Magical Realism and Information Operations
3 January post at Kent's Imperative - Magical Realism and Information Operations.
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The beliefs, and processes of belief formation, of target audiences in information operations has always been underappreciated by operations planners and intelligence officers alike.
The Economist has an excellent piece examining one of the more pervasive beliefs in the Islamic world, and the impact of that belief on the narratives surrounding the Long War.
This is not the first time that elements of the fantastic have been noted in the propaganda of the jihad. In fact, many of the near legendary aspects of the Afghan conflict against the Soviets drew heavily upon this tradition, and was built upon by militant Islamists in other theatres...
Magical Realism and Information Operations
Rob, Dead on the money. Why we constantly bear the ugly American tag. Few of us could care less about what makes the other angry or happy and why we do this and not that. Simple customs and culture. We don't need an anthropologist, but we do need to study a tad more.
In Central Africa, bald-headed people were considered all knowledgeable and known seniors (high ranking) were expected to hold the subordinate's hand while walking. You can imagine what you would look like in front of your peers as you walked up with a Zäirian General on you right side holding your hand (and a tight grip at that). Releasing before the senior permited would be taken as an outright insult. The good part is he would never hold your hand again, but the down side would be a total lack of communication and he would remember that even to his grave.
Estonia is a little less extreme, but have a very unique culture. You never shake hands more than once in a single day with the same person, and if he tries, you simply say we have already seen each other today. One never shake hands over a threshold and males rarely shake a female's hand (could piss off her boyfriend or husband). Instead of knocking on wood (which could be considered impolite and even disruptive) you (fake) spit over your left shoulder three times (similar to throwing salt over your left shoulder to warn away your enemy or preclude bad luck).
Ok, forgive the rambling, but you get the general idea. It doesn't take too long to get tuned-in and figure out what folks do and don't. This will pay itself back ten-fold and open doors.
Hell, you can even teach NCOs to do it :eek:
Regards, Stan
We do need to study a tad more
Marc,
I would have to agree with you:confused: . I did my studies on the ground front and center, during social and political upheaval and 3 civil wars (10 years total):eek:
How did I make it out ? Good question and I have an equally good answer: Knowledge of customs and culture, not reading some bible study class Bravo Sierra on pathetic symbols (Africans care about well-being and money, there are no jungle rules).
My neighbors homes flanked my house during the 2nd uprising and when I awoke, only my house was left untouched. Belgian females raped and males shot in the head. Both houses were totaled and the frames destroyed allowing the roof to come down (very typical African).
Only later would I learn that I was an acceptable white man amongst them who learned not only Lingala but culture and custom.
I'll wouldn't trade that day for any anthropology lesson on earth, as I still have the skin on my Alpha !
An education is great, so long as you know how to use it together with your common sense.
Regards, Stan
Okay, translation of that cryptic comment.....
Marc, I hope you got something from that translation :D
Anthro Classes, Boy do I feel like and idiot !!!
Hey marc,
Forgive my NCO humor. I'm not sure where I got most of it from :confused:
I actually appreciate the little education I do have. By no means even close to yours. Armed with a Bachelor's in Applied Science, I made my way to Africa. Logic to this day drives my entire life. Whether in the garage, kitchen or in the field and that at times permits me to be a real Delta Hotel. I even share it with others :D
Unfortunately, I never took any antrho classes. Perhaps they may have assisted me during my tours. Perhaps not. I had some very good Officers and NCOs during my Army life and they taught me to keep my skinny butt down and live another day. Those fine folks are with me today - fond memories, etc.
I tried to find Tom and ended up here, so there you go. I enjoy this forum and the posts that you folks take time to write. Really ;)
In closing, I agree :eek:
Ask and pay attention, you'd be surprised what you end up with. Be it a former NCO or Officer, or an Anthro class.
Regards, Stan
"An interpretive framework for their own experiences"
Marc, I needed to borrow some of your text for the subject line. Thanks !
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So I left Africa with two things: an incredible appreciation for the size and scale of Africa and its people; but also with an understanding that its dictators were cruel and petty, and would probably not make much out of the resources they had. That was 88, so its been a little while - and I spent allot more time trying to know the Italian/Ethiopian gal then to get to know about the country (my loss, but at age 21 - well you do what you do). If I get the chance I'll go back though, I asked Tom Odom for some good reads on the rest of it.
