On ISIS roll

It has apparently learnt to make its impact felt widely in the West not by merely slaughtering abductees but by making use of their lingual services to reach a wider audience. That was the case as captive British photojournalist John Cantlie was presented before the lens as a spokesperson for the terrorist group — and this time he was not in his orange jumpsuit.

In a video, whose veracity is yet to be ascertained, Cantlie identifies himself as standing in the marshlands of Kobane, a Syrian town near the Turkish border, and claims that the air raids that the US and its allies flew over the territory hadn’t impacted the advancement of ISIS. His speech in British accent is likely to have a serious impact on the audience in the West who are otherwise made to believe that the adventure of bombing the militants hideouts is proving successful and result-oriented.

The technique is so effective that none can deny its factuality. This is a major departure from the days of Tora Bora’s rugged mountains in Afghanistan which the US and its allies carpet-bombed to exterminate the Al Qaeda and made the world believe that the ‘most wanted man’ on earth, Osama bin Laden, is no more.

Had the Taleban or the Al Qaeda had ISIS brains, history would have been different. The one-sided war would not have continued for a decade! This usage of social media and captives to deliver their message is no less than making abductees act as embedded media persons. The strategy, though condemnable, is effective in essence. Perhaps that is why US President Barack Obama has called for waging an online warfare against the ISIS propaganda and not to let it win the mindset of people.