I just received a report about a recent talk by Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Richard Stengel, who spoke at the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California on Wednesday, October 15th, 2014.
A wonderful friend was there and submitted her remarks:
He [Stengel] mostly talked about the importance of soft power but didn’t elaborate specifically on what is it that the United States is currently doing.
He said that the Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications is seeking to combat ISIS propaganda.
From his remarks, I concluded that most of the US strategy was basically through the digital media.
After the event, I approached him and I asked whether social media and in general digital media serves only as a tool and not a strategy? I told him, ISIS is currently using some traditional forms of communication such as Jeopardy games in Arabic, video games, cartoons and they offer free food for the mosque strategy meetings.
He said that he forgot to mention such outreach programs and indeed United States is using some of those traditional forms of communications too. As a public diplomacy practitioner who works in the field, I can say that we need to raise the level of traditional forms of communication in order to deal with the propaganda especially in non democratic nations and with violent actors such as ISIS and Hezbollah. A speech at a Friday sermon is heard and resonated more in the Muslim world than the U.S. President’s Saturday Radio Address or any numbers of tweets. Today’s event inspired me to write a research paper about combatting such propaganda.
I responded with these comments:
An Imam at Jumu’ah strikes much more deeply than anything the International Broadcasting Community can do, that is why Information Operations practitioners attempted to establish bonds to local Imams during their time in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Those attempts have now ceased, so any progress is now negated.
As for Strategic Influence against the Islamic State, our efforts seem to be limited to a digital outreach program, which as you just stated, will have extremely limited efficacy. You may have seen the Fatwa signed by 100 Islamic clerics and scholars, condemning IS actions, but we have not seen any actual results.
Social media will touch those in the West seeking to join IS but it most likely will not affect IS fighters or their leaders.
I submit we need a multiple pronged approach. Social media to reduce fighters from the West. Diplomatic and Public Diplomacy to create a non-supportive environment with the leaders and the indigenous population. Establish relations with the Islamic world at every step, to emphasize reduction or cessation of violence. Reinforce cultural and religious reasons for Islam as a religion of peace. An aggressive educational program for IS fighters. Education has proven to be the single most effective program at stopping radical and violent Islam, however education in the Middle East is difficult to establish, at best.
Anything less is almost a waste of time. a single dimensional program, limited to the digital world, is not effective.
This is why I am frustrated with the Countering Violent Extremism program. I believe it too focused on those select few who are violent extremists, whereas I believe we need to create a larger environment which vilifies their extremist preaching, teachings and especially their actions.
From what I could gather, Secretary Stengel gave only lip service to what the State Department is doing. He glossed over the details of what should be a very public, very much discussed and very engaged and engaging program. I see very little coming out of “R”, which until now I have chalked up to his being newly appointed. Mr. Secretary, you need to sell the United States but, more importantly, you need to sell your program.
We lack a comprehensive information approach to our rapidly changing world. Politicians believe they have the ability to spin a US response to external and internal stimuli but they lack the focus, the experience, the knowledge and the resources.
This echoes what others have written, here, here, here, here and here.
We need a professional information effort to vanquish the Islamic State in conjunction with diplomatic, military and economic efforts.
Filed under: Information operations
