Now that’s a Leader: Khalid al-Asaad, RIP

The blood-thirsty bastards killed him. The Medieval malignancy known as ISIS butchered Khalid al-Asaad earlier this week for the “crime” of trying to protect the precious antiquities of Palmyra, Syria. The pathetic men who lead this criminal band seem to fear everything, from reminders of the past found in the Palmyra UNESCO World Heritage site to any positive and productive possibilities for the future. Theirs is solely the realm of ignorance and destruction.

For decades, Asaad, dubbed “Mr. Palmyra” by scholars, curated and chronicled Palmyra’s many historic treasures. Most recently, as the ISIS plague descended upon his beloved town, he and his colleagues secreted many of Palmyra’ most precious artifacts to other parts of the country for safekeeping. Asaad wouldn’t tell these gangsters where the goods were hidden, so this gentle, 83-year-old man was tortured, beheaded and defiled. How far would any one of us go to protect our history and civilization? Khalid al-Asaad never even had to ask that question. 

Photo courtesy of the Albany Times Union.