Counter-narrative vital to fight terrorism

WASHINGTON, April 15 (UPI) -- Washington and the international community should make a concerted effort to control the narrative in the battle against al-Qaida in the information age.

A report in Foreign Policy magazine by Frank Cilluffo and Daniel Kimmage with George Washington University's Homeland Security Policy Institute said strategists should combat the terrorist message using the same propaganda and media campaigns on jihadi Web sites.

The authors noted that while media attention swarms to frequent videos and postings by terrorist outlets and would-be suicide attackers, little is mentioned on their victims.

"Terrorist radicalization and recruitment are a byproduct of the movies, songs, poetry, essays and books that tell an emotionally charged story with distinctive vocabulary, clear-cut heroes and villains and larger-than-life symbols," the authors wrote.

There are no features lamenting the losses suffered from the various wedding parties, holy sites and cafes that are often the victims of radicals.

The authors lamented that the media is equally to blame for failing to reveal a narrative of the victims or offer any detail beyond the number killed in the attacks.

Instead, the international community should back a "strong counter-narrative" to highlight the destruction that terrorist acts cause not only to their victims but to society as a whole, the authors wrote.