All the talk about morals and ethnics and the Geneva Convention and all that forgets that Jordan arrested and sentenced these prisoners to death years ago for civilian terrorism - in fact, in the woman's case, back in 2006 for her involvement in the suicide bombings in Amman that killed over 60 people, most of whom were at a wedding. Hardly war POWs, much less uniformed POWs. They're simply carrying out their sentences of some men and a woman who have become ISIS and Islamist symbols. Now, going forward, I'm interested in seeing how the execution of this pilot plays out in Jordan and the rest of the Arab world. For those that don't know it, Jordan is a pretty unique player in the region - despite being a tiny country (in terms of population), and being poor, it is one of the closest allies of the West AND is a key ally of neighboring countries, including Israel. Its strategic position is obvious - it borders Israel, Syria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq. People can't flow from North Africa to Iraq or Syria and vice versa without passing through Jordan. But its cultural position is what a lot of people don't quite realize. Jordan is a monarchy ruled by a western-educated (British, in fact) King (who happens to have been an extra on Star Trek once, but I digress). At the same time, the King traces his lineage directly back to the Prophet, and as thus his tribe draws fierce loyalty from the Bedouin that made up most of Jordan's population in its infancy. In recent years of course, the flood of Palestinian, then Iraqi, and now Syrian refugees has placed huge burdens on the Jordanian government and its people. This is a country with few resources (and certainly no oil like its neighbors) yet has the most educated Arab country and one of the highest living indexes of any country in the region. Now why did I mention the cultural position? Because Jordan is the most westernized of Sunni Arab countries - they have one of the lowest rates of religious participation in the area, have a westernized-style of education, close ties with the West, etc. But also because they present a considerable alternative to the despots in the region: To the east was Iraq, once ruled by the secular but brutal Saddam. To the north is Syria, ruled by Assad and his secular but also brutal regime. To the south, the absolute monarchy ruled by Saudi Arabia, which is also home to some of the most hardline citizens and clerics in the Sunni world. To the west is Egypt, which experimented with democracy but is back to its comfortable anti-Islamist military rule. Yet here in Jordan there is a monarchy that has shown benevolent rule (the current King's father, King Hussein, was particularly loved by everyone in the Arab world, western world, and Israelis) with a country that despite its lack of resources has given its citizens a lot - certainly a lot more than its neighbors whom even with the riches of oil don't seem to get it, ever. Jordan isn't a secular country either - 90% of its population is Muslim (10% are Christian) - but it is certainly moderate compared to its neighbors. I was shocked to find liquor stores in Amman and what not, certainly a nod to the sizeable Christian minority in the country. Likewise, while it uses Sharia law in some areas of law - notably family law - it has also adopted westernized secular laws in other areas as well. Long story short: Jordan has been one of the sensible moderate Arab country in the region, and their reaction to this militant Sunni Islam of ISIS may tell quite a bit about how moderate Muslims will act in reaction to the pilot's murder. Their military and King have already promised revenge - and it is telling that the King wore his traditional Bedouin garb to deliver the speech. If there was ever a time for moderate Arabs to stand up against the filth of ISIS - this is it