"Al-Qaida is now an idea, not an organisation...Al-Zawahiri portrayed himself as a warrior and a statesman in the video broadcast yesterday. He did not need any props to demonstrate his extraordinary gift for media manipulation."
Jason Burke, The Guardian, August 5
Jason Burke, The Guardian, August 5
1 Comments:
An important statement by Burke, but this comment - 'Extraordinary gift for media manipulation' Hmmm not sure I agree with that. I mean the War on Terrorism is very much a war of hyperbole (good versus evil, axis of evil, crusade, etc…). Once you enter the wonderful world of unfalsifiable statements it means pretty much anyone who can obtain media attention can spout similar statements. It doesn't take genius to think of the things idiots like Al-Zawahiri come up with. I think it’s more accurate to say that we are so misled by our own leaders that we have to listen to people who would otherwise be totally ignored, rightly, as crazy to gain some level of insight into what is happening at the moment.
And, let’s not forget, the media is literally hunting for any two, three or four-bit militant mullah to put in front of a camera professing sympathy with Al Qaeda or Osama. Do they have an extraordinary gift for media manipulation? No. They are merely the flavour of the month.
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