Peace, War, and P.R.


November 24, 2001


BROOKE GLADSTONE: As Mazar-e-Sharif and Kabul fell to the Northern Alliance, images of women shedding their burkas and men shaving their beards filled television screens in America, and for the first time in half a decade in Afghanistan. Against that backdrop it's tempting to think of the battle for the hearts and minds of Muslims as an afterthought, but public relations, so to speak, is more than a tactic of war. If used effectively it can ensure the peace.

Joining me now is Shibley Telhami, the Anwar Sadat professor for peace and development at the University of Maryland. Welcome to the show.

SHIBLEY TELHAMI: My pleasure.

BROOKE GLADSTONE: Now President Bush has declared that this war is not just a battle against the Taliban but for the hearts and minds of the Arab world. Do you think that our weaponry is suited to this terrain?

SHIBLEY TELHAMI: It's very difficult to win the hearts and minds in the short term, and if you don't trust the messenger, it's very difficult to trust the message. If for example you focus your diplomacy on American officials, politicians going on Middle Eastern TVs, it can backfire because they're going to have in the back of their mind how they're going to be quoted in newspapers like the New York Times, the Washington Post or radio stations like NPR, and as a consequence they're going to frame their issues through a narrative, the very narrative that is the subject of anger in the region.

BROOKE GLADSTONE: What is it that an Arab audience will have in the back of its mind when listening to these politicians or their defenders?

SHIBLEY TELHAMI:For example when people are asked why hasn't the president met with Yassir Arafat, the American explanation is he hasn't done enough to stop the violence. And they have to repeat that, cause that is the explanation that it -that works here. In the Middle East people don't accept that, because they have a narrative which says no, the - the violence is going the other way around. Well, by repeating that argument, instead of persuading them, we're only reinforcing their fears.

BROOKE GLADSTONE: Would you be able to suggest two or three things that the United States could do, say within the next month?

SHIBLEY TELHAMI:One is we have to revive the Arab-Israeli peace process. It's a symbolic issue because it's an identity issue for much of the Arab world. Number two, we should be able to inspire hope in a economic and political change by launching a major economic forum. I wouldn't say so much economic aid in the short term, but I would say engaging governments and publics in the region and private business and the international community to again inspire hope that something will, will work. Number three, we can use in my judgment people the region is likely to listen to - not so much our politicians but for example Arab and Muslim-Americans - people who have sensitivities, who understand the sensitivities in the region who can speak as Americans whether they're businesspeople or lawyers or, or segments of the American society who go out there, you know, to begin cultural exchanges across the board. I think those are much more important than having any kind of a television public relations campaign.

BROOKE GLADSTONE: Well thank you very much.

SHIBLEY TELHAMI: My pleasure.

BROOKE GLADSTONE: Shibley Telhami is the Anwar Sadat professor of peace and development at the University of Maryland. [MUSIC]