrou-Hitchens, Seamus Hughes, Bennett Clifford FEBRUARY 2018
    Alexander Meleagrou-Hitchens, Seamus Hughes, Bennett Clifford FEBRUARY 2018 THE TRAVELERS American Jihadists in Syria and Iraq BY Alexander Meleagrou-Hitchens, Seamus Hughes, Bennett Cliford Program on Extremism February 2018 All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. © 2018 by Program on Extremism Program on Extremism 2000 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20006 www.extremism.gwu.edu Contents Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................v A Note from the Director .........................................................................................vii Foreword ......................................................................................................................... ix Executive Summary .......................................................................................................1 Introduction: American Jihadist Travelers ..........................................................5 Foreign Fighters and Travelers to Transnational Conflicts: Incentives, Motivations, and Destinations ............................................................. 5 American Jihadist Travelers: 1980-2011 ..................................................................... 6 How Do American Jihadist
    [Show full text]
  • U.S. Citizens Kidnapped by the Islamic State John W
    CRS Insights U.S. Citizens Kidnapped by the Islamic State John W. Rollins, Specialist in Terrorism and National Security ([email protected], 7-5529) Liana Rosen, Specialist in International Crime and Narcotics ([email protected], 7-6177) February 13, 2015 (IN10167) Overview On February 10, 2015, President Barack Obama acknowledged that U.S. citizen Kayla Mueller was killed while held in captivity by the terrorist group known as the Islamic State (IS). This was the fourth death of an American taken hostage by the Islamic State: Abdul-Rahman Kassig (previously Peter Kassig), James Foley, and Steven Sotloff were also killed. The death of Mueller and the graphic videos depicting the deaths of the other three Americans have generated debate about the U.S. government's role and capabilities for freeing hostages. In light of these deaths, some policymakers have called for a reevaluation of U.S. policy on international kidnapping responses. Questions include whether it is effective and properly coordinated and implemented, should be abandoned or modified to allow for exceptions and flexibility, or could benefit from enhancements to improve global adherence. Scope The killing of U.S. citizens by the Islamic State may be driven by a variety of underlying motives. Reports describe the group as inclined toward graphic and public forms of violence for purposes of intimidation and recruitment. It is unclear whether the Islamic State would have released its Americans hostages in exchange for ransom payments or other concessions. Foley's family, for example, disclosed that the Islamic State demanded a ransom of 100 million euros ($132 million).
    [Show full text]
  • TITLE Ll—AUTHORITY for the USE of MILITARY FORCE AGAINST
    DAV15E09 S.L.C. AMENDMENT NO.llll Calendar No.lll Purpose: To authorize the use of the United States Armed Forces against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES—114th Cong., 1st Sess. (no.) lllllll (title) llllllllllllllllllllllllllllll lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll Referred to the Committee on llllllllll and ordered to be printed Ordered to lie on the table and to be printed AMENDMENT intended to be proposed by Mr. KAINE (for himself and Mr. FLAKE) Viz: 1 At the appropriate place, insert the following: 2 TITLE ll—AUTHORITY FOR 3 THE USE OF MILITARY FORCE 4 AGAINST THE ISLAMIC STATE 5 OF IRAQ AND THE LEVANT 6 SEC. l1. SHORT TITLE. 7 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Authority for the Use 8 of Military Force Against the Islamic State of Iraq and 9 the Levant Act’’. 10 SEC. l2. FINDINGS. 11 Congress makes the following findings: DAV15E09 S.L.C. 2 1 (1) The terrorist organization that has referred 2 to itself as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant 3 and various other names (in this resolution referred 4 to as ‘‘ISIL’’) poses a grave threat to the people and 5 territorial integrity of Iraq and Syria, regional sta- 6 bility, and the national security interests of the 7 United States and its allies and partners. 8 (2) ISIL holds significant territory in Iraq and 9 Syria and has stated its intention to seize more ter- 10 ritory and demonstrated the capability to do so. 11 (3) ISIL leaders have stated that they intend to 12 conduct terrorist attacks internationally, including 13 against the United States, its citizens, and interests.
