November 28, 2007
The War Against al Qaeda in Iraq's Media Wing (bumped)
It took several years, but the military seems to be finally "getting" the propaganda war. They are actively going after enemy propagandists and this has had an important effect on the number of media releases from al Qaeda in Iraq's al Furqan video and al Fajr press release centers.
In the past week a couple of videos have come out -- one of a massive IED explosion and the other of the "Islamic State of Iraq" murdering civilians -- but the general trend is downward. Fewer and fewer videos and press releases each week.
Bill Roggio has this detailed account of the military's operations against al Qaeda propagandists in Iraq, and ends with this reminder:
Al Qaeda in Iraq's media wing is desperate to produce propaganda for multiple reasons. The terror group needs to demonstrate to its financial backers, supporters, fellow jihadis, the Iraqi people, and the wider world that it is capable of conducting meaningful operations. This is vital for fundraising and the morale of its forces, and to demoralize the West and the Iraqi people.Hopefully, someone at CENTCOM realizes that other Salafi and Baathist groups are still pumping out the videos. They would be wise to go after these terror propagandists as well.
By Rusty Shackleford, Ph.D. at 07:36 PM |
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