Rob,
Sounds like you are already fully qualified for another fun spot:eek: You probably won't find any relative "religious belief-driven folks" in Sub-Sahara, but you will definitely come out of it with even greater experiences and hopefully pass these on to our fellow NCOs and Officers who will one day really appreciate it.
Tom is like one-stop shopping for info on Africa. I would however stay away from addressing "perceiving disaster groupies". You'll get more than you bargained for.
Looking back, they were more like draft horses with blinders on in a constant imperceptive state, with their disorderly attention to things and people around them. Not something you should do in the middle of an African civil war and refugee crisis. I enjoyed however having these perceptive folks around in Africa. So many fell victim to African and Africans and that kept me both amused and busy ;)
Regards, Stan
If somebody believes in something and it causes them to "act"
Tom, Marc, Rob and Slapout, Greetings !
First and foremost, Tom, I didn't believe the Mama so much as I hated the fact she shafted me on the exchange rate :D Afterall, she was living in front of the embassy and why should I walk another hundred yards for a better rate :confused: Secondly, why did you send the same post three times ?
Slapout, God I have no idea where to start :( I may indeed take an Anthro class at this rate. All the real criminals in Estonia (former Russian and Estonian kingpins) during 95 and 96 also held religious sessions (we normally call it extortion) with large amounts of TNT and ammonium nitrate with tiny detonators :eek: They had no stuffed animals, but they also lacked sufficient knowledge with blast effect and often used too much - hence the religious experience. I have some friends in the Estonian Central Criminal Police that would love to make your acquaintance.
Marc, are there any stuffed animals in that symbols book you offered to send me ? I'm no longer sure I want to read that book !
Rob, we have gone decidedly off track and I hope some of this was a least helpful.
Regards, Stan
defies God to strike him down
Rob, In Zäire if you were to hit and kill a local with your vehicle (without any doubt no fault of your own), the embassy's instructions were straight forward, get out of there or be pummelled to death by chance spectators who also believed they would be responsible for retribution.
Regards, Stan
Its all good (off topic for a moment myself)
Stan,
I have no problem with going off track - SWC helps me think through other problems I encounter here - sometimes its direct, sometimes its just by asking questions or making observations and seeing where it takes me. I have to be semi -serious enough of the rest of the time, so I try not to be serious at all when I don't have to. I've always thought its not really serious unless somebody is shooting at you - even then I've found the opportunity to smile at some of the crazy stuff I've seen (it helps when the other guy is a really bad shot).
I like the banter back and forth. I like that most everybody in SWC has nothing to prove and is willing to share for sharing's sake. I enjoy the jest and I enjoy learning. There are few places where you can make an observation or comment and see it take off in a direction that while different from where you thought it would go, still provides you useful insights and analysis.
The only thing we could do better is figure out how to do it with free beer:D
Regards all, Rob
Where the hell is Estonia and the material component of a spell !
Folks !
First off, Slapout, Estonia is one of three Baltic States (former Russian property, et al). Situated 55 miles south of Helsinki, Finland and less than 200 miles west of the Motherland. Or is that the Fatherland ?
For 700 years a small German trading town and transition point for cargo, people, whatever. Too good for the Russians to pass up on their way through and decided to stay. In 92 the Estonians broke free and claimed once again (22 times since the 11th century) independence.
Marc,
This is not good, we spent all of last evening convincing Rob there are no ghosts and now explosive use has become the material component of a spell ?????
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Stan,
I remember in Addis a lady appeared to have flung herself infront of our Suburban
That's ala Zäirois in a nutshell until your timing with age gets a tad off and the Suburban takes the lead. I too often wondered on my way back from the airport was my snow-white blazer easier to spot with CD plates and why did that guy throw himself into the road. I missed him and many more. :(
Marc will no doubt find some spooky Bravo Sierra herein, so I guess I'll log in again and see what's cooking with this thread.:)
Regards, Stan
Tom, you are not that old !
Carl is quite a guy. We wrote over thw weekend and I info'd you.
What normally takes 10 years, if at all, for a State puke to learn (with intense training), Carl did it in two.
