Safi (C), the father of Jordanian pilot Maaz al-Kassasbeh, who was killed by Islamic State (IS) group militants after he was captured by IS when his plane went down in Syria in December, is surrounded by family members and security forces during a mourning ceremony at the headquarters of the family's clan in the Jordanian city of Karak on February 4, 2015. Jordan executed two death-row Iraqi jihadists, including a woman, on February 4 after vowing to avenge the burning alive of its fighter pilot Maaz al-Kassasbeh.

Safi (C), the father of Jordanian pilot Maaz al-Kassasbeh, who was killed by Islamic State (IS) group militants after he was captured by IS when his plane went down in Syria in December, is surrounded by family members and security forces during a mourning ceremony at the headquarters of the family's clan in the Jordanian city of Karak on February 4, 2015. Jordan executed two death-row Iraqi jihadists, including a woman, on February 4 after vowing to avenge the burning alive of its fighter pilot Maaz al-Kassasbeh. KHALIL MAZRAAWI/AFP/Getty Images

Jordan carried out airstrikes against ISIS targets in Syria early this morning, following the group’s gruesome killing of a Jordanian pilot. Jordan’s King Abdullah has vowed “relentless war” against the so-called Islamic State. The leader took swift initial action in retaliation for the pilot’s death, hanging two Iraqi prisoners with ties to ISIS. Now, he is weighing what would be a major escalation in Jordan’s involvement with the U.S.-led coalition against the terror group. This raises questions about the future of a coalition many fear is too weak to meet its goals of defeating the Islamic State. We look at Jordan’s role in the fight against ISIS, reaction from the Muslim world and what’s next for the U.S.-led coalition.

Guests

  • David Schenker Aufzien fellow and director of the Arab Politics Program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy; former policy aide on the Arab countries of the Levant, including Syria, at the Pentagon
  • Hisham Melhem Washington bureau chief, Al-Arabiya News Channel
  • Marwan Muasher Vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment, overseeing research in Washington and Beirut on the Middle East. In the Jordanian Parliament he served as Deputy Prime Minister in charge of reform (2004-2005), Foreign Minister (2002-2004), Ambassador to the U.S. (1997-2002), Minister of Information (1996-1997), Ambassador to Israel (1995-1996), and spokesman to the Middle East peace talks (1991-1994)
  • Ambassador Nicholas Burns Professor of diplomacy and international politics, Harvard Kennedy School of Government; foreign affairs columnist for the Boston Globe; former under secretary of state (2005-08) and former U.S. Ambassador to NATO (2001-05)

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