This question is commonly referred to as a "red herring". Obviously, there is a huge difference between watching news coverage of 9/11 and posting a direct link to a terrorist-produced beheading propaganda video.
People, its time to WAKE THE F_CK UP! These people want us all dead. They don't care what political party you belong to. We need to show this so every single American can see these butchers WTH THEIR OWN EYES and know exactly who the enemy is.
Look, these videos are not going to cause an epiphany against terrorism. They're designed to spread and recruit more terrorists. That is their purpose. We should not facilitate that purpose.
You're thinking like them. Perhaps the larger purpose of the videos is to further embolden the West's resolve against such butchery.
I disagree. They are designed to instill paralyzing fear in a populace that they are intent on controlling. It's an ancient technique. It will not serve the ends to recruit more terrorists, except when the acts are committed to force recruitment, as was done in VN. The magnitude of the heinousness increases with the resistance of the population to forced control.
In Iraq, the threat that this sort of thing would befall Iraqi govm't troops if they didn't assist the terrorists, is how these guys were captured. It should also be noted, that these contractors are not allowed to mount an effective defense themselves.
The main target of the acts is the civilian populations of the countries opposing them. The ones that have already surrendered are already fearful of them.