Video shows beheading of British aid worker

Comparing a performance beheading with military error is morally vacant.

Capturing and killing unarmed aid workers and journalists. How pathetic. IS will slaughter such people to play mind games with international powers, blind to the fact that they themselves are also pawns being used. They will not be allowed to be the most influential force in the Middle East for long. Their end is coming.

Is that the best they can do? Hack off the head of an innocent person who was helping refugees? Sounds like a desperate action to me. And this guy with the British accent who seems to have killed all three so far? Well, his day is coming. They already know his name so it won't be long before they bring him in dead or alive.

It is clear what the IS extremists do not represent: a religion with a god who created life and protects it and instills a faith where humans act like humans. IS is indeed pure evil, anything closer to satan I cannot imagine. Eradication of this cult which hides behind Islam but rewrote its script is top priority. Let Islamic leaders around the world speak out against this cancerous evil.

It's difficult not to wonder if the West should have just left Saddam in charge.

Not that difficult whatsoever. The country was at peace with Saddam. Now it's a cesspit. Here is a list of good things that came out of the American invasion of Iraq:

1) um...............

Yeah, basically the biggest failure of this century so far. And likely to remain the biggest for decades to come.

The real question is whether or not the Americans will ever learn from their mistakes, and just stay out of the Middle East altogether. Nothing good has ever come of their meddling there.

What the West does/did wrong, does not excuse this filthy mongrel mob from hacking heads off people like this, especially those who have been doing valued humanitarian work.

What I don't understand is why IS believes they're instilling fear, when in fact all they're doing is just making others more enraged and furious and more driven to wipe them out.

And I don't understand why some folks still can't understand that groups like IS don't care about "getting revenge for the deaths of innocent muslims at the hands of western devils" they only care about extremely misguided notions for their holy war and dying as "martyrs" for the glory of Islam. If they were so concerned about stopping the deaths of innocent muslims, then they would not be having suicide bombers at markets, weddings, parties, or commiting their own "justice for Islam" by killing and persecuting anyone who they deem un-Islamic enough in their eyes, or any non-muslim who doesn't subject themselves to Islamic oppression tactics.

These people are driven by a purely demonic belief that worships death, destruction, and oppression of others. And Presto seems to be another person that has realized that evil does exist in this world and yes, a truly loving God that *creates life" cherishes life, and allows free will would not be happy about groups of people running counter to that.

It's difficult not to wonder if the West should have just left Saddam in charge. Look at Libya now, too. You get rid of one dictator and then they fill the vacuum with other lunatics. But maybe a single dictator is sometimes better than a group of nutters taking over.

As you can tell by now, the Islamic State terrorist are nothing but cowards and dogs. They are afraid and hide their face. If they are man enough, they don't need to hide their faces. Nothing but cowards and dogs.

It's no surprise that they're murdering aid workers, Al Qaida did the same thing. The only thing more humiliating than watching the enemy take your cities and crushing your governments is for them to stretch out a helping hand, offering your people food, medicine and shelter. A deep seated inferiority complex towards the west permeates throughout the entire jihadist movement, that's why they're so edgy.

@Strangerland It was probably a mistake to meddle but what's done is done, I'm not so sure the Americans can just leave the middle east alone at this point. If they ever decide to go in there once more they should instead consider making the occupation more permanent. Power vacuum is the key term here.

There were a bunch of these in mid-2000's in Iraq. Probably some of the same people involved in the execution, or their heirs. Dramatic then, but after 10 years, no longer newsworthy. ISIS has beheaded hundred or thousands of surrendered Iraqi Army troops, vs. dozens or less of foreign aid workers, journalists, etc.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Filmed_executions_in_Iraq

presto 345:

" It is clear what the IS extremists do not represent: a religion with a god who created life and protects it and instills a faith where humans act like humans. "

That is clear to you, but not to ISIS: They follow a radical Wahabi interpretation of islam to the letter, have been funded by Saudi Arabia and Qatar, are recruiting members via Wahabi mosques, and are advised by Wahabi clerics. Do you want to argue religious details with their clerics? Where is your authority, as a non-believer, to decide what they represent and what not?

" Let Islamic leaders around the world speak out against this cancerous evil. "

Apart from some pro-forma statements to Western media, that will be a long wait. How is ISIS worse than Boko Haram, the Taliban, MLF, Al Quaeda, Hamas, el al, anyway? Are they all completely independet and unrelated phenomena, which just happen to arrive at the same doctrine.... which happens to be Wahabism?

jpn_guy, I see nothing in FizzBit's statement to indicate he is concerned with the complexity of the situation. The statement merely stokes further resentment. If you've convinced yourself otherwise, you've fooled yourself.

