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US government boosts its war propaganda efforts

Presidential advisers huddle with Hollywood executives. Cabinet members and generals meet with Muslim media. White House aides in London and Pakistan "war rooms" arrange pro-US publicity.

The US is cranking up efforts to build and retain foreign support for the war against terrorism.

"Consider the alternative, which is silence, or letting other people speak for us, so I think we have no choice," Charlotte Beers, undersecretary of state for public diplomacy, told reporters Friday at the Foreign Press Center.

Fearing a waning of overseas support as US bombs drop over Afghanistan, the Bush administration is working closely with ad agencies and local experts to find more ways to disseminate its message against terrorists.

It recently put together an information war room, similar to the ones used to plot strategy for political campaigns. Diplomats, communications experts and White House aides were dispatched to Pakistan and London with orders to bolster the US image.

The State Department has been trying to counter Arab resentment toward America, primarily because of its support for Israel. US Secretary of State Colin Powell and other top officials grant daily interviews to print, television and radio outlets based in Lebanon, Egypt, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates and other Arab nations.

"I'm very concerned that we get our information out in full context," Beers said. "We know that in many of the countries where our messages are sent, that often they're distorted, they're one-dimensional or they're simply not heard."

The Bush administration has noted the power of Al-Jazeera, the Mideast satellite channel that has recently interviewed Powell, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and Air Force General Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The 24-hour station reaches more than 35 million Arabs around the world, including 150,000 in the US.

When bin Laden released his latest anti-US rampage last weekend, Ross appeared on Al-Jazeera to counter the message.

The effect, Beers noted, was "considerably less fanfare" in the media for bin Laden than his previous appearance.

"After the rather overheated and nervous-sounding presentation by bin Laden, he [Ross] answered calmly. He does not mention him by name," Beers said.
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