BAGHDAD, Iraq – The U.S. military has opened a new front in the Iraq war: cyberspace.
Moving into a realm long dominated by Islamic militants, the military has launched a YouTube channel offering what it calls a boots-on-the-ground perspective. The move recognizes that the Internet is becoming a key battleground for public opinion at a time when domestic support for the war is dwindling.
Available for download are blistering firefights across rooftops, nighttime raids filmed through the green glow of night-vision devices and a “precision strike” that wiped out an insurgent anti-aircraft gun in a huge ball of fire.
The channel was the brainchild of Brent Walker and Erick Barnes, two former Marines contracted to maintain the MultiNational Force-Iraq site from a small office in Baghdad.
“I think these clips humanize the war for a lot of people who only see statistics,” Walker said. “You see troops talking to each other. You hear the foot crunches. You see they are ordinary, everyday Americans.”
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