Following the horrific execution of Jordanian air force pilot Moath al-Kasasbeh by the Islamic State, the Jordanian government announced the execution of two terrorists with ties to IS. Sajida al-Rishawi, an Iraqi female terrorist who failed to carry out a suicide attack in 2005 and a sister of a powerful aide to the former head of al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was hung at dawn along with Ziad Karbouli, another top aide to the deceased leader of AQ in Iraq.  Al-Qaeda in Iraq grew into the Islamic State when the Syrian civil war broke out. According to the Jordanian military, al-Kasasbeh was actually executed on January 3.  But the Islamic State carried on with negotiations to release the pilot and Japanese journalist Kenji Goto, demanding the release of al-Rishawi in exchange for the hostages.  Jordan balked when IS refused to give proof of life, and both men have now met brutal ends. Some analysts believe that the particularly barbaric manner of...(Read Full Post)