Propaganda war: ISIL and beheadings

Yet another beheading by the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) of a foreigner have been distributed this week, and yet another round of condemnation by world leaders and large coverage by the media. On the other hand may other executions go barely noticed ("ISIS executes 31 people in 10 days" by the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights), including human rights activists (although Al-Munaimi's death did get some coverage) and journalists (10 journalist have been murdered in Syria so far, 2 of them western). Granted there is always some bias, we all ignore/skim through news that we have no personal investment in. And there is where ISIL is successfully playing to our own assumptions and unwittingly becoming their propagandist. Executions of foreigners are carefully staged and edited for international distribution, and both the social and mainstream media are the channels. They piggyback on public opinion outrage and condemnation to send a message to their real target group.

For whom are they producing this videos then? What is the purpose of this media campaign? their intended audience is not the global public opinion or political leadership, but the disillusioned or already radicalized. They are recruiting!! In a world of competing groups and ideologies, their message is clear: uncompromising, willing to go to the end and face the westerners and their allies, the real thing comparing with Al-Qaeda. And we are seeing the strategy is wildly successful!! recruitment and "brand value" (within their target group) have increased and it has been yet another argument for western re-intervention/airstrikes in Iraq (that further reinforces their message... they are the only ones fighting the West and been branded the biggest threat!).
On the other hand, executions of Syrian and Iraqi nationals tend to aim at suppressing dissent, population control and punishing desertion or collaboration. These videos are more for local consumption and therefore not as elaborate or staged.

All the talk about counter-insurgency being the rage, and yet, time and again, western elites keep focusing on "hearts and minds" of their own middle classes and intellectuals rather than focusing on these groups ability to appeal, grow and gather resources. The few attempts made (like France's use of the term Daesh, or USA's effort to counter radicalization) seem to be an ad hoc responses rather than part of a wider strategy. Interestingly, maybe it is at the financial level where most advances in counter-insurgency, probably because it is not as mediatized.

Of course ISIL's strategy is not new and many groups have used similar tactics in history to drum up support and recruit. Acknowledging it and responding with a counter-strategy remains essential.
Maybe we should go back to Superman vs the Ku Klux Klan (Drunk History for an irreverent reenactment) or the Cold War, to relearn media strategies and (counter)propaganda tools.