This is old (from early on in the war) but it still has a bit of relevance -
Psy-ops backfire
Hawkish commentators know whom to blame for anxiety about the progress of war in Iraq: the media. It's the gut reaction, and not entirely fair. Their argument: the pundits were over-enthusiastic last week, and their excessively disillusioned now. And that's true, but it misses the point: the pundits were bullish last week because they were getting those signals from the administration. A shock-and-awe air raids, and a cakewalk of an invasion: this was military language before it became part of the media's vocabulary. Donald Rumsfeld, on the defensive in his briefing today, said he'd never given the impression the campaign would be easy. Well, not in so many words. But it was part of the administration's strategy to present the campaign as a foregone conclusion, in order to undermine the Iraqi resistance before fighting even started in earnest. The inflation of expectations, and the deflation now, are a direct result of US psychological operations. These psy-ops were entirely sensible. Who wouldn't want to destroy Iraqi morale with words rather than killing? And the strategy may yet be successful. But, for the moment, it has succeeded in jarring western opinion, as well as the will of the Iraqi regime. So don't blame the media for everything.
nickdenton.org |
