The allies dismantled Iran’s military infrastructure, but left untouched the narrative engine designed to end wars by breaking democracies from within.
Hamas/Iran/Hezbolla could not ask for better friends than those in the media. Far more than its terror tunnels, arms, or rockets, the press has been their strongest weapon against Israel.
Can we, America and Israel, take back the narrative machine and/or destroy theirs? And how do we go about doing it? And, how do we create the momentum to re-build our narrative machine and do it? I only have questions, sorry no answers. Thank you for your incisive insights. I appreciate your informative essay. Thank you for writing this article. Am Israel Chai!
Interesting and unique perspective. Most Americans would see attacks on Iranian media propoganda outlets as attacks on civilians, and wouldn't recognize the military significance. Anti Trump outlets in the USA and worldwide are already going ballistic over this war, and it would expand and get worse with allegations the United States was committing war crimes.
Except that propaganda production studios are not obviously journalists - they aren’t the same as the terrorists in press jackets that Hamas use.
More importantly Iran’s behaviour and its Internet blackout would have made the sudden declaration of hundreds of dead journalists sound like a ridiculous and fabricated claim.
In the first 48 hours of the conflict the Allies struck over 3000 strategic targets… if 50 of those were propaganda production houses - they wouldn’t have been noticed by anyone, but the strategic impact of taking the enemy propagandists off the field would have been substantial.
I'm sure that DOW and the president are aware of this Iranian "narrative engine" and it is probably on a target list since Iran has already violated whatever this so-called "agreement" called for them to do. Hopefully we've learned something since North Vietnam used a propaganda effort to erode support for our efforts there here in the US
America has an army that believes in morality and the laws of war.
The laws of war, and liberal democratic thinking have not yet adapted to this new reality.
Even Israel, constantly accused of “killing journalists” targets terrorists who happen to moonlight as journalists because they are terrorists, not because their propaganda roles are more harmful to Israel than their RPGs.
The DOW won’t target them, because they don’t believe it to be legal, or moral to do so.
In a way, I’m glad they feel that way, because I wouldn’t want them to ignore the laws of armed conflict or morality… on the other hand, the law has to adapt to the circumstance, otherwise law abiding countries are at an insurmountable asymmetric disadvantage.
I have a hard time listening to Pete H, in the department of "war" because he believes in lethality, no prisoners and no rules of war, much to the horror of the military. Perhaps I read it wrong. I sure hope so.
The biggest ally to the propaganda weapon has been TDS and NDS. These have been in existence way before the particular war started. The Marxist indoctrination weapon took generations to develop and the current one took smart advantage of it. Many of us kept saying that Israel is losing the PR war but it was already too late.
This unfortunately was not considered. If you defeat the mind of your enemy with propaganda, that is a worthy weapon. We need to confront this now and take back the minds and will of America to be Great again and put that out there to everyone. It’s not enough for just our President to be saying it.
That this propaganda war has been effective tells us more about the moral decline and confidence of the west than it does about the Iranian regime.
Aware of the evil the Iranian regime has been doing for decades should have made Americans unify behind this war. They should be cognizant that what they are seeing is propaganda from Tehran and not fallen for it.
Unfortunately, Iran has willing co-conspirators across the political spectrum in our own country who are happy to be traitors for money by amplifying Iran's phony content on their podcasts and social media accounts not to mention the legacy media working overtime to undermine the war effort.
Should that regime survive and acquire nuclear weapons, they will all be responsible for our cities being wiped out some day.
Europe is lost altogether and there's no reversing its decline. But we still have a chance.
Interesting argument, but I’m not convinced Iran’s propaganda machine is its most dangerous weapon. Iran’s real strength has always been military power through proxies, missiles, and regional destabilization. The narrative war that weakens Western resolve often seems to come far more from places like Qatar’s Al Jazeera and parts of the mainstream media that amplify those narratives. Iran certainly benefits from that ecosystem. That said, there’s no harm in targeting propaganda infrastructure too — but Israel has shown repeatedly that it knows which sites are the primary threats and which capabilities need to be dismantled first.
If one considers that the Long March through the West's Institiuions began soon after the end of WWII, if not earlier, with most of us being totally unaware, I fear that it is nigh impossible now to undo all of this, unless something really big actually happens: something which can't be dismissed or twisted into something else entirely.
Sarah, I think you’re right that this didn’t happen overnight and it won’t be undone overnight either. The ideological shift through institutions has been building for decades. But I do think we’re starting to see a backlash. Many people who were silent before are beginning to recognize what’s happening. Europe may be far deeper into the problem, but in the United States at least there are still strong political forces pushing back. It’s going to be a long fight, but the fact that people are finally waking up gives some reason for cautious optimism.
Why can’t “cognitive warfare specialists” and their studio infrastructure be targeted in an ongoing to shift the tide?
I assume it’s because it’s also China and Russia who play a strong role in the propagation of destabilising media targeting variously Israel, th US and “the West”, whether or not this is co-ordinated with Qatar and Iran.
Alliance’s cut both ways. The US was bumped into this war and will be a major loser. Are all its friends supposed to make the same mistake. It’s real allies would have told it not to do this.
Just say the US and Israel. It makes more sense than using the term allies, which to most reasonable people implies a group and that group would probably be the Western alliance.
Hamas/Iran/Hezbolla could not ask for better friends than those in the media. Far more than its terror tunnels, arms, or rockets, the press has been their strongest weapon against Israel.
You think it had never been clearer that the “Jews don’t own the media”.
Can we, America and Israel, take back the narrative machine and/or destroy theirs? And how do we go about doing it? And, how do we create the momentum to re-build our narrative machine and do it? I only have questions, sorry no answers. Thank you for your incisive insights. I appreciate your informative essay. Thank you for writing this article. Am Israel Chai!
