Sunday, November 16, 2014

American Peter Kassig Beheaded by Islamic State

By Douglas V. Gibbs

Peter Kassig was a former soldier who decided to become an aid worker in the Middle East.  He was taken hostage in Syria, and today the Islamic State released a video showing a masked Islamic terrorist standing over Kassig's severed head.  The White House, after reviewing the video, has confirmed Kassig's death.  The Islamic State says the beheading was committed to send a message.

"We say to you, Obama: ... You claim to have withdrawn from Iraq four years ago. Here you are: You have not withdrawn. Rather, you hid some of your forces behind your proxies."

How many acts of war must the Islamic State commit against the United States before the Obama administration will be willing to do more than send a few "non-combatant" troops?

Barack Obama is proving to be the opposite of someone like Teddy Roosevelt, when it comes to standing up to an enemy determined to destroy us.  Roosevelt said he "spoke softly, but carried a big stick."  Obama speaks loudly, usually touting accomplishments he never accomplished, and carries a peace sign.  Sure, Obama denounced ISIS for their terrorism, but he won't call it terrorism, or call them Islamic.

He said, regarding the Islamic State, "revels in the slaughter of innocents, including Muslims, and is bent only on sowing death and destruction."

They only kill Muslims that aren't waging jihad with them.  He added "including Muslims" to try and carry on his sick narrative that the Islamic State has nothing to do with Islam.

Kassig represents the third American beheaded by the group, following American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff.  ISIS as also beheaded British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning.

In addition to showing Kassig's severed head, the video also showed the beheadings of about a dozen men identified as Syrian military officers and pilots, all dressed in blue jumpsuits. The black-clad militant warns that U.S. soldiers will meet a similar fate.

A certified EMT, Kassig had delivered food and medical supplies and provided trauma care to wounded Syrians before being captured in eastern Syria on Oct. 1, 2013. Friends say he converted to Islam in captivity and took the first name Abdul-Rahman.

Kassig's family said in a statement that it preferred "our son is written about and remembered for his important work and the love he shared with friends and family, not in the manner the hostage takers would use to manipulate Americans and further their cause."

The Islamic State is also holding hostage British photojournalist John Cantlie, and a 26-year-old American woman captured last year in Syria while working for aid groups.  Their caliphate encompasses a portion of both Syria, and Iraq, governing the captured territory through Shariah law, and violent terror tactics including the massacre of tribes that refuse to join them, and a growing slave trade.

Now that the Islamic State and a local al Qaeda group have joined forces, the Islamic terror being committed will likely be increased.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

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