I agree. I think it is a missed opportunity on the part of the government to make the most out of a positive event in the War on Terrorism. Although we kill the #3 guy in AQ every six months or so, it is still important and we need to let the enemy know that we are close.

Al Queda uses propaganda to their advantage, the United States should to. However, the gray area comes in when the U.S. intentionally deceives the public. My concern comes directly from the fact that there was a suspicion of providing false information and stories, even to our allies. Secratary Rumsfeld denied these accusations. I believe you can go to far, and deceiving our Allies is way over the line.

With the circus that is the Saddam Hussein trial and Condoleeza Rice’s tour of Europe to deny CIA Torture Prisons, we are struggling mightily with the propaganda war. The most confusing signal is the United States being against torture but the White House unwilling to condemn its use. What does that say to the rest of the world?

The United States is supposed to hold the moral high ground, but accusations like these work to erode the good name that we are supposed to have. If we were the ruthless imperials that the Islamic Extremists make us out to be then these incidents would have more of an "I told you so" effect. Instead, they damage our credibility.

Information Warfare is more important now than it was during Vietnam and World War II because it truly stretches across the globe. We need to win that side of the war as well, but we need to without going against what we stand for.

Something as simple as the Veamail that I am happy to get shows what we are actually doing to help everyday citizens. These pictures and blogs from soldiers could balance the carnage and chaos that is on the news. I know the risk and the omninerd hatred of blogs, but the rules are already there to regulate what a soldier can and cannot discuss. We need to use every tool at our disposal, without going too far.