IS' beheading of captives who's families and governments don't pay ransoms is designed to instil fear in Shia muslims, empower Sunnis who feel downtrodden and encourage them to join up. It is a calculated, cold and barbaric act that has very little cost and sticks two fingers up at the west in the process. It isn't an act of retribution that the US and Britain have somehow brought upon themselves.

My statement wasn't naive, it was an expression of disgust at FizzBit's attempt to justify the murders by somehow blaming the US/UK. Whilst it can be argued the west may have relit the fire, it's not the west's place to reconcile the Sunni Shia conflict and nor is it mine to be constructive.

You have two kinds of people in these kinds of situations, the ones who freak out and are scared, and the ones who know its going to happen no matter what they do (how do you think Islamists groups get so many willing suicide bombers???) and are realists about what is going to happen in the next few moments.

For example when IS was in the process of driving out non-muslims in Iraq/Syria they always started by asking them, "Are you Christian or muslim". And if they said yes to being Christian, the next question was, "Will you renounce your faith and become muslim?", if the victim said "no" they were told to turn around and were killed from behind. If the victim said "yes" then were killed without being turned around because the Qur'an specifically states if anyone renounces their religion just to save their lives and they are a person "of the book" they're cowards and apostates that should be put to death.

And I'm sad to say but Hidingout is pretty much stating the obvious in regards to how many of the "civilized" countries will be reacting to this situation when the last straw is broken. As time goes on and if the extremists don't stop, the "civilized" countries will start ignoring upholding human rights for them, and become more and more vicious in order to eliminate the threat to the point where there will be actual persecution reversed back against all muslims. Its not going to be a pretty picture in those times. Islamists perpetuated religious persecution, and it will be reversed against all.

Imagine a future where it is a requirement to have your religious affiliation/ or non-affiliation being printed on your identification papers. In many Islamic countries that is already a reality and their governments treat you differently if you're not muslim.

Kinda reminds me of revelations in the bible that stated something to the effect of "and they will be marked by the mark of the beast, and without the mark one can not buy or sell goods unless they have the mark."

I for one really do NOT want to see that become reality and if it does, that means one religion has too many things that becoming truthful to be ignored.

I was moved by David Haines' brother's statement. In it he included words from the Koran,

"Since good and evil cannot be equal, repel thou evil with something that is better."

The day when IS is ash blowing away in the wind, with the sound of a drone flying away... I will crack a cold one. These mongrel cave men/killers need to be ended...and ended quickly.

On a positive note, the CIA, NSA etc..will be able to locate the ORIGIN of this video and sorry Fizzybeat, but the DRONES, Tomahawk missiles etc...are going to be flying through the air down on Syria, Iraq etc...and KABOOM!!!! RIP British guy in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"... this cult which hides behind Islam...."

No, this is front-and-centre Islam. I suggest you read the passages in the Koran about Jihad, especially the part about "smiting the necks of non-believers."

What I don't understand is why IS believes they're instilling fear, when in fact all they're doing is just making others more enraged and furious and more driven to wipe them out.

HonestDictator, it is likely that they are goading the West because they welcome a Western attack. The ISIS can only draw on so much support for its opposition to Assad (there are other groups which do the same) and its drive to dominate Sunni Iraq (which contains seeds of dissension due to its secular Baathist presence). The greatest gift for the ISIS would be a Western invasion, which would very much shove these rather debilitating problems under the rug.

So it's a "Come and get me!" thing. Let's leave that up to the locals, shall we?

What I don't understand is why IS believes they're instilling fear

They most definitely are instilling fear - this is why America is freaking out and getting ready to attack in a place where they do not belong. Again.

in fact all they're doing is just making others more enraged and furious and more driven to wipe them out.

It goes the other way as well - the attacks on the IS will kill innocent civilians, which will make people in the middle east more enraged and furious, and driven to wipe out the Americans.

I want to know what the Chinese government thinks of all this.

sad. Islamic gp seems does not understand what is an aid group.Can any one trust ISIS? Anyone trusting ISIS may also face from ISIS the way they treated Haines David, as ISIS seem to be heartless brute force only not a military kind force. In armed conflicts there is a principle of POWs - prisoners of war and they are treated by both sides of waring elements as mercenaries who personally do not have enmity against each other. So humanitarian approach is vital that gives vitality to military as such.

i feel the ISIS approach is a self destructing approach.

why Islam support such mindless men !

Tragic in the extreme and certainly no "propaganda coup." Only a GWB crony could suggest so. Anyone with a heart, Muslims included, cannot but be disgusted. This man was a father and an AID WORKER! By this barbarism they have give Obama and Cameron carte blanche to bomb them into oblivion. Which the UK Royal Air Force will now do in regtribution for the killing of an x-RAF Scot, just ahead of the Scottish Independence referendum. How evil is this? Are we talking barbaric or right off the scale? And who are SITE?

