Thus far in the War for the Free World, the United States has been unilaterally disarmed in one of the most effective forms of warfare against ideologically driven foes: Political warfare. While we wage it against each other incessantly - Republicans against Democrats, liberals against conservatives, etc. - we have largely failed to use political warfare against our enemies, or even to organize ourselves to do so.
The closest we come to political warfare has tended to be the use of so-called "public diplomacy" - disseminating America's message through various media. Even in this area, we have been hampered by inadequate resources, direction and strategy. For example, we have tended to focus on goals that are vague or irrelevant. Currently, the underlying theme of our public diplomacy is, "Why do they hate us?" - when it ought to be, "What is wrong with them?"
American public diplomacy was seriously impaired, moreover, by the loss of an independent communications office, when during the Clinton Administration the US Information Agency (USIA) was folded into the State Department (See STEP 10: Wield Effective Diplomacy) .
But even effective public diplomacy falls far short of what is needed: a strategically designed, fully implemented campaign of political warfare. The "warfare" side of communications is legitimately a Pentagon function and must not be assigned to our diplomats.
The focus of such a campaign would be to de-legitimize Islamist extremism in the eyes of Muslims. While violent Islamism presents a serious problem for the West, it is a vastly greater problem for the Muslim community.
Winning a political war is, in the end, a question of credibility. When nations stand firm for what they claim to believe in, they are perceived as credible. When they appear unwilling to stand firm - regardless of stirring rhetoric - they become vulnerable to their enemies' more decisive use of political warfare.
What Needs To Be Done
The United States needs to take a number of steps, urgently, to inaugurate a program of political warfare.
1. Stop evading the issue. No government strategy to date for the so-called "War on Terror" has included political warfare as an element of the American arsenal.
2. Devise, staff up and begin executing a political warfare strategy. Countering the Islamofascist ideology must be its principal focus.
3. De-legitimize Islamist extremism in the eyes of Muslims, and especially its potential supporters. We need to show that, while violent Islamism is certainly a problem for us in the West, it is a vastly greater problem for the Muslim community.
Challenge the Islamists on religious grounds. Many Muslim leaders teach the message of civility and tolerance, and their voices need to be amplified.
Expose economic disaster. There is ample evidence that Islamism, and its imposition of Shari'a law, results in crippling limitations to economic development, and thus to the socio-economic well-being of Muslims.
Celebrate educational opportunity. Radical Islam has a strongly negative effect on educational standards. Any serious effort at political warfare must emphasize the huge costs to societies that do not fully utilize the talents of half of their population.
Emphasize progress. Shari'a-ruled countries exhibit a strong bias against science and technology education, to the huge detriment of their economic development. A successful political warfare strategy must highlight this key failure by documenting the numerous religious prohibitions and restrictions on scientific and technological pursuit imposed by Islamist ideology.
Enshrine human rights. The regular and officially-sanctioned abuse of basic human rights in Shari'a-dominated countries is yet another glaring Islamist misdeed that needs to be exposed.
Use legislative vehicles for political warfare. Congress has an important role to play. Under the leadership of the remarkable Senator Henry M. Jackson, the legislative branch wielded political weaponry to decisive effect in delegitimizing totalitarian Soviet Communism. Sanctions legislation and assistance to democratic opposition movements can serve a similar purpose in the War for the Free World.
4. Use our strengths. The good news is that Americans are among the world's experts at political warfare. The bad news is that we mainly use it against each other: after all, the strategies and tactics of any hard-fought election campaign are precisely the stuff of applied political warfare. The talent, creativity, ingenuity and, yes, ruthlessness of top-flight political campaign strategists of both parties should be mustered for the purpose of fighting our enemies and helping our friends - rather than fighting each other.
5. Invest in the instruments of political warfare, including public diplomacy. Public diplomacy, intended to influence perceptions, attitudes and actions abroad, must be viewed as a form of political warfare. An immediate and sweeping ramp-up of our international broadcasting capabilities is needed to provide high-quality programming to include:
- Voice of America; "free radios"; new services like Radio Sawa and Al Hurra; and support for the extremely effective private sector broadcasts (for example, those beamed into Iran from Los Angeles and more innovative, sometimes covertly sponsored forms).
- A range of formats (television, satellite, AM/FM and/or shortwave radio and the Internet).
- Operating twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, where appropriate.
- Serving every country currently or potentially under assault from Islamism.
- The cost of such an ambitious undertaking - while appreciably greater than the stingy investment we are making in international communications today - pales by comparison with the costs of military warfare. The investment will be well repaid if helps us protect and expand the Free World against the Islamists and their friends, without resorting to further use of military force.
6. Use the Internet as a tool of political warfare. In particular, the power of creative web sites, webcasting and blogging should be aggressively exploited.
7. Strengthen the CIA clandestine services, and authorize and fund them for long-term strategic political warfare.
8. Grant the Department of Defense the primary responsibility for political warfare. Just as the State Department leads in public diplomacy, the "warfare" side of communications is legitimately a Pentagon function and must not be assigned to our diplomats.
9. Don't forget political warfare in non-Islamist areas. The US must combat adversarial political warfare wherever it arises, even in countries traditionally considered friendly.
10. Reinforce and strengthen our friends. By demonstrating that there are not only consequences for opposing us, but also real and tangible benefits from supporting us, we can maximize the chances of our success.
Winning a political war is, in the end, a question of credibility. When nations stand firm for what they claim to believe in, they are perceived as credible. When they appear unwilling to stand firm - regardless of their rhetoric - they are vulnerable to their enemies' more decisive use of political warfare. With the fate of the Free World hanging in the balance, we cannot be (or be perceived to be) weak and irresolute. Toward this end, we must wage political warfare effectively, convincingly, and decisively.
Contributors: Dr. Michael Waller and Alex Alexiev
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