Claims ISIS membership
In an interview with WXIX-TV, Cornell claims he is a member of ISIS.
I’m with the Islamic State. I’m very dedicated to establish [sic] the Sharia in America, to wage war on the kafr (an Islamic term for ‘unbeliever’) and raise the word of Allah above all…I got orders from the brothers overseas because I’m with the Islamic State. My brothers over there, in Syria and Iraq, gave me specific orders to carry out jihad in the west, so I did so.
Cornell says he spoke with other ISIS members via an encrypted messaging service. They spoke about how they should raise Jihad in America and how they should go about forming sleeper cells.
What do I think is coming? Many things. There will be many, many attacks. Like I said, we are ready for the battle over the Capitol…We are pretty strong. Yes, yes. In every state like I said. We’re in Texas. We’re in Ohio. We’re in New York City. We’re in Washington, DC. We’re in every single state you can name, just about.
‘A lot more dangerous than Western leaders realize’
German journalist and author Juergen Todenhoefer says ISIS is “more dangerous” than people realize after travelling deep into ISIS territory in both Syria and Iraq. Todenhoefer tells CNN he spoke with several ISIS fighters, as well as a prisoner.
I think the Islamic State is a lot more dangerous than Western leaders realize. They believe in what they are fighting for and are preparing the largest religious cleansing campaign the world has ever seen.
Calls the war against ISIS ‘illegal’
Paul calls the war against ISIS ‘illegal’ in an op-ed piece published by the Daily Beast.
This war is now illegal. It must be declared and made valid, or it must be ended.
Cellmate: Kassig is scared but hopeful
French journalist Henin, who shared a cell with Kassig, says he hasn’t given up hope despite ISIS’s threat to behead him:
If you have no hope whatsoever, you just can’t survive. It was surely very difficult for him to have seen us leaving. But still it means that something is going on and something positive so it helps … but then to see people taken off the cell to be killed must … be extremely hard.
‘Close’ to identifying Foley’s killer
British Ambassador to the U.S. Sir Peter Westmacott tells CNN’s State of the Union with Candy Crowley that authorities are ‘close’ to identifying the ISIS militant who killed Global Post journalist James Foley in a videotaped beheading:
[…] We’re putting out a great deal of resource into identifying this person. I think we’re not far away from that. We’re putting a lot into it. And there are some very sophisticated technologies, voice identification and so on, which people can use to check who these people are. But, of course, the problem goes beyond one horrendous criminal, if you like […] I do know from my colleagues at home that we are close.