Eighty years ago, Adolf Hitler used a media-saavy ministry of propaganda to propel the Nazi party and his maniacal vision to control the world.

Today, Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, the latest evil group threatening civilization, is using its own high-tech propaganda machine to recruit. Home grown prospects in the West, who have the ability to travel freely and blend in, are a key target group and thus pose a threat to national security.The online propaganda campaign is not being waged by some amateurs holed up in a mountain cave. ISIS uses a multilingual media arm called Al Hayat to produce slick glossy magazines and its top qualitypromotional videos.Elliot Zweig, deputy director of the Middle East Media Research Institute, which has been tracking ISIS on the web, said the recruiting video promotes a message of camaraderie, inviting would-be recruits to "come and join us and we'll fight the good fight together."In one appeal, a Western jihadist invites possible ISIS prospects to join the fight in Syria, stating: "I am your brother in Islam here in Syria. We have safety here for your family and children."In another short promotional video, a Belgian hands out ice cream to excited Syrian children.ISIS features children in its recruiting in much the same way that Hitler indoctrinated German youngsters to become Nazis with his Hitler Youth. Muslim children as young as 4 and 5 are shown in camouflage vests and holding guns while others wave the black ISIS flag and chant "Allahu Akbar" (God is great).One young recruit told how the children in his camp jogged every day, read the Quran and learned how to use weapons. In one scene, a child wearing a ski mask hoists an AK-47 onto a makeshift firing platform and pulls the trigger, causing the boy to stagger from the recoil.As part of their indoctrination, children have also witnessed horrible ISIS atrocities, such as the crucifixions of men, the stoning of suspected adulteresses and beheadings.One training camp in Ninevah features a 10-year-old recruit named Abdullah. An adult gunman explains in the chilling video that Abdullah and the other children at the camp don't waste time playing electronic games or watching cartoons."They have a dream, and their dream is to establish an Islamic state. We have a lot of hope for Abdullah and other children his age. We believe they will conquer all of Iraq and Persia and that they will liberate Jerusalem," he says.That's the kind of hard-core message ISIS is spewing out with its multimedia propaganda campaign. The brainwashing of children are key components to their strategy to conquer and control just as Hitler tried to do eight decades ago, culminating in World War II.By Jim Zbickeditor@tnonline.com