"Truth persuades by teaching, but does not teach by persuading," the wise philosopher Tertullian observes. It seems the United States Department of Defense has forgotten this basic premise.
On February 5, CNN reported that the Pentagon was constructing Web sites designed to combat "misinformation" about the United States in overseas media in regions like the Balkans and North Africa. Some argue that these sites are harmless community newsletters, while others argue that they are nefarious agitprops. For instance, one Web site about the Maghreb region offers information about local art and athletic events, but critics say disclaimers about the Defense Department's sponsorship are suspiciously subtle. Either way, this strategy to "win the hearts and minds of the people" is thoroughly misguided.
We will not win over hearts and minds while stomachs and pockets are empty. At this stage in world history, it should be perfectly clear that poverty and uneven distribution of wealth breed violence. It is no coincidence that the poorest places on earth (regions in Indochina, the Middle East, South America, etc.) are also the most violent.
Why do so many nations that we have aided in the past continue to hate us and see us as duplicitous hegemons? The answer has less to do with "American imperialism" or poor public relations and far more to do with the manner in which destitution distorts perception. One has only to turn to Nazi Germany, Communist Russia and countless other examples to observe how economic desperation can warp people's better judgment.
The sad and simple fact is that people in dire straits are looking for a way out, and they will rush toward the first opening they see, even if it's offered by tyrannical hate-mongers.
This is the exact phenomenon we face in "winning the hearts and minds" of the Muslim world. In last week's Christian Science Monitor, Sen. Russ Feingold recounted a recent trip he'd taken with the American ambassador to the African nation of Mali. While the arrival of the ambassador went relatively unnoticed, crowds wildly cheered for the arrival of Iranian President Mohammad Khatami.
The Malians were overjoyed to greet the ruler of an "axis of evil" nation, a nation that even France agrees must be harshly dealt with.
The reason for this reaction quickly became clear to Feingold: the Americans came asking what Malians could do for our country, whereas the Iranians came asking what they could do for the Malians.
Malians "are happy to discuss their views on issues of terrorism," Feingold said. "But they're even more interested in talking about their own priority: the fight against poverty, the struggle for a reason to hope that life for their children will be better than life is today." To many countries around the world, this is the bottom line.
There's a deeper problem here, however. In Mali, Saudi money is establishing extremist schools, Chinese funds are building infrastructure, and it goes without saying that when the Malians are turning to Iran over the United States for help, perhaps we haven't done enough to make ourselves available.
The deepest problem of all is that the have-nots naturally learn to hate the haves. Right now, Americans are without question the biggest haves in the land, while the places where misinformation flourishes -- like the Middle East -- are the biggest have-nots.
The solution to this propaganda problem isn't Web sites. Have-nots tend not to have luxuries like computers and Internet access, and it's unlikely that any of these countries are ever going to believe anything we say so long as they're impoverished. Additionally, if any of them discover the disclaimer at the bottom of these Web sites declaring that the Pentagon is feeding them information, they're likely to distrust us even more.
The alternative is to forget about combating "misinformation" or trying to "win hearts and minds" by injecting American media into the Third World. Instead, we need to be visibly making the improvements these nations urgently need. When the people are no longer desperate, extremism will fade, perceptions will clarify and the truth will emerge.
On January 30, we made a giant leap forward in this task when eight million Iraqis voted in their first democratic election in decades. On Sunday, the world heard the voices of millions of hitherto-silenced Iraqis as the election results were announced. As Americans, we can proudly put our stamp of approval on a tangible product of substantive diplomacy. The unimaginable success of the Iraqi elections will go further in thwarting anti-Americanism than any Web site ever could.
Producing results is the best propaganda. One of our own wise philosophers, Franklin D. Roosevelt, recognized this fact some six decades ago. In revising our core American values, Roosevelt placed Freedom from Want alongside Freedom of Expression. The key to achieving both is to list them in that order.
Justin Tackett is a sophomore in the College from Pittsburgh. Word! appears on Tuesdays.
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