Wednesday, February 08, 2006

Today's Reading Assignment

From Austin Bay at Strategy Page, on the Danish cartoons and information warfare. As Colonel Bay reminds us, this is the second time in less than a year that elements of the Muslim world have "mobilized" over exaggerated or false claims about Islam. These sudden "uprisings" were not spontaneous, but rather the result of carefuly planned information warfare campaigns. Lest we forget, those controversial Danish cartoons first appeared last fall; the "outrage" didn't occur until four months later.

Islamic radicals know how to use information warfare for their advantage--even playing on the P.C. proclivities of the western press. They understand that the western media generally won't reprint or broadcast the cartoons, lest they offend Muslim audiences. But they will eagerly report on protests and embassy attacks in Islamic countries, creating the impression that the entire Muslim world is outraged by the cartoons. It's a win/win situation for the Islamists, and a losing proposition for the west. Our political leaders and media institutions need to understand that the underlying issue in this controversy is not offended sensibilities, but free speech.

2 comments:

Tom Grey said...

Yes, it is Info warfare. I note this a bit in a post on the Moral Hazard of a Free Press.

But you should also know that all 12 cartoons were published in Egypt in October, 2005. No outrage.

The lying Imams are creating the outrages. And the MSM is supporting the terrorists.

Cosmo said...

Once again, the West gets snookered by grievance charlatans who've mastered its institutions and political vocabulary.

In any dispute, the West’s enemies know the drill: howl with indignation and grievance, crank up the faux-angry street protests, demand apologies and compensation, and threaten that worse is yet to come if amends are not made.

And we cave every time.