US lags in propaganda war: Rumsfeld

[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Daniel Trotta]
The United States lags dangerously behind al Qaeda and other enemies in getting out information in the digital media age and must update its old-fashioned methods, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said on Friday. Modernization is crucial to winning the hearts and minds of Muslims worldwide who are bombarded with negative images of the West, Rumsfeld told the Council on Foreign Relations. The Pentagon chief said today's weapons of war included e-mail, Blackberries, instant messaging, digital cameras and Web logs, or blogs. "Our enemies have skillfully adapted to fighting wars in today's media age, but ... our country has not adapted," Sec Rumsfeld said. Sec Rumsfeld lamented that vast media attention about U.S. abuses at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq outweighed that given to the discovery of "Saddam Hussein's mass graves." On the emergence of satellite television and other media not under Arab state control, he said, "While al Qaeda and extremist movements have utilized this forum for many years ... we in the government have barely even begun to compete in reaching their audiences."
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=internetNews&storyID...

* Rumsfeld Pushes Media Front in Terror War
"Consider that the violent extremist have established 'media relations committees,'" he said, "and have proven to be highly successful at manipulating opinion elites.... They know that communications transcend borders -- and that a single news story, handled skillfully, can be as damaging to our cause and as helpful to theirs, as any other method of military attack. And they are doing it. They are able to act quickly with relatively few people, and with modest resources compared to the vast -- and expensive -- bureaucracies of western governments."
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6308691.html?display=Breaking...
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