US lags Qaeda propaganda: Rumsfeld

[Rose Siding]

NEW YORK (Reuters) - 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," Rumsfeld said.

Yahoo link

interestingly:

snip>
The House committee established to investigate Katrina was “informed that neither Secretary Chertoff nor Secretary Rumsfeld use e-mail,” reported Reps. Charlie Melancon and William Jefferson, two Louisiana Democrats who participated in the inquiry despite a boycott by other House Democrats who felt that the inquiry was too partisan.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/11371281/site/newsweek/

[coalition_unwilling]

1. They still think this is only about "spin," as if photos of

torture are the problem and not the torture itself.

[ThoughtCriminal]

2. Thye make it easy for our enemies - nt

[central scrutinizer]

3. .. our country has not adapted," Rumsfeld said.

How true - torture is soooooooooooo 16th century.

[sinkingfeeling]

4. So, are we going to spend the next $115 Billion on e-mail and

Blackberries for the Iraqis?

[heidler1]

10. We invaded their country under false pretenses and expected them to

be tickled pink. Yeah some of the Sh ia pretend to like us because we put them in power. This Most ada guy will bring down the whole house of cards even though he is Sh ia. He seems to know BS when he sees it.

[bobthedrummer]

5. The Pentagon's War On The Internet by Mike Whitney

http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_510.shtml

Domestic spying (from The Crisis Papers)
http://www.crisispapers.org/topics/spyscandal.htm

Perception management (from USAF Air War College)
http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/awc-pcep.htm#perception_mgt

on edit:imo it's part of this fascist administration's routine to continually lie

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

6. Oh I don't know

the Administration is masterful at catering to hatred and prejudice in this country. Look at the speeches by that general who said Muslims were devils and that the US should be out to Christianize them. The masterful way the MSM presents anything to do with the Muslim world is, by and large, designed to continue the ignorance of most Americans about what the faith is about (especially its ties to Christianity), and to reinforce the idea that Muslims are violent people ready to kill at the drop of a hat. Makes it so much easier to convince people that illegal wars are completely justified.

[JohnyCanuck]

7. What a fucking idiot.

The problem with our PR efforts is not that we bomb Islamic wedding parties, burn civilians alive with white phosphorous ammo while flattening an Iraqi city, and torture prisoners. The real problem is that we don't use our Blackberries and MSN Messenger appropriately to put a good spin on it all before the bad guys flash the pictures of what we did all over the Islamic world on Al Jazeera. Rummy, you dumb shit, have you ever heard the saying "You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear?"

[bemildred]

18. Indeed, the problem is that the "negative images" are real. nt

[Betsy Ross]

8. In how many ways are we behind?

Use of technology
Total number of medals in Olympics
Available medical care
Quality of education
Propaganda
Freedom of the press
Human rights

Add your own to the list.

So much for being a super power, eh?

[mediaman007]

9. Really!!! I thinks its poor me on his part. Rummy should have hired better

PR firms. Or he should have spent a little more on PR, rather than handing it out in bundles to his buddies.

In fact, the cheapest way to get good PR, was to behave honorably. Perhaps "Shock and Awe" wasn't such a slick move.

[bobthedrummer]

12. Military Contractors (from topsy.org)

http://www.topsy.org/contractors.html

[cliss]

11. Interesting, isn't it?

RumsFailed wants to imply that the US is LAGGING BEHIND when it comes to the Internet, computers. This is laughable when you consider Iraq only has electricity for about 2 hours per day, STILL.

I can tell you what this is about. RumsFailed has complained about this many times. He's said, "a lie can spread at the speed of light around the world". What he means is, we're now in the Information Age. The Internet is now the preferred means of communication. people can email each other instantaneously, anywhere in the world. He's upset because he's trying to fight a war that he doesn't understand: the Internet.

The world has changed, and RumsFailed has not kept up with it. Time to go, Don.

[jimshoes]

13. Note to Don,

Bwana Dick needs a hunting partner.

[rodeodance]

14. oh I think the RW/WH has done a heck of a job on the propaganda.

[louis-t]

15. That's what we need: more lies.

We're just NOT lying enough, or fast enough. Or to enough people. Rummy, you moron, actions are what win hearts and minds, not bullshit that most of the world sees through anyway.

[happydreams]

16. Yea, like its a problem of osmosis. When you get people

sufficiently dumbed-down its just a matter of quantity of propoganda to win the PR war.

"Bounty is the quicker-picker-upper" approach. :eyes:

[Magleetis]

17. If

only we had positive images of the west.

[Up2Late]

19. US lags in propaganda war: Rumsfeld

(This is the last thing we need, MORE Propaganda to slog through!)

US lags in propaganda war: Rumsfeld

Fri Feb 17, 2006 02:27 PM ET

By Daniel Trotta

NEW YORK (Reuters) - 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," Rumsfeld said.

"For the most part, the U.S. government still functions as a 'five and dime' store in an eBay world," Rumsfeld said, referring to old-fashioned U.S. retail stores and the online auction house respectively. U.S. military public affairs officers must learn to anticipate news and respond faster, and good public affairs officers should be rewarded with promotions, he said.

