Why Piers Morgan is 'glad' he watched the Isis video of Jordanian pilot Muath al-Kasaesbeh being burned to death

'I wanted to watch it,' he writes. 'To see for myself whether it really was, as many claimed, the ‘sickest video ever made’. But I hesitated.'

Former ‘Daily Mirror’ editor Piers Morgan (Getty Images)

Piers Morgan’s column on the burning to death of Jordanian pilot Mu’ath aql-Kaseasbeth by Isis was never going to be an easy read.

But the Daily Mail’s US editor received a surprising amount of support for his candid explanation as to why he is “glad” he watched the gruesome video released by the Islamic militants overnight.

“I wanted to watch it,” he writes. “To see for myself whether it really was, as many claimed, the ‘sickest video ever made’. But I hesitated.”

“I don’t ‘need’ to see a man burned alive,” he reasons. “Nobody ‘needs’ to see such an abomination.

Jordanian pilot Muath al-Kasaesbeh (MUHAMMAD HAMED/Reuters)

“It’s diabolical enough that it happened at all. Why compound the misery of that man’s life ending by acting as some kind of complicit voyeur? Then I pressed click anyway. I watched those murderous bastards light up a trail of petrol into a small cage, I watched as Lieutenant Moaz al-Kasabeh caught fire, and I watched as he screamed in horror and burned to death. But I’m actually glad I watched it.”

Like many news reports on the murder, Morgan didn’t stop short of reviewing the production values of the execution footage, calling it “professionally-crafted” and “movie-quality” before he launched into a further account of why he’s so pleased he took the time to tune in.

“Glad I know they have no limits, no humanity, no semblance of any kind of soul,” he continues.

“Glad I saw the undisguised joy in their evil little faces as they perpetrated such a despicable act on a fellow human being.

“Glad they repeatedly switched the camera shot from blow-torch to their victim’s face so we can be under no illusion what utter sadists they are.”

“And as with the Nazis, the world must now come together to rout and destroy them,” he adds.

He finishes his piece by describing the terrorist network as “glorified school bullies”.

“They survive and thrive purely through fear and threats. Sometimes the only way to deal with a school bully is to thump him on the nose.”

Said thump, however, “must come from Muslims; those hundreds of millions of Muslims who’ve had enough of seeing Islam’s name and reputation being desecrated in this way.”

“And the thump has to be hard enough militarily, financially and politically to ensure ISIS is cornered and isolated like a diseased rat wherever it tries to operate.”

He ends by calling on Muslims in any doubt over their stand against Isis to watch the video of Lieutenant al-Kasabeh being burned alive, too.

“He could be YOU,” he concludes. “This is YOUR war.”

His bold statement comes as Jordan sought revenge by executing the female Islamic militant Sajida al-Rishawi. She was reportedly hanged alongside for al-Qadea aide Zaid Karbouli.