The War of Ideas, Revisited
The War of Ideas, Revisited
by Gabriel C. Lajeunesse
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Three years ago, in this forum, I argued for an increasingly robust U.S. effort in what had been described by many as the “War of Ideas”—the battle for hearts and minds among Muslim populations. This struggle is between the worldview of radical Islamic extremists on one hand and the liberal values of liberty, human rights and freedom of conscience on the other. This is the foundational struggle in the global war on terrorism. I argued for a renewed effort, akin to that undertaken during the Cold War, to support reformers and moderate voices within their societies. Further, I described the woeful gap in U.S. strategic communications efforts as compared to the nimble use of new media by violent extremists and called for redoubling of U.S. efforts, both by the government and by key influencers in civil society. While the Bush administration’s Middle East Partnership Initiative made some attempts in that direction, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Hurricane Katrina and economic troubles pushed these aspirational goals to the back-burner. President Obama seemed to take up the banner of the War of Ideas in his inaugural address:
“We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense. And for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken — you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you. ..To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history, but that we will extend a hand if you are —to unclench your fist.”
Yet despite these words and this vision, the administration has more often adopted a policy of realism and engagement that may be described as a pragmatic approach to Foreign Policy. This type of worldview has often resurfaced in U.S. policy circles—particularly in times of transition such as after World War I or at the end of the Cold War. Policy of this sort is designed to strike a balance between U.S. ideals and U.S. interests—and result in choices that seem quite reasonable considering the circumstances, regardless of their palatability—with reasoning along the lines of “He may be an S.O.B., but he’s our S.O.B.”
Download The Full Article: The War of Ideas, Revisited
Lt Col Gabriel C. Lajeunesse writes and researches on topics related to international criminal law, the Middle East and national security policy. He has been a visiting fellow at the Georgetown School of Foreign Service, where he taught a course on radical Islam, and the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Lt Col Lajeunesse is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, and has been awarded a Masters degree in Middle Eastern Studies from the Naval Postgraduate School and a Juris Doctor degree from Georgetown University Law Center. He is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
