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Politics

Mysterious antiterror ad airs

Some attribute the commercial to the U.S. government.

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published October 12, 2006

CAIRO - A TV commercial aimed at thwarting terrorism has hit Middle Eastern TV networks using high-tech effects to show the anatomy of a suicide bombing in graphic detail.

The $1-million ad is packed with special effects, including the time-suspension technique made popular in the Matrix movies to show bodies, cars and broken glass flying in slow motion.

Its sleekness, and the secrecy surrounding its creators and backers, lead some to believe the U.S. government is behind it in its effort to woo would-be terrorists away from violence and encourage moderates to oppose extremism.

The U.S. government refuses to say clearly whether it's involved in the commercial, which began airing this summer. California company 900 Frames helped produce the ad. It said the group behind it wants to remain anonymous.

Lawrence Pintak, the director of the Adham Center for Electronic Journalism at the American University in Cairo, thinks the commercial is unlikely to have much influence on young Arabs.

"When this kind of advertisement is sandwiched between footage of Lebanon and Iraq, it's going to fall on deaf ears," Pintak said.

Raed Jarrar, an Iraqi-Palestinian blogger living in the United States, says it looks too American.

"It just raises so many red flags," he said. "The assumption is it has to be made by the Americans or the Saudis."

[Last modified October 12, 2006, 05:34:43]