IRAQ: God, kittens and the insurgency

Operational security — OPSEC — is important: it keeps the enemy from knowing details about upcoming missions, troop movements, etc., that could help them mount an attack.

But keeping troops focused on its importance is difficult at a time when attacks are way down.

So an official poster at Marine bases throughout Anbar province warns: "Every Time You Don't Use OPSEC, God Kills a Kitten."

Pictured is a kitten frolicking in a field followed by two menacing-looking Gumby figures.

— Tony Perry in Camp Fallouja