Man Your Stations!

Yesterday, I took George Will to task for not recognizing the many talents and strengths of the Blogosphere. Today, I am addressing the need, again, for bloggers to remember that – yes, we are still at war, and – this war includes you, and personally. Because in addition to the artillery, tanks, and material elements of the fight, we are also engaged in an Infowar, which is just as critical to the future of the United States. And at the moment, we are losing the Infowar, in some part because a number of bloggers do not seem to understand their duties in this conflict.

Infowar is in some ways a complex topic, but in general it means the part of a war which involves control of information – how it is produced, what is produced, and what is suppressed. Information in wartime has always been a critical part of the strategy; the reader may recall that Washington’s raid on Trenton (‘Washington Crossing the Delaware’, as it is famously known) began with townspeople misleading the Hessians to believe that Washington was not nearby. Propaganda and Disinformation have also been significant contributors to wars and their conduct. Again, the reader may recall that the disloyal priorities of the New York Times damaged the American effort in Vietnam during both the Johnson and Nixon Administrations. It is even more important now in the Middle East conflict.

From what I have read and heard, the greatest problem is that most Americans still do not understand why we went into Iraq in 2003. This means that people have had to either trust the President or oppose him. Since the invasion began, ironically in large measure because it was so successful, opposition to the war has grown in terms of publicity and rhetoric. The overwhelming majority of the military believes in the cause, and is astounded that so many Americans have not heard the good news from Iraq, and that so many Americans react with negative emotion, lacking in many cases even the most basic information about the major forces in the conflict, their motives, and the American objectives. That’s where we come in, and that call-up was years ago.

Since 2003, the Blogosphere has often answered the challenge of providing information on the Iraq War and marshalling the forces of Reason for debate. But the Right side of the Blogosphere has largely deserted the field of late, as if there was no need for us to continue defending the ramparts of Democracy, of defending America’s interests, and of explaining – ad nauseum, it must seem – why for all their faults, the Republican candidates and their party remain the only serious choice for governance of our nation. As a result, the public has fallen to a large degree for lies and errors regarding the most important issues of the day, and we find the government in the control of persons ill-equipped and perhaps even worse-minded for its health and integrity.

We are at war, and our enemies include perfidious and self-obsessed groups and persons, who would and do damage the nation for the sake of their pride and bank accounts. The military can address the threat of guns and bombs, but we must take up our arms and stand against the lies and calumnies of the Left, of the new Fascism, and of the Old Media.

To Arms!