The latest propaganda video by the Islamic State is horrible to watch, but the message is muddled.
The
same terrorist group that is so unreasonable it beheads journalists on
video is now using a video of a captive journalist to try to appeal to
reason.
The title of the latest manifesto is “Lend Me Your Ears.”
It’s
a painful image and a confusing one: A black backdrop frames the
journalist, John Cantlie, as if he were being interviewed in an HBO
documentary. He is seated at a table, not kneeling in the sand, and
speaks with a clear, confident almost jaunty cadence that clashes with
his gaunt face and orange jumpsuit.
Mr.
Cantlie tells the camera that he will explain what the Islamic State is
really like, saying, “There are two sides to every story.” That’s what
news anchors or defense lawyers say, but it’s not what messianic
extremists proclaim. Up until now, at least, there was only one side,
one truth: their own.
One
reason the Islamic State has been so scary is the medieval barbarism of
Pol Pot combined with sleek, Silicon Valley media savvy. This latest
video, however, is an awkward and awkwardly timed appeal: a request for
reflection on the same day that the Senate approved military action
against the Islamic State. Mr. Cantlie warns that the West is embarking
on an “unwinnable conflict.”
An Excerpt From a New ISIS Video
A new video released by the Islamic State
featured John Cantlie, a British journalist being held captive, acting
as a spokesman of sorts for the organization.
Video Credit By Christian Roman on
Publish Date September 18, 2014.
Image CreditAgence France-Presse — Getty Image
If it is, then why would extremists ask viewers to lobby their governments for peace? What ever happened to “Bring it on”?
The
producers of this video so want to be heard and understood that they
forced Mr. Cantlie to act as if his statement was his own, not theirs,
as if his surname — so close to Can’t Lie — would be enough.
“I
know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking, ‘He’s only doing this
because he’s a prisoner. He’s got a gun at his head, and he’s being
forced to do this,’ right?” Mr. Cantlie says. “Well, it’s true. I am a
prisoner. That I cannot deny. But, seeing as I’ve been abandoned by my
government and my fate now lies in the hands of the Islamic State, I
have nothing to lose. Maybe I will live, and maybe I will die.”
Viewers,
of course, know that if he doesn’t do as he’s told, his chances of
dying are better than maybe. The only way to convince an audience that a
hostage is speaking of his own free will is to release him. Instead,
Mr. Cantlie says he will appear in other videos to dispute Western
depictions of the men holding him captive.
The Cantlie Tape and ISIS’ Strategy
Some background on how video plays a big role in the propaganda strategy of the militant group the Islamic State.
Video Credit By Quynhanh Do on
Publish Date September 18, 2014.
Image CreditReuters Tv/Reuters
“I’m
going to show you the truth behind the systems and motivations of the
Islamic State and how the Western media, the very organization I used to
work for, can twist and manipulate that truth for the public back
home.”
In
a way, it’s as clumsy a tack as the State Department’s recent video,
“Think Again, Turn Away,” which was posted online to deter Western
sympathizers from joining the jihadists. It was edited with the sarcasm
of a political attack ad, where dark imagery — in this case, lurid
slaughter and destruction — is juxtaposed with snarky copy: “Travel is
inexpensive … because you won’t need a return ticket!”
Would-be
terrorists open to Islamic State propaganda may be more likely to be
incited by images of gunfire, exploding buildings and bombed mosques
than dissuaded. Those are exactly the kinds of images the Islamic State
uses in its own recruitment videos. Danger, destruction and death are
the lure, not the downside.
For
a while now, the self-anointed Islamic State seemed better at video
agitprop than the West. Here, the group that has declared war on Western
values is using a Western hostage to ask the West for peace and
understanding.
But it’s not the West that is threatening to kill the messenger.
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