I.D.'d – AT 10:24 A.M. ET:  "Jihadi John," seen in those grisly ISIS execution videos, has been identified.   And, no, he isn't a poverty-stricken alienated youth.  From WaPo: 

LONDON — The world knows him as “Jihadi John,” the masked man with a British accent who has beheaded several hostages held by the Islamic State and who taunts audiences in videos circulated widely online.

But his real name, according to friends and others familiar with his case, is Mohammed Emwazi, a Briton from a well-to-do family who grew up in West London and graduated from college with a degree in computer programming. He is believed to have traveled to Syria around 2012 and to have later joined the Islamic State, the group whose barbarity he has come to symbolize.

“I have no doubt that Mohammed is Jihadi John,” said one of Emwazi’s close friends who identified him in an interview with The Washington Post. “He was like a brother to me. . . . I am sure it is him.”

A representative of a British human rights group who had been in contact with Emwazi before he left for Syria also said he believed Emwazi was Jihadi John, a moniker given to him by some of the hostages he once held.

COMMENT:  Remember how Obama, only a week or so ago, wailed about how these jihadists – excuse me, these violent extremists – came from terrible backgrounds that forced them to do terrible things?  Remember how some State Department hack spokeswoman told us that if only we'd give them good jobs, they wouldn't do these nasties? 

But Jihadi John is, according to the story, "a Briton from a well-to-do family who grew up in West London and graduated from college with a degree in computer programming."  Gee, what a tough upbringing.  I want to go in and rescue the guy.

In fact, the whole myth about "alienated youth" comes right out of "West Side Story."  Remember the line, "I'm depraved on account of I'm deprived"?

Osama bin Laden was a multimillionaire.  Many of the leading jihadis are highly educated.  They have been captured, not by their own frustrations, but by an ideology that, they're convinced, will take over the world.

We're making the same mistake we've made many times before when we underestimate the power and appeal of fanaticism.  A price will be paid.  It's already being paid.

February 26, 2015