If we are to win the war on terror, our first task must be to end jihadi propaganda. As long as our enemies are allowed free reign in the media, we cannot win. We have been following this story for years and it is not a new al Qaeda strategy. What is new is 1) al Qaeda is using the strategy in a more coherent way and 2) some in the media are catching on to the tactic.

News 24 via Robert Spencer and Charles Johnson:

An al-Qaeda linked-group has launched what it calls a media jihad, or holy war, to "terrorise" United States-led forces in Iraq and their families by bombarding them with e-mails and by posting gruesome photos online.

The group, calling itself the "Brigade of Media Jihad", called on its militants to "post terrifying pictures on the internet in order to terrorise the enemy", said a statement on an Islamist website whose authenticity could not be verified.

"Our objective is to undermine the morale of our enemies, dash their hopes and dreams and reveal the truth of what is happening in Iraq. The media war is an integral part of the war on the ground," said the statement.....

The online statements are often accompanied by video to provide proof of bombings, kidnappings and killings.

The brigade claims to be part of the "World Islamic Media Front", which has uploaded on to Internet sites footage of military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and other places where Islamist militants operate.

Last week, it posted a film, Top Ten, in which it showed a selection of attacks on US troops carried out by the Islamic Army in Iraq and the al-Qaeda organisation in the Land of Two Rivers, the group of al-Qaeda frontman Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

SITE:

The Jihad Information Brigade issued their second statement today, August 19, 2005, claiming that they disseminated their propaganda about the “reality of the defeat facing Allah’s enemies in Iraq,” to approximately 1,600 websites and e-mails, including more than 60,000 people in the military, including their families, and “some of the public figures.” Further, the group alleges that the people in receipt of their messages were “frightened” by the news of the “reality which their sons are living in.”

The Brigade states that their goal is to unveil the reality of the situation in Iraq, which is allegedly covered up by the “conspiracies prepared by the infidel countries.” On March 7, 2005, the Jihad Information Brigade issued their first statement, boasting of sending similar messages to soldiers and their families in a variety of languages, with the goal of demoralizing the soldiers and “break the grasp of the Jews over the media.”

Posted by: Rusty at 03:10 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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