Interesting and unique perspective. Most Americans would see attacks on Iranian media propoganda outlets as attacks on civilians, and wouldn't recognize the military significance. Anti Trump outlets in the USA and worldwide are already going ballistic over this war, and it would expand and get worse with allegations the United States was committing war crimes.
Except that propaganda production studios are not obviously journalists - they aren’t the same as the terrorists in press jackets that Hamas use.
More importantly Iran’s behaviour and its Internet blackout would have made the sudden declaration of hundreds of dead journalists sound like a ridiculous and fabricated claim.
In the first 48 hours of the conflict the Allies struck over 3000 strategic targets… if 50 of those were propaganda production houses - they wouldn’t have been noticed by anyone, but the strategic impact of taking the enemy propagandists off the field would have been substantial.
Too bad you weren't in on the planning. Sounds fine to me.
I'm sure that DOW and the president are aware of this Iranian "narrative engine" and it is probably on a target list since Iran has already violated whatever this so-called "agreement" called for them to do. Hopefully we've learned something since North Vietnam used a propaganda effort to erode support for our efforts there here in the US
I wish I shared your optimism.
America has an army that believes in morality and the laws of war.
The laws of war, and liberal democratic thinking have not yet adapted to this new reality.
Even Israel, constantly accused of “killing journalists” targets terrorists who happen to moonlight as journalists because they are terrorists, not because their propaganda roles are more harmful to Israel than their RPGs.
The DOW won’t target them, because they don’t believe it to be legal, or moral to do so.
In a way, I’m glad they feel that way, because I wouldn’t want them to ignore the laws of armed conflict or morality… on the other hand, the law has to adapt to the circumstance, otherwise law abiding countries are at an insurmountable asymmetric disadvantage.
I have a hard time listening to Pete H, in the department of "war" because he believes in lethality, no prisoners and no rules of war, much to the horror of the military. Perhaps I read it wrong. I sure hope so.
The west needs to hire an army of hackers and marketers.
The biggest ally to the propaganda weapon has been TDS and NDS. These have been in existence way before the particular war started. The Marxist indoctrination weapon took generations to develop and the current one took smart advantage of it. Many of us kept saying that Israel is losing the PR war but it was already too late.
This unfortunately was not considered. If you defeat the mind of your enemy with propaganda, that is a worthy weapon. We need to confront this now and take back the minds and will of America to be Great again and put that out there to everyone. It’s not enough for just our President to be saying it.
Am Yisrael Chai!
That this propaganda war has been effective tells us more about the moral decline and confidence of the west than it does about the Iranian regime.
Aware of the evil the Iranian regime has been doing for decades should have made Americans unify behind this war. They should be cognizant that what they are seeing is propaganda from Tehran and not fallen for it.
Unfortunately, Iran has willing co-conspirators across the political spectrum in our own country who are happy to be traitors for money by amplifying Iran's phony content on their podcasts and social media accounts not to mention the legacy media working overtime to undermine the war effort.
Should that regime survive and acquire nuclear weapons, they will all be responsible for our cities being wiped out some day.
Europe is lost altogether and there's no reversing its decline. But we still have a chance.
Interesting argument, but I’m not convinced Iran’s propaganda machine is its most dangerous weapon. Iran’s real strength has always been military power through proxies, missiles, and regional destabilization. The narrative war that weakens Western resolve often seems to come far more from places like Qatar’s Al Jazeera and parts of the mainstream media that amplify those narratives. Iran certainly benefits from that ecosystem. That said, there’s no harm in targeting propaganda infrastructure too — but Israel has shown repeatedly that it knows which sites are the primary threats and which capabilities need to be dismantled first.
If one considers that the Long March through the West's Institiuions began soon after the end of WWII, if not earlier, with most of us being totally unaware, I fear that it is nigh impossible now to undo all of this, unless something really big actually happens: something which can't be dismissed or twisted into something else entirely.
Sarah, I think you’re right that this didn’t happen overnight and it won’t be undone overnight either. The ideological shift through institutions has been building for decades. But I do think we’re starting to see a backlash. Many people who were silent before are beginning to recognize what’s happening. Europe may be far deeper into the problem, but in the United States at least there are still strong political forces pushing back. It’s going to be a long fight, but the fact that people are finally waking up gives some reason for cautious optimism.
Why can’t “cognitive warfare specialists” and their studio infrastructure be targeted in an ongoing to shift the tide?
I assume it’s because it’s also China and Russia who play a strong role in the propagation of destabilising media targeting variously Israel, th US and “the West”, whether or not this is co-ordinated with Qatar and Iran.
Why keep saying “The allies” as if this was a co-ordinated mission with the approval of more than just the USA and Israel?
Because the alllies in this war were the U.S. and Israel, and that has a meaning that extends through history in an important way
What banners were called?
When the US called on it’s allies, who came?
Alliance’s cut both ways. The US was bumped into this war and will be a major loser. Are all its friends supposed to make the same mistake. It’s real allies would have told it not to do this.
Just say the US and Israel. It makes more sense than using the term allies, which to most reasonable people implies a group and that group would probably be the Western alliance.
Would you like me to write an article about why Israel and the U.S. IS what’s left of the western alliance?
If that’s what you believe, then yes. Better to be straightforward.
Who else showed up when the banners were called?
Yes please! Your article is brilliant. Thank you so much
They have payrolls, they have studios, they have offices.
We were aware of at least 50 such studios.
You couldn’t target all of it - but you could take down its core and reduce it to a nuisance rather than an existential threat.