The compression of time and space in non-traditional warfare
This will be short, and if there is a better forum to put this in feel free to move it.
The recent terrorist attacks has really hit home the obvious to me. Terrorism by its nature seeks to propagate the effects of terror well beyond its point of origin by leveraging the media. To deny that is an attempt to separate terror from its true nature, if it doesn't do this then it is something else.
Reminds me of the Zen Koan like riddle, "If a tree falls in the forest and there no one to hear it, does it make a noise?"
The tree certainly made a noise, if one associates it with the recent terrorist attacks in Paris. Much of the Western world is clued to the news of the attack. In America, CNN, Fox, and other 24 hour news programs cover it as the expense of almost all other news, even when there are no actual updates. When there are no updates they bring in talking heads to speculate and promote theories on what the attack means. Can it happen here? What should we do? 24 hours a day, and it will continue until another news worthy item appears. These media outlets are witting or unwitting proxies for the terrorists. They are doing exactly what the terrorists want. We live in market states, where the market drives decisions over reason tied to national security, so their oohing and aahing over the attacks is understandable from that perspective.
Within minutes of the attack, a localized terrorist attack on a media office became globalized. It continues to make front page news (an ancient phrase now) globally promoting fear and grossly exaggerating the scale of the event. What would be considered a relatively minor tactical action during war, or a tragic criminal action if it was a mass murder based on criminal motivations, has become a globally strategic event because it was terrorism conducted in the West.
This gives terrorists a considerable amount of relative power to create a disproportionate level of fear. If I watch the news four days a day, I relieve the attack four times. Equally important, and tied to the sins of the media is the grossly disproportionate expenditure of funds on security measures by many countries in response to this event. I suspect most airports around the world have increased security, and many cities in Europe have increased security presence in heavily populated areas, etc. Of course increased security in subway stations and airports doesn't stop another attack like the one that just happened.
From a limited portion of the land domain it transfers to the information domain and effects the world. The terrorists are more effective at globalizing perception than the state actors opposing them, and this needs to change.
As I watched Paris marching
Excellent, thought provoking post Bill and I will try to respond:
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Bill Moore
This will be short, and if there is a better forum to put this in feel free to move it.
The recent terrorist attacks has really hit home the obvious to me. Terrorism by its nature seeks to propagate the effects of terror well beyond its point of origin by leveraging the media. To deny that is an attempt to separate terror from its true nature, if it doesn't do this then it is something else.
We all too often forget terrorism is armed propaganda. Terrorism rarely attacks 'hard' targets, such US embassies - though it can happen; it prefers 'soft' often unguarded targets and always where the public are.
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Reminds me of the Zen Koan like riddle, "If a tree falls in the forest and there no one to hear it, does it make a noise?"
The tree certainly made a noise, if one associates it with the recent terrorist attacks in Paris. Much of the Western world is clued to the news of the attack. In America, CNN, Fox, and other 24 hour news programs cover it as the expense of almost all other news, even when there are no actual updates. When there are no updates they bring in talking heads to speculate and promote theories on what the attack means. Can it happen here? What should we do? 24 hours a day, and it will continue until another news worthy item appears. These media outlets are witting or unwitting proxies for the terrorists. They are doing exactly what the terrorists want. We live in market states, where the market drives decisions over reason tied to national security, so their oohing and aahing over the attacks is understandable from that perspective.
There is no better contrast to the 24/7 coverage of events in Paris, than the reported deaths of two thousand in Baga, a small town in the north-east of Nigeria, at the hands of Boko Haram - where there is no external access, nor to my knowledge social media reporting.
The main media are competitive, so none can leave the subject alone, especially if the newer broadcasters (CNN & Sky) are reporting.
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Within minutes of the attack, a localized terrorist attack on a media office became globalized. It continues to make front page news (an ancient phrase now) globally promoting fear and grossly exaggerating the scale of the event. What would be considered a relatively minor tactical action during war, or a tragic criminal action if it was a mass murder based on criminal motivations, has become a globally strategic event because it was terrorism conducted in the West.
It is a cliche that we live in an open, transparent world with 24/7/365 news reporting - as large parts of the world to my knowledge - do not have the same news coverage. China, most of Africa and the Arab world come to mind.
The liberal democracies or the 'Free World' have often claimed to be open and transparent, with a free press for example. So what has changed recently?
There are two countervailing factors. Technology has enabled news reporting, in scope, more imortantly in speed or pace. Corporate and national news media are now competing with transnational media and citizen reporting - primarily of imagery, as the assault on the Parisian supermarket showed.
In liberal democracies there remains a strong national capital focus, where the media are concentrated. Excluding high profile events, good & bad news and VIP activity provincial cities and below rarely get extensive coverage. Airports are an exception, partly as AQ and others still appear to chose them as targets.
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This gives terrorists a considerable amount of relative power to create a disproportionate level of fear. If I watch the news four days a day, I relieve the attack four times. Equally important, and tied to the sins of the media is the grossly disproportionate expenditure of funds on security measures by many countries in response to this event. I suspect most airports around the world have increased security, and many cities in Europe have increased security presence in heavily populated areas, etc. Of course increased security in subway stations and airports doesn't stop another attack like the one that just happened.
In Paris the French managed when it came to the assaults to get the broadcasters to have a very slight delay in broadcasting - the BBC has acknowledged this IIRC. Some journalists had to be located and ejected.
During 'The Troubles' the UK government tried for a time to ban the official spokesmen for the PIRA, instead their voices were dumbed away and an actor spoke their words - which was laughable and ineffective.
As to the security response, invariably at airports and London train stations in the UK, is little more than security theatre. Are extra, armed police deployed based on a threat assessment or the need for suitable imagery on our TV screens, ostensibly to reassure us?
There is widening gap between the traditional 'national security' assessment and response compared to the more pressing, not new need for 'public security' - the safety of the people, not the state.
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From a limited portion of the land domain it transfers to the information domain and effects the world. The terrorists are more effective at globalizing perception than the state actors opposing them, and this needs to change.
I typed this as the mass march slowly walks through the centre of Paris. The BBC coverage is rather euphoric, a million people marching in solidarity; it is almost as if the mass marches against national terrorism in Italy and Spain had never happened.
