Media-Enabled Insurgency as a Revolution in Military Affairs: Iraq Enemy Using Attacks to Erode American Will to Fight, Cultural and Legal Factors Preventing Military from Influencing Populations

This excellent report has been professionally converted for accurate flowing-text e-book format reproduction. The enemy in Iraq has been able to use small, tactically insignificant attacks, amplified by the media, to erode the will of the American people to prosecute the war in Iraq. This monograph uses the model for a revolution in military affairs proposed by Williamson Murray and MacGregor Knox to examine this new enemy capability and try to understand why it is so effective. This monograph also draws on historical examples of the components of this capability in order to find potential weaknesses the US military can exploit. It is the conclusion of this monograph that a number of cultural and legal factors in the United States have combined to intentionally handicap the US military's ability to influence populations through the media. It is this weakness that the enemy is exploiting to such great effect in Iraq.

Introduction * Background * Methodology * Assumptions * Definitions * Context * Literature Review * Research Questions * The Enemy in Iraq * Armed Clans * Armed Gangs * Shia Militias * Sunni Insurgents * Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) * Iran and Syria * The Organization of the Enemy * Media Technology on the Modern Battlefield * The Technology of the Media Battlespace * 24-Hour News Networks * The Internet * Mass Distribution of Visual Information * A Brief History of the Images of War * Limiting Dissemination or Receipt * Limiting Generation of Visual Information * Why Is America Vulnerable? * "Free Security" * Free Press * Free Speech * Free People * The New Cost of Freedom * Conclusion * Summary * The Enemy * Technology * Opponent. * Engineered Handicap * Areas For Further Research * Bibliography * Books * Government Documents * Internet * Interviews * Monographs and Theses * Periodicals