BLOGS OF WAR

BLOGS OF WAR: Glenn Reynolds, a/k/a InstaPundit, was featured on NPR this morning in a piece on public opinion and the war effort. He noted, correctly, that it is difficult for the Administration to manage public perception of the war because their communications go simultaneously to two audiences: the American public and the Iraqi public. Ideally, they would want to emulate a football coach and “poormouth” our chances when talking to the domestic audience, saying it will be very difficult, that the enemy is tough, but that we will prevail in the end. Conversely, we want to communicate to the enemy that they are grossly overmatched and that they will be smashed if they do not surrender forthwith. So far, our communications have been targeted to the Iraqi public, which magnifies every minor “setback” in the war for the American audience.

Update: Glenn has put a link up to the streaming audio for the show. Unfortunately, it appears to be for the whole two hour broadcast.

FILED UNDER: Iraq War, ,
James Joyner
About James Joyner
James Joyner is Professor and Department Head of Security Studies at Marine Corps University's Command and Staff College. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.