http://comops.org/journal A Journal of the Consortium for Strategic Communication Thu, 04 Sep 2008 23:47:54 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en by Monika Maslikowski Online PSYOP campaigns are a cheap and easy way for extremists to infiltrate U.S. public discourse about the fight against terrorism. The campaigns attempt to break the political will of U.S. policymakers and persuade the public to doubt the purpose and effectiveness of their government’s policies. Does extremist ... http://comops.org/journal/2008/09/04/al-qaedas-talking-but-are-americans-listening/ by Steven R. Corman Ars Technica reported yesterday on a letter sent by Congressman Brad Miller to the Inspector General of the Director of National Intelligence.  Miller, who is Chairman of a House subcommittee on technology oversight, sounded the alarm over a current initiative called "Railhead," which is designed to upgrade ... http://comops.org/journal/2008/08/26/terror-database-a-giant-mess/ by Steven R. Corman About a month ago, I wrote a post critical of a vote in the House of Representatives on an amendment offered by Rep. Hoekstra to H.R. 5959 to deny DHS and NCTC the ability to expend any funds in their efforts to discourage use of words ... http://comops.org/journal/2008/08/22/you-got-it-wrong-congressman/ by Steven R. Corman Bruce Gregory has just released a new essay at Small Wars Journal that should be of interest to COMOPS Journal readers.  In it he identifies five lessons learned from recent experiences in U.S. Public Diplomacy: Abandon message influence approaches Drop the "war on terror" language Leverage civil society Emphasize net-centric perspectives Rethink ... http://comops.org/journal/2008/08/15/public-diplomacy-lessons-learned/ by Steven R. Corman Matt Armstrong recently posted  an essay on the Smith-Mundt Act that has been getting a lot of attention.  In it he claims that the Act has outlived its usefulness, and I am on record as agreeing with him. Sharon Weinberger over at Danger Room has just finished ... http://comops.org/journal/2008/08/13/real-vs-false-distinctions-in-rethinking-smith-mundt/ by Mark Woodward in Yogyakarta Indonesia As was reported last week, on August 6 Abbu Bakar Bashir announced his resignation as Amir of the Islamist organization Majelis Mujahid Indonesia or Indonesian Council of Jihad Fighters (MMI). His announcement, only days before the organization’s general convention, came as something of a surprise. ... http://comops.org/journal/2008/08/11/bashir-is-moving-on-not-going-away/ by Bud Goodall What would you rather have for your tax dollars? (A) A first-class military band that can play funky versions of "The Stars and Stripes" and "Hail to the Chief."  (B) A world-class communicatively and culturally savvy diplomatic corps that can reduce tensions, build support for U. S. foreign ... http://comops.org/journal/2008/08/10/of-military-bands-and-diplomats/ by Steven R. Corman In the past couple of days I have received email alerts from ESISC, an independent European group based in Brussels that describes itself as doing observation and analysis of international terrorism and related strategic issues. The emails indicate concern that the Bad Guys are planning attacks during ... http://comops.org/journal/2008/08/08/esisc-worries-about-ramadan-attacks-in-west/ by Steven R. Corman Nothing you can do will hurt me, I am indestructible. Black Sabbath, "Kiss of Death" One of the more interesting stories I've heard lately is about Heavy Metal music becoming big in the Muslim world.  Earlier this week, Mark Levine posted a guest blog on the subject at Post ... http://comops.org/journal/2008/08/06/heavy-metal-as-islamist-counternarrative/ by Steven R. Corman I recently talked to Capt. David Faggard, who is Chief of the Air Force New Media and Emerging Technologies team.  His newly-formed group is an Air Force contribution to the effort by the U.S. to catch up to their "war of ideas" opponents in the use of ... http://comops.org/journal/2008/08/04/extremist-psyop-baits-us-youtube-viewers/