Wake up! The West is in shock: An American journalist was beheaded in Syria by a jihadi with a British accent belonging to the ultra-extemist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (also known as "ISIS"). A surreal international arabesque -- a world that is supposed to be enlightened, at least according to the West that leads it, and certainly by the year 2014. Perhaps the gruesomely shocking death of James Foley, 40, a combat journalist and commentator who provided coverage of the horrors in Libya and Syria, finally sent the message home in the West that such vandals wander today's Middle East. These are human beings (if it is possible to call them that at all) who, in the name of extremist and morbid religiosity, slaughter and rampage, who profane values and other cultures for the sake of the so-called Islamic Caliphate. Perhaps the Western foreigner can finally grasp this reality. The response U.S. President Barack Obama gave on Thursday was from the heart. One could see in Obama, the man who removed "radical Islam" from his lexicon at the start of his presidential career, a certain understanding that aspirations and realities don't always correspond. And it wasn't just Obama. British Prime Minister David Cameron -- cutting his holiday short upon being apprised of the murdered journalist -- could hardly conceal the rude awakening, even though he had just published an article in the British press a few days prior warning of the lethal threat posed by ISIS to his country. Cameron discovered that the executioner spoke with a British accent and went by the name of John and was a leader of British jihadists in Syria and Iraq. Two hundred and fifty British citizens have already returned from Syria to the U.K. Another 400 to 500 are on the way. A French journalist, Didier Francois, who together with Foley was held by ISIS, claimed that he himself could recognize that very executioner, John. The U.S. and the U.K. are sister countries -- countries that fought abreast of each other in two world wars. Two nations whose destinies are intertwined. Only extremist Islam has the capacity to end it all, the values and idea behind the United States. It is simply puzzling that Obama still believes ISIS' horrors derive from a separate era. Welcome to the Middle East, Mr. Obama. Last summer, the U.S. sent special forces to rescue Foley along with other U.S. citizens who were being held by ISIS in Syria, the Pentagon revealed on Thursday. But the commando forces who were sent on the secret mission failed to locate the hostages. Now, the U.S. is concerned over the fate of another journalist being held by the group, Steven Sotloff. Both Foley and Sotloff were dressed in orange -- revenge for Guantanamo. The U.S. strike on Iraq provided ISIS with the grounds to execute Foley. They weren't bothered to conduct prior negotiations over the journalist's release. They sought the release of a Pakistani scientist locked up in Texas and money. Lots of money. To release Foley, ISIS had demanded a ransom of $132.5 million from his family. The group's extreme requests ultimately led to a British man taking an American journalist's life for ideological reasons on Islamic soil. The West still refuses to acknowledge that extremist Islam is pounding at its gates. Perhaps it will now? Even after September 11, there were still those who preferred to see that attack as an accident, others considered it revenge for American imperialism. But ISIS has brought its vile nature into our homes. The day will come when the Brits fighting in ISIS return home. And then what? The penny drops on the Europeans. We cannot speak of ISIS without mentioning Israel and Hamas. "Stop blaming Israel and wake up: The black flag of jihad is the real threat to the world," wrote the British daily Express on Thursday. "There are those who think that Israel is somehow the cause of the world's problems, or that in defending themselves from Islamic extremists Israel is somehow causing Islamic extremism. Nothing could be further from the truth. ... The ambition of the jihadists -- from al-Qaida to Hamas, Hezbollah, Boko Haram and more -- is to subjugate the entire world." And note the similarity. With ISIS, as with Hamas, Qatar is in the picture. German Economic Cooperation and Development Minister Gerd Mueller pointed a finger at Qatar on Thursday, saying the small Gulf country was funding ISIS' people. "Israel is not the cause of the world's problems. It is simply on the front line of them," the British Express justifiably wrote. It has already woken up!
