A voice divided
Austin Bay quotes Timothy Garton Ash with respect to what America doesn't do in the field of information warfare.
Our universities should invite their academics and students, who have often been in the vanguard of standing up for free speech and human rights in Iran. Our newspapers and journalism schools should bring over their journalists. Our trades unions should hitch up with their unionists, some of whom have organised major strikes. Our parliaments should establish links with their parliament which, though far from fully democratic, has been giving Ahmadinejad a rough ride.
Writers, artists and filmmakers should be encouraged to travel to and fro, carrying ideas in both directions. Women’s movements in Iran, representing half the population systematically discriminated against, should be supported by women’s movements in Europe. Iran’s Islamic thinkers and jurists, both reformist modernisers and conservatives, should be engaged in dialogue by theologians and scholars from other faith traditions. All this should be done less by our governments than by our own societies, and not just by America and Britain - traditionally distrusted by many Iranians - but by all European countries, working separately and together. We need a European Iranpolitik.
Commentary
The underlying reason why America is doing so poorly in the field of "information warfare" against the Jihad is that its traditional organs of articulation -- the academy, media, Hollywood -- are largely hostile to the War on Terror itself. It's conceivable that an Iranian might flee persecution only to be taught at a US university that he ought to embrace it by the many academic departments whose point of view is exactly that. In a fundamental sense, the War on Terror is twinned to the greatest single issue dividing the Left and Right, which is whether the United States, as a nation, is legitimate or whether, as some would maintain, it is Amerika: an abomination whose demise must be hastened by any means necessary.
posted by wretchardthecat at 3/10/2006 06:45:00 PM
28 Comments:
Traditionally, we in America don't go to them -- they come to us. We just don't think about exporting our culture or our system because we think of them as being so superior it's self-evident, and verges upon bragging. American everything is so popular it pretty much sells itself from our movies to our music to our blue jeans.
You can see the reception that Karen Hughes got in Saudi Arabia, and I'm pretty sure that would be the reception any perky chirpy little Americans would get if we tried to go to other countries and lecture them on how to do journalism, how to vote, how to make movies, how to make wine ... how to ANYthing.
The only time that anything like that has ever been remotely successful is in the Peace Corps and there's just not a whole lot of successful Americans who are willing to live in huts without running water to teach other people how we do things.
I think if you had people from other countries coming HERE, you'd get that bridge-building "eduation on Islam" that the Arabs so fervently think are going to solve all their problems. That if we Westerners were just more familiar with Islam, then we'd understand that being beheaded is just business and nothing personal.
And if they didn't try to educate us about Islam, then they'll try to figure out how to get a green card while they're here, or take it on the lam and melt into the landscape like millions of other illegal aliens, a ploy beloved by cross-cultural exchanges dating back to the Russians who were always losing ballet dancers and athletes.
On paper Wretchard's thoughts sound like a peachy idea. But given the nastiness of human nature, I'm thinking it probably wouldn't play out quite that way.
What do we do about this issue? In former times, ostracism of the offenders was effective, as was simply ignoring them.
Today, it seems that creeping step by creeping step, we have lost our ability to deal with these traitors to America. We are beyond being polite and politically correct now. If we have the will to rid ourselves of these parasites of the left, neutralize them, to take action now, and not debate endlessly.
What action is needed? That is the question.
What we have here is a failure to communicate.
It's certainly not a given that America is "doing so poorly". That is only an assumption.
A simplistic view: What you have are two cultures, namely the "Western" and the "Islamic culture" that are not talking to each other in a dialogue, but rather, are talking mainly within their own constituencies. They are not even talking against each other. The West is not generating counter-propaganda against the Islamic culture. The Islamic culture, on the other hand, is mainly talking to its own constituency as it revs up the base emotions of the jihadi participants.
As for the West, the pseudo-intellectuals who presumably dominate the dialogue are tainted by the toxic poison of the Vietnam era.
The West is not yet engaged in a propaganda war against the actual fundamentals of Islamic culture, as it was against the fundamentals of Nazi culture during WWII.
