The BBC has posted a story on their website titled “Cyberspace War” in which THE WORLDWIDE STANDARD’s own Bill Roggio is quoted discussing the impact of the Multinational Force Iraq channel at YouTube. Here’s what Roggio had to say:
So what is the reaction in the blogosphere to the military establishment’s own move into the internet “battle space”?
Blogger, writer and former US soldier Bill Roggio says it is really just an extension of the US military’s attempt to reach the public through mainstream media.
“It’s really a smart move. One thing that al-Qaeda does very well is put its own videos of attacks on Americans or Iraqis up on their own websites. They dominate that terrain and they get the hits.”
By getting a good YouTube and Google rating, the US military will improve the chances of theirs being the first site people go to when they search on topics relating to Iraq, he says.
“They are very slow, very behind the times in things like blogs,” he argues. “But they are starting to move forward and recognising the medium – they have to, the enemy is doing it and they have to counter that.”
Mr Roggio – who has been embedded with the military in Iraq three times since the 2003 US-led invasion – says he is willing to give the US military the benefit of the doubt over its choice of videos.
“Some of these are very military friendly but not all of them are,” he says.
He points to one clip where the footage is murky, one of the soldiers looks scared and the viewer is left wondering what is going on.
“It certainly wasn’t a recruiting commercial. I think it was a pretty frank look at what combat looks like in our generation.
“I don’t think they are going to put something up that shows them in a bad light, but I do think they are trying to give you a little snapshot of ‘one day in the life of…’.”
Lt Col Garver would agree. “All I’m looking to provide is another view of things that are happening here in this very complicated, very complex place that is Iraq.”
