The Sniper master

Hate to keep picking on CNN here but it appears they've embarked on a full frontal assault on the Iraq war down the home stretch of this election. Today's courageous effort consisted of hyping an enemy propaganda tape obtained 'from intermediaries':

The video is disturbing to watch but CNN believes the story, shocking as it is, needs to be told.

Just keep in mind they're the same network who forged an access agreement with Saddam, which captured regime documents seem to illustrate:

• Give CNN the priority to cover this incident to make a bigger effect on the international community.

Additionally, who could forget the Eason Jordan allegation?

But perhaps their story does need to be told since this video provides tidbits of information about the real enemy we face. The "Islamic Army of Iraq" certainly has a slick video production team traveling with the sniper team to make the most of their efforts. According to the video it also appeared the terrorists have taken a page from DC sniper John Allen Mohammed's playbook by using the trunk space of automobiles to fire shots before speeding off.

The Islamic Army of Iraq is led by Ishmael Jubouri, a Sunni from Baghdad who appears to be well trained in tactical military procedures. He refrained sending many fighters into the second battle of Falluja, for example, because he didn't think they could succeed there. That doesn't sound like the modus operandi of a bunch of fanatics.

According to the WaPo story Jubouri is a member of "a proiminent Sunni tribe" south of Baghdad, which de facto implies he might have had status in Saddam Hussein's former regime. But information is rather sketchy, so we're left to guess at his affiliations by studying the IAI's words and deeds. Case in point, how did they react to the recent declaration of independence issued by the Mujahideen Shura Council? Well,

A key Sunni bloc, the Muslim Scholars Association, denounced the declaration, as did some Sunni insurgent groups, including the Islamic Army, which said in a statement that it was not an enemy of the country's Shiites and was against the breakup of Iraq.

Let's see, another fairly well-known figure has also been on the bandwagon against the breakup of Iraq:

"We are a united and undivided people... made up of Arabs, Kurds and various religions and communities," he said.

Circumstantially speaking it sounds like Ishmael could be taking direction from the old boss, but it's hard to say. After all, Saddam stands to gain personally through chaos produced by sectarian violence. At the same time a divided Iraq favors Iran. It's an enigma that will no doubt strain the strategic mind of James Baker.

Back here in America only time will tell how the MSM's eleventh hour assault on Iraq might influence the elections next month. We live in a reality where opinion is shaped by the latest editorial, news story, or IED explosion. But amidst all the politics here it's nice to see at least a few observers in the Middle East haven't lost perspective.

REACTION 10/19/06

CNN's propaganda story has elicited a bombardment of negative feedback. Check Blogsearch, for example, or visit a milblog like Blackfive.

God only knows how CNN can top today's version--they still have another installment in their special three-part pre-election series--but God knows they'll try. Maybe they could focus on something like this. N'ah, probably not important enough.

(HT Gateway Pundit, Formerspook)

CNN DEFENDS 10/20/06

Anderson Cooper is defending the decision to air the video on his 360 blog, which he said was a nerve wracking decision which went all the way to the top. It's not very convincing to me.