Great reading. Still trying to reply to the thread, but Marc keeps putting ghosts in and I almost convinced Rob there are no ghosts under his bed :confused:
Regards Pal, Stan
"Magic: the art and science of changing consciousness in accordance with will"
Hi Stan,
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Originally Posted by
Stan Reber
This is not good, we spent all of last evening convincing Rob there are no ghosts and now explosive use has become the material component of a spell ?????
<quoth he with a straight face>Of Course!!!!!!!
<chuckle>After all, think about all of the "spell work" DOW goes through to produce them.
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Originally Posted by
Stan Reber
That's ala Zäirois in a nutshell until your timing with age gets a tad off and the Suburban takes the lead. I too often wondered on my way back from the airport was my snow-white blazer easier to spot with CD plates and why did that guy throw himself into the road. I missed him and many more. :(
Marc will no doubt find some spooky Bravo Sierra herein, so I guess I'll log in again and see what's cooking with this thread.:)
Hmmm, let's see if I can get my Spidey-senses tingling..... Nope, have to BS it :D.
Folks, this is actually one of the things that I find hardest to teach when I am talking about it in classes. I've spent slightly over 20 years working to get a simple model of it, and I still don't have a good one (maybe I should go back to model planes...). I've found that I can do a condensed version in about 10 hours or so to first year students, but that only scratches the surface. If anyone there is into theory, the problem is in phenomenological topology, and I'm still trying to work out the trasforms on that <wry grin>. I think what is truly frustrating is I can tell people "what" to do or look for, but I can't seem to tell them "why" <sigh>. Maybe Stan has the better solution :D.
Marc
Ghosts in Marc's lesson plan - Go figure
Marc, I do have a better solution, but nowadays you would be placed into a mental institution for doing so. In 74 our Nike Hurcules electronics instructor was so fed up that he wire our metal top desks to a very large and fully charged capacitor. You rarely went to disneyland, went to sleep or for that matter saw ghosts under Rob's bed :eek:
Honestly, I had to pay for my follow-on education and took it seriously. I have no clue what young folks today consider significant. Even here, it's hard to find someone that can even write using a pencil and pad. The internet managed to teach these folks how to type, and spell checkers preclude the need for an expensive dictionary.
Slapout,
Latvia and Lithuania are indeed part of the three Baltics. That's were it begins and ends. All three have very unique customs and languages. Latvia and Lithuania have fewer problems with Russians than that of Estonia. But Estonia's economy and crime problems are far fewer and the US agencies were so confident, they let George come here in November.
I have no idea if there are vampires in Latvia, but the women like in Estonia are dead knockouts. We use 9.5 as the benchmark and that includes ladies over 40.
Regards, Stan
Don't get me started on students.... (<GRIN>
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Stan Reber
Marc, I do have a better solution, but nowadays you would be placed into a mental institution for doing so. In 74 our Nike Hurcules electronics instructor was so fed up that he wire our metal top desks to a very large and fully charged capacitor. You rarely went to disneyland, went to sleep or for that matter saw ghosts under Rob's bed :eek:
Love it! Actually, I've been lucky in the past few years - most of my Intro students could at least read (some could even write:eek: ), and all of my 3rd year theory students have been great.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Stan Reber
Honestly, I had to pay for my follow-on education and took it seriously. I have no clue what young folks today consider significant. Even here, it's hard to find someone that can even write using a pencil and pad. The internet managed to teach these folks how to type, and spell checkers preclude the need for an expensive dictionary.
<wry grin>About 15 years ago, I was looking around to find a class in remedial penmanship since I couldn't read my own handwriting :o . What did I find? 20 classes in calligraphy, but nothing in basic penmanship. Discouraging!
On spell checkers, I would agree, but a number of my students don't know how to change the dictionary! Honestly, I've been thinking about making the Oxford English Dictionary, 1918 edition, the sole textbook in my classes for a while now.
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Originally Posted by
Stan Reber
I have no idea if there are vampires in Latvia, but the women like in Estonia are dead knockouts. We use 9.5 as the benchmark and that includes ladies over 40.
I think most of the vampires decided to head to New York in the '30's:D . Definately agree with you on the ladies, however!!!
Marc
According to Muslim demonology Jinnis inhabit the earth
Marc,
Are these the very same in Rob's grenades with red eyes under his bed ?
