Chapter 72 of the McGraw-Hill Homeland Security Handbook addresses the important issue of the ideological differences between the United States and al-Qaida and the necessity to win the war of ideas. This chapter outlines the ideology promulgated by al-Qaida and associated terrorist groups. It examines recent attempts by the United States to combat al-Qaida’s worldview and compares this effort with America’s global propaganda campaign against the Soviet Union. The chapter concludes with some preliminary ideas about waging an effective counterpropaganda campaign against al-Qaida, including potential themes and approaches.

Waging the “War of Ideas”

The Pentagon awarded three contracts this week, potentially worth up to $300 million over five years, to companies it hopes will inject more creativity into its psychological operations efforts to improve foreign public opinion about the United States, particularly the military.

"We would like to be able to use cutting-edge types of media," said Col. James A. Treadwell, director of the Joint Psychological Operations Support Element, a part of Tampa-based US Special Operations Command. "If you want to influence someone, you have to touch their emotions."

"What's changing is the realization that in this so-called war on terrorism, this might be the thing that wins the whole thing for you. This gets to the importance of the war of ideas."

I'm very happy to see an approach like this to the WoT.

Pentagon Funds Diplomacy Effort

The Muslim world's silence about the real desecration of Iraqis, coupled with its outrage over the alleged desecration of a Koran, highlights what we are up against in trying to stabilize Iraq -- as well as the only workable strategy going forward.

Get your Tom Friedman while it lasts.

Outrage and Silence

David "Netwar" Ronfeldt has written a new essay for First Monday.

Al Qaeda and its affiliates are operating much like a global tribe waging segmental warfare. This paper describes the dynamics of classic tribes: what drives them, how they organize, how they fight. Al Qaeda fits the tribal paradigm quite well. Thus, continuing to view Al Qaeda mainly as a cutting–edge, post–modern phenomenon of the information age misses a crucial point: Al Qaeda and affiliates are using the information age to reiterate ancient patterns of tribalism on a global scale. The war they are waging is more about virulent tribalism than religion. The tribal paradigm should be added to the network and other prevailing paradigms to help figure out the best policies and strategies for countering these violent actors.

Al Qaeda and its affiliates: A global tribe waging segmental warfare?

I met quite a number of managers in jihadi organizations who said they would like to quit but they couldn't afford to because they wouldn't make as much in the civilian sector."

Dilbert knows no boundaries.

Jessica Stern, on what lures some to terror

It begins tonight. And with it, the countdown to Pakistan, as well.

US Forces Begin Moving Into Falluja

"Nooooo!" the audience roared.

Bush in West Virginia

This is not just a matter of the president's diminishing credibility, although that's disturbing enough.

This article is the focus of the top story on every news site this morning. It seems the Bush team feels there is a link between Al'Q and Iraq, and that the commission established as much, but not between Iraq and 9/11, and they say they never said Iraq was connected to 9/11. Quite a debate has ensued...

The Plain Truth (?)

] The project will use the latest technology, including
] biometrics, to identify people coming into the United
] States. The contract was awarded to Accenture, formerly
] Andersen Consulting, over two competing contractors,
] Lockheed Martin and Computer Sciences. Several industry
] executives and analysts said that the award surprised
] them and that Accenture had widely been considered the
] outside candidate.

I have to say I have some sympathy with the outrage here. They award this huge homeland security contract with significant civil liberties implications to a company that was at the heart of the Enron scandal and is based out of the Caribbean for tax reasons. This is too important to trust to a company with such a culture of shadyness.

Virtual Security Fence?