They want all of us to cringe -- and they have succeeded. The Islamic radicals suddenly barreling across Iraq want to make sure people are horrified at their deeds. Leaders of the organization that calls itself ISIS, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, have launched a sophisticated propaganda campaign that turns the most basic principles of public relations on their head. No PR executive would advise a client to shout to the world details of his most gruesome acts and the extent of his cruelty, but that is precisely what ISIS is doing, and doing so very deliberately. The images of mass executions, of men digging their own graves before being shot in the back of the head, are splashed on the world's newspapers, television news and social media.
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Frida Ghitis: ISIS has launched a sophisticated PR campaign to scare Iraqis
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Ghitis: The group likes to publicize its horrific deeds, but this will surely backfire
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She says, incredibly, even al Qaeda has criticized ISIS for being too ruthless
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Ghitis: ISIS's brutal tactics create enemies; Iraqis will not embrace the group's rule
Eventually, the clash with Al Qaeda ended in a dramatic clash between ISIS and other Syrian opposition groups and a total break with @placeholder.