    [Show full text]
  • After Foley Killing, US Defends Refusal to Pay Ransom To
    The Obama administration sharply defended its refusal to negotiate with or pay ransom to terrorist groups that kidnap, following the videotaped execution this week of American photojournalist James Foley by the Islamic State. “We believe that paying ransoms or making concessions would put all Americans overseas at greater risk” and would provide funding for groups whose capabilities “we are trying to degrade,” Marie Harf, a State Department spokeswoman, said in a briefing Thursday. Harf said it is illegal for any American citizen to pay ransom to a group, such as the Islamic State, that the U.S. government has designated as a terrorist organization. ADVERTISING In late 2013, more than a year after Foley was captured while reporting on Syria’s civil war, his family received several e-mails from the Islamic State, including one demanding 100 million Euros, about $133 million, for his freedom, according to GlobalPost, Foley’s employer. The amount, many times the ransom demanded for other Western hostages, indicated that the Islamic State was not serious about releasing Foley, U.S. officials said. His family and GlobalPost agreed, said Richard Byrne, the company’s vice president and director of communications. “I don’t think there was a negotiation,” he said. GlobalPost has said that it shared with federal officials all communications it received from the kidnappers, including a final e-mail last week saying they were about to execute Foley. Earlier this summer, U.S. Special Operations forces had tried to rescue Foley and three other Americans known to be held by the Islamic State. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Thursday described the raid — in which one U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • Gw Extremism Tracker Terrorism in the United States
    GW EXTREMISM TRACKER TERRORISM IN THE UNITED STATES INDIVIDUALS HAVE BEEN CHARGED IN THE U.S. ON OFFENSES RELATED 217 to the Islamic State (also known as IS, ISIS, and ISIL) since March 2014, when the first arrests occurred. Of those: Their activities were located in 30 states and the District of Columbia the average age of are male 90% 28 those charged. have pleaded or * the average length 157 were found guilty 13.2 of sentence in years. *Uses 470 months for life sentences per the practice of the U.S. Sentencing Commission were accused of attempting 39% to travel or successfully traveled abroad. were accused of being 31% involved in plots to carry out attacks on U.S. soil. were charged in an operation MALE 58% involving an informant and/or an undercover agent. FEMALE indicates law enforcement operation Acknowledgement Disclaimer This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as under Grant Award Number 20STTPC00001‐01 necessarily representing the official policies, either expressed or implied, of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Apprehensions & Charges for Other conspirators were involved in the IS “hostage-taking scheme,” which resulted in the kidnapping and subsequent death of Jihadist Groups James Foley, Kayla Mueller, Steven Sotloff, Peter Kassig, as well as British and Japanese nationals. The pair, who also face material support charges, were captured in January of 2018 by OCT 21 VA the Syrian Democratic Forces and transferred to American custody in 2019.
    [Show full text]
  • Syria's Future and the War Against ISIS
    14 October 2014 Syria's Future and the War against ISIS How will the military campaign against ISIS affect Syria over the long-term? Murhaf Jouejati warns that unless Washington actively trains, equips and politically accommodates ‘moderate’ Syrian opposition forces, the greatest beneficiary of the intervention could indeed be the Assad regime. By Murhaf Jouejati for ISN On 10 September 2014, US President Barack Obama publicly declared war on ISIS with the goal of degrading and destroying the extremist organization. Obama’s new stance was an escalation of his earlier, more limited decision to use American airpower against ISIS in western Iraq. In his televised speech, Obama affirmed that he would not hesitate to strike at ISIS targets in Syria as well – without seeking the Assad regime’s authorization. What explains the shift from Obama’s earlier “hands off” approach towards Syria, and how will the new approach affect that war-torn country? The shift in Obama’s approach The trigger for the dramatic shift in American policy was the beheading by ISIS fighters of two American journalists, James Foley and Steven Sotloff. Against this backdrop, widespread criticism regarding Obama’s passive Syria policy had been mounting steadily. Critics took Obama to task for not having intervened in Syria’s civil war earlier, when the emergence of ISIS might have been prevented. Many argued that the negative ramifications of Obama’s passivity went beyond Syria: it emboldened Russia to annex Crimea and destabilize Ukraine, and hardened Iran’s stance in the nuclear talks -- without the fear of major retribution. At the end of the day, what forced Obama’s hand was the combination of this stinging criticism, pressure from sustained lobbying efforts by key US allies, and the significant shift in American public opinion (before the beheadings, 68% of Americans were “for” delaying the use of airpower.
