REVISITING ASYMMETRIC PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE: WHY THE U.S. LOST THE BATTLE OF IMAGES AFTER IRAQ?

Bu makale askeri müdahaleden on yıl sonra Amerika Birleşik Devletle- rinin Irak savaşında psikoloj ik savaşı neden kaybettiğ ini yeniden araş- tırmaktadır. Bush yönetiminin psikoloj ik harekata milyarlarca dolar kaynak aktarmasına rağmen, Washing tonun bölgede Anti-Amerikan eğ ilimleri değ iştirme konusunda dramatik bir başarısızlık yaşadığ ı g i- derek daha açık bir şekilde ortaya çıkmaktadır. Bush yönetiminin u- zayan işgal döneminde kötü muameleleri ve kibirli yaklaşımı bölgede Amerikanın p ozisyonunu olumsuz bir şekilde etkilemiştir. Ortadoğ u halkı üst üste g üvenilirlik ve samimiyet krizleri yaşatan Amerikan p ro- pagandasına karşı oldukça duyarlı hale gelmiştir. Arap Baharı bölge- deki milliyetçiliğ i ve dış müdahalelere karşı direnişi arttırmıştır. Tele- komunikasyon teknoloj isinde görülen olağanüstü gelişmeler bölgedeki anti-Amerikan siyasi uyanışta önemli bir rol oynamıştır. Öf keli g ruplar Batı karşıtı doktrinleri ve resimleri maharetle sosyal medya ortamında paylaşmıştır. Dünyanın süp er g ücü hakkında Ortadoğ u halkları ara- sında oluşturulan şeytan imaj ı siber iletişim vasıtaları ile tüm bölgeye yayılmıştır. Batı ülkeleri ne Arap Medyasının doğ uşunu ne de internet üzerinden kendi aleylerinde yap ılan p ropagandayı kontrol edebilmiştir. Bunun da ötesinde Amerika Birleşik Devletleri Arap Baharı sonrası böl- gedeki gelişmelere cevap verememiş ve Ortadoğ u halkıyla yeniden bağ kurma şansını yakalayamamıştır. Devrim sonrası Arap ülkelerinden hemen hiçbiri Amerikan yanlısı bir duruş serg ilememiştir. Amerikanın yumuşak g ücünün hızla erimesi teröre karşı savaşı kazanılamaz hale getirmiştir.

ASİMETRİK PSİKOLOJİK SAVAŞA YENİDEN BAKIŞ: ABD IRAK İŞGALİ SONRASINDA İMAJLAR ÇATIŞMASINI NEDEN KAYBETTİ ?

Ten years af ter the military intervention, this pap er revisits why the United States lost the psycholog ical warf are in the af termath of the Iraq War. Even though the Bush administration p oured billions of dollars into p ublic diplomacy campaigns, it became increasingly evident that Washing tons eff orts dramatically f ailed to change underlying anti- American p redisp ositions in the Middle East. The misconduct and hu- bris of the Bush administration throughout the p rolonged occupation were highly counter-p roductive, debilitating Americas standing in the reg ion. Middle Easterners became highly g uarded against arg uments of American p ropaganda that exp erienced crises of sincerity and reliabil- ity. The Arab Sp ring galvanized nationalism and resistance to external interventions. The surge of electronic communication technology played a key role in the anti-American p olitical awakening as agg ravated g roups skillf ully broadcasted anti-Western doctrines and images. Ex- tensive use of cyber communication among the resistance f orces created an evil image of the worlds sup erp ower among the Middle Eastern so- cieties. Western governments could control neither the resurgent Arab media nor the transmittance of negative p ropaganda on the internet. Moreover, the United States f ailed to resp ond to the develop ments and reconnect with the Muslim World even af ter the Arab Sp ring. None of the p ost-revolutionary Arab governments embraced a p ro-American stance and the rap id erosion of U.S. sof t p ower made the war on terror unwinnable.

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