[PsyOp]

If you agree, pass this along.

[PhilDragoo]

THE CHOICE

VERSUS

[Ciexyz]

If you agree, pass this along.

I agree!

[PsyOp]

"And let me say to the Vietnam veterans gathered here today: When you returned home, you brought solace to the loved ones of those who fell, but little solace was given to you. Some of your countrymen were unable to distinguish between our native distaste for war and the stainless patriotism of those who suffered its scars." - President Ronald Reagand, Remarks at Dedication Ceremonies for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Statue, November 11, 1984.

[PsyOp]

"The eyes of the world did not flutter for a second. Stories of American atrocities were believed by whoever wanted to believe, no matter what actually occurred.... If the United States was seriously trying to win the battle of world opinion--well, then, you had a real bush-league operation. The North Vietnamese were the uncontested aces." - Tom Wolfe.

[fightu4it]

As the liberal media in this country increases it's attack on our President there will be a corresponding increase in the attacks on our troops in Iraq.

The time to make those responsible aware of the consequences of their actions is now, before any more troops are attacked.

[redhead]

Bumping....

[PsyOp]

Treason doth never prosper.
What's the reason?
For if it prosper
none dare call it treason.
- Sir John Harrington, Epigrams.

[PsyOp]

"Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with a kiss." - Patrick Henry, speech to the Second Virginia Convention, March 23, 1775.

[PsyOp]

"Combinations of wickedness would overwhelm the world did not those who have long practiced perfidy grow faithless to each other." - Dr. Samuel Johnson.

[PsyOp]

Oh for a tongue to curse the slave
Whose treason, like a deadly blight,
Comes o'er the councils of the brave,
And blasts them in their hour of might!
- Thomas Moore, The Fire-Worshippers.

[PsyOp]

"Who will venture his life to reduce his own countrymen to a foreign obedience?" - Thomas Paine, Common Sense, January 10, 1776.

"A traitor is the foulest fiend on earth." - Thomas Paine, The American Crisis #2. January 13, 1777."

[Cannoneer No. 4]

This is outstanding! I always have respected your contributions, PsyOps, but this piece really impresses and motivates me.

I think we may be on the edge of a break through here.

The media has become another front in war.

With his power over news coverage, the enemy is not only in a position to choose the nature of the terrorist act, but is increasingly free in choosing how to portray it. Many of the recent events in Iraq, such as the murder of the Blackwater contractors, the abduction of American truck drivers, the demonstrations, the hostage takings and so on are literally made for television. If left unchecked, it will create a major collapse in the civilian intelligence system -- the system you and I employ to determine the state of reality -- that is, the news. No one without access to classified information has any alternative except to read the papers or switch on the TV to check on the progress of world events. Even analysts at the CIA rely to a large extent on "open" sources, which means the news. What happens when the "open" sources become polluted?

I think we have the potential here on Free Republic to undertake an effective counter-propaganda campaign. Y'all are working along those lines already. We have the talent. We have editorialists, psychological warfare operators, military affairs analysts, net surfers; a whole bunch of smart people whose talents could be harnessed. Google News has a news alert function that will email you when any news articles that match the criteria you set up come online. We could recruit Freepers to donate blocks of their time as their schedule permits to:

research

surf for propaganda to be countered

post threads on this and other forums

engage in online debates with the other side

write letters to the editors of local newspapers

prepare callers to call talk radio shows

A pack, not a herd, as Glenn Reynolds likes to say.

[Travis McGee]

Fantastic essay! It should be picked up nationally!

[ThePythonicCow]

the umpteenth bump

[fly_so_free]

Treason: traitor see also Democrat

[atomic conspiracy]

"Treason doth never prosper
What's the reason?
Why, if it prosper,
none dare call it treason."
(Ovid)

So, how doth treason prosper these days? Why, lefties ask, would the media lords; the leaders of the greediest, most capitalistic, and most ruthlessly competitive industry in the world; sit around plotting to destroy capitalism and create the very chaos and violence to which they are especially vulnerable?

The answer is that they aren't doing that, but they might as well be. Treasonous ideas flow naturally from the dominant advertising and cultural marketing techniques of the past 40 years. These techniques are institutionalized within the larger media culture itself, where the superficial trappings of rebellion and the illusion of non-conformity are standard attention getting devices.

Am I really suggesting that the present-day left is little more than an advertising gimmick run amok? I really am and more: the rise of terrorism itself is a cultural artifact of insitutional media. Though committed totalitarians exist, and they predate the development of the saturation media culture, they would be powerless eccentrics without the billions in free promotion and advertising they receive from sympathetic media.

The clearest and most reasonable exposition of this that I have come across is Thomas M. Franks' landmark cultural history The Conquest of Cool. This documents the historical and cultural relationships among mass media, the advertising culture, and radical politics since the late 1950s.

It is an absolutely damning indictment of all three. To summarize, it is no coincidence that the rise of the authoritarian "New Left" and the decline of traditional ethics have paralleled the development of the saturation media as a selling tool.

I confess to being a bit of a bore about evangelizing for this book, but it really is one of the most important works of cultural history in recent years. The scales will fall from many eyes upon reading it.

I should say right now that this is not some kind of conspiracy theory nor is it a partisan rant. Frank is something of a lib himself, which actually helps the credibility of his work.

[R. Scott]

Consider it passed. I’ve posted excerpts on my own small local forum.
My own opinion of the anti-war protesters_
What is the message they are sending?
Hey troops! We support you 100% - but we want all of you to tuck your tails between your legs and run home to mommy. We never knew when you joined the military that our little babies might actually be in danger! The heck with the Iraqis! Let them kill each other! Don’t finish the job, you might get hurt!

[maica]

First, you call into question their mission. Make them question why they are fighting. Make them question whether they are doing the right thing. Soldiers unsure of their mission question their orders and hesitate to act when quick action is most necessary. In combat, you’re either quick or you’re dead.

Second, call into question their leadership. Make them question their commander’s skill and honesty. Make them question the motives of the political figures that made the decision to go to war. Soldiers unsure of their leadership may refuse to follow their orders or take direct action against their leadership. In combat, failure to immediately follow orders usually gets soldiers killed.

Third, make them homesick. Point out how miserable they are; remind them how long they have been away from home; how much their loved ones miss them; accentuate the bad and ignore the good; tell them there is no foreseeable end in site (no, you won’t be home by Christmas). Homesick and depressed soldiers are not effective soldiers. Ineffective soldiers often become dead soldiers.

Fourth, make it all about them. Point out that the war is not in their personal best interest. “Hey, you can lose an eye (or worse), doing that.” This last step, converting the soldier back into the psychological equivalent of a civilian, is the most deadly. Soldiers who start thinking only of themselves stop acting as members of a team. A soldier concerned only with his own safety stops watching his buddy’s back. Unit cohesiveness breaks down. Desertions and insubordination becomes rampant. Casualties mount higher.

@@@

On the radio, I just heard what Andy Rooney said on Sunday night, as I was reading this. He could not have done a better job of working to defeat our troops if he had spent a lifetime in the KGB. I actually wonder who wrote his material.

[sauropod]

read later.

[ironman]

Bravo! Passed along to several friends and relatives.