Decapitating Palestinian Leadership - Israeli Psychological Warfare
Uri Avnery - Israeli Journalist | 05.08.2002 05:17
Psychological warfare is the opposite of propaganda. Propaganda tries to convince the other side that we are right. Psychological warfare does not try to convince anybody, it is an instrument of war like the air-force or the armored corps. Its aim is to break the enemy and compel him to submit to our will. If propaganda is honey, psychological warfare is prussic acid.
Uri Avnery
2.2.02
Break the Head
Many years ago I got interested in a field of military activity called Psychological Warfare, in which all the armies in the world invest
considerable resources.
Psychological warfare is the opposite of propaganda. Propaganda tries to convince the other side that we are right. Psychological warfare does not try to convince anybody, it is an instrument of war like the air-force or the armored corps. Its aim is to break the enemy and compel him to submit to our will. If propaganda is honey, psychological warfare is prussic acid.
To achieve this aim, this field uses psychological means in order to break the enemy apart and sow suspicion and distrust between its
parts. The main objective is to destroy the person leading the enemy, i.e. break the head: to undermine the trust in him and to get his
fighters, followers and the world at large to hate him.
How does one do this? The manuals describe the methods:
The leader of the enemy is corrupt. He sends his fighters to their death while he himself enjoys life. He steals the people's money and
hides it in foreign bank accounts. His henchmen are a gang of thieves, who lead a life of luxury in hotels around the world, while the
ordinary people go hungry. The leader is a contemptible, loathsome, brutal, effeminate, tyrannical, ridiculous figure.
These stories are repeated thousands of time, they are planted in "neutral" foreign media, so that they come back from "objective"
sources.
Does this sound familiar?
Of course. For several years, already, almost all Israeli media and spokesmen are engaged in demonizing one person: Yasser Arafat.
All the classic tricks of psychological warfare, as well as some authentic Israeli inventions, are used to achieve this central aim. Not
against the Palestinian people, not even against the Palestinian leadership, but against Arafat personally.
The conductors of this campaign do not care a damn whether Arafat is nice or mean, handsome or ugly, a peace-lover or a war-monger,
super-honest or a highway robber. Quite possibly, Sharon himself admires him in secret. (In 1976 he asked me to arrange a meeting
with him, in order to propose that Arafat become the president of a Palestinian state east of the Jordan river.) That did not prevent him
last week from declaring that he regrets that he did not succeed in killing him in Beirut.
Arafat is targeted for one sole reason: he is the head of the Palestinian people fighting against the occupation. Breaking the head
means breaking the whole structure of the Palestinian fight. In the course of war, especially a war of liberation, trust in the leader is
essential for steadfast resistance against overwhelming forces. Without it, the movement will splinter into thousand pieces. No amount
of missiles can compete with that.
In the Israeli and international arenas, this campaign has achieved considerable success. The story about the corrupt Arafat, heading a
"corrupt authority" and surrounded by a gang of thieves has been spread throughout the world with relentless effort, until the very words
"Palestinian Authority", "Arafat" and "corrupt" have become synonymous. These days, the success can be measured: If Atafat had been
imprisoned in Ramallah ten years ago, there would have been riotous demonstrations in all European capitals, with the pictures of
Arafat being carried side by side with those of Che Gevara and Mandela. Where are they now?
In Israel itself the success is even greater. The hatred of Arafat unites all parts of the public, from the extreme right to the established left.
Research shows that out of 300 articles published by "leftists" about the Palestinian problem, 284 contained abusive remarks about
Arafat. Like Christians crossing themselves when entering a church, an Israeli "leftist" has to say something like "I am for peace with the
Palestinians, but I cannot stand the corrupt Arafat", or "I am against the occupation, but Arafat's corrupt gang has to be removed", as a
sop to public opinion. The people who write this are not aware, of course, that they are serving the psychological warfare campaign
aimed at breaking the Palestinian people at the decisive point.
One can view Arafat positively or negatively. He can be criticized from many directions. He is not a romantic figure like Che Gevara (who
died in a stupid campaign) or Nelson Mandela (whose task was incomparably easier than Arafat's), neither is he a television star. He is
only the leader of the Palestinian people, elected by an immense majority in democratic elections (under the supervision of Jimmy
Carter). The corruption in the Palestinian Authority is no worse than in Egypt or Jordan, and there is less there than in the United States
(the Enron affair), France (the Elf-Aquitaine affairs), Germany (the Kohl affair) or Israel (Shass). In the middle of a life-or-death national
liberation fight, the treatment of this disease can certainly be postponed.
The Palestinians themselves understand this well. In this arena - the main target of Israeli psychological warfare – the campaign, it now
turns out, has completely failed. Sharon believed that by shutting Arafat up in Ramallah he would expose him to ridicule and show that
he is not "relevant" anymore, in order to install a gang of collaborators in his place. The very opposite has happened, of course: from
Sheikh Yassin of the fundamentalist Hamas to the left-wing Popular Front, the Palestinian people has closed ranks behind Arafat at this moment of supreme danger to their very existence. Even the rumbling of criticism from some Palestinian intellectuals – who where also unwittingly exploited by Israeli psychological warfare – has fallen silent.
