Quote Originally Posted by jcustis View Post
I don't think so, and don't agree that better propaganda (via VoA) is the answer. Sometimes, folks see through that for the sham work that it is. Often, the simple fact remains that our ideas and constructs just don't translate over. Add to that the fact that within societies such as the tribal, Arab, and Islamic one we worked so hard to shape and control in Iraq, any message coming from us is going to be ignored and downplayed, and information operations can be a tall order.

Providing accurate facts that get ahead of jihadist information, is sometimes the best that we can do, methinks.
Mike et al who disdain psyops and civil affiars, mere military power is not and will not by itself work. If you defy the reality of tactical, simple psyops used both against the Japanese in the jungles of the Pacific, simple loudspeakers...used both by the Japanese and our Allies...ditto same process via battlefield use of speaker psyops by the North Koreans in Korean War, then you are the get go are missing part of the total mix it took to win, only in the case of WW II where our commitment was nationally absolutely with the draft, etc., and go to the less absolute process of the Korean War where began the "incremental" 50+ year long Cold War mindset and process.

I'd like to resort to carpet bombing with no holds barred in Northern Pakistan and major areas of Afghanistan but it did not work, long term shortly after 911 in Afghanistan, and feeds the enemy's psyops if we tried it again now.

We all agree on one hard fact. Muslims are different and we are not about to change the goofy to us moraes and value system (whatever that means) of the enemy that runs across so many fabled, ficional, as well as factual histories of a tribal,ethnic, cultural level as to be like trying to hold your breath while taking an around the world trip.