US-Militär startet Propaganda-Kanal auf YouTube

--- Das US-Militär will seine Arbeit im Irak mit Hilfe eines eigenen Videokanals auf YouTube ins rchte Licht rücken, schreibt die Los Angeles Times:

In one video, a U.S. soldier blasts insurgent gunmen with a heavy sniper rifle as the room fills with smoke. In another, members of an Iraqi family throw their arms around soldiers, weeping and rejoicing, after learning that their kidnapped relative has been freed. The U.S. military has opened a new front in the Iraq war: cyberspace. Moving into a realm long dominated by Islamic militants, the military has launched its own YouTube channel offering what it calls a boots-on-the-ground perspective of the conflict. The move recognizes that the Internet is becoming a key battleground for public opinion at a time when domestic support for the war is dwindling. Islamic militants use the Internet to promote themselves and recruit followers with videos of tearful hostages, exploding military vehicles and U.S. soldiers cut down by sniper fire. No longer confined to a few obscure websites, the footage is turning up on popular video-sharing sites such as YouTube. Now the U.S. military is offering up its side of the war. Available for download are blistering firefights across rooftops, nighttime raids filmed through the green glow of night-vision devices and a "precision strike" that wiped out an insurgent antiaircraft gun in a huge ball of fire. "This effort was not designed to combat what ends up on extremist websites," said Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, a spokesman for the U.S. military in Iraq. "But we understand that it is a battle space in which we have not been active, and this is a media we can use to get our story told." Military commanders have long complained about the "negative" slant of Iraq reporting, with its focus on the violence that has claimed tens of thousands of lives since U.S.-led forces invaded in March 2003. ...The YouTube channel is a way to get other stories told by linking directly to a generation that gets its news from multiple sources, Garver said. Even on a quiet day, footage of soldiers handing out soccer balls to Iraqi children is unlikely to feature on most newscasts. But, Garver said, "the soccer ball story is part of what is happening in Iraq … and that needs to be recorded somewhere." Some YouTube viewers didn't seem to realize how common a sight it is here. ... The military says its channel provides an "unfiltered perspective" on the war, but any footage posted is carefully vetted to ensure it does not compromise the security of its troops and operations, violate laws or include excessively gory, disturbing or offensive material. Swearing is out, as is material that mocks U.S. and Iraqi troops and civilians.

Update: Mehr zum Thema und zu schärferen Richtlinien zur Medienkontrolle durch das Pentagon inzwischen bei Telepolis.

Und sonst: Terroristenführer getötet? Weniger als ein Jahr nach seiner Ausrufung als Chef von Al-Kaida im Irak ist der Extremistenführer Abu Ajjub al-Masri nach offiziellen Angaben tot. Masri sei am Dienstag bei einem Gefecht mit anderen Aufständischen nördlich von Bagdad getötet worden, teilte das irakische Innenministerium mit. Al-Qaida hat die Meldung dementiert. Zum ersten Mal gibt es solche Todesmeldungen jedenfalls nicht.