New ISIS Video: UK Journo Vows to Show West 'Truth'

John Cantlie blasts government that 'abandoned' him
By Polly Davis Doig,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 18, 2014 10:38 AM CDT
New ISIS Video: UK Journo Vows to Show West 'Truth'
This undated file image posted on Aug. 27, 2014, shows an Islamic State fighter waving their flag following the battle for the Tabqa air base, in Raqqa.   (AP Photo/Raqqa Media Center of the Islamic State group, File)

ISIS militants have apparently released their latest video, but this one is decidedly different: It features British journalist John Cantlie, a hostage since October 2012, in a three-minute address to the Western public titled "Lend Me Your Ears." Though he's clad in an orange jumpsuit, there are no militants in sight and Cantlie directly addresses the camera, reports Reuters. He promises to "convey some facts" over the course of "the next few programs."

Cantlie continues: "You're thinking, 'He's only doing this because he's a prisoner. He's got a gun at his head and he's being forced to do this.' Right? Well, it's true. I am a prisoner. That I cannot deny. But seeing as I've been abandoned by my government and my fate now lies in the hands of the Islamic State, I have nothing to lose. ... I'm going to show you the truth ... how the Western media, the very organization I used to work for, can twist and manipulate that truth for the public back home." The BBC's security correspondent says that Cantlie was speaking under duress and calls the video "very much a propaganda video." Gawker has the transcript here. (More John Cantlie stories.)

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