America Gov is going around this in the wrong way "maybe". They are only training them, and will slowly arm the rebels in Syria. That will take time, and time mean's they adapt to it/ the strategy's and the fighting. What are they going to do when they hit the city's and there fighters are in every house? America can't kill 100k civilians and blow up all houses, so Air support is only to stop an advance. After that, its cleaver strategy/tactics, to draw them "out".

Personally American troops need to go in hard and fast, surround there main city strong hold, and kill them off. This plan now........ Is the wrong way around. It's going in hard "as" your arming the rebels, then take out the trash. Once the trash is taken out, then rebels move in, to stop the trash from building back up.

For a start American troops need to kill as many as they can, so on an assault on the city needs to be clever to draw them out. I would look for a route that gives the IS some hiding areas "but" nothing we can't just drop some bomb on to kill them.... Trees rocks and so on. Ether way I would just draw them out into a trap. I would make the guided bombs miss all their targets and have the troops pull back "slowly" as if the IS is beating them back "there for" they will send large numbers forward "thinking" there repelling an attack, but in fact..........It's a trap. So now we will see all guided bombs, stopping them from going back into the city area "houses" for cover, and will see a swarm of troops dropped from the choppers and so on, surround them and breaking them up, into small groups "out" in the open. This way choppers can swarm in also.

Now we can move into the city. Mass fighters have been killed in a trap on different sides "not just 1 side" and they have significant casualty/losses. Now the troops need troop need to use the same smoke a guy told Israel to use, years ago. It burns hot and stops all inferred from working :). You can move tanks in and troops "without" inferred weapons working. It was very successful, "but" if it gets on civilians, it can badly burn them. Troops will pre plan the attack "Knowing" what areas to use it, and what areas not to. You can even use that Burning smoke to cover your sides. If its to the sides you can focus on a forward attack, and know attack can come "directly" from the sides. It's like being able to stop being "flanked" from the side/sides.

For a pre plan invasion, it will be looking at all the roads and what roads the civilians drive on. There can't be IED pressure plat bombs on the roads, as they use them. Jamming devices for the rest, then enter "only" at night time, to see any enemies hiding with wired IED bombs. Things like stun grenade's as you clear out the houses, even sound weapons and heat weapons to help.

I could be here for hours but f that. something like that would help. I don't get paid so they can think it up lol.

"Personally American troops need to go in hard and fast, surround there main city strong hold, and kill them off."

Just like in the battles of Fallujah? The US tried that already. It didn't work.

FizzBit, if that was your point, I didn't miss it, you failed to communicate it. Your comment was poor.

I can only think that releasing these videos is an attempt to ensure that other countries which have no backbone - France springs immediately to mind - keep paying multi-million dollar ransoms.

Apart from that, it proves that IS are far less clever than a lot of observers have previously claimed. In disgusting Muslims and the West alike, their gleeful brutality is simply helping to strengthen and unify resolve again them, which will ensure their ultimate destruction.

I watched comment contributors' opinions. They usually have any info before they come to talk. They think ISIS is looking for sympathy by American public. Then they agreed this video backfired. Polls indicated that people formerly hated American fight in Middle East now are against ISIS. .We can watch MLB games without disruption now.

They are afraid and hide their face.

You'd have to be insane to not be afraid of the US government, no matter the conviction of your beliefs.

SwissToni, I was not justifying it, you missed the point, as did many.

This all about resources and the US's goal of controlling them. The US has invaded Iraq, twice, and over the last years trying to, and succeeding in destabilizing Syria, Ukraine, Libya, etc. All the men, women and children who have died because of the West's need to control these resources is murder. It's just so damned ironic that a few beheadings of innocent "westerners" and the war pigs come out from their sitcom gaze and somehow claim some kind of moral authority.

The west has no moral high ground here and the reality of war is now in your face and it's not very pretty, is it now?

Wow. Wimps and cowards and liberals can't handle "the reality of war" - that's our biggest problem. All these *** terrorist scum claiming that war against them is "unwinnable". And people like yourself reveling in every setback.

The honest truth is that these losers are going to get what's coming to them. They are going to keep pushing and pushing until they have outraged the entire world, and there are only an insignificant number of people left who hold the insipid views you hold. Once that day arrives the gloves come off and America and her allies stop worrying about "civilian" casualties, "collateral damage", or what some socialist rag publishes on the editorial page, and start fighting war like it was meant to be fought. Once that happens there will be nothing but craters where these fools live.

Murder is murder. Whether it's a beheading or droning wedding parties from the sky, shooting up Iraqi families in cars, attacking a family killing all just so the soldiers can gang rape a 15 year old Iraqi girl. The west has no moral high ground here and the reality of war is now in your face and it's not very pretty, is it now? The media does a great job hiding their murders, but if they can use a murder to whip up the war frenzy, then it's ok.