Center for a New American Security

Carlos wanted to share a couple of moments from his Florida touch-and-go trip/talk. He shared the day with a journalist (a sort of internet/media day). It coincided with one hell of a Super Bowl. Carlos spent a year in Pittsburgh at Carnegie Mellon (a brief flirtation with chemistry; it didn't work out), but had to cheer for the Cards (one year does not fandom make. The five points I got didn't hurt either). But kudos to both teams.

The talk went well, but with a majority of developing countries, there is frequently the talk over "who runs/controls the internet" and how to shut it down. One attendee asked if Bill Gates ran the internet (he wishes).

The journo followed, and if there's one thing that Carlos has noted in his time in PME, it's that no matter what national disagreements one has, one thing military folks from around the world agree on is that they all hate the media. This audience was no different, with everything from "you lie" to "bias" -- you all know the drill.

Which brings me to the quote in the subject line. That's from AMB Jeanne Kirkpatrick in the late 1980's. She was on a debate on Firing Line (her and Buckley on one side, Paul Nitze and I-don't-remember on the other). The subject was US foreign policy and it was a whole "realism vs. idealism" debate for you polisci types. Near the end of the talk, Nitze began with a series of facts, and AMB Kirkpatrick cut in with that line. I've never forgotten that quote, obviously.

So when are facts not facts? When they're not, apparently. Carlos said that these international audiences bond on their belief that the media lies/is biased. Then they disagree on what the bias or lie is (those facts are not facts). The case in point was the discussion over Pakistan (two Pakistan officers in the crowd). On the question over "what to do about Pakistan", the journo opined that some sort of Islamabad control needed to be extended to the FATA. She's interrupted by one of the officers with the spiel of "you have to understand, these are old cultures, yada, yada." She responded with "Well, is it Pakistan or not?" "Yes, it is, but we don't control it." (Well, that would be the definition of NOT a state or part of one (lack of monopoly of legitimate violence over a given territory).

So, okay, moving on...the audience is still on the "media bias" kick, and the US Army CPT in the class pops up with the "you know, the biggest problem with what went on in Iraq was the media lying about the lack of connection between Iraq and 9/11."

Yeah...um, WTF?? We still have folks going after that chestnut?

Carlos stresses to his students that despite the fact that we talk about Strategic Communications and how to do it well, the most vital point of the equation is the one we do not control--how the message is received. And if the audience thinks the speaker is not credible, then how it is said (even in the language of the listener) is not going to help. (Though it is the philosophical conundrum. You know, the one where the speaker says "Everything I say is a Lie." Is that a lie?)

Finally, Carlos had what he has to call a "Gian Gentile" moment (and he hopes the good Colonel will take that as a compliment): In the middle of his lecture, Carlos called FM 3-24 the "Counterinsurgency Novel." :)

Okay, Carlos is going back to slacking off. He's gone until the end of February. He's going to Hawaii and has no plans to find connectivity. Aloha 'til March, all.