2nd American hostage beheaded.

Sadly I totally agree with you Aka. You simply cannot pay ransom money to these monsters, history has proved that it just fuels the next kidnapping, and the one after that, as well as providing weapons and so on to continue their murderous advance over the whole of the Middle East or wherever. You have to be super brave/dedicated to work in these places, as I think you have to understand if the chips go down, apart from rescue, the outlook will be pretty bleak; rather like agents in occupied Europe in WW2.

Paying up means more money to buy weapons to murder someone else's son/child. France is alleged to have contributed over $58 million for the release of hostages. Wonder how many tanks, rocket launchers and Kaleshnikovs that bought?

One question I have. Do the 'IS' and the Taliban get on together? Or are they sworn enemies?

Oh that would be so good. Please God, help them with it if they do go.

Yes, half of me knows you are right iam about the paying up.

The news on line this morning suggests the SAS are being readied to go. I suspect the US Seals will be ready as well.

pay up David Cameron, never mind high principles

Paying up could also lead to more hostages and more demands - the whole thing could escalate. Isn't demanding money about displaying power?

Why can't organisations like the SAS or the Green Berets go in? I know that's probably a really naieve question with obvious answers but, sadly, they are not obvious to me.

It isn't cruel, I agree, but is it wise? I'm not saying I wouldn't want to pay if one of my loved ones was a hostage to these inhuman people, but wouldn't they use the money to fund their march towards expanding their Islamic State. I don't know enough about who is funding IS, or the views of their near neighbours. Ok, I know, i should research more.

Yes. I think I agree with Milly. It's cruel not to pay if that will save the journalists.

But then go and bomb the hell out of the sods

This link is worth a read, I hope, one day in the future it might offer some small comfort to Steven's family.
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/11075575/Steven-Sotloff-hid-Jewish-faith-and-Israeli-citizenship-from-Isil-kidnappers.html

As so many of you have said, how brave and dignified the Captors were knowing they were facing beheading. But enough is enough and if money will save the life of the next one to be beheaded, so be it, pay up David Cameron, never mind high principles. And then get on and think up a strategy to sort it out, I cant imagine what, but then I am not a Politician.
Milly

POGS - it seems there is agreement on this thread that IS are a truly terrifying group of people, and that something has to be done to stop them.

That's where it gets complicated. Your "worry about protocol another day" approach raises the spectre of the disaster that was "shock and awe". That turned out well, didn't it!

Newport

What exactly should they do? (I agree it needs something)

If they send in drones, or bombers, the British journalists will be killed immediately. And there will most likely be an attack on the British mainland.

For goodness sake!. A lovely young man has been beheaded by animals and he won't be the last. Does it matter whether it was a big knife or a small knife. A history lesson we do not need. What we do need is for Cameron, Obama and the others to get their act together and DO SOMETHING as time is running out.

I can't imagine how the families must be suffering. It is so barbaric. What makes these evil people commit such heinous acts?

I think they are now rabid dogs and they are spreading at a quick pace.

They are not only in Syria and Iraq, it is not only a problem for the west, so I don't understand why other Muslim countries are not getting onboard and fighting against ISIS. Also the UN is as usual a useless, powerless body that is frightened to cough incase it piddles it's pants. I know it's mostly Shia against Sunni Muslim but these barbarians don't care, all have to subscribe to their law. If the Sunni Muslim think they are going to get an easy ride then they are fools.

I watched today's Daily Politics and listening to Labour MP Emily Thornberry, the Shadow Attorney General, talking about the need to comply with EU Law, this law, that human rights bla, bla, just made me so angry and it proves the point that we are powerless to take control of our own security..

The fact is we are at war with jihadists and ISIS, physically and mentally and it's about time we put our safety first and from the hate preacher standing on our street corners to those who have gone to fight for ISIS we should get a backbone and do our damndest to protect the UK and do whatever it takes and worry about protocol another day.

The poor Scottish hostage awaiting his fate and his family are going through a living hell, an unimaginable horror. I simply cannot round the circle of human rights and the likes of ISIS and Jihadists .

But isn't it amazing how religion (and I mean all religions) can, at their nastiest, fundamentalist level, find the power to brainwash their young into committing such atrocities?

I understand what you mean when you talk about "nobodies" - this hard hitting, centred fundamentalism gives people a reason for existence, validates them, so that whatever is demanded of them, they will do.

(And before anyone says that Christianity does not do this - it did. Think of the Spanish Inquisition, the burning of witches and so on.)

"If you do not believe what I believe, you are wrong, and therefore cannot expect respect." We even see this attitude, to a much, much lesser extent, in some debates on here.

But the current atrocities are indeed horrifying; how to respond is a difficult question, since this a well funded, well supported movement.

It's the dark side of human nature Anniebach it isn't exclusive to any particular ethnicity, religion or race. As news stories show us, we don't effectively keep a lid on some peoples' deviancy and cruelty.

For all our transgressions, it was centuries since barbarism such as that being carried out by ISIS was sanctioned by the state.

Exactly!, that says it in a nutshell.

The difference Anniebach is that what those American and British soldiers did was not condoned by the authorities and they were punished, whereas the atrocities being carried out by IS are encouraged by their leaders.

There is no excuse for such brutality , but if we are so civilised in the west how come American soldiers could sexually assault Muslim prisoners or force unspeakable acts with dogs on them, the British soldier who was filmed by friends killing a wounded man, this against the rules of war. Every country has some capable of inhuman acts

I just don't know Gillybob, I can only suppose that as teenagers they go to listen to, and be influenced/brainwashed by the preachers of hate, also the internet is another, probably the main vehicle of hatred towards the West, America and Britain in particular. I don't think that many as children learn this hatred within their own families, but I could be wrong.

I'm glad its not just me nigglynellie Try as I might I cannot imagine what must turn a sweet little (innocent) baby into a monster such as this. Whe/how are they brainwashed? Are they brought up and taught hatred as most children are taught to read and write?

They really are a pathetic bunch, when they are not carrying out these barbaric acts they are posing on line with jars of Nutella, letting their would be comrades know that life ain't so bad in the caliphate because you can always get hold of something nice to spread on toast. It's almost reminiscent of the film "Four Lions" which parodied the idiotic mentality of would be Jihadists so well

I have read various reports that some of these morons seem to think they are embarking on a glorified gap year taking a break from working in Primark or whatever they do, it certainly can't be anything too important when you listen to the frequent finger jabbing rants we are subjected to, they sound anything but intelligent. I believe one of the American hostage's family received an email from one of them in what they described as "poor English". Going to, what must be for many of them, a foreign country, and throwing their weight around, especially when it comes to violence against women and children only adds to their appalling vision of themselves as an invincible force.

I too was moved by he dignity and courage shown by the journalists.