GWEN IFILL (NewsHour): The brutal tactics of Islamic State radicals reached a grisly new extreme today. The group put out a video showing a captured Jordanian pilot being burned alive.
In Washington, the visiting king of Jordan rearranged his schedule to meet with President Obama this evening, while, back home, his people absorbed the shock.
The pilot’s father was attending a tribal meeting with other relatives in Jordan’s capital when the video surfaced. He checked his cell phone, hung his head, and left. Then, a government spokesman confirmed the news publicly.
MOHAMMED AL-MOMANI, Jordanian Government Spokesman (through interpreter): We are deeply saddened. And we pay our deepest respects to Jordan’s martyr, Muath al-Kaseasbeh. We now all know in Jordan, beyond any doubt, how barbaric the Islamic State group is.
GWEN IFILL: The 26-year-old lieutenant fell into Islamic State hands in December, after his plane crashed in Syria on a bombing mission.
Last week, the militants threatened to kill him, unless Jordan released Sajida al-Rishawi, an Iraqi woman convicted in a 2005 bombing plot. The Jordanians demanded proof the pilot was still alive, which they never got. State TV in Amman reported today that he was actually killed a month ago.
The news came as King Abdullah was in Washington. And officials said he was cutting the visit short. Before he left, he sent a message home.
KING ABDULLAH II, Jordan (through interpreter): In these difficult moment, it is the duty of all Jordanian citizens to stand united, to show the strength of this people in fighting this group. This will only give us more strength and resistance.
GWEN IFILL: President Obama condemned the brutal killing and the Islamic State killers.
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: It’s just one more indication of the viciousness and barbarity of this organization. And it, I think, will redouble the vigilance and determination on the part of a global coalition to make sure that they are degraded and ultimately defeated.
GWEN IFILL: The hostage drama has sparked protests against Jordan’s support for the coalition. But the Jordanian military vowed today to seek revenge.
Part of that revenge may also include the execution of the woman the Islamic State wanted released. Citing unnamed officials, Reuters and AFP have reported that Sajida al-Rishawi will be executed before dawn on Wednesday.
"Jordan finds ‘no compromise is possible’ with Islamic State" PBS NewsHour 2/3/2015
Excerpt
SUMMARY: For Jordanians wishing for the freedom of a pilot captured by the Islamic State, hope turned to despair and outrage when the militant group released a video of the man being burned alive. Gwen Ifill talks to Rod Nordland of The New York Times and Jordan’s former Foreign Minister Marwan Muasher about Jordan’s reaction and why the Islamic State is employing these tactics.
"What does Jordan’s anger mean for fight against Islamic State?" PBS NewsHour 2/4/2015
Excerpt
SUMMARY: The death of a pilot at the hands of the Islamic State has revved up rhetoric from Jordan on defeating the militants. Judy Woodruff takes stock of the international coalition’s strengths, weaknesses and future options with Janine Davidson of the Council on Foreign Relations and retired Col. Derek Harvey of the University of South Florida.
"Jordan’s King Abdullah calls for ‘relentless’ war against Islamic State" PBS NewsHour 2/4/2015
Excerpt
SUMMARY: The Islamic State's killing of a Jordanian military pilot triggered condemnation across the Middle East, as well as vows to strike back and redouble the fight. The pilot’s father called for revenge by executing prisoners and protesters joined in with that demand. Judy Woodruff reports.
"The war on ISIS: How effective can Jordan be in its vow to ‘wipe out’ terror group?" PBS NewsHour 2/8/2015
Excerpt
SUMMARY: This past week was filled with more events tied to the Islamic State, including a video released showing the killing of a Jordanian pilot it had held captive since December and the group's claim that an American woman it had also been holding captive was killed in a Jordanian air strike. On Sunday, U.S. leaders called the Islamic militant group "better organized than al Qaeda" that should be taken "very seriously." Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies joins Alison Stewart from Washington.
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