Abu Boo-Boo: Cutting Zarqawi down to size

US military forces in Iraq have improved their exploitation of battlefield intelligence for political and psychological warfare purposes.

The handling of the captured, unedited al Qaeda video of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi - shown in a black ninja costume and New Balance sneakers, and asking for help because he couldn't operate a simple machine gun - was wonderfully choreographed and executed. (For a video of Major General Rick Lynch's briefing, click here.)

Zarqawi and other terrorists have controlled their images to the world through edited digital videos, portraying themselves as invincible tough guys.

They don't look so tough any more. In the unedited video, Zarqawi fumbles with his M-249 weapon, with its bipod down. He looks confused as he tries to switch it from single-shot to automatic. Someone calls in Arabic, "Go and help the sheik!" Zarqawi relies on a subordinate for help. He fires the weapon apparently against no target as a couple followers mill around. After firing the M-249 on full-auto, one of Zarqawi's lieutenants takes the rifle by the searing hot barrel, burning his hand.

This blog has long advocated using ridicule as a weapon of warfare. We Americans can take it. The terrorists and their friends, in their shame-based culture, cannot.

In a presentation to the world media, American soldiers juxtaposed the Bad Boy videos with the raw footage they recovered in Iraq.

The story has spread all over the world - no thanks to Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya satellite TV, which reportedly have tried to ignore the video, with at least one newspaper ridiculing Zarqawi as "Abu Boo-Boo."

It's important for us in the Christian world to mock the enemy and overcome our fears so that we won't become terrorized or demoralized.

The story has gotten great press worldwide, even on China's party-controlled media. During the news conference in Iraq, journalists praised Maj. Gen. Lynch for the briefing.

However, the US needs to ensure that the Zarqawi video with the appropriate commentary is broadcast RELENTLESSLY in the Arabic-speaking world.