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Saddam Hussein
Have you ever watched Hollywood movies?
Ever noticed why these movies are so obsessed with war-mongering and threats emanating from Iran, Russia, China, Middle East and ‘Islamic Jihadists’?
After watching those movies, American people would surely be afraid of going out on the street, especially in fear of being shot by a Muslim Jihadist, Arab conservative or a terrorist from a South Asian country.
Likely, American would also feel unsafe in their offices using their fancy computer systems, fearing a Chinese or a Russian hacker might hack these systems.
Undoubtable, this is the sensitivity that the US establishment intends to create in the minds of the people in order to play with their emotions and churn out justifications for waging wars across the world. This, in turn, also keeps their defense and arms industry running which keeps on making ever increasing profits.
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Previously, this perception was created tacitly, using subliminal techniques especially through the medium of movies.
However, the American propaganda machine recently got a proper office and allocated funds in the form of Global Engagement Center (GEC).
Apparently, the GEC has been set-up to ‘counter propaganda’, however, who will supervise this supervision body?
Who would ascertain if the Center is countering or instigating propaganda?
Who is to define propaganda?
Would this Center also look inwards and counter its own propaganda instruments that are undermining the interests of the American people?
Only time will tell!
However, to remind our readers, the US’ Global Engagement Center was originally created to counter Russian and ISIS disinformation and propaganda. However, it now seems to be syphoning money off to further propaganda against Tehran, the US-Iran nuclear deal and China for the obvious reasons, especially because Beijing’s rise has many in Washington being uncomfortable.
In February, the GEC hired Lea Gabrielle – former navy intelligence officer and Fox News journalist – to head the center. Gabrielle views China, Russia, Iran and prominent global terrorist organizations as ‘top threats that use propaganda to undercut US interests. Gabrielle, after taking over, enunciated that she will prioritize ensuring the Center was properly staffed and funded. The GEC has now requested $55 million in funding for fiscal year 2019, with legislation introduced to raise that amount to $115 million. These numbers suggest why ‘propaganda’ centers like the GEC play a key role in Washington’s foreign policy and global media narrative building.
It is pertinent to note that information warfare has taken the top priority for many administrations around the world, and the Trump administration in Washington is no exception. The GEC, therefore, is being treated as an important instrument by the Trump administration for political ventures. This face of propaganda might seem new but the mechanism is time tested.
Remember Iraq, when the United States launched a propaganda assault on Saddam Hussein?
Eventually, weapons of mass destruction in Iraq were never found.
Though, US war propagandists projected the attack on Iraq as an extension of the war on terror, it is well known that the Bush administration had drawn up plans to use military force to overthrow Saddam Hussein’s regime long before the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. September 11 presented an opportunity for stampeding public opinion to accept US military intervention.
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Same is the case with Libya. The Obama administration said it was just trying to “protect civilians”. Nevertheless, the actions revealed it was looking for regime change. In fact, the US and NATO intervention fueled the unrest across Libya by employing propaganda to exaggerate Gaddafi’s crackdown against protestors. However, the American objective was achieved; they eliminated the leader who defied them and left Libya in a mess.
Regarding war, there are two good options for the United States.
The first is regime change with a viable plan to win the peace. The second option is not to go to war at all.
There is no point in toppling a tyrant if the result is anarchy.
Though, who cares?
The objective was not to save the people and the region, but to safeguard the American interests which could not be materialized without wars. For waging wars, one needs propaganda to legitimize the actions of the US leadership in the eyes of its people.
One must beware of the similar recent developments between Iran and the US. America accuses Iran of conducting the attack on Japanese oil-tankers in the Gulf of Oman, a claim that Tehran refuses to accept and labels it as yet another Irano-phobhic tactic to escalate tensions by the Trump administration.
The US was also quick in sending 1000 troops to the Middle East to counter the Iranian threat; clearly showing who was “excited for war”. Looking for details, one wonders why Tehran would attack Japanese oil tankers around the time when they were hosting the Japanese Prime Minister to negotiate trade and sanctions.
In order to understand global propaganda, one needs to study American modus operandi on how global opinions are shaped. Perhaps, it is, undeniably, the best in the world. It is much smarter and shrewder than any other country in the world.
American propaganda relies entirely on emotional appeals. It does not depend on a rational theory that can be disproved: it appeals to things no one can object to. This also helps the US in fulfilling its Messiah or ‘Global Policeman’ complex, where the western audience is told that only the US and the US-led alliances can make the world a safer place.
This brings us to the latest recapitulation of masterful American Propaganda: The War on Terror. Any attempt to explain why the terrorists (irrational as they visibly were) felt motivated to attack the Twin Towers is instantly put down and argued as “siding with the terrorists.” Indeed, American leadership have enunciated, at many occasions, that if “you are not with them, you are against them (or with the terrorists)”.
Hence, before criticizing other states for disseminating propaganda, the US government needs to first put its own house in order and abandon its global propaganda campaigns. Information warfare is a dangerous game and it is time we developed updated rules of the game for information and data usage.
