So ISIS or ISIL or whatever their AKA is knows how to push our buttons.

[customerserviceguy]

1. I've thought about your premise before reading your post

and I've concluded that pushing "our" buttons (specifically those buttons attached to American and British people) is just a side benefit for IS-whatever. They already know that neither the US or the UK will pay ransoms, so the captives are worthless from that standpoint. However, fancy filmed executions keep the bejesus scared out of the Europeans who are already inclined to pay up, and probably boosts the prices up considerably. They clearly add haste to the drive to pass the hat for euros, which seem to be the preferred currency for this group.

Add to the fact that they're a recruiting tool for jihadi wannabes, and you have all the motivation for showing them without regard to how the US and UK governments feel about them.