These methods were used against Churchill, as well as against Castro. To no avail. They will, probably, not succeed against Arafat
either.
2.2.02
Break the Head
Many years ago I got interested in a field of military activity called Psychological Warfare, in which all the armies in the world invest
considerable resources.
Psychological warfare is the opposite of propaganda. Propaganda tries to convince the other side that we are right. Psychological warfare does not try to convince anybody, it is an instrument of war like the air-force or the armored corps. Its aim is to break the enemy and compel him to submit to our will. If propaganda is honey, psychological warfare is prussic acid.
To achieve this aim, this field uses psychological means in order to break the enemy apart and sow suspicion and distrust between its
parts. The main objective is to destroy the person leading the enemy, i.e. break the head: to undermine the trust in him and to get his
fighters, followers and the world at large to hate him.
How does one do this? The manuals describe the methods:
The leader of the enemy is corrupt. He sends his fighters to their death while he himself enjoys life. He steals the people's money and
hides it in foreign bank accounts. His henchmen are a gang of thieves, who lead a life of luxury in hotels around the world, while the
ordinary people go hungry. The leader is a contemptible, loathsome, brutal, effeminate, tyrannical, ridiculous figure.
These stories are repeated thousands of time, they are planted in "neutral" foreign media, so that they come back from "objective"
sources.
Does this sound familiar?
Of course. For several years, already, almost all Israeli media and spokesmen are engaged in demonizing one person: Yasser Arafat.
All the classic tricks of psychological warfare, as well as some authentic Israeli inventions, are used to achieve this central aim. Not
against the Palestinian people, not even against the Palestinian leadership, but against Arafat personally.
The conductors of this campaign do not care a damn whether Arafat is nice or mean, handsome or ugly, a peace-lover or a war-monger,
super-honest or a highway robber. Quite possibly, Sharon himself admires him in secret. (In 1976 he asked me to arrange a meeting
with him, in order to propose that Arafat become the president of a Palestinian state east of the Jordan river.) That did not prevent him
last week from declaring that he regrets that he did not succeed in killing him in Beirut.
Arafat is targeted for one sole reason: he is the head of the Palestinian people fighting against the occupation. Breaking the head
means breaking the whole structure of the Palestinian fight. In the course of war, especially a war of liberation, trust in the leader is
essential for steadfast resistance against overwhelming forces. Without it, the movement will splinter into thousand pieces. No amount
of missiles can compete with that.
In the Israeli and international arenas, this campaign has achieved considerable success. The story about the corrupt Arafat, heading a
"corrupt authority" and surrounded by a gang of thieves has been spread throughout the world with relentless effort, until the very words
"Palestinian Authority", "Arafat" and "corrupt" have become synonymous. These days, the success can be measured: If Atafat had been
imprisoned in Ramallah ten years ago, there would have been riotous demonstrations in all European capitals, with the pictures of
Arafat being carried side by side with those of Che Gevara and Mandela. Where are they now?
In Israel itself the success is even greater. The hatred of Arafat unites all parts of the public, from the extreme right to the established left.
Research shows that out of 300 articles published by "leftists" about the Palestinian problem, 284 contained abusive remarks about
Arafat. Like Christians crossing themselves when entering a church, an Israeli "leftist" has to say something like "I am for peace with the
Palestinians, but I cannot stand the corrupt Arafat", or "I am against the occupation, but Arafat's corrupt gang has to be removed", as a
sop to public opinion. The people who write this are not aware, of course, that they are serving the psychological warfare campaign
aimed at breaking the Palestinian people at the decisive point.
One can view Arafat positively or negatively. He can be criticized from many directions. He is not a romantic figure like Che Gevara (who
died in a stupid campaign) or Nelson Mandela (whose task was incomparably easier than Arafat's), neither is he a television star. He is
only the leader of the Palestinian people, elected by an immense majority in democratic elections (under the supervision of Jimmy
Carter). The corruption in the Palestinian Authority is no worse than in Egypt or Jordan, and there is less there than in the United States
(the Enron affair), France (the Elf-Aquitaine affairs), Germany (the Kohl affair) or Israel (Shass). In the middle of a life-or-death national
liberation fight, the treatment of this disease can certainly be postponed.
The Palestinians themselves understand this well. In this arena - the main target of Israeli psychological warfare – the campaign, it now
turns out, has completely failed. Sharon believed that by shutting Arafat up in Ramallah he would expose him to ridicule and show that
he is not "relevant" anymore, in order to install a gang of collaborators in his place. The very opposite has happened, of course: from
Sheikh Yassin of the fundamentalist Hamas to the left-wing Popular Front, the Palestinian people has closed ranks behind Arafat at this moment of supreme danger to their very existence. Even the rumbling of criticism from some Palestinian intellectuals – who where also unwittingly exploited by Israeli psychological warfare – has fallen silent.
These methods were used against Churchill, as well as against Castro. To no avail. They will, probably, not succeed against Arafat
either.
