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.

"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