« Danish Consul in Grovels At The Feet Of Islamists: Europe Will Now Be More Careful! | Main
February 28, 2006
'JUBA' And The Internet Jihad
Topics: War on Terror
[Click here to go to IFlim video, clicking on arrow plays sound]
The War On Terror is as much a war for the hearts and minds as it is one of criminal prosecutions and military operations. As Donald Rumsfeld has observed (Wash. Times), "Today we are fighting the first war in the era of email, blogs, blackberries, instant messaging, digital cameras, the Internet and other technologies. Our enemies have skillfully adapted to fighting wars in today's media age, but the U.S. and it's allies have not."
One troubling tool that has emerged in "Internet Jihad," is the "Juba" video. "Juba" is the nickname that the multinational forces in Iraq have given to a supposed member of the Iraqi insurgency who is alleged to be an amazingly accurate sniper, having killed and wounded up to a hundred United States soldiers. The sniper fires only once before moving from his position, leaving behind little evidence of his whereabouts (Source: Ogrish.com).
(Washington Times) A troubling video of an insurgent sniper in Iraq known only as "Juba" is spreading across the Internet. As National Public Radio describes it, in the professional-quality video, "Juba" is quiet, efficient and ruthless as he trains his sights on American soldiers and pulls the trigger. Jihadist messages accompany the grisly footage -- in English. The video's colloquial American vernacular strongly suggests the video was either made in the United States or by people deeply familiar with this country -- and skilled in the use of the latest technologies.You can view one of the "Juba" videos here.
"Juba" is just the latest indication of the frightening success of the Internet jihad. "Our enemies have skillfully adapted to fighting wars in today's media age, but... our country has not," Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said despondently earlier this month. Whether the United States is "losing" this high-technology war is debatable, but clearly we suffer critical losses the moment a "Juba" video in English comes into existence and spreads around the world...
"Juba's" existence has not been proven by any military source, nor the veracity of the claim he has his own website. Each time an incident occurs a single bullet casing and a note have been found at the location where the sniper was believed to have been. The message, in Arabic, "What has been taken in blood cannot be regained except by blood. Baghdad Sniper". These items were found after the sniper attack when buildings were scoured by U.S. forces. It is not yet known whether "Juba" is a single sniper, or whether "Juba" represents a 'copycat' phenomenon carried out by multiple individuals.
Yes, it is indeed time for the United States to act, and seize the advantage in the Internet war. As pointed out in the Washington Times op-ed, the Juba video undoubtedly exhibits digital clues and fingerprints; and we can expect that U.S. authorities will investigate, track and prosecute its creators. On the other hand, a cruise missile through the video-meister's window would be appropriate, as would be having a special-ops team capture "Juba" and turn him over to the Iraqi - Shi'ites for "questioning".
hat tip - Michelle Malken
Posted by Richard at February 28, 2006 03:22 PM
Articles Related to War on Terror:
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
