Ambassador Mark Johnson spent most of his professional life serving the U.S. government in the Middle East, and has a unique perspective on Isis and their use of torture and barbarism. 

"Some of what they're doing with those horrible video clips is part of a narrative, a political point," Johnson said. "Some of it is theater, as sick as that may sound. This is going to sound very bad the way I'm going to describe it, but it's almost like Isis has a corporate strategy. This is what Isis calls 'the management of savagery'. They want to commit the most brutal acts possible to send a message to the region, to the United States, to the civilized world, and they have discovered that it is an effective recruiting tool."

Johnson said Isis does not fear the United States or the rest of the western world, due to their extremist views.

"They know what they're doing, they're aware of possible retaliation and they feel that we are illegitimate and need to be destroyed as part of their jihadist ideology," he said. "They're living out this sort of medieval life and playing it out in these grotesque acts of savagery."

Johnson said the west and all freedom-loving cultures must stand behind Jordan's efforts to fight Isis.

"We in the west who oppose this need to stand together," Johnson said. I think the United States and other friendly countries need to be doing all they can to help the Jordanians take the battle to Isis. That will send a signal back to the terrorists that they're alone and isolated, as civilization stands against them."

Johnson founded the Montana World Affairs Council.

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