Almost a year ago, I was approached by an award-winning documentary director and lauded journalist, Richard Kerbaj. He was seeking insight and background on Al Qaida in Iraq and ISIS for a documentary film he was going to make for British Channel Four. The film was about the hunt for Mohammed Emwazi (known in the media as Jihadi John). What I expected to be an hour or so interview with Richard turned into an intense, but satisfying, all-day affair. I was pleased to support Richard’s effort to tell the tale of Emwazi’s brutality, the tragedy of those whom he murdered, and to give some voice to the voiceless officers who had done the hard, tough work to find, fix and finish this murderous terrorist. I have not seen the film but reviews from London indicate that Richard and his filmmakers have done an outstanding job capturing this needed-to-be-told story.
Emwazi was a Kuwaiti national who moved with his family to the United Kingdom in 1994 and grew up in west London, became radicalized and joined ISIS in Syria. He was part of an ISIS cell, dubbed by his hostages as “the Beatles,” and was in the forefront of ISIS’ propaganda campaign throughout the dissemination of his horrific beheading videos. Emwazi murdered more than seven hostages from the United States, the United Kingdom and Japan.
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