ABDULATEEF AL-MULHIM
Published — Thursday 12 February 2015

Sometimes during a war, one picture changes the flow of events and put an end to the war. Observers may recall the Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph of Phan Thi Kim Phuc taken during the Vietnam War on June 8, 1972. The picture shows Kim Phuc as a child running without any clothes on, after being severely burned on her back by a South Vietnamese attack. As it is said that a picture speaks a thousand words, that picture effectively showed the horrors of the conflict.

Few weeks ago the world once again saw one of the most horrifying crimes committed against a human being. The so-called Islamic State (IS) burned a Jordanian pilot, Maaz Al-Kasaasbeh, to death. In pictures circulating on the Internet, Al-Kasaasbeh is seen sitting in a cage and subsequently burned alive. We are at a loss for words to properly condemn this brutality. There is no excuse, religious or otherwise, for such an inhuman act…period. The question, however, is what should be done now?

Let us talk about the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. It is a country covering an area of around 89,342 square kilometers with a population of around seven million.

It’s strategically surrounded by Israel, Iraq, Syria and Saudi Arabia. Since 1946 Jordan has been in the middle of the most violent and longest conflict in world’s modern history. For decades Jordan remained under pressure not only from Israel but also from neighboring Syria and Iraq. Both are so-called republics and Jordan is a monarchy. There were many attempts especially from Syria to topple the Jordanian throne. But, what did Jordan do?

Despite limited natural resources, Jordan has managed to develop on of the best education systems in the world. The country has a good health care system and has been able to build strong armed forces in the region. The country achieved these feats due to the wise policies of late King Hussein and the current ruler, King Abdallah.
Jordanian armed forces are trained, disciplined and most important they are very loyal to the king and the royal family. In other words, it is not easy messing with Jordan. But, this is exactly what the so-called Islamic State just did. They killed one of their pilots in a manner that will remain etched in the memories of people across the world for a very long time.

But Jordan will not allow a gang of terrorists to disturb life in Jordan and the Jordanians will not allow any internal or external enemy to have a spring on Jordan’s soil. Every Jordanian was ready to protect Jordan including the king. That is King Abdallah of Jordan.

The whole world saw the patriotic reaction from all Jordanians when they all offered condolences to the family of Al-Kasaasbeh. The king and his wife also visited the bereaved family.

After the royal visit, King Abdallah donned a flight suit and got in the pilot’s seat of an F-16 giving a message to the enemies of the country that Jordan was not an easy target.

Since the start of the Arab Spring, Jordan has been able to stave off the impact of the so-called revolutions. And Jordan will continue developing at a time when many of the Arab Spring-hit countries are suffering and in total chaos. Many analysts think that the so-called Islamic State had committed a grave mistake by challenging Jordan.

There is so much anger among the Jordanians because of the violent death of the Jordanian pilot. And it is not only the Jordanians who are angered but people all over the world are also fuming. The world should act to fight terrorism. Nowadays, Jordan is doing its part in fighting terrorists and terrorism.

SOURCE: ARABNEWS.COM