Yesterday I had seen the headlines regarding the murder/execution of ISIS hostages Ole Johan Grimsgaard-Ofstad and Fan Jinghui. But I only heard about this detail earlier this morning:
“Our son and my brother was kidnapped and has been held hostage in Syria since January,” Mr. Grimsgaard-Ofstad’s parents and sister said in a statement on Wednesday, describing their hope, despair, and sorrow. “He was maimed twice. Islamic State first removed the thumb on his left hand, then all the fingers of his right hand.”
Norway’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Børge Brende said the mutilation of prisoners to collect ransom was showing the real face of Islamic State. “The abuse Mr. Grimsgaard-Ofstad suffered has put a terrible strain on the family,” Mr. Brende told reporters in Oslo Wednesday. “Videos and images of the abuse were sent to us, along with demands of ransom.”
This kind of depravity and barbarity as far as I know is rivaled only by the Mexican drug cartels.
Don’t expect the Chinese to commit their military might to the fight against the common enemy of the modern, civilized world. Some wishful thinkers believed the Japanese would have their Samurai spirit reawakened in wake of the execution-murder of their citizens, Kenji Goto and Haruna Yukawa. That didn’t happen. Which is not to say that Japan and Norway aren’t contributing partners to the war against ISIS.
But where is the leadership? Which country is taking the lead and rallying a strong coalition of military action?
It certainly has not been us.
A former fetus, the “wordsmith from nantucket” was born in Phoenix, Arizona in 1968. Adopted at birth, wordsmith grew up a military brat. He achieved his B.A. in English from the University of California, Los Angeles (graduating in the top 97% of his class), where he also competed rings for the UCLA mens gymnastics team. The events of 9/11 woke him from his political slumber and malaise. Currently a personal trainer and gymnastics coach.
The wordsmith has never been to Nantucket.