RSS

In its recommendations for a New Strategic Concept for NATO, the group of experts led by former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright identified the new challenges facing the Alliance in the 21^st century, and presented effective and comprehensive solutions to deal with them. However, a very important topic was left out, namely the role of media in overcoming these challenges.

In dealing with terrorist groups, which have mastered the art of manipulating media to serve their goals, NATO has not been able to come up with a strategic counter-terrorism concept that employs media and information control. On the other hand, and although support for the Alliance among its citizens has always been strong, approval of its missions, especially in Afghanistan, is experiencing a sharp decline. According to the Transatlantic Trends survey of 2010, only a quarter of the Europeans whose countries have troops stationed in Afghanistan, felt optimistic about the future of the mission there. Even in the United States, only a slim majority expressed such optimism.

Thus, it becomes necessary for the Alliance to include in its New Strategic Concept an information strategy, which aims in the broader sense to win the hearts and minds of target groups in hot spots around the world. Additionally, this strategy would encompass measures to secure home support for its stabilisation efforts in Afghanistan. For this Strategy to succeed, NATO needs to add to its arsenal a new and dedicated body to fulfill this complicated task.

Winning Recruits Back

The media plays a pivotal role in supporting the three main pillars of a foreign intervention, which are military power, diplomacy and economic leverage. Without the existence of a body that reports on what is being done to stabilize the country and help the local population, the battle for hearts and minds cannot be won.

To effectively counter this seemingly well-oiled media machine, the Alliance must provide the capabilities and resources necessary to analyze the accessibility of the local population to different media sources. Then, it should be able to decide on the optimal response to terrorist propaganda, either by discrediting the information they distribute through actual information and/or audiovisual material, or by reporting on what the Alliance is currently doing to help the population.

Youth of both genders should also be the centre of attention for the Alliance, as they are the main targets of terrorist recruitment propaganda. Their dreams, opinions and concerns should always have a free and open space on Alliance media.

Fighting at Home

The Home Front should not be forgotten by NATO because public opinion plays a significant role in influencing the extent of Member States’ participation in military interventions. On the other hand, terrorist organizations have taken the fight to our doorsteps, by utilizing the “new media” to its utmost in order to spread fear and confusion among civilians. The role the Alliance plays, not only as a military organization, in conflict regions should receive special attention in NATO’s campaign to reaffirm its support at home.

Indeed, decades of democracy and respect for human rights and peace under the protection of a transatlantic collective defense principle represented by NATO, have engendered a culture of non-violence among the citizens of Alliance. Thus, it becomes increasingly difficult to justify the presence of Alliance troops abroad, despite the fact that their presence represents the main contributing factor to the enduring peace and prosperity in Europe and other areas around the world.

Thus, it becomes increasingly important for NATO to stay in touch with the public, and to keep it informed of important steps and decisions it is about to take. Military operations should be explained in a modern language, presented through attractive insertions in mass media and through instruments of public outreach, such as information campaigns, events, “NATO-Day” festivals, among others.

Yasser Abumuailek holds a B.A. in Politics and Society from the University of Bonn, Germany. He currently works for the Arabic Department of the German Broadcaster “Deutsche Welle”. Before coming to Germany in 2006, he worked as a journalist and translator for several prominent media networks in the Gaza Strip, including CNN, BBC and Al-Jazeera.

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