On the other hand, the Islamic culture is propagandizing mainly within its own domain, and peripherally the West hears about it when it is intended to do so, as in the cartoon jihad case. It is preparing itself, whipping itself into a fury. It is in a stage analogous to the build-up to WWII.
I think the hostility from the MSM, Hollywood etc. is towards Bush and not the war. They feel they have no dog in this fight and couldn't care less about the war, except as a vehicle to destroy Bush.
Wretchard, Nahncee:
one of the ways that the needed dialog has been taking place- at least the academic part of it- is via the establishment of authentically American universities in this region.
I don't mean ostensibly American uni's like AU Cairo and AU Beirut with over 95% ME faculty. I mean branch campuses of major American Universities staffed predominantly by American trained faculty and administrators.
In Qatar the Education City initiative has seen the establishment of 5 US universities, each specializing on a unique area:
Virginia Commonwealth - arts & communication
Cornell - Medical School
Texas A&M - engineering
Carnegie Mellon - computer science and business
Georgetown - School of Foregin Service
For more informationEducation City, Qatar
Here in the Emirates there are a dozen more UK and US based schools: Here's what David Ignatius said about the American U. of Sharjah where I now teach:
"To appreciate how cockeyed America's Dubai-phobia is, you have to spend a little time here, as I did this week. The truth is, this is one of the few places in the Arab world where things have been going in the right direction - away from terrorism and Islamic fundamentalism and toward an open, modern economy. That's why congressional opposition came as such a surprise here. People in the UAE think they're America's friends.
The ports deal was part of the UAE's embrace of things Western. Wednesday night, I traveled with the minister of higher education, Sheik Nahayan bin Mubarak, to the dusty city of Al Ain to attend a Mozart festival performed by the Vienna Chamber Orchestra. And I visited the American University of Sharjah, created nine years ago as a beacon of liberal-arts education."
Link: Burning US allies -- and ourselves :: David Ignatius, Washington Post
Nahncee, you got two things right in your post. This isn't the Peace Corps and we don't live in huts. The demand for a US education in this region of the world far outstrips supply. More on why some other time.
American University of Sharjah
SDH, you're doing good stuff--bravo!
As some have noted we have not engaged in a real propaganda war with our enemies as we did during WWII. Why not? I have no idea.
This leads back to Wretchard's previous post 'The Cult' and the propaganda war waged by President Harry S. Truman and his man Col. Edward Lansdale.
Truman was a tough guy. He did what was necessary to win WWII and stabilize Korea. I am wondering if that has to be repeated today.
The propaganda effort by Col. Lansdale appears to have worked is some instance but not in all. The question is could it work now?
I did a quick google of Col. Edward Lansdale and I find him to be demonized on the left and kept in good standing on the right.
His profile is filled with mystery and intrigue. The stories run the spectrum: "Ed Lansdale was responsible for destroying the Huks and saving the Philippines, Ed Lansdale was responsible for getting Oppenheimer's Security Clearance revoked, Ed Lansdale was responsible for Vietnam, Ed Lansdale was responsible for the Taiwan Straight showdown, Ed Lansdale was involved in the failed mission to kill Castro, Ed Lansdale was in Dallas Texas when Kennedy was shot..." And on it goes.
There were two "semi-fictional" books written about Ed Lansdale: 'The Ugly American' and 'The Quite American' And, someone ghosted his own book, 'In the Midst of Wars: An American's Mission to Southeast.' But, which one is correct?
Because Ed Lansdale was a self promoter and psychological warfare specialist it hard to judge his success or failure (given what is available publicly). Would an Lansdale style propaganda war work today?
Interesting even if it is out of thread:
http://memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=SD111206
Jimmy Carter made a huge mistake giving amnesty to the Viet Nam draft dodgers. That gave credibility to the so called counter-culture and their supporters in the press. It emboldened the left and the amnesty itself was further corrupted as the draft dodgers and traitors were further portrayed as the real Viet Nam heroes. This corruption spread so that the term "Anti-American became a quaint anachronism. The left has had the agenda to itself ever since. They need to be crushed.
Little Finland put up a helluva fight against the pre-WWII USSR invasion.
whit.:
problem with French is I would not say "liars."
