.Do you think the Internet is being used to undermine our efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan ???

Question

The War For Your Mind

You may not realize it, but in addition to the wars in Afghanistan and
Iraq, there is another war being waged by radical Islamists -- a war for
Your mind that would make Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels proud.
Thanks to the hard work and dedication of the good folks at the Middle East
Media Research Institute (MEMRI), this subversive campaign was recently
Exposed. Nevertheless, it continues and the damage is almost impossible to
Estimate.

The effort involves a “media jihad” of Islamists overseas using the
Internet to undermine American morale and support for the war. MEMRI has
Discovered talking points and action items on Islamist websites directing
Their followers to infiltrate American Internet forums and chat rooms with
False propaganda.

Just consider some of these excerpts:

-- “There is no doubt, my brothers, that raiding American forums is among
The most important means of obtaining victory in the fierce media war...
And of influencing the views of the weak-minded American …This American is
An idiot and does not [even] know where Iraq is…”

-- “Obviously, you should post your contribution... As an American... You
Should invent stories about American soldiers you have [allegedly]
Personally known (as classmates... Or members in a club who played baseball
And tennis with you) who were drafted to Iraq and then committed suicide
While in service by hanging or shooting themselves...”

-- “Also, write using a sad tone, and tell them that you feel sorry for
Your [female] neighbor or co-worker who became addicted to alcohol or
Drugs... Because her poor fiancee, a former soldier in Iraq, was paralyzed
Or [because] his legs were amputated... [Use any story] which will break
Their spirits...”

-- “Your concern should [only] be introducing topics which... Will cause
[them to feel] frustration and anger towards their government..., which
Will... Render them hostile to Bush... And make them feel they must vote to
Bring the troops back from Iraq as soon as possible.”

It is clear from these detailed instructions that our enemy understands the
Power of the media, and learned well a key lesson of Vietnam – America did
Not lose on the battlefield; it lost on the home front.

But if the last American retreats from Iraq in a helicopter from the
Rooftop of our embassy in the Green Zone, the jihadists won't be satisfied.
They will be emboldened, and from their new safe haven in the heart of the
Middle East, they will renew their strikes on America with increased
Ferocity.

Unfortunately, that is something the “cut and run” caucus in Congress
Evidently does not comprehend. If it did, it would not be insisting on
Timetables for “phased redeployments,” telling our enemies that America no
Longer possesses the resolve to “pay any price, bear any burden, meet any
Hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the
Survival and the success of liberty.”

Answer 1

It Doesn't Get Any Better Than This
Strategy Page

March 22, 2007: Islamic terrorists are encouraging their supporters, who can write in English, to get on American web sites and pretend to be friends or family members of American soldiers or marines. The "media jehadis" are instructed to tell stories in line with the anti-war tone of American and European media. Things like soldiers committing suicide because they were forced to take part in atrocities in Iraq. Or wounded soldiers suffering, or killing themselves, because of the poor care and abuse they have received from the army. The media jihadis are told to make it sound like they are simply passing on what a soldier said, not to pretend to be a soldier or marine. Media jihadis are told not to discuss anything from the Moslems side, and Moslems should only be referred to as innocent victims. Never mention the Sunni-Shia conflict or Islamic terrorism. Posters should not stick around for discussions, lest they be found out. Care should be taken to select screen names similar to other English speaking posters. Keep messages simple, so as not to betray the fact that you are not a native English speaker.

This is a clever strategy, and whoever started posting it openly on Arab language web sites, demonstrated a keen understanding of how the media works in the West. Bad news is more believable, and stories like this are already spread by the mass media. On some American anti-war sites, American posters are already inventing such stories. Some will be believed. That's the way the world works.

This strategy is already being executed by American media is very subtle ways. For example, most American media stories about the suffering of Iraqi civilians leaves out the fact that most of these victims are Sunnis, or Shia who have been attacked by Sunni terrorists. Outside of Sunni and partly Sunni areas, where 70 percent of the population lives, economic conditions are much better, and there is little violence. But by concentrating on the Sunnis, you get an anti-war human interest story, without revealing that you are examining the self-inflicted tribulations of the people who have caused all the problems in the first place. Information War doesn't get any better than that.

Answer 2

It works both ways.

We have killed every jihadist that we have come across from Fallujah to Basra. They were slaughtered by the thousands on the march to Baghdad in just a few days.

There only chance is to hide among women and children, like in Lebanon, and to blow themselves up in a car or to become keyboard commandos where they know where the weak underbelly of America is - the media. How ironic.

Answer 3

Yes.

A lot of it happens right here in this forum and the Political
forum.

Answer 4

i have a neighbour who enlisted and never came back.he was run over by a desert rat.a big fat juicy one fed by my men.