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
Why the U.S. is losing the propaganda war by Eric Boehlert 
Why the U.S. is losing the propaganda war Foolish decisions, nervous allies and not enough Arabic speakers mean Muslims around the world aren't getting America's side of the story. By Eric Boehlert October 12, 2001 | Even as a deluge of bombs dropped on strategic targets inside Afghanistan this week, American forces simultaneously strove to win over the hearts and minds of the beleaguered Afghan population. In addition to cluster bombs and cruise missiles, a barrage of food packets, explanatory leaflets and portable windup radios that pick up only one frequency, broadcast by the U.S. military, showered down. It's difficult to tell whether the humanitarian aid is having any impact, although so far there has been little word of widespread anti-American uprisings among Afghans themselves, while far more hostile demonstrations are taking place across the border in Pakistan. But if the war for public opinion in the nearby Arab states of the Gulf region is any indication, prospects are dim for a rush of converts to the United States' point of view. On the contrary, experts say the United States is nearly defenseless in this crucial war of words, unable and apparently unwilling to explain the goals of its campaign to a widely hostile and suspicious audience. The biggest hurdle: few, if any, Arabic speakers, either among U.S. government officials or their hesitant Arab allies, who are willing to make the White House's case in the Middle Eastern press. But the problem isn't just a lack of human capital, it's also a failure of will. "Despite this country's enormous ability to communicate, we've become mute exactly at the time when we need it most," notes Walter Denny, professor of art history and Middle Eastern studies at the University of Massachusetts, who just returned from the region this week. "We don't have anything there. Nothing. It's depressing." "There's a media war raging over there and the United States is not even participating. There's nobody presenting an accurate picture of U.S policies," complains Norman Pattiz, recently appointed to Broadcasting Board of Governors, which oversees Voice of America. Pattiz has spent much of this year leading an initiative to greatly expand VOA's Arabic programming for the Middle East, a project he says is now a must. "Nobody is carrying the water for the United States." The White House may be waking up to the problem. During his press conference Thursday night, President Bush conceded, "We need to do a better job making our case" to those in the Middle East. And earlier this week, White House press secretary Ari Fleischer confirmed that Bush may soon follow the lead of British Prime Minister Tony Blair and give an interview to Al-Jazeera, the Arab-language satellite channel, in order to speak directly to Arabs and Muslims about the war on terrorism. Al-Jazeera is the only truly independent Arabic-language all-news channel, reaching 35 million viewers worldwide, including 150,000 subscribers in America. The question is, will Bush's interview make any difference? In addition to the paucity of Arabic speakers in the U.S. government and military, there are a number of other reasons that may explain why the United States appears to be losing the propaganda war in the Middle East. The U.S.'s Arab allies are afraid to appear too pro-American to their own populations. Funding for government-subsidized media outlets like Voice of America has been limited in scope. There's even the possibility, suggested by some media watchers, that Americans just aren't very good at propaganda. But judging by the rising tide of protest that is surging in the Middle East and elsewhere in the Islamic world against the bombing of Afghanistan, the reasons for U.S. impotence may not be fixable in the short term. Much damage has already been done. |