Indirect Approach/Information Campaign evolves
For your consideration...
This announcement defines a significant shift in our infomation campaign and indirect strategy. IMO, this shift debunks the "us v/s them" attitude and allows for the US to serve as a neutral arbitrator.
US Shifts 'Hearts and Minds' Fight - Howard LaFranchi, Christian Science Monitor
Throughout my time in the ME, I always assumed that the US was irrelevant in the overall meta game. In terms of game theory, this shift may allow us to divorce ourselves from the role of a player to that of the arbitrator. I used this reasoning as an assumption for all of my planning factors, i.e. in the bigger game, the US is irrelevant. In Iraq, the real 'game' is a sometimes zero, sometimes non-zero sum political power struggle focused on the endgame- where the chips fall when the US ends the occupation.
Quote:
"In practical terms, the shift means dumping glossy Madison Avenue campaigns about America in favor of helping target populations find alternatives to extremism in everything from politics and technology to sports and religion. The target populations include the burgeoning Arab and Muslim youth populations in particular.The shift is long overdue in the eyes of some proponents of an aggressive war on terror. They say the United States for too long saw the "war of ideas" as a PR campaign about itself rather than essentially an ideological struggle between two visions for the Muslim world."
I'm impressed with this strategy at least in concept. There is no need for the US to try and sell it's goods. The city on the hill will sell itself. In the larger sense, we must realize that the Muslim world is working its was through an Islamic Revival (similar to the Prodestant Reformation). This revival is almost a century old. Sayyid Qutb served as the Martin Luther- essentially declaring that one can read the Quran and interpret it without the help of the clergy.
What we can influence and assist with is offering an peaceful and prosperous alternative to the caliphate.
Like our own reformation, religion interjected into politics proves extremely unstable and violent.
I doubt the the accused witches of Salem would disagree.
Rant is over...
v/r
Mike
Good find. Interesting article.
The really good news is contained in your quoted excerpt -- that we're dumping the 'sales' campaign. That was never going to work on any level and the whole ad agency / media approach was terribly flawed -- simply because it indulges in hype and overselling and is ignored by far more people in the world than the Ad and TV folks will ever admit. Don't think so? Look at your average commercial or TV show and consider your thoughts about them.
Now if we can just get the Services' PA folks to back off the same stupid approach in their PR efforts, we'll have achieved something.
I note the comments in the article re: the fact that we seem to see AQ and radical Islam as the defining challenges in the Arab world and that the people who live in the ME do not see that as true. I think that's wrong on a couple of levels; I think we see the challenge is seen as focused on us, not the Arab world, it just exists in the Arab world. A subtle but I think an important difference.
I would agree that the Arab world does not view those things as major threats (for obvious reasons) but believe the clash of perceptions and narratives resulting isn't terribly important. Folks in the ME are the ultimate pragmatists; they are selfish and expect others to be the same way; if you don't seem selfish, then there must be something wrong with you. We have been relatively unselfish in the western mode (partly to appease the left leaners here and about the world) to no significant benefit in the ME and this has helped make us in their perception as being 'up to something' more devious than the reality. The ME doesn't do "What you see is what you get."
Further this comment by a "ME expert:"
Quote:
"Let's focus on the social crisis these countries are facing. Let's put the emphasis on developing the rule of law in Arab and Muslim governments," Gerges says. "Then we can talk about something genuinely new in the American public-diplomacy effort."
is counterintuitive to the announced new approach. One cannot avoid being overly meddlesome and interfering, even paternalistic, on one hand and tell the locals they have to develop the rule of law on the other hand. Particularly given the fact that the phrase "rule of law" is subject in the ME to two very different interpretations...
Fortunately, the Alinsky model isn't
Quote:
Originally Posted by
marct
That would be nice :wry:. After all, no department of
defence ever won a war, so why should a defensively oriented IO campaign do so? Although, I must admit, that I am in favour of a somewhat more
radical form of communications strategy :D.Marc
that successful either... :D
