America Should Hire al-Qaeda’s PR Agent

America Should Hire al-Qaeda’s PR Agent by Matt Armstrong, 3 October 2007, at GOOD Magazine.

Posted on MountainRunner here: America Should Hire al-Qaeda’s PR Agent.

Iraq has become a stage on which terrorists, insurgents, and Coalition forces compete for a global audience. YouTube, blogs, and all other forms of citizen media ensure that every GI Joe and Jihadi has at least a bit part in the theater of public opinion. The result is a new public diplomacy that insurgents understand, and the U.S. State Department doesn’t.

Today, bullets and bombs often have a much smaller impact than the propaganda opportunities they create–opportunities to influence public opinion and build public support.