Answering AL-QAEDA: The Battle for Hearts and Minds in the Middle East

摘要

Since the terrorist group al-Qaeda began conducting operations against the United States and its allies, Osama bin Laden has mounted a concurrent media attack with anti-U.S. statements and religious pronouncements (fatwas), placing blame solely on U.S. foreign policy. The U.S. has left these accusations largely unanswered in the Middle East, allowing an increasingly frustrated Muslim public access only to a radical point of view. President Bush's recent efforts to bolster public diplomacy-the communication of U.S. interests and ideals to foreign publics-have fallen short in reaching moderate Muslims in nations at risk of succumbing to radical Islamists. In analyzing various models of terrorist systems, their members, and potential influences on those members prior to their turn toward radicalism, some clear opportunities to employ information in the war on terror emerge. U.S. State Department websites emphasize America's religious tolerance but include few messages touting the rationale behind our policies. Radio Sawa, the State Department's public diplomacy flagship in the Middle East and the successor to the Voice of America, focuses nearly exclusively on MTV-style programming and little on substantive reporting and analysis. We must re-introduce a message that answers the allegations from al-Qaeda and participate in radio or in televised debates, interviews and other mediums that allow moderate Muslims access to pro-U.S. political discourse. The modernizing forces in the Middle East-educated, moderate Muslims-are our natural allies in the war on terror. Our public diplomacy campaign needs to reestablish strategic aims and retake the hearts and minds field to gain their support.