Media's Influence in Afghanistan

Do Broadcasters Manipulate Central Asia’s Conflict?

Jul 24, 2008 Frank W. Hardy

Since Vietnam the media genie has been out of the bottle. By reporting on the war, are journalists in fact shaping the events of Afghanistan's war?

Arguments have existed for years how the media should present war to the public. Should war be sanitized for family viewing or should the unaltered horror and carnage be presented live? Does the public’s right to know endanger soldier’s lives in the field? Does tragedy emblazon the enemy and lengthen the conflict or dishearten the citizen-soldier and shorten a war?

History

The article: Do Journalist Report the News or Create It, determined that media can influence results. Dr. Steve Gillon, resident historian for The History Channel and professor of history at the University of Oklahoma reported in a History Channel interview that President Lyndon B. Johnson said: “…’if I’ve lost Walter Cronkite [America’s famed journalist of the era], then I lost Middle America’. ” Gillon continued in his discussion on the Vietnam War: “This is actually part of a much larger critique. That is that television - this was the first television war, this was the first war that Americans watched from their living rooms. And the idea is, that television shaped the way we saw war, it misreported the war and cost us victory.”

National Will to Fight

Dr. Gillon says the Tet Offensive was “…a tipping point…The interesting thing about Tet is that militarily it was a great victory for the United States – we wiped out the insurgency in the South. But politically it was a disaster….so psychologically it was a huge blow.”

Gillon continues: “If you look at polls before the Tet Offensive…Americans [were] still supporting the Vietnam War…post Tet you see a large majority of polls show that Americans no longer support…Vietnam.” The national will to fight was gone!

Afghanistan

The media has had multiple roles in America’s War on Terror in Afghanistan.

Training – Early in the war the Taliban, Al Qaeda and Pakistani insurgents had little ability to affect military outcomes with US led forces quickly routing the military arm of these groups. For years Afghanistan fell from the headlines with rebels hiding in mountainous areas with remote names - Badakhshan, Jalalabad, and Waziristan (Pakistan.

However, successful tactics employed in Iraq were examined by insurgent leaders (as well as Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.) In a June 2005 report Iraq Tactics Hit Afghanistan Carl Robichaud argues: “…suicide bombings were rare in Afghanistan….for three and a half years… [However,] a recent wave of attacks…suggests that insurgents are borrowing tactics from Iraq.”

Inspiration – “[The Bush Administration] has become the greatest propaganda tool that exists for recruiting of terrorists around the world" said Sen. Joe Biden of DE. Rebel gains from the conflict in Iraq have instilled a renewed confidence within Afghanistan’s insurgent fighters and suicide bombers.

Gaining confidence from increased news coverage and political strength from Iran (also strengthened by this same news) Afghanistan has entered a new phase that is negative for Coalition forces. Rebellious fighters have joined with suicide bombers to renew terror throughout the nation. Urgency has arisen among coalition forces and government ministers that are shown in renewed media reports.

Propaganda – Taliban forces have become masterful in using the media for military exploitation. Sean Haylor reported in the Armed Forces Journal, that an Army General with recent Afghanistan experience said: “The Taliban and Al-Qaeda absolutely leave us holding our jockstraps in the information operations realm.”

A report produced by CJSOTF — Afghanistan’s intelligence directorate — says that the Taliban’s propaganda is eroding support for the coalition. “The Americans are particularly worried about the insurgent group’s ability to manipulate…claims that were widely reported by Afghan and international news media,” reports Haylor.

Body-bags and reports of death are once again having its toil on the American public. While still positive about America’s fight in Afghanistan, through the media the public is rapidly loosing confidence in our struggle. The national will is waning!

The copyright of the article Media's Influence in Afghanistan in American Affairs is owned by Frank W. Hardy. Permission to republish Media's Influence in Afghanistan in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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