Nick Berg

Once upon a time, gunpower replaced the longbow. In WWI, the tank was introduced and changed the battlefield again. In WWII, the airplane took the battle into the skies and air superiority became preeminent. Today we have satellite guided smart bombs.

But our opponents have a new weapon as well. This weapon is the media - our media. There can be no denying that the media by itself has changed warfare more than smart bombs. In Vietnam, The United States lost not one major battle, yet we lost the war. We won the battles in Vietnam, but lost the war at home.

At what point will the media acknowledge that the enemy is staging these events for their mutual benefit. Suicide bombers, gruesome executions and organized protests have little military effect and all are staged expressly for media consumption. Many in the media don't care.