Killing Instinct

“Consider this: in many of the videos, the cameraman narrated the moments before the blast with palpable excitement, panting and exclaiming as the explosion neared. It’s impossible to watch without concluding that those guys were enjoying what they did.” The New Yorker’s Dexter Filkins on the Islamic State and killing as a means and an end.

+ “He told them he was sick and didn’t want to eat, even though we were served eggs that day … He used to pray secretly in the direction of Jerusalem. He would see in which direction (his Muslim captors) were praying and then adjust the angle.” Steven Sotloff worked hard to hide the fact that he was Jewish and had dual Israeli-U.S. citizenship.