Uri Avnery - Israeli Journalist
Homepage:
http://www.gush-shalom.org/archives.html#articles
Comments
Hide the following 3 comments
Gush liars
05.08.2002 10:24
THE COMPLICITY OF THE MEDIA
WELCOME TO THE HELL OF GLOBAL JIHAD
By: Barbara Stanley
I can’t believe my ears sometimes. I just listened to a representative for Arafat saying that if Bush doesn’t make his speech soon, the violence will continue. This on the heels of today’s homicide bombing that left children and a two year old, in particular, among the dead. One moment, smiling and thrilled with life, then boom! another child lies in a bloody heap next to an overturned stroller. That could be anyone’s daughter, walking in the afternoon, getting the baby some air; new sights and sounds for their wondering little face to take in. Unfortunately, the last sound for that Israeli child was a very loud explosion that ripped the soul from the little angel body. Purposefully targeting non-combatants and innocents is the coward’s way. It has nothing to do with peace; it is only for death and complete annihilation of the Jews.
To add insult to injury, (and this from a new mum herself) the reporter on the scene for Foxnews actually said unless the Israelis step back there will be continued violence. Excuse me, but wasn’t it just a short few months ago when Bush did ask the Israelis to hold off and when they did, all they got for their restraint ‘in the name of peace’ were daily bombings? In the effort to ‘be fair’, have some folks in the media just completely shut off their brains? Every time there is a new US initiative toward peace or attempt at one, the Jihadi violence flares up, yet the PLO spokesbastard du jour says it’s all Bush’s fault. Or it’s the Israeli’s fault. It’s never the fault of the parents who pimp their kids to Jihad adorned with explosive vests. It’s never the Jihadists who coat their shrapnel in rat poison to cause hemorrhage. It’s never the bits of DNA the bombers leave behind that are turning up to be infected with HIV AIDs and hepatitis B.
Getting hit with a piece of diseased bone shrapnel at 600 miles an hour is the latest twist on this gruesome harvest of those who worship death and have removed healthy sexual connections from their lives. "When Islam is described as a peaceful religion misrepresented by the zealots of the Taliban, Ergun Caner is quick to respond. "Islam at its core is a religion of warfare. Muhammad was a warrior. [Muslims] are taught to conquer ... to fight. If anyone says in the media that Islam is a religion of peace, they either don't know their faith, don't know the Koran, or they are lying." Caner is a Muslim convert to Christianity.
Charles Krauthammer writes in today’s Jewish World Review (20 June 2002)
“Of all the mendacity that pollutes Middle Eastern discourse, this one is the worst. It assumes that the listener is not only stupid but amnestic. Two years ago at the Camp David summit, in the presence of the president of the United States, the Palestinians were offered an end to the occupation--a total end, a final end--by the prime minister of Israel. They said no. They said no because in return, they were asked to make peace. Remember? The mantra thrown at the Israelis for decades was "land for peace." It turns out Arafat wanted the land, but at Camp David, as always, he refused to make peace. The reason innocents are dying every day is not because of the occupation, but because the Palestinians believe they can get (as Hezbollah got in Lebanon) land without peace.”
Why is history, and recent at that, so hard for some liberals, like the so-called expert-on-everything Charlie Rose, so oblivious to the fact that Arafat and his cohorts do not want peace, they do not want an end to violence, they simply want Israel pushed into the sea. I watch him interview Natan Sharansky and Rose practically tells him that the Israelis are just so mean to the Palestinians and it is all the fault of the Israelis because, after all, the Palestinians just want peace and their humiliation is unbearable. Well, Mr. Rose, who the hell keeps the camps running? The aid pouring in for so many years winds up in Arafat’s personal bank account, just like the recent funds donated for the homicide bombers’ families and keeps the people trapped in poverty. No schools, no roads, no clinics, and no nothing save bomb factories and nurseries for future terrorist kids.
PLO Legal Advisor spokeswoman, Diana Buttu, all cool, cosmopolitan and sensible, spews lies and hatred, through the lip-gloss, during an interview on Foxnews. The same old crap about how Arafat just wants peace and an end to the so-called ‘occupation’ of a land that was somehow Palestinian. Then she says the violence will stop. In a pig’s eye. This is simply a matter of Israel defending herself from those who think jihad against Jews will be over when they are gone into the sea forever.
Binyamin Netanyahu has taken to calling Arafat and his corrupt cadre of murderous associates, Arafatistan and I think it’s a term that might help the citizenry understand that within Palestine the war is like Afghanistan’s Mid-East Taliban Central. Taliban, al Qaeda, al Aksa, Abu Sayef; by whatever name, this sure is no rose. Save for the thorns, there will be no peace for land, or peace for peace’s sake as long as Arafatistan is alive and growing. The Jihadists, the Islamicists are spread far and wide around the globe and growing. There are cells and groups in Wahabist Mosques inside the contiguous forty-eight. In over forty countries, the vermin grow and move among the civilized and peace is not in their vocabulary. Welcome to the Hell of global Jihad.
Joe
islamicists vermin?
05.08.2002 16:10
no class
Stick your HASBARA where it fits
06.08.2002 09:59
likudniks.suck.puss