JORDANIAN ANGUISH – AT 8:56 A.M. ET:  With the exception of Israel, Jordan has probably been our closest and most reliable ally in the Arab world.  And it has taken a moderate line on the Arab-Israeli conflict, to the extent that it has an embassy in Israel. 

But Jordan is now going through a severe crisis.  One of its pilots, assigned to the war against ISIS, was shot down and is now an ISIS prisoner.  There are fears he will be beheaded.  He comes from a prominent tribe in Jordan that is demanding that the Jordanian government get him back.  Should he be executed, the Jordanian population could turn severely against its government for failing.  From Fox:   

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Sunday he is "infuriated" by the purported beheading of journalist Kenji Goto by the Islamic State group and vowed to hold the terror group responsible.

"I feel indignation over this immoral and heinous act of terrorism," Abe told reporters after convening an emergency Cabinet meeting.

"When I think of the grief of his family, I am left speechless," he said. "We are filled with deep regret."

Japan ordered heightened security precautions Sunday and said it would persist with its non-military support for fighting terrorism.

Threats from ISIS prompted an order for tighter security at airports and at Japanese facilities overseas, such as embassies and schools, government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said.

He said it would be "inappropriate" to comment on the status of the Jordanian pilot.

The failure to save Goto raised fears for the life of the pilot, Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh, also held by the militant group that controls about a third of both Syria and Iraq. Unlike some earlier messages delivered in the crisis, the video that circulated online late Saturday purporting to show a militant beheading Goto did not mention the pilot.

Jordan renewed an offer Sunday to swap an Al Qaeda prisoner for al-Kaseasbeh, who was seized after his F-16 crashed near ISIS' de facto capital, Raqqa, Syria, in December.

Government spokesman Mohammed al-Momani told The Associated Press that "we are still ready to hand over" Sajida al-Rishawi, who faces death by hanging for her role in triple hotel bombings in Jordan in 2005.

COMMENT:  Countries like Jordan have two possible paths in a situation like this – defiance or appeasement.  We want Jordan to defy ISIS, but we are led by a weak, vacillating president who has lost the respect of world leaders.  Jordanians may well reason that they can no longer depend on the United States.  They may also sense that Barack Hussein Obama Jr. is more interested in an accommodation with Iran than in backing America's traditional allies.

We await news on the Jordanian pilot.  His fate may have implications far beyond the life of one man.

February 1, 2015