As everybody following the morass in the Middle East knows, Jordanian Air Force Lieutenant Moaz al-Kasasbeh was revealed to have been burnt alive by his captors, the Islamic State (formerly of Iraq and Syria alone; they’ve since embarked on an intensified marketing campaign), making this by far the most violent and horrible execution staged by the entity.
What makes this execution even more jarring than previous efforts was the way it was broadcast, as well as the deception that IS employed during the negotiations: Lt. al-Kasasbeh had apparently been dead the whole time his government was negotiating his release.
To add insult to injury, IS even had the nerve to star him in his own snuff film, in which he was forced to bear witness to the aftermath of the new Coalition of the Willing’s campaign against them, thereby humiliating him and ending his life on a very, very horrible note. From what we can see IS is desperate for attention: this group will do anything it can to increase its notoriety, and is not above cheap, underhand tactics to make ends meet. By broadcasting the hell out of their exploits, we’re only makings things better for them.
I’m not one to defend religion, but didn’t the Qur’an stipulate honesty and protocol even in warfare? The same Qur’an these clowns have sworn by?
Jordan responded swiftly by executing two IS-affiliated prisoners it was holding, including would-be suicide bomber Sajida al-Rishawi, who had been in captivity since 2005. While Newton’s third law of motion holds as the most logical and immediately appropriate response, the extent of its appropriateness is questionable. The mentality of Hammurabi’s law has pretty much been the law of the land since it was hammered out in cuneiform, and nobody in the region has been successful in changing anything. The only silver lining to this is the indication that Jordan at least honors their dead and keeps their promises, showing that there is at least some integrity in Middle Eastern politics.
Call it what you will-a barren desert inhabited by savages with no concept of human rights-but that’s just the way things are. Force understands force alone.
In any case, this is no longer a band of bearded, uneducated and brain-dead apes we’re dealing with, but rather shrewd and ruthless fiends who are not above backdooring the party at the other end of the table. The fact that they’re willing to butcher their own-Muslims, even Sunnis-and make a show out of it should send messages to even the most backward and ignorant redneck watching this on Fox News somewhere in the hills of West Virginia.
And if today’s events don’t then I don’t know what will.
Rest in peace, Lieutenant al-Kasasbeh.
More on this story: http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/02/03/islamic_state_releases_video_showing_jordanian_pilot_being_burned_alive/
UPDATE: According to this article on the Daily Beast this isn’t the first time IS has used these tactics of defeat
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/02/03/isis-snuff-films-sleight-of-hand.html
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