Anyone catch this yesterday (and or day before)? It's a program where independent journalists do 20 minute pieces, and they put 3 of them in a show. Usually unrelated, but this time they were all about Pakistan and the Taliban. One female journalist, from Karachi, went to neighborhoods in the Swat Valley, Peshawar, refugee camps, and Karachi. In one of the neighborhoods in the Swat Valley, she was talking to two 9yr old girls about their school getting destroyed, and to one of the girls' father about the Taliban. The Taliban broadcasts 24/7 on the radio, rants, edicts, etc.. This guy said everyone listens to the Taliban radio not because they support them, but to hear the edicts so they can follow them when outside.
Then she talked to two kids in the refugee camps, 14yr old best friends. One lost his cousin to an American air attack. He was planning to join the Taliban if given permission by his father. His best friend didn't blame the Americans for his friend's cousin's death. He blamed the Taliban. He planned to join the Pakistani army to fight the Taliban.

The most disturbing thing though, was an interview she got with a Talibani in Karachi. He was in charge of indoctrinating 3-7 year olds. He talked about it like any other 9-5. The other Talibani were similar in their lack of nuance. There was one guy, I forget what they were talking about, but it was something related to an attack or fight, who said basically, 'they had something we wanted, so we have to jihad against them.'.


It made me wonder again, as I often do, why we don't fight the information war. Because that's the war they are fighting. She talked to the head of a madrassa who said, 'we have a limitless supply of sacrificial lambs.'. They are constantly after recruits, and we do nothing to counter-recruit. To counter the lies and justifications they use. Why? We had 2 years of non-stop campaigning in which enormous effort was made to inform, disinform, and shape opinions and convictions. Why don't we turn that enormous weapon on them?

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1984 300TD