But this is no military commando setting out to fight a distant foreign enemy or a band of ruthless terrorists; the heavily armed men are not soldiers.
It is as if terrorism is suspended in outer space as an abstract phenomenon, with ruthless terrorists acting under some Satanic inspiration unrelated to any specific motivation.
"The agency has always sought a clear legal framework, conducting the program in strict accord with U.S. law, and protecting the officers who go face-to-face with ruthless terrorists," Mr. Little added.
Larry, of course, has his own capacity for creating mix-ups, since he shares his name with one of the two Google founders and strikes ruthless terrorists as a good target for kidnapping.
However, the ferocity involved in killing unarmed intellectuals for their ideas has alienated all but the tiniest minority of Italian public opinion - a lesson, perhaps, for other far more ruthless terrorists who set no limits on their capacity for cruelty and destruction.
Beyond requesting a prisoner swap, the video is seemingly trying to put out a narrative that the militant group, which quickly overran parts of Northern Iraq in June, is not the band of ruthless terrorists they're reputed to be.
