Guest Blogger: Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX) on Strategic Communication

Rep. Mac Thornberry / March 04, 2010

On September 11^th, 2001, America changed.  Since then the United States has been at war with violent Islamic extremists who plot and plan against us every day.  We have sent American troops to Afghanistan and Iraq to defeat them in combat.  Our intelligence and special operations forces have fanned out across the globe to disrupt terrorist networks and deny them safe havens.  And we have cooperated with friends and allies to reinforce existing counterterrorism resources and build new coordinated capabilities.  While these actions are necessary to defeat the jihadist threat against the United States, they are not sufficient to do so.

To truly defeat terrorism, we must also wage and win the war of ideas.  Success in the debate between moderate and extremist voices within Islam is necessary if we are ever to secure a lasting peace.  Unlike traditional kinds of diplomacy, such as education and cultural exchanges, the goal of the war of ideas is not to persuade people to like America and its policies.  Instead, the aim is to make sure negative attitudes toward America and its allies do not take the form of violent extremism.  These efforts are often called “strategic communication.” (more…)