Hostage taking does two things for terrorist networks. First, it serves as a source of revenue for the organization--for instance the Maoist FARK rebels of South America have kidnapped and ransomed thousands of hostages in the past 30 years. Second, it serves as a form of propaganda to demoralize political opponents foreign and domestic.

But propaganda is a two-way street. Media images can also serve to discredit our enemies, the Islamist extremists who wish for the return of the Caliphate and the imposition of sharia law. Hence, the following message from the terrorist through two Indonesian reporters recently released comes as no surprise. Reuters:

Two Indonesian television reporters who had been held captive by Iraqi guerrillas said on Tuesday their kidnappers asked them after their release to warn foreign journalists not to come to the conflict-ridden country.

"They told us we should tell journalists they should not enter Iraq and that it is not a safe place for them and they also said they were dissatisfied by reports that discredited them," Meutya Hafid, 26, told reporters after her arrival in Amman from the Iraqi border with cameraman Budiyanto, 38, a day after their release.

Posted by: Rusty at 11:43 AM | Comments (12) | Add Comment
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