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Shocking, barbaric and unprecedented

Feb 10,2015 - Last updated at Feb 10,2015

The brutality with which the Daesh terrorists chose to end the life of the Jordanian pilot they took captive has shocked the entire world, perhaps as the ugliest, cruelest and most cowardly crime of our times.

The impact of the barbarity was painful for all Jordanians. It left us all stunned and traumatised.

It is not the martyrdom of a soldier who fell while performing a heroic and honourable duty, as that is the sad fate that often befalls brave soldiers. 

Evidently Muath Kasasbeh is not the first Jordanian martyr, neither is he going to be the last. But Muath, by any standards, is the first to be so unanimously honoured, mourned, venerated, valued and admired in this country’s history. That is because he gave his life to save ours.

He was engaged in a war with a bloodthirsty gang of thugs and criminals whose ignoble mission has steadily been to kill, torture, enslave, rape, loot, starve to death, dehumanise and destroy whatever comes their way.

That is what they did in Iraq and in Syria. That is why we believe that the danger is moving in every direction, including ours.

The chilling scenes of the way these heartless terrorists executed some of their captives — aid workers, journalists and the many others — will hardly disappear from the memories of those who had the courage to look at them.

I never dared to watch such barbaric behaviour further than a Daesh terrorist brandishing a knife at his victim’s neck. I could not see the gruesome burning alive of Kasasbeh, but I was horrified to see what must have been the preparation of the crime scene reminiscent of Roman times stories when starved lions were let loose on helpless human victims in front of cheering crowds.

The crime was, however, self-defeating. It was also counterproductive. It only reflected weakness, loss of purpose and desperation.

Rather than divide Jordanians, as probably was calculated, it unified all Jordanians as never before in condemning the crime and its perpetrators, not only in Jordan but worldwide — there has hardly been so much instantaneous, strong and unanimous condemnation — and in hardening Jordanian resolve to fight this evil brand of terrorists and avenge the blood of our beloved son Muath.

But most importantly, it did put a definite end to any discussion on whether this war, which Jordan decided to join in August, was or was not “our war”.

For those who were in doubt, the proof was in this crime, which must have been a wake-up call for all of us.

It is an alarming reminder to everyone of the “promise” those outlaws, who raise the banner of Islam, harbour for the region and its people, all its people.

Yes, it is our war and we were right to commit to it right from the beginning.

It is our war because we are targeted as a country and as a people. Our stability and our land are targeted.

We did not need to wait until the danger showed up at our doorstep; rather we acted in time, in self-defence.

But if the “it is our war” assertion is so much needed to counter the cynics at home, it should not send a wrong message to whomever it may concern in the region and the rest of the world.

What everyone should know is that it is our war, but not our war alone. We share the responsibility, but we will not, and should not, shoulder it on our own.

The brand of terrorism as represented by Daesh is a regional threat, indeed a global threat, and should therefore be confronted by a serious and a determined global effort.

It will be foolish to rely on the Jordanian resolve and determination to fulfil this huge military task.

Jordan does not have the means or the necessary tools for a long war. Estimates suggest that this war may last for years. We have loads of other responsibilities, also war-related, to deal with.

Actually, there are reports, quite worrying, that some or more coalition partners have either suspended or slowed down their participation in the war against Daesh.

That is extremely dangerous as it can only encourage the terrorists.

It may enhance their belief that their intimidating and brutal tactics, including their barbaric executions, are working. It may also feed the doubts of those who still believe that Daesh was created by the very powers that pretend to act against it.

Conspiracy theories, often contradictory — saying that Daesh was created, financed, armed and supported by major regional and world powers with the intention of destabilising the region, or that the US created Daesh to justify its return to the region — continue to circulate, and quite regularly.

People of all ranks continue to wonder whether the US and its Western allies are really serious about destroying Daesh, and if they are, they wonder why six months of bombing had hardly any effect on reducing the military strength of this terrorist group.

They also wonder if Jordan could achieve what the US and other major powers have so far failed to.

It may be hard to prove that Daesh was knowingly created. It, like many other problematic groups operating in Syria now, could have benefitted from the ill-advised and reckless policies which rushed to arm and support any group that was prepared to fight the regime of Bashar Assad at the beginning of the Syrian uprising, but not as a premeditated effort to create this particular lethal product.

Yes, various groups, who might have joined Daesh at a later stage, were also receiving substantial support from regional and international sources that probably did so without calculating possible results. That is an exact repeat of equally dangerous experiments in Afghanistan decades ago.

However, it is hard to believe that the US is eager to restore its military presence in the region.

The first thing former Iraqi prime minister Abdullah Maliki did when Iraqi territory was overrun by Daesh forces last summer was to appeal for American military help, but his request was denied because his sectarian and biased policies against the Sunni population were blamed for the crisis, as well as for the collapse of the Iraqi army in front of hundreds of Daesh militia.

The US still seems reluctant to engage in a land war, although this might be desired to ensure a successful war against Daesh.

That hardly subscribes to the claim that the US is seeking a pretext to return to Iraq, or elsewhere in the region.

The political, social and economic stability of Jordan are vital for the stability of the region. For that to be sustained, Jordan needs, and indeed deserves, massive economic support from allies and friends.

The war against extremism is not only of a military and security nature. It is also economic and educational, and that is a large undertaking too.

No amount of economic or military support, however, should leave Jordan to fight alone.

The coalition ought to be reorganised and its strategies, hardly convincing so far, must be radically revised, too.

We are passing through critical times and we need to be up to the challenges.

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