Is it really possible?:
‘If the U.S. government can organize itself to devise and propagate the right message, from the right voices, to the Islamic and Arab worlds, while at the same time diminishing al-Qaeda’s voice in cyberspace, then there is a good chance we can end al-Qaeda’s recruiting success. As things stand today, voices for moderation and non-violence are still being drowned out by the overwhelmingly larger number of militant voices in cyberspace and elsewhere’
Our authors claim that public support in the Muslim world is low at the moment, as Al-Qaeda tended to kill a lot of Muslims in Iraq. Sure, there’s sentiment for Al-Qaeda’s cause in the Muslim world, but it’s a fanatical fighting force that can turn on anyone.
Our authors argue we should use this bad PR against them in a change of strategy, especially in the hothouse chat rooms of Islamist solidarity and righteous vengeance.
I wonder if this Isn’t a re-hash of the ‘moderate’ Muslim argument?
Even if so, does it line up with what’s going on on the ground and can it work?
How do we best meet our objective of preventing attacks on our soil, and further, on our interests and allies?
Addition: A friend says we’re writing checks we can’t cash in the Middle-East. Islamism thrives when there’s so much discord in the region.
And: Philip Bobbitt Discusses His Book ‘Terror And Consent’ On Bloggingheads…I often assume the worst but am always open to new ideas Al Qaeda On The Run? No, Still There For The Most Part Fareed Zakaria At Newsweek: ‘Terrorism’s Supermarket’
From Slate: ‘In Aleppo, Syria, Mohamed Atta Thought He Could Build The Ideal Islamic City’…
Michael Moynihan At The Daily Beast: ‘The Repentant Radical’..
Michael Moynihan At Newsweek: ‘http://www.jihad.com’
.Kenan Malik In The Spiked Review Of Books: ‘Twenty Years On: Internalizing The Fatwa’-Salman Rushdie
Adam Garfinkle At The American Interest: ‘What Did The Arab Spring Really Change?’
How do we deal with the rise of Islamism: Via Youtube-Uncommon Knowledge With Fouad Ajami And Charles Hill
From The Atlantic: Samuel Huntington’s Death And Life’s Work…From The American Interest Online: Francis Fukuyama On Samuel Huntington…From Foreign Affairs Via The A & L Daily: ‘Conflict Or Cooperation: Three Visions Revisited’