The Pentagon's propaganda machine still operates mostly eight hours a day, five days a week while the challenges it faces occur 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Rumsfeld called that a "dangerous deficiency." He 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."

(more at link above)

<http://go.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=politicsNews&storyID=11258240&src=rss/politicsNews>

[Doctor_J]

20. The yahoo teaser at the yahoo mail login said

"Runsfeld says extremists winning media war" and I thought - at last, I agree with Rummy on something - he and Smirk and the other Nazis ARE winning the media war.

[tanyev]

21. Too much truth getting out! Bring on the catapults!

[mahatmakanejeeves]

22. another link

Rumsfeld: U.S. propaganda needs to enter digital age

I didn't see your post first.

[ninkasi]

23. What inane comments

Rummy makes it sound like al Qaeda has a huge research and development team, dedicated to turning out the latest in cutting edge technology. These communication devices are doubtless manufactured in caves in Afghanistan, and programs are televised daily by their many newspaper, television, and radio outlets. The poor U.S can hardly hope to compete against such a technologically advanced enemy, right?

I mean, al Qaeda absolutely DOMINATES the media, holds numerous well attended press conferences, and has a huge PR team feeding flattering articles to the press...and don't forget their numerous appearances on Sunday political shows. Why, Republicans scarcely get any air time at all. It's just so unfair.

[Ben Ceremos]

38. ROFLMAO!!!

So-o-o-o-o-o-o true!!!

[TheBaldyMan]

24. I'll say, look how long it took for the Abu Ghraib photo publication

If the US administration shut down Guantanamo, ended detention withou charge or trial and closed the 'black sites' that would go much further in changing peoples' perceptions of America. Rummy is on a different planet.

[jimshoes]

25. Rummy is an old fossil

that will never get up to speed in the modern world. Rummy's still running on vacuum tubes.

[NVMojo]

26. US lags in propaganda war: Rumsfeld

It's nice to understand why the Bushco needs so much money for propaganda.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - 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," Rumsfeld said.

"For the most part, the U.S. government still functions as a 'five and dime' store in an eBay world," Rumsfeld said, referring to old-fashioned U.S. retail stores and the online auction house, respectively.

more...

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=politicsNews&storyID=2006-02-17T205858Z_01_N17237817_RTRUKOC_0_US-SECURITY-RUMSFELD.xml&archived=False

[Greeby]

27. Maybe Bush needs a bigger catapult?

;)

[saltpoint]

28. Hard to believe we're lagging in propaganda with such a

slew of impenetrable liars currently running the Bush administration.

[Kenergy]

29. Incredible...he has no clue what's going on n/t

[jeff30997]

30. "who are bombarded with negative images of the West"

They are bombarded,period.

[LibDemAlways]

31. Rummy treats them to shock and awe and

then acts surprised that they have a "negative" impression of us? If somebody dropped a bunker buster on his house and killed his family, think he might object? The bastard lives in fantasyland.

[NVMojo]

34. damn straight!

[Ben Ceremos]

39. Yes.

Our bombs DO produce a negative image of the West. Who would have thought that indiscriminately bombing innocent populations would make them have a negative view of the "Use-less A"?

[Punkingal]

32. He's batshit crazy....

Just plain, batshit crazy. The United States used to rail against Russian propoganda, now he's crying because we're lagging behind in the propoganda game.

[NanceGreggs]

33. Winning the hearts and minds of Muslims worldwide?

I'd say not TORTURING them might be a step in the right direction - but, hey, that's just me ...

[fujiyama]

35. Rummy

is an old senile bastard.

This whole administration feels like a cast of comic book villains. Where's that pic of them as Batman villains?

[truthpower]

36. This moron could START by putting down his knives and guns

Starting a preventable war on false information, executing the aftermath piss-poorly, polluting thousands of square miles with birth defect-producing depleted uranium, overseeing on his command child-rape, torture, and murder and blaming a few privates for it, wiping off the face of the earth either directly or indirectly more than 100 thousand souls, and the guy still thinks he's qualified to give advice on how to make friends and influence people ....sheesh....


I haven't seen such a rare combination of sky-high self-esteem and complete idiocy since Ted Baxter's days on WJM TV.

[Ben Ceremos]

37. From all I've read from the boys of Qaeda

it seems they print more sense and truthful analysis than the US gov't. I must admit, I tend to believe the rationale offered by Laden and his ilk for their war against BooshAmerica. I have long ago stopped believing US stories because I know they are propaganda. Rumdrunk said it himself, that we would be subject to propaganda as a means of thwarting the spread of information to the "enemy". (In war, the truth is always accompanied by a coterie of lies...paraphrased.)
I think back to the cover stories for 9-11, the lies for the illegal attack on Iraq, the lies of the Boosh whenever he opens his mouth, the lies about Katrina... I suggest you leave Iraq and soon. Osama is right about how one destroys a belligerent superpower. He should know, he and his men have already taken down the Soviet Union, and nearly single-handedly at that...but I guess these Nosferati don't use email so they missed the memo. :)