El teatre del terror

Jason Burke: Theatre of terror
The Observer, 21/11/2004.

Videos have become the most potent weapon of modern Islamic militants. They realised long ago that al-Qaeda and its offshoots could not take on the military might of the US and its allies. But when it comes to propaganda — the key battlefield in the ‘war on terror’ — the advantage clearly lies with the militants. Cheap and easy-to-use video cameras, digitalisation, CD-burners, plus the demands of 24-hour rolling news, means that anyone now has access to the airwaves. Home videos end up being broadcast to hundreds of millions.

(Versió francesa: Le spectacle du terrorisme, ou comment les islamistes retournent les armes de l’Occident contre lui.)