When terrorists struck the United States, the eyes of America were finally opened to the threat we are facing. But while we are dealing with the prospect of rogue nations possessing nuclear weapons or IEDs killing American combat soldiers on a daily basis; while we’re focusing on short term goals in Iraq and Afghanistan; we’re ignoring an even grater threat not just to the Middle East, but to worldwide stability. To our peril, we’re ignoring or at the very least not paying enough attention to the other undeclared war; the propaganda war.

Joseph Goebbels used it to deadly effect for Nazi Germany; first to dehumanize, relocate, then incarcerate millions of Jews, opening the door to their eventual extermination if the Allies hadn’t stopped them. Now it is being used by Arab governments to influence their populations and incite hatred of the West. And we’re just standing here in silence, failing to heed the warnings of the past and allowing it to happen.

Keep Your Friends Close, But Your Enemies Closer

One hour of Arab news from the Middle East was more than enough to convince me that every Arab country on earth is aligned against us; if not directly in the terror war, at least indirectly in supporting, enabling, or condoning the propaganda war. If we do not win this aspect of the war on terror; if we do not pressure foreign governments to put a stop to the outright lies and inflammatory rhetoric by Arab “news” programs, we are going to cross over in to a very ugly place from which there will be no return. Your grandchildren’s grandchildren will be fighting these people.

We cannot take on the entire population of over a billion Muslims and expect to win with so many misconceptions about what makes them tick. Democrats like John Murtha or Harry Reid would have you believe that the reason terrorist recruitment is on the rise is our mere presence in Iraq. But that’s far too simplistic an explanation. One of the primary reasons for hatred of the US is the steady diet of hate fed to Muslims by distorted Arab news coverage. Iranian TV coverage of the Iraq war focused on civilian deaths and left out facts. One Iranian report by al Alam Television mentions Condoleeza Rice rejecting the advice of James Baker but leaves out the fact that Baker suggested seeking Iranian help.

Iranian coverage of the Nuclear standoff with the US portrayed us as bellicose aggressors, while the Iranians were the coolheaded logicians. They sent a welcoming message to their western audience, but a belligerent, defiant and distorted message to their Arab audience. Syrian television used the most horrible prose I have ever had the misfortune of stumbling across to describe Donald Rumsfeld and the Bush Administration. Years later, the pictures of Abu Ghraib prison still run on Syrian television in almost continuous cycles. The report I saw even included a direct call to jihad.

Americans need to understand that these views are not the exception, but rather the rule. Everywhere we are portrayed in the Middle East, with the exception of Israel, we are belligerents; aggressors; occupiers. We are linked to nothing but misery, death, debauchery and corruption. Recently Al Jazeera has launched an English version of its wonderfully uplifting news coverage. Many have called for boycotts and similar measures on the grounds that they don’t want Muslim propaganda piped into their homes. I am firmly opposed to any sort of censorship. Knowledge is power. If that garbage was viewed in 200 million US homes on a regular basis, Americans would be calling for the destruction of Arab broadcasting capabilities worldwide. Al Jazeera has done more damage to our efforts to bring peace to the Middle East than our own actions ever could.

We can kill every known terrorist on the planet, but if we do not put a stop to the lies that fuel the jihadi anger, the war on terror may rage for decades.

Technorati Tags: al Jazeera, al Qaeda, Iran, propaganda, Terrorism