Part II
Analysis: The Bush Administration's Communication Challenges in the aftermath of the September 11 Terrorist Attacks

On September 24th I published an analysis of the communication challenges facing the Bush administration in dealing with the aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attacks in Washington and New York.  The analysis included an overview of the extremely complex communication environment in which the administration must operate, an outline of the various target groups and their competing agendas, and a snapshot of how the administration was doing at that point. 

In the time since the analysis was published, the communication environment has become even more complex and the challenges facing the administration have become more difficult.  A number of independent factors have combined to raise the stakes in what has, for all intents and purposes, become the "communications battlefield" of the war against terrorism.  Those factors include the military campaign against Afghanistan's ruling militia and the Al Qaeda terrorist network, the anthrax scare here in America, the increase in propaganda being disseminated by the Taliban and Al Qaeda, and Ramadan, the Muslim holiday which looms on the horizon.

The Military Campaign & Taliban / Al Qaeda Propaganda

On October 7th the United States initiated military action against the Taliban, Afghanistan's ruling militia which harbors Al Qaeda terrorist ringleader Osama Bin Laden.  This action took place against the backdrop of a communications environment in which President Bush is attempting to maintain an international coalition supporting the war against terrorism.  This coalition is fragile, and it includes several Muslim nations whose leaders support our efforts but which are home to a significant number of Islamic militants who are friendly toward Bin Laden and Al Qaeda.  A prime example is Pakistan, whose president and government are  helping the United States in spite of anti-American demonstrations in their country.  Even while the United States is dropping bombs on selected military targets in Afghanistan, the administration must continue to make the case that this is a war against terrorists, not a war against Islam. 

At the same time the Bush administration is trying to make the case that this is not a war against Islam, the Taliban and Al Qaeda are attempting to make the opposite case.  They have basically declared that our military response to the terrorist attacks are acts of aggression against the Muslim faith and that jihad, or "holy war," is the duty of every Muslim.  In their propaganda they are calling on all Muslims to fight Americans in response to our "acts of aggression" against Islam.  They have used words such as "crusader" and "colonialist" to describe the mindset behind our military operations. 

The Taliban and Al Qaeda have one distinct advantage in this war of position:  we gave them a huge head start.  For a number of years America has been quietly minding its own business while Osama Bin Laden recruited and trained young men to carry out a holy war against the United States.  It has been several years since Bin Laden openly declared jihad against the United States and made it clear that he and his holy warriors would not distinguish between American civilians and military personnel.  For years America was quietly minding its own business while Bin Laden and Al Qaeda were sowing seeds of anti-American sentiment among young Muslims all across the Middle East.  On September 11th we received a rude awakening from our national catnap and began working to define ourselves and our goals in a way that does not appear to be a war against Islam, but it was too late to change the minds of a great many young Muslim men.  By the time we stepped onto the public relations battlefield, we were already defined as the enemy in their minds. 

Bin Laden has been planting the seeds of anti-American sentiment in the minds of Muslims for years.  Almost immediately after the United States began military operations against the Taliban on October 7th, Bin Laden began his effort to turn those seeds into violent fruit.  Al Qaeda released a videotape in which Bin Laden basically called our military action an act of aggression against Islam and called on all Muslims to fulfill their duty of jihad.  Ironically, because the release of this video was picked up by virtually every major news outlet in the United States, Bin Laden used our own media to communicate his message of hate to Al Qaeda sympathizers worldwide. 

As the military operations have continued, the Taliban has also issued a steady stream of propaganda.  Afghanistan's ruling militia is making every effort to say that the United States' attacks are targeting civilians.  At the same time, the Pentagon is attempting to assure the world that this is not the case.  There were even rumors that the Taliban was planning to destroy a mosque and blame it on America's air attacks as part of their effort to paint an ugly picture of the United States.