    [Show full text]
  • Right to Act: United States Legal Basis Under the Law of Armed Conflict to Pursue the Islamic State in Syria Samantha Arrington Sliney
    University of Miami Law School Institutional Repository University of Miami National Security & Armed Conflict Law Review November 2015 Right to Act: United States Legal Basis Under the Law of Armed Conflict to Pursue the Islamic State in Syria Samantha Arrington Sliney Follow this and additional works at: http://repository.law.miami.edu/umnsac Part of the International Law Commons, Military, War, and Peace Commons, and the National Security Law Commons Recommended Citation Samantha Arrington Sliney, Right to Act: United States Legal Basis Under the Law of Armed Conflict to Pursue the Islamic State in Syria, 6 U. Miami Nat’l Security & Armed Conflict L. Rev. 1 () Available at: http://repository.law.miami.edu/umnsac/vol6/iss1/1 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Institutional Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in University of Miami National Security & Armed Conflict Law Review by an authorized administrator of Institutional Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Right to Act: United States Legal Basis Under the Law of Armed Conflict to Pursue the Islamic State in Syria Samantha Arrington Sliney* I. INTRODUCTION...................................................................................... 1 II. HISTORY OF THE ISLAMIC STATE ........................................................ 4 III. THE ISLAMIC STATE’S IDEOLOGY ...................................................... 6 IV. TAKE OVER OF SYRIA AND IRAQ, JUNE 2014 TO PRESENT: AN OVERVIEW ........................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • North Atlantic Treaty Organization Update Paper
    North Atlantic Treaty Organization Update Paper Topic A: The Use of Social Media in Counterterrorism Social Media and the Internet has been increasingly used as a recruiting, communication, and propaganda tool for terrorist groups around the world. The following update paper will present an overview of terrorist organizations use of social media to further their goals. Beginnings of Major Terrorist Activities on Social Media In the mid-2000s, Al-Qaeda was a pioneer in using the internet and social media to promote its objectives. During the early era of terrorists activities on the internet, social media was still the dominant communication method. According to terrorism expert Evan Kohlmann in 2006, 90 percent of terrorist activity took place on social media tools including independent bulletin boards, Paltalk, and Yahoo! eGroups. The terrorist activities in 2006 on social media were mostly aimed at Middle Eastern countries and there was limited terrorist activities on Western-orientated sites such as Myspace.com. Later in the decade, Al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups used Youtube, Facebook, and Twitter to serve their objectives. Social Media was used by terrorist groups to recruit new members, disseminate propaganda, coordinate activities and actions, and fundraise.1 While Al- Qaeda’s social media was somewhat effective on the Middle East, experts deemed Al-Qaeda’s online outreach as having a limited impact on Western counties with a few prominent exceptions.2 ISIS Terrorist Activities on Social Media In 2014, ISIS changed how terrorist organizations used social media by more effectively using global social media tools including YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, and internet memes to influence adversaries, supporters, and journalists.3 ISIS used a combination of official and 1 Jarret M.
    [Show full text]
  • Return to Raqqa
    RETURN TO RAQQA 80' - 2020 MEDIAWAN RIGHTS Produced by Minimal Films [email protected] RETURN TO RAQQA 0 2 SYNOPSIS “Return to Raqqa” chronicles what was perhaps the most famous kidnapping event in history , when 19 journalists were taken captive by the Islamic State, as told by one of its protagonists: Spanish reporter Marc Marginedas, who was also the first captive to be released. MARC MARGINEDAS Marc Marginedas is a journalist who was a correspondent for El Periódico de Catalunya for two decades. His activity as a war correspondent led him to cover the civil war in Algeria, the second Chechen war, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the civil war in Syria, among others. On 1 September 2013, Marginedas entered Syria accompanied by a group of opposition figures from the Free Syrian Army. It was his third visit to the country as a correspondent since the outbreak of the civil war in 2011. His main goal during this latest trip was to provide information on the preparations for a possible international military intervention that seemed very close. Three days later, on 4 September 2013, Marginedas was abducted near the city of Hama by ISIS jihadists. His captivity lasted almost six months, during which he shared a cell with some twenty journalists and aid workers from various countries. Two of these were James Foley and Steven Sotloff, colleagues who unfortunately did not share his fate. Marginedas was released in March 2014 and has not returned to Syrian territory since then. But he now feels the need to undertake this physical, cathartic journey to the house near Raqqa where he underwent the harshest experience of his life, an experience that he has practically chosen to forget over the past few years.
    [Show full text]
  • Fold Twenty Years, Yet Fail to Meet the Lawful Requirement of Serving 180 Continuous Days on Active Duty, News Items for Other Than Training
    Legislation EANGUS Roll Call Wrap Up: News and information relevant to Army and Air National Guardsmen ---- Text ‘RollCallWrapUp’ to 528-86 Veteran Status for Title 32 Guardsmen: The EANGUS National Office staff are actively lobbying Congress to grant veteran status to recognize National Guard soldiers and airmen who retire after fold twenty years, yet fail to meet the lawful requirement of serving 180 continuous days on active duty, News Items for other than training. Prior to Desert Storm and 9/11, many Guardsmen served a full career without mobilizing for active duty for the minimum 180 days. Therefore, they are not considered veterans Defense Secretary Carter Assumes Office: Ashton Carter assumed the office and duties as the U.S. Secretary of Defense on 17 February 2015. Secretary Carter be the fourth to hold that office during the current under Title 38 of Federal law. Providing veteran status those Guardsmen who fall in this category will Administration. The Military Times presents a brief profile on Secretary Carter and about some of the have no budgetary impact. However, it would mean a great deal to those who came before us. They immediate challenges he will face. Read more here. certainly earned the right to be called a veteran. Text ‘Veteran’ to 528-86 to support this cause and get involved today MCRMC Commissioner says Tri-Care faces “Death-Spiral: 'Tricare is a broken program,' Commissioner Stephen Buyer told a subpanel of the House Armed Services Committee. Retired Adm. Edmund Giambastiani 2015 Legislative Workshop: In February, EANGUS held its annual Legislative Workshop in said Tricare is in a 'death spiral' because the program has been 'squeezed' in the name of efficiency, which Washington, D.C.
