More on Hostage Joe

Click here for a picture of the action figure held hostage by the terrorists in Iraq. Looking at the image, it is amazing how anyone could have believed this story. Numerous bloggers immediately pointed out the obviously fake nature of the photograph.

I do need to make one correction to my previous post. The image was taken from a jihadist Web site posting, not from a videotape. It's possible that the posting was the result of a hacking as opposed to a pathetic propaganda effort by the terrorists. Either way, it is a source of great amusement.

One can argue that laughing about hostage taking is in bad taste. While understandable, this misses the point. I realize all too well the barbarous nature and track record of our enemy. The terrorists have created a mystique, an aura of ruthless invincibility about themselves. This is apparent just from the blustering nature of their communiques. Anything that punctures this myth, that makes the jihadists objects of ridicule instead of fear, is a blow to them and their cause.