Winning the "War of Ideas" in the Global War on Terrorism
Abstract
Winning the War of Ideas is vital to the success of the GWOT, not only in gaining and maintaining allies, but also in convincing the population of the World of the worthiness of US policy. At present, neither aspect is being conducted in any meaningful and coordinated fashion with the result being a gradual decline in support of American policies. This anti Americanism can be seen both in the Muslim World and amongst western allies, where American foreign policy is often viewed as being hypocritical and incoherent. This erosion of soft power can take years to redress and the reliance on hard power can lead to greater long term consequences. This paper addresses the American Question, Why do they hate us ?, from the perspectives of both friends and foes. It details the attitude of Osama Bin Laden towards the US to attempt to comprehend his motives and examines the attitudes of other nations towards the US. It looks at the existing apparatus for waging the Information Campaign and then makes recommendations for its improvement. The paper concludes that a strategic level organization is required to formulate and coordinate a coherent information campaign in order to fully utilize this key element of national power. It requires the support of a Center for Strategic Communications to promote best practices from across all areas of society, in order to ensure that a credible and coherent message is put out by all government departments. In a world where perception is often more important than reality, winning the War of Ideas may well determine the outcome of the entire War and be a less costly option in the long run.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 18, 2005
- Accession Number
- ADA432529
Entities
People
- Simon P. Wolsey
Organizations
- United States Army War College