One of our readers has written to us inquiring about a possible link between the media’s reporting of anti-war demonstrations and the resulting deaths of our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. It’s worth considering. October, for example, was reported to be the deadliest month for U.S. troops in Iraq since January. October followed heavy publicity given to a so-called anti-war march in Washington, D.C. on September 24.
Is there a connection?
In order to prove it, one would have to link the protests to the activities of the enemy in Iraq and Afghanistan. In other words, are the terrorists motivated by what happens in our streets and in our media? If they think the anti-war movement is growing in power, does that convince them that they have a chance to defeat the U.S. and that they should, in fact, accelerate their battlefield operations?
One thing is certain. As we noted before the September 24 protest, one of the organizations behind the event posted an article urging “solidarity” with the “Iraqi fighters” and “resistance” killing American troops and innocent civilians in Iraq. This showed that the “anti-war” protest has been unmasked by one of its own leaders as a pro-war organization that seeks to kill those struggling for freedom and democracy in Iraq and around the world.
On the matter of the media war, the enemy has been very candid about the need to win the battle in the media.
A letter the U.S. Government says came from Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri says that more than half of the terrorist war is taking place “in the battlefield of the media.” The letter compared the Iraq war to Vietnam, saying that “the aftermath of the collapse of American power in Vietnam?and how they ran and left their agents?is noteworthy.”
We commented at the time: “Zawahiri’s reference to Vietnam is significant. The U.S. won all the battles in Vietnam but lost the war, primarily because the U.S. media turned against the effort to keep South Vietnam free of communism and convinced the public it was a losing cause. The emergence of Al-Jazeera means that the enemy has another powerful weapon at its disposal.”
Al-Jazeera hopes to launch an English language channel next year. Is there anyone in the Congress or this Administration who is willing to try to stop them?
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