I can't condone this as a disciple of Jesus Christ. Vengeance is mine, says the Lord, and that's because He's the one who has the right to exact it.
But I try to be nothing if not honest: I know I shouldn't find this satisfying, but a very real part of me absolutely does. Who saw the videos of the beheadings, or of burning people alive, and didn't quietly imagine doing the exact same thing to these beasts if given the opportunity? Not that you would, but you thought about it. And then again, maybe you absolutely would. These Iraqi soldiers got their chance, and they didn't pass it up.
Disturbing? I guess people have to say that. I'm not sure that's really how most people feel about this happening to the people it happened to:
It's actually not as "disturbing" as it could have been had the quality of the video been better. You don't see the first guy get thrown off the cliff, although you can clearly see him lying at the bottom while they pump him full of bullets. And the video cuts off just before they throw the struggling second guy off the cliff and then finish the job by shooting him as well.
The UN is said to be deeply disturbed about this, so perhaps Iraq can expect a strongly worded letter of condemnation, which it can perhaps throw off a cliff as well before continuing the work of retaking the rest of its country from these beasts.
One might object to these tactics on the basis of the Geneva Convention, while others would do so simply as a matter of human decency. The latter argument is more plausible than the first, since ISIS is not a signatory to the Geneva Convention and obviously doesn't adhere to it in its own actions. Even the human decency argument won't wash with a lot of people, since ISIS itself is so brutally evil that you could make the case its members have forfeited any claim to be members of the human race, or worthy of any consideration thereof.
Bloodlust is not a healthy thing, no matter how much one might believe someone deserved what they got. And these creeps obviously did.
But one thing I'm very confident of is that few people will find this disturbing, unless they're disturbed that they can't see the key moments more clearly. I doubt this will stop ISIS from committing its sadistic brutality, since that is simply what ISIS does. But you can clearly see that at least the second guy has some real fear of what's about to happen to him. So they are human and they are capable of being terrified.
Those with the responsibility of defeating these bastards should take note of that. It's useful information gong forward. As for the rest of you, I'm so sorry I disturbed you by posting this.
