ISIS has made what I believe will prove to be a fatal miscalculation, and if history repeats itself, they’re in for a rude awakening.
Back in November 2005, Iraqi suicidal bombers, three men and a woman, attacked three Jordanian hotels, killing 60 people and injuring more than 100. The would-be female bomber in the group, Sajida al-Rishawi, was the wife of one of the three men.
She survived the blast and fled the scene when her own bomb vest failed to detonate. She was also the sister of a close personal aide to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who up until 2006 when he was killed by coalition forces in Iraq, was one of the most wanted terrorists in the world.
Within days, the Jordanian General Intelligence Department (GID) captured al-Rishawi and a number of others involved in the plot. She was later convicted of murder and sentenced to death.
Less than 48 hours after those bombings, I walked through each one of those hotels and witnessed the aftermath of what was nothing less than a slaughter. The destruction caused by thousands of balls bearings, was haunting, but nowhere near as horrifying as was the well-choreographed video, released by ISIS, that showed Jordanian military pilot Muath al-Kaseasbeh being burned alive.
Al-Kaseasbeh had been captured by ISIS fighters in December and held until what is believed to be Jan. 3, when he was caged like and animal and set ablaze.
In response to this barbaric assassination by ISIS fighters, His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan, said that his pilot was, "killed in defense of his religion, his country and his nation,” and called on the Jordanian people to stand in “unity, determination and resolve."
As I read his words, it took me back to Amman in 2005. In the aftermath of the hotel bombings, his majesty inspired the Jordanian people; they united in their streets and called for the death of al-Zarqawi and those responsible for the hotel bombings.
Within months, al-Zarqawi was dead — killed by coalition forces in Iraq, but his demise really came at the hands of Jordan.
It was Jordan’s intelligence services that fed the coalition armed forces the information necessary to carry out the deadly assault on al-Zarqawi and his followers, and I’m convinced that ISIS and their leadership will now suffer the same fate.
Jordan’s king is a graduate of the Royal Military Academy of Sandhurst in the United Kingdom, and was the commander of Jordanian Special Forces before becoming king. He is a courageous and fearless warrior and I know will now lead the charge to hunt down the barbarians that executed the Jordanian pilot.
His intelligence assets are perhaps the best in the Arab region and Gulf states, and they have the ability to infiltrate ISIS and other groups like them in Syria and Iraq without any outside help.
ISIS, like al-Qaida in 2005, has united the Jordanian people, the tribesmen, and even those, sometimes in opposition of the king’s throne.
The king promised that if al-Kaseasbeh were harmed, there would be hell to pay, starting with the Islamic extremists sitting on Jordan’s death row. Ironically, that list of extremists includes al-Rishawi who was responsible the Amman hotel bombings, and whom ISIS offered to exchange for al-Kaseasbeh.
Within 12 hours after that video was aired, she and another terrorist were already executed. Unfortunately for ISIS, they are not dealing with the United States, the U.K., or France. No one knows better than King Abdullah that it takes more than just talk to defeat this enemy, and just as we all know that action speaks louder than words, within hours of that horrific video, King Abdullah’s words and actions are loud and clear.
Now, the real question now is, When will the rest of the world take note? When will the rest of the world take action?
In 1986, Kerik joined the New York City Police Department where he earned the medal for valor. In 1991 he was transferred to the U.S. Justice Department's New York Drug Enforcement Task Force. In August 2000, Kerik served as police commissioner of New York. He led New York City through the devastating attacks on the World Trade Center on 9/11. After retiring from the NYPD, Kerik accepted a request by the White House to lead Iraq's provisional government's efforts to reconstitute the Iraqi Interior Ministry. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.