He Was Already Dead

Let’s set aside the horrific nature of the killing of the Jordanian pilot in the video released today. But why did it happen? The Jordanian government was apparently quite willing to trade the imprisoned suicide bomber in exchange for their pilot. They only wanted a proof of life from ISIS. So did they not want a trade? Was the value of the public killing greater than the return of one of their own? Or was the whole thing a sham – and as the Jordanians feared – their pilot was already dead. According to Jordanian state TV it was latter. Jordanian state TV is saying the pilot was killed a month ago.