(New York Times) Robert F. Worth - When an Iraqi insurgent group releases a new videotape or claims responsibility for an attack, Western reporters often get the news by e-mail from a terrorism monitor on the East Coast. Within hours, a constellation of other Middle East analysts has sent out interpretations - some of them conflicting - and a wealth of contextual material. Terrorists have been using the Internet so heavily that the monitors often know as much or more about their communications as military or intelligence officers do. The new array of online expertise has become an essential tip sheet for journalists. A whole new mini-industry of instantaneous translation and analysis has arisen, and it often erodes the traditional distinctions between credentialed foreign policy experts and mere amateurs.
2006-06-19 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive