Catching Them Young

Al Qaeda and the Taliban have never been known for their sensitivity; and they will do what it takes to brainwash as many of the gullible and disenfranchised as it can into subscribing to their twisted cause. Its weapons of choice seem to be propaganda videos of increasing production values. Their latest effort, however, touches a new low - even for them.

The boy with the knife looks barely 12. In a high-pitched voice, he denounces the bound, blindfolded man before him as an American spy. Then, with gruesome patience and deliberateness, he saws through thehead of his captive, to the mandatory cries of "God is great!" The most chilling moment in the video is the look of joy and satisfaction on the boy's face, as he grabs his grisly trophy by the hair; and hoists it triumphantly in front of the camera.

A video circulating in Pakistan records the grisly death of Ghulam Nabi, a Pakistani militant accused of betraying a top Taliban official who was killed in a December air strike in Afghanistan. An Associated Press reporter confirmed Nabi's identity by visiting his family in Kili Faqiran, their remote village in south-western Pakistan.

The video, obtained by AP Television News, in the border city of Peshawar on Tuesday, appears authentic and is unprecedented in jihadi propaganda because of the youth of the executioner. Captions mention Mullah Dadullah, the Taliban's current top commander in southern Afghanistan, although he does not appear in the video. The soundtrack features songs praising Taliban supreme leader Mullah Omar and "Sheikh Osama", an apparent reference to Osama bin Laden, who is suspected of hiding along the Afghan-Pakistan border.

The footage shows Nabi making what is described as a confession, being blindfolded with a scarf. "He is an American spy. Those who do this kind of thing will get this kind of fate," says his baby-faced executioner, who is not identified.