SALON

Thursday, Mar 3, 2005 12:20 AM UTC

America’s propaganda war

The battle for hearts and minds goes on in earnest in Iraq, Iran and Pakistan, and television is the official weapon of choice.

By

Topics: Iran, War Room, Middle East,

The battle for hearts and minds goes on in earnest in Iraq, Iran and Pakistan, and television is the official weapon of choice. Reuters reports that the U.S.’s venerable propaganda outlet, Voice of America, is planning to expand its Persian-language TV offerings in Iran to a four-hour daily broadcast. A U.S.-funded satellite channel, Alhurra , is also slated to begin beaming its programming into the homes of European Muslims this fall.

“What we propose to do is exactly what Radio Free Europe, Voice of America and Radio Liberty did in the Cold War, and that is provide a window on the world,” said Kenneth Tomlinson, chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors.

Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty were vital tools in America’s information wars in the 1950s, broadcasting carefully crafted news reports to the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. Clearly, U.S. officials hope to combat the proliferation of Islamic extremist philosophy using the same principle.

The Bush administration has also launched an ad campaign on Pakistani TV , offering as much as $25 million for information leading to the capture of Osama bin Laden or his lieutenants. The interim Iraqi government has gotten into the act with a series of realistic-looking anti-insurgent videos called “Terrorism in the Grip of Justice.” They are designed to create a sense of security and solidarity among ordinary Iraqis, with dramatic footage of insurgents confessing to their crimes, confronted by families of the people they’ve killed.

The propaganda war is also a war of defense. The State Department recently placed Al-Manar, a well-known Hezbollah-sponsored satellite TV network, on its Terrorist Exclusion List . The TV network is the first to be designated as terrorist. The decision resulted in a blackout of the network within hours.

This may not come as welcome news to Americans already concerned about domestic propaganda emanating from the White House (think Michael McManus , Armstrong Williams, Maggie Gallagher and Karen Ryan ).

Some experts think an onslaught of “goodwill” TV programming could backfire by fomenting anti-Americanism, and may even be interpreted as a prelude to war in Iran (there have been rumors to that effect).

“People could see it as a sign that an invasion is coming. It’s the sort of thing that happens before nations build up their war effort,” Nancy Snow, a propaganda expert, told Reuters.

San Francisco-based freelance journalist Julia Scott writes about water and energy issues for various publications. She also covers the environment for Bay Area News Group, a chain of newspapers in Northern California. More Julia Scott.

Next Article

Related Stories

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

The week in 10 pics

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11
  • Lisa Montgomery embraces her nephew Thursday after a tornado tore apart her home in Cleburne, Texas. The twister killed six people and destroyed entire swaths of the North Texas town.
    Credit: AP/LM Otero

  • Jack McMahon, the defense attorney for abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell, speaks outside the Criminal Justice Center in Philadelphia Tuesday. His client was convicted of killing three babies in his clinic, and will serve multiple life sentences.
    Credit: AP/Matt Rourke

  • A photo taken Monday captures Vice President Joe Biden's response to a Milwaukee second-grader's innovative proposal to end America's epidemic of gun violence. This guy!
    Credit: AP/Jenny Aicher

  • Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., flanked by a grouper-eyed Michele Bachmann, addresses the IRS' admission that it targeted Tea Party groups in advance of the 2012 election. In an op-ed for CNN Thursday, the Kentucky senator slammed the president for his faux outrage.
    Credit: AP/Molly Riley

  • Ousted IRS chief Steven Miller is sworn in on Capitol Hill Friday. Miller testified before the House Ways and Means Committee on the extra scrutiny the agency gave conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status.
    Credit: AP/J. Scott Applewhite

  • Attorney General Eric Holder pauses as he testifies on Capitol Hill before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday. Holder is under fire, among other things, for the Justice Department's gathering of phone records at the Associated Press.
    Credit: AP/Carolyn Kaster

  • O.J. Simpson sits during an evidentiary hearing at Clark County District Court in Las Vegas, Nev., Thursday. Simpson, who is currently serving a nine-to-33-year sentence in state prison for armed robbery and kidnapping, is using a writ of habeas corpus to seek a new trial.
    Credit: AP/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Jeff Scheid

  • Major Tom to ground control: On Sunday astronaut Chris Hadfield recorded the first music video from space, a cover of David Bowie's "Space Oddity."
    Credit: AP/NASA/Chris Hadfield

  • When it rains it pours. President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference Thursday with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, inexplicably inspiring an #umbrellagate Twitter meme.
    Credit: AP/Jacquelyn Martin

  • A smoke plume rises high above a road block at the intersection of County A and Ross Road east of Solon Springs, Wis., Tuesday. No injuries were reported, but the the wildfire caused evacuations across northwestern Wisconsin.
    Credit: AP/The Duluth News-Tribune/Clint Austin

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11

Related Videos

Comments

 0 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>

follow salon

Most Read

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: Chekhov's story mirrors Russia's own

Recommendations