Maybe different thinking in diplomacy and overly selfish.Clausewitz:
"...war is continuation of diplomacy by other means."It was valid even for "Nazis."It is not valid for France.That why we run into problem with Iran.Over "slickness."Richelieu,
Talleyrand.
deVillipin, same mold.
can.#4.:
I would like to have 1/1000 of money USA spent to "do" proper ground work.
From times of Cold war to Muslim war.
Sometimes certainty could be only empty song.Sometimes where is not-a-thing today,tomorov....?
buddy:
----yes,Richelieu,Taleyrand,de Villipin. And Schirac?Is he better?
They will pay first for what they are.
One hopes, Milan, that everyone in the end will get what they deserve. I have a feeling that Mr. Chirac is already tasting the ashes.
cedarford
if we are trying we must avoid two things:
Hatred of Bush.
We must not accept Hillary for one reason:remember her first days at WH and many others.Thinking of her as "moderate" is waiting at black hole for light.
War with islam is old around 1400 years.We are going to win,or losing means terminal end for us.Maybe that `s what is written in Book Of Fate for ours civilization.Half of USA is willing to step aside and make road for islam.Is that possible?????????
Wretchard said:
In a fundamental sense, the War on Terror is twinned to the greatest single issue dividing the Left and Right, which is whether the United States, as a nation, is legitimate or whether, as some would maintain, it is Amerika: an abomination whose demise must be hastened by any means necessary.
Wretchard said
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Playing to the Galloway 2
for so long as they get to write the history, to raise the monuments, to tell the tale. What they are unprepared to do, what they will resist at all costs, is to surrender the pen of the recorder.
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Yeah man, since Melville, they have been calling themselves Ishmael.
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My reference probably bears some explanation:
I was seconding Wretchard's mention that the left wants to the teller of the tale--the narrative voice. The source for this I think--comes from Moby Dick
"... And I alone am escaped to tell thee." Melville took the quote from the Book of Job to characterize Ishmael, the lone survivor of the wreck of the Pequod, clinging to the coffin that was, for him, a life-raft.
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Job 1
12And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.
13And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house:
14And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them:
15And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.
16While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.
17While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have carried them away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.
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Needless to say, Job did not curse God.
And even when the burden became too much God, graciously sent his Son to die for our sins.
I think the left has more vested in an Iraqui civil war than is properly understood.
Americans are so out of touch. This is the meme that has been popular in Europe for decades and as narcissistic as the US may be I think it has become in many ways a universe in itself, self promoting and introspective, lacking tremendous depth and understanding of the greater world, but as dynamic as America is, it tends to have its own weather, makes its own news, and in so many ways draws attention to itself.
I don’t see this vanity as particularly unique or shameful but as such Americans are often poorly informed of other cultures. I for one openly admit that I know little or nothing of UAE in general and Dubai in particular and I find it curious that they feel that they have been betrayed by Americans for being suspicious of a company that is directly controlled by a nation that is in so many ways foreign to us. Americans have little to register regarding an enduring friendship with that country. I for one do not feel the slightest animosity for citizens of the UAE and welcome learning more about them. But any friendships that cannot survive some ups and downs in business are not likely to be very strong in the first place so can we give it some time?
Next year the US is opening up, once again American universities to record numbers of foreign students and hopefully it won’t be to new cadres of Jihadis hell bent on destroying our trust, our openness, and our democratic ways.
Ostensibly terrorism is the method of breaking the spell of self-absorption and drawing attention to the plight of those who have been oppressed by the Jews and their allies, the Great Satan. There is also no other excuse for it, save an infidel here, a separatist movement there.
I look forward to cultural exchanges but hope those who would have us as their guests would too be considerate of our sensitivities when being our guests.
Dan, Mika, er Mat linked to her a few days ago.
Most remarkable and impressive.
I hear tell men of letters once had her courage.
Now it is "courageous" to laud the transgendered and invite the Taliban to go to Yale.
Cedarford,
Which Presidential candidate in 2008 is likely to forthrightly identify Islamism as the enemy? Any possibility of that will be the result of a sea-change in public opinion. That sea-change may be occurring now. The WaPo says Islam's negatives are mounting but goes on to say its because of "intolerance".
