A Ways to Go to Win Hearts and Minds

Years of talk about hearts and minds being the key to winning the war on terror haven’t been met by effective action. In fact, the US seems to be losing the global information war, said Chuck de Caro, strategist and founder and CEO of Aerobureau Corporation. The problem is that the enemy has recognized that imagery can be more important than reality, but the US seemingly has not. In fact, de Caro said at AFA’s Air & Space Conference Tuesday, one needs only to look at the videos al Qaeda supporters turn out in support of their causes. Terrorist propaganda is effective because attacks are typically designed with propaganda in mind. Consider videos of numerous IED attacks that can be found on the internet: the sun is behind the camera and the target is at close range and low in the frame, so that the full scale of the explosion can be seen. These sorts of attacks may be, in the big scheme of things, militarily insignificant—but their propaganda value is enormous in recruiting new terrorists.