Friend, Colleague Reflects On Life Of Steven Sotloff, Pleas Not To Let Death Be In Vain

Felice Friedson of Media Line, a friend and colleague of Steven Sotloff, appeared on Hannity Wednesday night to pay tribute to the life of the American journalist. Sotloff was kidnapped in Syria while covering the civil war between what was then the Free Syrian Army and the Assad regime.

Sotloff is the second American journalist to be beheaded by the terror army ISIS, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, the Islamic State and ISIL.

Friedson made a plea to President Obama not to let his death be in vain, reading a powerful piece sent to her from Sotloff just a week before his abduction. Steven Sotloff questioned why the American mainstream media was ignoring the rise of Islamic extremism, which Friedson was visibly frustrated by during the interview. She discussed a lost opportunity by the Obama administration to act on behalf of pro-Western forces even prior to his self-imposed “red line” ultimatum, which he never followed through on.

Yet, the media continues to ignore the whole story. A new analysis released by the Media Research Center claims the major news networks are ignoring reports that President Obama was fully aware of the ISIS threat for at least one year.

A senior Pentagon official said that President Obama was given “detailed and specific intelligence” regarding the rise of the Islamic State during his daily briefing at least a year before the group began seizing vast amounts of territory in Iraq and Syria over the summer. Regarding the execution of American journalist James Foley, the first journalist to be beheaded by an ISIS terrorist in a video online, the official confirmed reports claiming the administration was indecisive and delayed a rescue mission for a month, by which time, Foley and potential Sotloff had already been moved.