As a pilot fighting with the Western coalition, Lt Kasasbeh would have been associated with dropping incendiary bombs - so burning could be seen by them as appropriate retaliation.

Jordan responded with violence, executing two al Qaida prisoners who had been sentenced to death. The prisoners were not members of ISIS.

The U.S. issued a statement of support for Jordan. Islamic religious leaders denounced the burning of the pilot, and called for crucifying and cutting off the limbs of the perpetrators:

In Cairo, the head of Sunni Islam’s most respected center of learning, al-Azhar, said the Islamic State militants merit punishments under Islamic law such as “killing, crucifixion or chopping of the limbs.”.

Every reaction seems to be one endorsing a violent response. No one seems to be talking about the identity of the ISIS members who participated in the capture of the pilot, his torture, or setting him on fire.

There are videos and photos in which enough of their faces and body shapes are visible to allow for identification. Here's the fighter who lit the fire with a torch:

Some accomplices:

Just as no real effort seems to have been made to apprehend "Jihadi John", or those who participated in the mass killings of Syrian soldiers and Syrian pilots, or even the English speaking killer at Division 93.

The coalition countries are playing right into ISIS' grand plan. ISIS welcomes war and attacks. Dying for Allah is their greatest honor and a privilege. The violence fuels recruitment efforts, enabling ISIS to easily replace the fighters they lose through "Shahada."

The militants' posters advertise:

I've never seen an ISIS poster with this message:

Jordan's execution of two prisoners who had nothing to do with any of ISIS' atrocities served no purpose, other than to show it is as capable of resorting to senseless violence as ISIS. Not a single ISIS fighter or recruit will be deterred by Jordan's actions. As for its threat of increased air strikes against ISIS strongholds, ISIS will just say "Bring it On."

Why isn't it enough for those who participated in the pilot's murder and similar acts of atrocity to be brought to justice? If more militants were captured (rather than killed on the battlefield) and put on trial, they would likely be given life sentences for brutal murders. An 18 year old considering joining a militant group may be willing to die for Allah, but unwilling to risk spending decades in prison. If the Coalition captured, tried and imprisoned the Jihadi Johns, pilot executioners, mass killers of Syrian soldiers and tribe members, the recruits would know that fate is a real possibility. By focusing only on wiping out ISIS as a whole, would- be recruits have no reason to think about that prospect. It's about as likely as being hit by lightening.

ISIS has good reason to believe it can act with impunity. Despite all the intelligence and military power being used against it by a coalition that now includes dozens of countries, not one of its publicized mass murderers has been arrested and jailed. The West and its coalition forces appear completely ineffective in this regard -- not only have their rescue missions failed, they can't even find and apprehend mass killers who show half their faces in videos and photographs while committing brutal acts of murder.

More airstrikes and more military aid will not defeat ISIS, al Qaida or any other militant group. It will take decades to reverse the spread of their "ideology." Simple justice, on the other hand -- arrest, trial and lengthy prison terms for those who are convicted -- could have a deterrent effect on recruiting. Without the ability to replenish dead fighters, ISIS could well peter out or be weakened enough to be taken over by rivals, none of whom come close to ISIS as a global threat.

War in the Middle East is endless and likely to fail. Instead of taking ISIS' bait and sinking to its level of barbarity, Jordan and other countries whose citizens have been murdered while being held hostage should change their focus and try something different -- like capturing killers like Jihadi John, whose faces, masked and unmasked, have become as familiar to anyone with internet access as Osama bin Laden. A monk on a mountain top in Peru today would recognize Jihadi John.

Dead, Jihadi John serves no purpose beyond retribution There's no deterrent value in killing him, he will just become a martyr. Arrested and imprisoned for life in a U.S. federal or foreign prison, he can be used to send a deterrent message to fighters and recruits. Capturing and bringing his accomplices, and the accomplices in the pilot's murder, to justice may resonate even more with recruits, as they would realize before leaving their home countries this might well be their fate if they sign up with ISIS.

It's been 6 months since Jihadi John killed James Foley. ISIS' violence and brutality have increased dramatically since then. Our airstrikes have not made a significant dent. The borders are still open to recruits. Jordan's revenge killings are not much different than ISIS killings. Initiating World War III will just leave millions of casualties, mostly innocent civilians. It's time to try something different, something that befits a civilized world rather than the brutal world of ISIS, like bringing the individuals who participate in the murder of civilians and mass killings to justice in civilian courts of law.