Authors: Jeanette Torres
Jupiterimages/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -- A 70-year-old American contractor who was kidnapped by al Qaeda in Pakistan last August appeared in a new video released Sunday in which he begs President Obama to bow to his captors' demands in order to gain his release or else, he warns, they won't allow him to live.
Warren Weinstein, who appears to be in good health, first assures his wife, Elaine, that he is well and being cared for and then directly appeals to Obama to "respond to the demands from the mujahideen. My life is in your hands, Mr. President. If you accept the demands, I live. If you don't accept the demands, then I die."
Weinstein worked for USAID and the Peace Corps, and mentions his experience in the video, stating, "I've done a lot of service for my country, and I would hope that my country will now look after me and take care of me and meet the demands of the mujahideen." He adds that meeting the demands are easy.
The contractor brings up the fact that like Obama, he also has two daughters that he wants to see again.
Previously, al Qaeda leader Ayman Zawahiri had claimed his group had Weinstein in captivity.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio
