…in retaliation for the Islamic State ritual sacrifice of Jordanian military pilot Moaz al-Kasasbe. Lt. al-Kasabe has been reportedly burned alive by the death cult: the New York Times is visibly ill at the idea of showing the footage to that, and I can’t make myself blame them*. You need to know who you’re fighting; but some stuff you don’t need in your head.
No links to the reported plans because the Jordanian response is currently being reported at a level that’s just a half step up from Internet rumors. But I will say this: we forget, sometimes, that the relatively civilized and not-entirely-grotesque state of foreign affairs that we ‘enjoy’ today is the product of a sixty-year American hegemony over half the world, and a twenty-year one over all of it. Burning people alive is from older days. Older, nastier days: it will be interesting to see whether Jordan decides to indicate that it’s going to go back to those days too when it comes to their response. I hope not: the pax Americana was a good thing, all around. We’re going to miss it, when it’s finally gone…
Moe Lane
*Just that, though. I can easily blame them for a whole other bunch of things that are related to this story.