Of the tactics available to fight the Islamist jihadists, there is one that we are not making the best use of.
First a little bit of history.
As J.R. Dunn writes in his column at the American Thinker, when informed that the French had agreed to his surrender terms in 1940, Hitler stomped his foot once in triumph, a gesture caught on film. A British propaganda genius re-looped that footage “at the point where the Fuehrer’s stance looked most effeminate” and made it appear as if he was dancing an insane little jig. To this day, most people truly believe that Hitler actually danced that jig.
Dunn asks “The Jihadist should be made to dance at every opportunity.” His point is that using humiliation and satire to marginalize the jihadists would be a prime weapon in the free world’s fight against Islamism.
How? He goes on.
“What is required is a psychological warfare campaign operating against all levels of Jihadi-umma interaction: doctrinal, social, and political. All active Jihadis, from Osama bin Laden on down, must be targeted through all forms of media, constantly and unrelentingly. A perfect example of this is the Zarqawi video, in which the Lion of Anbar was revealed as a schmuck who couldn’t figure out how to fire a machine gun. When he was finally tracked down and killed a few weeks later, his “martyrdom” lacked the expected impact, in large part due to the impression created by that very video.”
He gives other examples.
“Much the same can be done with other Jihadis, no matter where they’re operating. Nor does it matter whether there’s any actual footage – CGI (Computer Generated Animation) as any filmgoer is aware, is capable of near-miracles today. Imagery can be created that cannot be distinguished from real footage without close professional examination. This technology should be taken advantage of. The possibilities are limitless, from OBL putting away the contents of a bottle of Jim Beam to his directly blaspheming the Almighty. Ridicule can be a potent weapon, as was seen in WW II, when the Western Allies sent Spike Jones, the LooneyToons menagerie, and the Three Stooges against the Axis. The Jihadis by their very nature give us a lot of potential material. It’s already been noted how absurd they look. It wouldn’t take much to push this element straight over the edge into slapstick.
The past can be used for ridicule too. Take past pictures of OBL and use them against him.
The Jihadists previous lives are not off limits either. There are numerous photos of ObL in a Beatle cut wearing striped bell-bottoms. They should be given wider circulation, as opposed to the sickening “white sheik” photo that has become the ObL photo of choice for most of the Western media. (What ruins that one is the eyes – cover his lower face next time you see this shot.You will be chilled.) Did Zawahiri leave behind any snapshots? The other goons? Has anybody bothered to look?”
And here’s another use for satire and ridicule. The Islamist fear of women. Dunn writes:
“As is true of all fanatic movements, there’s a convoluted and potentially usefulpsychosexual component in Jihadism. In large part, this is based on fear of women. Said Qutb, salafist theorist and an important influence on much of the Jihadi hierarchy, gave up completely on the West when, while living in the U.S., he was invited to a sock hop. Now, this was in Greeley, Colorado, in 1949, and occurred in the basement of a Protestant church, so we’re not talking Woodstock here. But the horror of it all (Boys and girls, dancing together! To wild jitterbug music! The girls without burqas!) threw Qutb completely. He fled home to Egypt a confirmed bachelor, to pass his late nights creating the philosophy that so well serves the Islamists today. The fact that Jihadi hypermasculinity is a facade (not to mention its near-explicit homoeroticism), will not come as a revelation to most Westerners, but it might be an amusing novelty in the Islamic world. (Consider in this light the news of the sexy lingerie discovered in the ruins of Zarqawi’s final hideout. Fact or disinformation? No doubt very effective, either way.)
Dun says that we should use the technology that the West has created.
“Material created for such campaigns can be distributed via Internet, videotape, DVD, CD, and for that matter, by comic book for more backward areas. The jihadis have utilized all these media in distributing their propaganda, sermons, and lectures. They have, to put it bluntly, been allowed to monopolize them. We have possession and control of one of the most potent vectors of psychological warfare every created – the Internet. And we’re leaving it to be exploited by the enemy. We have to do better than this. We are the midst of a decades-long conflict, one in which over the long run, the military aspects will be strictly secondary. This war will be won on the political and social fronts. There is no sign that this is understood at every level of government. That being the case, it may be a moment for public action. There are plenty of think tanks and foundations devoting themselves to terrorism and the Middle East. Perhaps it’s time that one of them took a more active hand.
Not to mention an army of video bloggers and individuals who post to sites like YouTube.
Yep, it’s time to take off the gloves and get Mickey Mouse, Quadafi Duck, and Goofy into the fight!
3 comments:
http://www.psywarrior.com/psyhist.html
I think Sun Tzu said: irritate your enemy :-)
Nasrallah in a dress, fleeing from Jews, would make a nice cartoon.
The Islamofascists are like hyped-up football players before the big game. All you need to do is call them sissy-boys, and it will throw their whole friggin' game off.
Look at Zidane. Look at how easily that guys buttons were pushed. I'm not saying he is an Islamofascist. But, he does come from the culture, doesn't he? It's a machismo-oriented honor/shame culture.
Tell them you're gonna screw their woman. Tell them their mother gives good head. Tell them you saw them in the back alley with a dude.
It will work.
Of course, you do need to be creative. But, I think we've got more than enough of that here.
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