July 26, 2008	Saturday	Rajab 22, 1429

KABUL, July 25: The Taliban in Afghanistan use a sophisticated media strategy to portray themselves as stronger than they are and undermine confidence in the government, a leading think-tank says.

The administration and its backers must become better at countering this propaganda if they are to defeat a resistance “that is driving a dangerous wedge between them and the Afghan people,” the International Crisis Group says in a new report.

The Taliban strangled the media during their 1996-2001 grip on power, banning television. But now they publicise their messages, warnings and claims of battle successes through a website, magazines, DVDs and audiocassettes.

They also use pamphlets, nationalist songs and poems and mobile telephones, says the report, ‘Taliban Propaganda: Winning the War of Words?’

“The overriding strategic narrative is a quest for legitimacy and the projection of strength,” says the report released this week.

“Out of power and lacking control over territory, the Taliban (group) has proved adept at projecting itself as stronger than it is in terms of numbers and resources.”

Audacious tactics such as the Kandahar jailbreak in June and the April assassination attempt on President Hamid Karzai at a military parade show that grabbing attention lies at the core of operations, the report says.

“Using the full range of media, it is successfully tapping into strains of Afghan nationalism and exploiting policy failures by the Afghan government and its international backers.

“The result is weakening public support for nation building, even though few actively support the Taliban.”

Despite the increasing sophistication of some of the Taliban propaganda, contradictory messages also indicate internal rifts, the ICG says.

They show difficulties in presenting a united front among various militant groups whose leadership and support structures are across the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.

The Taliban’s relations with transnational jihadi networks with a global agenda is also seen to be a potential problem, with the militant group benefiting tactically but divided internally about the links, it says.

And their statements show them to be a difficult potential negotiating partner because they lack a coherent agenda.

The ICG also points to failings in the government’s strategy to win over public support, calling for a swifter and stronger media response to developments.

It should also “make greater efforts to address sources of alienation exploited in Taliban propaganda, particularly by ending arbitrary detentions and curtailing civilian casualties from aerial bombing,” the report says.

The international community should also examine its own actions.

“Whatever the military benefits of arbitrary detentions, they are far outweighed by the alienation they cause,” it says, also questioning the effectiveness of air strikes considering the civilian casualties and damage to public support they cause.

“The Taliban (group) is not going to be defeated militarily and is impervious to outside criticism,” the ICG says. “Rather, the legitimacy of its ideas and actions must be challenged more forcefully by the Afghan government and citizens.”—AFP