July 12, 2004
Philip Reeves reports from Baghdad on insurgent propaganda. At the center of the report is commentary from Michael Ware of TIME on the tape, presumably from Zarquawi, handed over to him on July 4, 2004. The Iraq street is awash in inexpensive, roughly produced CDs and DVD's meant to rally support for the insurgency. For example, "God's Soldiers"—selling for fifty cents—shows American troops bursting into Iraqi homes, pictures from Abu Ghraib, and insurgents on the attack. They're crude, but effective.
However, the tape given to Michael Ware is professional in its production, virtually of broadcast quality. Ware says the tape shows the best view yet of insurgent operations. Unlike the DVD's aimed at Iraqi citizenry, Ware believes that this tape speaks directly to a global audience, intended to recruit both men and money to the cause. Ware narrates the tape as it plays in the background. Of his role as the middleman: "As journalists, we're always being used. But the quest is to find the truth."
http://tinyurl.com/7wfov
Either this guy is a useful idiot...or a useful operative.
Either way, he's useful.