There's been talk that Jordan's retaliation on ISIS (Daesh) is the start of something new, a turning point.
Shortly after Daesh revealed Jordanian pilot Muath al-Kasasbeh being burned alive, King Abdullah II executed two terrorist prisoners as a response. That included failed suicide bomber Sajida al-Rishawi, who was offered in exchange for al-Kasasbeh, and al-Qaeda member Ziad al-Karbouli.
It's the first time since Daesh popped up as a terrorist group in Syria that there's been exact revenge, a very literal eye for an eye, which took less than 12 hours for Jordan's King Abdullah II to execute. Footage of marches in solidarity against Daesh have shown thousands of Arabs who, after al-Kasasbeh's brutal murder, have demonstrated how little tolerance they have for the group's violence.
It not only shows the strength of Jordan as a country, as protesters said Friday, but also a rejuvenated Arab allegiance against Daesh that extends beyond borders.
Daesh's last move may have been a bad one:
It's found itself a new enemy in the most stable country in the Arab world.
Jordan has remained a pillar of strength in the Middle East despite having hosted hundreds of thousands of refugees from Syria alone. And here is Daesh upsetting the king.
Unlike many other nations, this country was willing to have an open conversation with Daesh. Jordan was even willing to negotiate with the terrorist group, only to discover it had already been a month since al-Kasasbeh's death. But the king has now turned his attention (and military power) toward Daesh, with a "no tolerance" policy for the terrorist organization. King Abdullah said Daesh stole "the dignity of our country," and for that, they'll pay.
Western media has been labeling Daesh as an Islamist group. Some say it's the media itself that has been making Daesh stronger by publicizing its strength and influencing foreigners to join the group. This is the first time one of Daesh's videos made public has featured a Muslim man's murder, creating an impression of distance between Daesh and the real Arab world — between the extremist so-called "Islamic State" and Islam itself. What does this accomplish? It taps into their resources, Western recruits who are unfamiliar with the religion and can now question whether it's Daesh that truly represents it.
Kevin Burns reports that it's "the moment the Pentagon has been waiting for," a US excuse to respond to Daesh with more fire power — and money. US President Barack Obama's newly released budget included a request to spend $350 million of foreign military financing on Jordan. And what does Jordan have? A $1.5 billion defense budget, according to Business Insider, and 110,000 people on the front lines, 1,300 tanks and 250 aircraft.
So is Daesh going down? We have yet to see, but all signs point to a strong defense against them.