A wild card in this public relations battle is the upcoming Muslim holiday of Ramadan.  Leaders of many Muslim nations -- including some who currently support our military action -- are calling on the United States to cease or restrict military action during this month-long holiday.  This wild card presents a very delicate challenge.  On the one hand, if we continue our military actions during this holiday we lend credence to Bin Laden's argument that we are waging a war against Islam.  On the other hand, if we cease or restrict our operations during Ramadan we give the enemy a chance to dig in and prepare for future attacks.  Further, the administration risks losing points here at home with an anxious public that wants results quickly.

Osama Bin Laden and the Taliban are clearly trying to define this war as a war of the West against all of Islam.  They are clearly attempting to incite Muslims worldwide to rise up to jihad and fight the "aggression" of the western "colonialists" in their "crusade" against Islam.  Meanwhile, the Bush administration is attempting to define this war as a war of the civilized world against a band of shadowy, evil thugs.  At this point, I believe the war of public relations positioning is a dead heat.  While the United States is absolutely winning the PR war here in America, many Muslims around the world have taken the Taliban's bait and hold the view that the United States is out to get Islam. 

The public relations battle currently being waged has far-reaching implications which will cause ripple effects long after the end of the current military operations in Afghanistan.  I, for one, have no doubt that we will ultimately be successful in the military operations against the Taliban and Al Qaeda.  The challenge is to win the military portion of the war without allowing Bin Laden and his cronies to successfully define the United States as an imperialistic bully.  Our nation's leaders must become much more proactive in defining who we are and what we represent -- not just to the leaders of other nations, but to their citizens.  We entered the current public relations battle after we had been defined as an enemy of Islam in the minds of many Muslims.  Our leaders must be proactive enough to avoid making this same mistake in the future.

The Bio-terrorism Scare

During the course of the past month several cases of the disease known as anthrax have broken out in the United States, including the nation's first death from the disease in many years.  Anthrax-laced letters have been mailed to the offices of Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle and to several prominent network news anchors.  This sudden "outbreak" of anthrax in the aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attacks sent a ripple of bio-terrorism fear across America. 

The anthrax scare presents the administration with a wholly new communication challenge.  The administration must communicate with confidence to the American people that they should stay calm and continue living their lives.  At the same time, the administration must take appropriate steps to eliminate the current anthrax threat and pre-empt other potential bio-terrorist acts which may occur in the future.

The bio-terrorism scare greatly complicates the communications environment in which the administration must operate.  For instance, the administration must call on the people to be vigilant and to report suspicious activities.  At the same time, the administration must try to instill a sense of calm among the public.  To illustrate the difficult nature of this task, consider the following:  If a person receives a suspicious piece of mail or stumbles upon some unidentified white powder resembling the anthrax sent to Senator Daschle's office, the administration is encouraging them to take appropriate action to report what they have found.  At the same time, the administration does not want to set off a flurry of false alarms which might create a sense of panic among the population.

Further, the administration must communicate with organizations who may be possible targets of bio-terrorist attacks so that they can take appropriate precautions, while at the same time working to avoid creating unnecessary anxiety among the people.  For instance, if the administration felt that municipal water facilities might be the target of terrorist attacks they would contact those facilities and ask them to take appropriate precautions.  If the content of that communication were reported by the media, it would increase fear and anxiety among the general public, even though the message to those facilities was generic in nature and was not based upon a specific, credible threat.

Finally, the administration must achieve all of this even though they, at this point, have no idea who has been sending the anthrax-laced letters.  While the public assumes that Osama Bin Laden's terrorist group is behind the mailings, there is always the outside chance that this is the work of an opportunistic McVeigh-in-Waiting. 

Summary

In the aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attacks the Bush administration continues to operate in an amazingly complex communications environment.  They are dealing with diverse target groups who have competing agendas and must communicate with all of them without causing unintended negative consequences in the process.  Further, they are operating in an environment which includes an equally aggressive adversary that is trying to destroy America's credibility and define us in a negative way.  This adversary has a head start and has been working for years to define the United States as an imperialistic bully.  The administration must attempt to make up ground in that area, all within the context of its overall goal of maintaining a broad-based coalition in support of the current war against terrorism.