Communicating US Values to the Islamic World
Aaron Lobel, President, America Abroad Media National Strategy Forum, May 1, 2008

“The battle of ideas is at the heart of the twenty-first century US struggle to win the hearts and minds of the billions of Muslims in the world,” Aaron Lobel said. He stressed the importance of fully engaging the government, public, and private sectors in the “struggle for the minds of men” (recalling President Truman’s Campaign of Truth speech), particularly in the information age when open access to information and ease of communication accelerate the dissemination of radical Islamist misinformation about America.

The Islamists’ campaign of anti-Americanism is a critical threat to US national security. “Islamists have defined the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for America,” Lobel said, "and if we don't develop a strategy to define ourselves now, they will continue to do it for us." By fueling hostility toward America, Islamists foster sympathy for their cause, which directly enhances their efforts to garner support in the region.

Based on the growth of AAM's programming, which includes a real-time, townhall-style panel discussion via Internet satellite among the US and four Muslim countries including Pakistan, Turkey, Indonesia, and Afghanistan, Mr. Lobel said that the there is a demand in the Islamic world for an understanding of America (rule of law, civil society and the role of women). Despite negative perceptions of America abroad, good will exists in Muslim countries toward the US, he added. Mass media via cable lines and television reach remote areas throughout the Islamic world in countries such as Pakistan and Afghanistan where the US is engaged in various diplomatic and security operations. There is an opportunity for the US to develop a strategy based on more substantial, collaborative public diplomacy efforts using media.

The media has a critical role in bridging the information gap between the US and the Islamic world, “but we have to show up in the Islamic world,” Lobel said. The media can be an important tool of national security. The Internet, television, and radio enhance the free exchange of ideas between America and Islamic countries, and, if developed properly, can advance critical thinking about complex cultural, political, and global issues in the Islamic world. Lobel noted that even more contentious issues such as Iraq should not be left off the table. Discussing these issues openly -- the bad and the good -- will mitigate bias and misperceptions and foster a greater sense of trust.

In the past, the US has used media as an instrument of national power to engage and inform foreign audiences via such effective programs as the United States Information Agency (USIA, which was developed in the early 1950s and retired in 1999), Voice of America, and Radio Free Liberty/Radio Free Europe. These programs demonstrate the ability of the US government to organize the necessary resources for public diplomacy, which Lobel said is currently lacking. This can be attributed, in part, to what Lobel characterizes as the culture clash between the US government and media whose competing missions of protecting information versus disseminating information limit cross-sector collaboration.

The US is losing the war of ideas and the battle for credibility, Lobel said. However, since September 11, 2001, the expectation that government can do everything has been disproved. Government limitations prevent the necessary degree of flexibility required to address twenty-first century challenges, particularly in the realm of national security. Mr. Lobel explained that "getting the information" to an international audience is not technically complicated or expensive considering the costs of not communicating America's message abroad. Engaging the private and non-government public sector to share this task is necessary today. Lobel warned, "we can't wait".

Is a clearly defined US national strategy a prerequisite for an effective US communications strategy? Lobel explained that while a cogent US message and strategy is imperative today, the US must not delay reaching out to the Islamic world in the meantime.  He warned that the continued absence of a US public diplomacy presence will inevitably fuel the current misunderstanding of America in the Islamic world, which terrorist organizations such as Al Qaeda (which has its own media strategy) continue to exploit.

Why has the US government failed to communicate to the Islamic world? Many variables may have contributed to the current communication deficit – a lack of strategy, a lack of a consistent US message, a lack of resources, a lack of understanding about what information to provide to the Islamic world and how to present it, etc. Lobel suggests more programs and more discussion, even on those issues deemed contentious.

The US is straddling a potentially destructive fault line today: balancing the need to protect America versus the call for greater openness. The media provide numerous opportunities for relatively low-cost (some no-cost), but potentially substantial, public diplomacy initiatives that could be part of an improved US national strategy.