    [Show full text]
  • Round-Up of Abuses Against Journalists the Categories
    ROUND-UP OF ABUSES 2014 AGAINST JOURNALISTS ED 6 PP 6 15 Syria A JO N U 7 Palestine ID R 6 Ukraine K N A S 4 Iraq T L I S 4 Libya IS T L 30 rest of the world S A K N I R L 29 China L U E 28 Eritrea O D J 19 Iran 9 1 16 Egypt 1 13 Syria 73 rest of the world 33 Ukraine 29 Libya 27 Syria 17 8 D 20 Iraq J NE OU O 3 Mexico RN RIS ALISTS IMP 4 rest of the world Aside from a slight fall in the number of journalists killed in connection with their work, the Reporters Without Borders round-up for 2014 highlights an evolution in the nature of violence against journalists and the way certain kinds, including carefully-staged threats and beheadings, are being used for very clear purposes. The murders are becoming more and more barbaric and the number of abductions is growing rapidly, with those carrying them out seeking to prevent independent news coverage and deter scrutiny by the outside world. Exposed to such diverse forms of intimidation, twice as many journalists fled into exile this year as in 2013. The annual round-up of violence and abuses against journalists that Reporters Without Borders has been publishing since 1995 is based on precise data that RWB gathers in the course of its monitoring. It includes figures for both professional and citizen-journalists killed in connection with their reporting. RWB continues to investigate cases when it has not yet gathered enough information to reach a clear determination.
    [Show full text]
  • Syria and Iraq
    The Comparative Metrics of ISIS and “Failed State Wars” in Syria and Iraq Part Three: Stability and Conflict in Syria Anthony H. Cordesman [email protected] Working Draft U.S. Army photo by Pvt. March 2, 2016 Travis J. Terreo 1616 Rhode Island Avenue NW Anthony H. Cordesman Web version: Email: [email protected] Washington, DC 20036 Phone: 1.202.775.3270 www.csis.org/burke/reports Conflict Dynamics in Syria 2 Population Density in Syria Source: Stratfor, https://www.google.com/search?q=Syria+population+density+maps&tbm=isch&imgil=DoUMgoWdhrcALM%253A%253Bqxzi4i_uSW4ufM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.heritageforpeace.org%25252Fsyria-country- information%25252Fgeography%25252F&source=iu&pf=m&fir=DoUMgoWdhrcALM%253A%252Cqxzi4i_uSW4ufM%252C_&biw=1338&bih=976&ved=0CCoQyjdqFQoTCNXLnIuR08cCFckFjgod6wsNWA&ei=Ni_kVdXYFcmLuATrl7TABQ&usg=__OC351H3 Edwr5kYLecIZo4L-ys5yU%3D#imgrc=q-lXqYU6ivLyiM%3A&usg=__OC351HEdwr5kYLecIZo4L-ys5yU%3D The Pre-War Ethnic Sectarian Nightmare in the Levant Source: Columbia University Gulf/2000 Project, and http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/08/27/the-one-map-that-shows-why-syria-is-so- complicated/ 4 Syria: Religious and Ethnic Groups: March 2011 Source: Atlas-Syria: Federal Ministry of the interior, Republic of Austria, 2015, http://www.ecoi.net/atlas_syria.pdf, p. 15 5 Syria: Ethnic and Linguistic Groups: March 2011 Source: Atlas-Syria: Federal Ministry of the interior, Republic of Austria, 2015, http://www.ecoi.net/atlas_syria.pdf, p. 15 6 Syria: Topography and Regional Divisions Source: Atlas-Syria: Federal Ministry of the interior, Republic of Austria, 2015, http://www.ecoi.net/atlas_syria.pdf, p. 8 7 Syria: Physiography Source: Atlas-Syria: Federal Ministry of the interior, Republic of Austria, 2015, http://www.ecoi.net/atlas_syria.pdf, p.
    [Show full text]