Which goes back to the premise of the post. I'm not sure whether public policy can be conducted so far in advance of a mainstream half of which was willing to vote for Albert Gore. The institutions have to change somewhat before the enemy can be named.
What is particularly odd about this is that what this war is really all about is that as a culture we communicate very very well - better than anyone in history. Even in the Third World, you can bet that more people know about Gilligan's Island than they do Osama Bin Laden. (Interesting story about that was one related by Dawn Wells.)
The Jihadists are attempting to stop this communication, or better yet, turn it to their advantage. They are presented with our dominance as a culture constantly, every day, as a result of our superior means of communcation.
But they are still using the means of communication we devised and deployed - and that we did with no help from their culture. Even their message is a reflection of our culture; in many repects they sound more like the 60's Civil Rights movement than they do the Nazis. The reason is simple: The Civil Rights leaders are honored in our culture while the Nazis are baffoons that always lose.
Perhaps recognizing all this is the best way to address the communication problem.
The demand for a US education in this region of the world far outstrips supply. More on why some other time.
A US education is highly over-rated. Everyone in Saudi Arabia has spent time in the American educational system and a fat lot of good it has done, both in helping them to build up their country, and in convincing them of the need to change their 13th century Wahhabi system.
How many of the 9/11 terrorists spent *their* time in American colleges and universities learning enough here in America to massacre us?
There's an old saying, "If you've got them by the balls, their hearts and minds will follow." We just need to find their balls under those white dresses they all wear, and their education and civilization will automatically follow.
The information war isn't with the explode-a-dopes. It's with the editors of the NYT, Jay Bennish and his MSM enablers, the ACLU, and hundreds of other points of darkness that want to scrub your brain of any notion of the goodness of free-markets, traditional families, spirituality, and individual liberty.
Bullet points from the Soviet's 1930s disinformation playbook are the ideological table of contents of most of the people who control the Conversation. Forget the jihadis. We aren't going to convince them of anything. Worry about the people in DC, New York and LA who tell you every day that your life is not worth living.
The best example of what information warfare is or isn't is REUTER's picture of Vice President Cheney with the word "RETIRE" shown above.
I think that, unfortunately, this is the battlefield on which the war will be won or lost, not in the islamic press! And I am sad to say that at this moment it does not look like victory is in sight for my side....:(
luc,
Not to worry. We're just starting our trip down the river.
PeterBoston notes:
The information war isn't with the explode-a-dopes. It's with the editors of the NYT, Jay Bennish and his MSM enablers, the ACLU, and hundreds of other points of darkness...
I have to agree with you on that. Most left-wing journalists and lawyers make their living on "points of darkness." It's a sad statement - but true.
Ash offers a "no regrets policy". Speeding up the "democracy clock" is a good thing, regardless of the speed of the nuclear clock. So there's a clear opportunity for real leadership - leading the people to engage the corresponding levels of Iranian society. Ash cautions against putting all focus on the nuclear clock. Agreed - let's not do the inverse - meanwhile there are at least three issues hampering this strategy:
[1] First, there is motivation. Iran is not part of Europe, and thus is really of no interest to the Brussels mob, nor is it a priority for the average old-European on the street. However, Iran is a market - by far the primary EU interest in Iran continues to be as a customer - including military and nuclear technology [recall EU military sales to China].
[2] The second problem is illustrated by Wretchard - the nominated "information warriors" have their weapons pointed the other way - the academy, media, Hollywood -- are largely hostile to the War on Terror itself. Richard describes the reality in America today - but doesn't this apply equally to the corresponding European organs?
[3] The third problem is urgency. Can you envision the initiation of European and American bottom-up Iranpolitik in less than a decade? And perhaps another Iranian generation or two before these new relationships lead to kicking the mullahs out?
So, yes, let's put some energy into Iranpolitik. But a far higher priority should be given to forging a solid, joint hard-line position by all of Iran's western trading powers. "Prove termination of your nuclear weapons program - then you'll have not only trade, but assistance, and a security alliance." I see the security alliance as a powerful lever on Iran's internal politics as well. That leaves few arguments for the mullahs to justify their stranglehold on the country.
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