Are you sure it strips it out? Having been the webguy for a couple of groups, I found out the best way to be sure the person you're sending to gets the item is to detach it (saved on your drive), then forward. Netscape should show the file as an attachment, but if you can't see it, you have it saved.
You might also check the settings you have for forwarding. As I recall happened to me, if forwarding was done inline, the attached photo wasn't forwarded.
Last item, make sure you are on the list of forwarded addresses. This gives you a chance to see if you have actually sent the picture or file. Sometimes the recepients email service (usually business addresses) will delete the attachments. Mine does ZIP files without notice and without being able to retrieve them directly.
I've been using Mozilla Thunderbird lately and have not seen the problem. Since I upgraded to version 8 of Netscape without a POP emailer, I needed something.