Losing The Propaganda Battle in Iraq

Newsweek has a story this week detailing a draft report recently produced by Ginger Cruz, director of strategic communications in the American embassy in Baghdad. According to the article, the document:

so much as admits that despite spending hundreds of millions of dollars, the United States has lost the battle for Iraqi public opinion: "Insurgents, sectarian elements, and others are taking control of the message at the public level." Videos of U.S. soldiers being shot and blown up, and of the bloody work of sectarian death squads, are now pervasive. The images inspire new recruits and intimidate those who might stand against them. "Inadequate message control in Iraq," the draft warns, "is feeding the escalating cycle of violence."

The magazine notes that "A U.S. Embassy spokesperson claims the document reflects Cruz's personal views, not official policy." Still, it's disturbing. U.S. officials believe that in some cases, attacks are launched purely for the purposes of generating new video footage.