A Counter Strike in the Propaganda War
Maybe everyone has seen this already (it was on Metafilter yesterday), but I was kind of blown away by the sophistication of this recently released video (streaming Windows media) “from the Iraq Resistance”. There’s a transcript on the site as well, which reads in part:
Stop using the U.S. dollar, use the Euro or a basket of currencies. Reduce or halt your consumption of British and U.S. products. Put an end to Zionism before it ends the world. Educate those in doubt of the true nature of this conflict and do not believe their media for their casualties are far higher than they admit.
This is rational, reasoned propaganda. It’s a clear articulation of the Iraqi resistance’s position and goals. For me, it puts more of a face on the ‘enemy’ than any CNN or Fox News footage ever has. While it’s hardly professional quality, it’s watchable (though the music is hilariously over-the-top).
These guys should release a video like this every week, and they should say ‘Vietnam’ as often as possible. They’re obviously never going to win the battle for public opinion, but they might hurt the US military PR machine. The next step is to reveal their faces and pitch themselves as freedom fighters. As one Metafilter reader commented, ‘Americans associate those kind of pictures [of masked men] with terrorism’.
Frank 
Andrea 