The Islamic State’s (IS) decision to burn alive the captured Jordanian pilot, Mu’adh al-Kasasibah, has sent shock waves around the world. In addition to the sheer brutality of the act, the decision by IS to distribute a video of their atrocity, and the fact that ordinary people in Raqqa—including children—were forced to watch his death, are all causes for horror and condemnation. Even some radical clerics—like Salman al-‘Awdah—have reacted with disgust and argued that burning people alive is forbidden by Islamic law (Shariah).

The Islamic State (IS) released a video showing the beheading of Japanese hostage Kenji Goto Jogo. The one minute, seven second video was produced by al-Furqan Media Foundation, a major media arm of the group, and was distributed on Twitter on January 31, 2015.

In regard to the fight against terror, much of the world's attention is currently centered on the Middle Eastern region, and deservedly so. However, the West would be remiss to forget that al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and its militant Islamic allies, Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MOJWA) and Ansar Dine, an AQIM-aligned jihadist group, controlled over half of the sovereign territory of Mali prior to French intervention. This two-year mission by France and accompanying nations may provide a promising alternative to anti-terror approaches of recent decades.

Just a few months ago, President Obama could point to Yemen as a positive example of U.S. counter-terrorism policy. The resignation last week of Yemen’s President, Prime Minister, and cabinet has, however, thrown the future of the country, and U.S. counter-terrorism (CT) policy, into disarray.

Islamic State (IS)-linked Twitter accounts distributed a new video of Japanese hostage Kenji Goto Jogo, wherein he indicated that it would be his final message, and unless the Jordanian government frees Sajida al-Rishawi within 24 hours, he and captive Jordanian pilot Mu'adh al-Kasasibah will be executed.