Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Are terrorists more creative with media?

In a research I’m doing now on al Qaeda and cyber terrorism, there were found to be as many as 5000 websites involved in cyber planning, but about 25 are being watched on a daily basis. The numbers can change everyday but that media products come in the form of poetry, pictures, songs, jokes, cartoons, drawings, stories, symbols that have been profiled for their own campaign. These may have come from true events, pictures, stories, and statements of politicians but were downloaded from the Internet and manipulated or altered and then burned into DVDs and tapes and distributed to recruits, supporters, and sympathizers to fulfill campaign plans.

Upon the testimony of three researchers called contractors from Rand corporation, a poetry or song was used to taunt US soldiers as background music; pictures of events where soldiers were waking away were used to mean defeat; and pictures of female soldiers whose back are turned were made to appear that they are male, taking advantage of Muslim women.

Symbols of the Israel flag with lines up and down were exploited to mean the destiny of grabbing their lands. The name Fatima (symbolizing daughter of Prophet Muhammad) was used as the name of a letter-sender of one being raped in a stockade to force assault and raid on this establishment six days later. The statements of President George Bush and other leaders were used in connection with some events but twisted in context. These and some other similar kinds of products were found in more than 5,000 hostile sites.

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