I would rather have ghosts :rolleyes:
My final comment, if these jinnis are ever to inhabit the DRC, they will all get robbed by former Zärois :D
Have a pleasant evening !
Regards, Stan
Was Jim Jones a "Jinn" Jones/ Guyana mass suicide
One of the things about discussions and how they drift off course, but often lead to something interesting or useful. Stalkers often have charismatic personalities and can exert incredible influence over people almost like a hypnotic trance.
This got me to thinking about one of the absolute masters and that was Jim Jones and his ability to convince 908 people to commit mass suicide by drinking poisoned Kool Aid down in Guyana. I think this is what the expression "drinking the Kool Aid" actually means but perhaps people don't realize it. In the late 70's or 80's when this happened it was considered impossible, but it happened.
Think of all the Guerrilla leaders or terrorists leaders like UBL that have the same type of charisma and his ability to influence people. They have that Jinn like quality that can make them very formidable Psy-Op enemies. In contrast if we could come up with a Lawrence of Arabia type we could wheel and deal. So where is the Jinn of Lawrence?? Rob,Stan,Marct need to find him we need him. Might be over there Latville hanging around.
Jimmy Jones and electric kool aid
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Originally Posted by
slapout9
One of the things about discussions and how they drift off course, but often lead to something interesting or useful....
This got me to thinking about one of the absolute masters and that was Jim Jones and his ability to convince 908 people to commit mass suicide by drinking poisoned Kool Aid down in Guyana. I think this is what the expression "drinking the Kool Aid" actually means but perhaps people don't realize it. In the late 70's or 80's when this happened it was considered impossible, but it happened.
I remember that <wry grin>. Everyone thought Jim Jones was "impossible", but I kept remembering a conversation I had had years before in the mid-60's with a guy who had heard Hitler speak in person. He told me that even though he was Jewish (and spent most of the war in Dachau), Hitler still impressed him with his charisma. He said it was like being the victim of a snake watching, hypnotized.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
slapout9
Think of all the Guerrilla leaders or terrorists leaders like UBL that have the same type of charisma and his ability to influence people. They have that Jinn like quality that can make them very formidable Psy-Op enemies. In contrast if we could come up with a Lawrence of Arabia type we could wheel and deal. So where is the Jinn of Lawrence?? Rob,Stan,Marct need to find him we need him. Might be over there Latville hanging around.
Well, I'm convinced that Stan is the anti-UBL dhinn :D - it'sthe bike, mon!
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Originally Posted by
jcustis
I saw a history or discovery channel show on the Jim Jones stuff last night. I can very vaguely remember it when I was a kid. Scared the bejezzus out of me. Jungles, spooky voodoo, cultism. I can remember seeing it on the news and eventually the 60 minutes expose. I have no idea if my parents knew I was watching it, but it was spooky.
Yeah, it can definately have hat effect.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
jcustis
This djinn stuff speaks to an interesting conversation I had with one of my former platoon commanders during OIF 2.0. We had since moved on to other billets, but he was outside the wire almost every day. Because he knew Arabic and was a Middle Eastern studies major, he had a fresh perspective on what was going on.
When discussions turned to Zarqawi, he told me that a lot of Iraqis he'd met during ops didn't believe there was a Zarqawi. It seems that early on many had equated him with an Islamic version of the boogeyman. The notion of Zarqawi was quickly used to scare the heck out of Iraqi kids and keep them in line. If they didn't, Zarqawi would "get them" in the middle of the night. The point to this rambling is that maybe we don't need a djinn, but the counter-djinn, like an Aladdin...
We've seen this effect time and time again over the course of history. This was the sort of thing I was talking about when I said that people play out stories with recognizable plots (or something like that). Both Claude Levi-Strauss (no relation to the Jeans family) and Carl Jung looked at this. I think Levi-Strauss got the structural aspects right (see his Structural Study of Myth) while Jung got the rest of it right.
If you want a counter-djinn, try The Phantom from the 30's-50's. Ideally, a counter-djinn would operate outside of any constituted force and would use assasination combined with psyops - e.g. track down an AIQ cell leader, kill him and display the body in a public place with a listing of his crimes - think Batman after he went psycho. This would fit the mythic patterns. If you really want to freak the Iranian agents and the AQ crowd, have him use the name "Zurvan".
Marc