Why is it so important to capture or eliminate Jihadi John

With thousands of ISIS militants and affiliated terror organizations widely active in several countries, some may ask, why is it so important to catch one individual? The answer is quite simple: Terrorist organizations have become far more sophisticated since the early 1970s, as were those organizations in my recently published novel Errand Runner. Though the daring and brutal nature of the massacre of the Israeli team at the 1972 Olympics in Munich by the BSO seemed unthinkable, the brutality of more recent terror groups has become more gruesome and far reaching, especially because of the exponential reach via social media.

At the time of that horrific incident in Munich, it wasn’t known to the general public that there was a much broader collusion that included not just the BSO, but also well-known terrorist Abu Daoud, the PLO and neo-Nazi organizations in Germany as well. Those affiliations are well documented in Errand Runner. All of the other terrorist and international criminal events depicted in Errand Runner, will disclose just how historically intertwined most terrorist organizations have been.

So, why is it that capturing, or more likely killing, the man known as Jihadi John so important that the U.S. Senate approved a $6,000,000 bounty? There are several reasons why it is extremely important, yet two of those reasons are the most compelling. First, it is paramount for counties like the United States and Britain make certain that acts such as beheadings of their innocent civilians will be met with the harshest of retribution. Secondly, faceless cowards like Jihadi John, now known to be Mohammed Emwazi, have become “rock star” type recruiters reaching millions of potential recruits through social media.

It’s impossible for the vast majority of the civilized world to comprehend how anyone could be lured into such evil organizations, yet the attraction somehow becomes nearly irresistible to many. New techniques utilized by ISIS and their affiliates have glamorized brutality through the use of special effects such as making the mass executioners that beheaded dozens of Egyptian Christians all appear to be seven feet tall. Backdrops used to make such heinous crimes appear to have been committed with impunity in open places instead of hidden baleful dens of death, make the murderers seem untouchable and bigger than life. The purpose of such deceitful techniques is to make them appear to be invincible and unstoppable thus increasing the appeal of potential recruits to join a “winning” team.

As the “front men”, such as the masked murderer previously known only as Jihadi John, they need to be de-mystified and brought to justice, as was the case with Osama bin Laden. The narcissistic illusion that their masked faces, and in some cases, electronically distorted voices will forever shield their identities, is a supreme miscalculation. It’s almost as if they don’t understand how resolute and capable the civilized world is of destroying such hate-filled and barbaric organizations regardless of where they seek sanctuary. Have they not figured out that International Intelligence, special forces, snipers and drones wipe them off the face of the planet with great regularity?

The capabilities of the International Intelligence communities are too well-equipped, too well-organized and too far-reaching for any such terrorists to live long and comfortable lives. The best trained and best-equipped intelligence personnel in the world are now working collectively to track down and capture men like Jihadi John. You can be certain that agencies including the British intelligence agencies M15 and GCHQ, several countries’ militaries, the NSA, FBI and CIA have been monitoring every call and social media communication by Emwazi’s friends, family and associates. Unfortunately for Mr. Emwazi, he will face justice for his barbaric crimes. I’m sure many in the world would like to see Mr. Emwazi tried and convicted of his crimes, and in a perfect world that would be the desired outcome.

Jihadi John will be certainly be tracked down, as every terrorist or one of his associates eventually makes a mistake, typically in communication, that will reveal his or her location. Every Tweet, cell phone call, text and SIM card is being monitored now that Jihadi John has been identified. When he or one of his contacts makes that mistake, it will bring him face-to-face with special forces, a drone or a sniper, and he won’t enjoy the outcome. As much as many would like to see Jihadi John face justice in an International Court, the reality is that he is a corpse just waiting to happen.