Since President Bush addressed Congress after the terrorist attacks on September 11, the idea of a war against terrorism has been at the forefront of this country’s consciousness. Since military action began with air strikes in Afghanistan a month ago, it has been clear that this war will be fought on several levels. At the military level, the US-led coalition has thus far been successful in striking at the military capability of Afghanistan’s Taliban regime, achieving superiority in the skies over the country and putting special forces troops on the ground with the aims of disrupting the Al Quaeda terrorism network’s assets in the country and of apprehending Osama Bin Laden, the suspected mastermind behind the September 11 attacks.
On another level entirely is the battle fought for the hearts and minds of the citizens of the coalition countries. As long as public support for any military campaign is strong, that campaign can progress according to the direction of the military chain of command. However, the Vietnam war demonstrated how badly a war fought without the support of the home front will go. When military tactics are chosen according to how they will affect public opinion back home rather than how they will affect the situation on the battlefield, the army in question finds itself at a severe disadvantage.
Ultimately, the propaganda war is therefore the more important campaign. An army abroad without home support will eventually become demoralized and ineffective. For the opposing force, an army that fights badly is only slightly worse than having no invader at all, and it is considerably better than facing a fighting fit, motivated opponent. Whoever our enemy in this war is, he must certainly be aware of this fact.
So far, the military campaign appears to be making progress- all well and good.
But how are we faring in the propaganda campaign? There are some disturbing indicators that all is not well beneath the red, white and blue surface of the public psyche.
The Daily Telegraph recently reported on the attitudes prevalent at a New York liberal arts college. Students and faculty were reported to be vocally opposing the idea of retribution in Afghanistan and were loudly protesting the idea of sending troops there. This week, the ABC News network chief suggested that judgment should not be passed over whether the New York attacks were “bad” or not, and there has been talk of some news networks avoiding the use of the word “terrorist.”
Unfortunately, these thoughts have been propagated without the help of any Taliban propaganda machine. These lines of thinking are not yet so widespread that there is any present danger of the coalition finding itself left high and dry by the opinion of its constituencies. Indeed, President Bush is currently enjoying approval ratings of around 80%. However, the test will come when the enemy brings a propaganda war to the citizens at home. If this war is to eventually be successful, then the members of the public who unthinkingly incline to the “let’s all just be friends” mentality must start believing the planners who predict a long, drawn out conflict, and become willing to support those of their countrymen and women who are fighting abroad before they fall victim to a more definate attack on their emotions.
