Redstate

By Charles Bird Posted in Spotlight Blogs | War — Comments (6) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

Al Qaeda and those friendly to its militant Islamist cause have created a new beach head in the Information War, the establishment of al-Zawraa TV, or as Bill Roggio calls it, Muj TV:

The information front in the Long War is perhaps the war's most vital. And it is one front where the West is perceived as losing. While Coalition forces and Middle Eastern allies face shadowy transnational terrorist organizations such as al-Qaeda and its affiliates on the battlefields of Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and elsewhere, the battle for hearts and minds is being fought on the Internet, print, cable and satellite television, and other forms of media. In Iraq, the al-Zawraa satellite television network is broadcasting insurgent propaganda 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Al-Zawraa television was set up by Mishan al-Jabouri, a former member of the Iraqi parliament and leader of the Sunni Arab Front for Reconciliation and Liberation. Al-Jabouri fled to Syria after being charged with corruption for embezzling government funds and purportedly for supporting al-Qaeda.

Read on . . .

The station is broadcast across the entire Middle East and most of north Africa, its signal reaching the eyes and ears of hundreds of millions of Arabs. David Gartstein-Ross and Nick Grace have more:

Based at a secret studio in Syria, its signal is broadcast to the entire Arab world from a satellite owned by the Egyptian government. This development highlights al Qaeda's increasingly sophisticated propaganda efforts.

Al Qaeda placed great emphasis on communicating its message effectively throughout 2006. Osama bin Laden and deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri issued more tapes in 2006 than in any year since the 9/11 attacks. In the past, al Qaeda tapes were generally released to Al Jazeera, but 2006 saw more Internet releases: the terrorist group's message was thus more quickly disseminated. Al-Zawraa TV, the 24-hour insurgent station, is an extension of this trend.

Al-Zawraa hit the airwaves on November 14. According to Middle East-based media monitor Marwan Soliman and military analyst Bill Roggio, it was set up by the Islamic Army of Iraq, an insurgent group comprised of former Baathists who were loyal to Saddam Hussein and now profess their conversion to a bin Laden-like ideology.

The Islamic Army of Iraq is subordinate to the Mujahideen Shura Council, an umbrella organization of Sunni insurgent groups, including al Qaeda in Iraq. The Al-Zawraa channel is not only viewed as credible by users of established jihadist Internet forums, but as a strategically important information outlet as well. Moreover, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, is delighted by the station. A U.S. military intelligence officer told us that al-Masri "has long-term and big plans for this thing."

Quite simply, this station represents another front in the War Against Militant Islamism. The station's content consistently espouses violence against Shiites, the Iraqi government and American forces.

For this reason, al-Zawraa should be destroyed.

This isn't a push against free speech. After all, speech that incites violence is commonly restricted in First Amendment cases.

More often than not, the best way to fight the Information War is to respond with more and better information. However, in cases such as this one, where speech is used exhort Sunnis to kill Shiites, Iraqi government officials and American forces, shut it down. If the Syrian government refuses to cooperate, then they are committing an act of war against the United States (in my opinion), and the Coalition has every right to find the damn studio and launch a military strike against the al-Zawraa station.

Egypt shouldn't be off the hook either, particularly since we send $2,000,000,000 (that's $2 billion, for those like me who have trouble translating all those zeroes) of our money every year to its government. If Egypt refuses to stop broadcasting, then there should be repercussions. I don't know if we have the technology to take out a satellite, but if we do, then we shouldn't be afraid to use it. We also shouldn't leave out the station's financial supporters. This is just a guess, but I wouldn't be surprised if they had more than a few Saudi benefactors.

These are harsh steps, but if we're going to prevail in this war, sometimes a hard response is the best response. To me, this is one of those situations.