Question, NDD. Who is the target audience for this story? Is the Army News Service distributing this as a pre-canned feature piece to Western news outlets only, or is it also being distributed to regional outlets?
Joe made some good points about the specific facts in the article. However, my strongest impression was the tone. The tone was not what I would expect if the purpose of the story is to boost coalition morale and public support at home. It looks to me like it was crafted to undermine the insurgents' replenishment cycle for men and material by using the prisoner's words to point out the inconsistency between the insurgents' words and actions, as well as the diminished opportunity for marginal impact of any individual new recruit.
It would be interesting to know if any of this makes it into the native language press, but I'm not holding my breath.
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"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave whither Thou goest." - Ecclesiastes 9:10
"If simple folk are free from care and fear, simple they will be, and we must be secret to keep them so." - JRRT
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