Phil Taylor's papers
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BACK TO : PROPAGANDA AND THE GLOBAL 'WAR' ON TERROR (GWOT) Years 1 and 2, ie 9/11-2003
Clash of Communications by Global Views 
Clash of Communications: The Battle of the Narrative The mantra of the war against terrorism is that it will be fought on many fronts, and this week's U.S. military strikes have been accompanied by a battle for the airwaves. U.S. National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice managed to convince American media executives, not usually known for showing restraint, to abridge broadcast addresses from the media-savvy recluse Osama bin Laden. Although the immediate explanation for the request involved eliminating bin Laden's ability to send signals to terrorist cells around the world, it was clear that his eloquent speech, filled with hate and historic references, carried a powerful message that could easily gain support for the man suspected of masterminding the September 11 attacks on the United States. As the war on terrorism moves into uncharted territories against an elusive, network-based enemy, an increasing number of decisive outcomes will be based not on military strategies, but on the abilities of the leaders involved to control the narrative of their respective ideologies. Bin Laden's message was broadcast by Al Jazeera, a Quatar-based satellite television station, and was subsequently aired by American media outlets. Its immediate impact could be seen in reactionary hot-zones like Cairo, Manila and Karachi, where protesters praised bin Laden as the leader in a Muslim war against infidels. But historic elements integrated into bin Laden's message threaten to stir up moderate Muslims who might find his story particularly appealing - and accurate. On Wednesday, The New York Times reported on a number of students taking part in peaceful protests in Cairo, many who said that they found bin Laden's speech a charismatic defense of Islam and Arabic rights. 'I felt his aim is to protect Islam, nothing more,' said Doaa Mostafa, a student of Arabic literature at Ain Shams University. 'Our nation, the Islamic world, has been tasting this humiliation and this degradation for more than 80 years,' said bin Laden in his address, referring to the time elapsed since the Balfour Declaration was issued by the British Commonwealth. The historic letter, drafted by British Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour in 1917 after the fall of the German-allied Ottoman Empire, was a 'declaration of sympathy with Jewish Zionist aspirations,' according to the author, and opened the door to a Jewish state in Palestine. The declaration held the provision that 'nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine,' an issue the charismatic leader of the terrorist network Al Qaeda is eager to exploit in his call for an international Islamic jihad against the West. 'The power of the story, and storytelling in general is a deep tradition in Islam, particularly in the preparation for and the conduct of conflicts,' said John Arquilla, co-author of 'Networks, Netwars, and the Fight for the Future,' in an interview with the Foreign Policy Association this week. 'Older, experienced Muslims have gone back to their native villages to tell the story of why the war is being fought, and why other young men need to go and fight it as well.' Osama bin Laden, notes Arquilla, is a master storyteller. Another significant reference made by bin Laden is that Americans will have no peace until 'all the infidel armies leave the land of Muhammad.' This reference is to Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of the Muslim prophet Muhammad, and home to the two most sacred cities in Islam -- Mecca and Medina. It is also the birthplace of Osama bin Laden. Many Saudis, including the ruling monarchy, adhere to a form of Islam called Wahhabism, a practice that is said to be even more fundamental than that of the Sunni Islam practiced by the Taliban in Afghanistan. 'To the religious people, the extremists, the Taliban state is the ideal Islamic society,' said a professor at King Abdel Aziz University in the New York Times, which makes bin Laden's literal interpretations of Islamic scripture and history all the more appealing in Riyadh. Saudi Arabian oil reserves have spawned a symbiotic economic relationship with the West that in turn has led to military cooperation, creating what The Economist called a 'double-edged sword.' 'The Saudi regime poses as an ally of the democracies in the antiterrorist coalition, while continuing to spend vast sums of its oil revenues to promote Wahhabi radicalism throughout the Islamic world and the Muslim communities in the West, including America,' writes Stephen Schwartz in the Weekly Standard. This hypocritical stance, according to an article in the New York Times, could result in the downfall of the regime. 'He [Osama bin Laden] abhors the alliance of the ruling family with the West, their dependence underscored by the hundreds of thousands of American and other foreign troops who flowed into the kingdom to defend it during the Gulf War,' reports Neil MacFarquhar. 'And he is committed to the overthrowing of the Saudi regime.' Bin Laden's rampage of terror was sparked when Saudi officials allowed the U.S. to launch air-strikes from bases there in the 1991 Gulf War against Iraq, and the suspected mastermind of the September 11 attacks has called Saudi Arabia's silent approval of the American attacks on Afghanistan a sin worse than the attacks themselves. The accusation of hypocrisy in the world of Islam is a grave one, and the Koran condemns 'false Muslims' who adhere to such practices. By integrating these elements into his narrative, bin Laden hopes that his fundamental dedication to Islam will gain him support throughout the Muslim world. In the West, George Bush has mounted his own campaign based on an 'attack against the entire civilized world.' In creating a coalition whose objective is to root out 'terrorism,' itself a historically subjective term -- finding allies has not been difficult. But as attacks on Afghanistan, along with a host of anti-war demonstrations, began last week, the power of the Bush administration's narrative is losing ground fast. 'It is a little more complex of an argument, and we are going to have to be subtle about how we portray it,' said John Arquilla, whose theory of "netwar" highlights the importance of maintaining powerful narratives in modern warfare. 'I am sorry to say that if we end up doing what they call collateral damage in bombing campaigns and kill innocent people -- it's hard to make your case that you are fighting for civil society.' The British press has picked up on the battle of the narrative as well. 'America is not winning the propaganda war. George W. Bush can repeat a thousand times that this a battle against terror rather than Islam. Tony Blair, showing extraordinary energy and focus on what seems a permanent diplomatic tour of the region, can say the same close up,' said Philip Stephens in the Financial Times. 'Sultans and kings can be persuaded and cajoled into condemning Al Qaeda. It is a lot harder to convince their subjects.' In an address to the nation last night, President Bush sought to draw attention to the humanitarian efforts simultaneously taking place alongside the bombings, in an effort to counterbalance anti-American reaction to the U.S.-led military campaign in many part of the world. 'Ultimately, one of the best weapons, one of the truest weapons that we have against terrorism is to show the world the true strength of character and kindness of the American people,' said Bush. 'Americans are united in this fight against terrorism. We're also united in our concern for the innocent people of Afghanistan.' As American-led strikes against terrorism continue, the battle of propaganda will stay at the forefront of ever-changing alliances and joint operations. 'I think they do have a little bit of an advantage at the narrative level,' said Arquilla. 'They have an appealing story of a clash of civilizations, a war between Islam and the West.' Others, such as Saudi ambassador to the United States Prince Bandar bin Sultan claim that the battle of the narrative is an American creation. 'You have a romantic weakness for all the dissidents,' he said. 'The Western media has blown him [bin Laden] out of proportion.' |