In an article published on the website of the Council on Foreign Relations, a research center in New York, Pandit estimated that many communities in the Middle East see a direct link between Israel’s actions — its attacks that have killed thousands of civilians. In Gaza – and the support of the United States.
“Warningly, the country (the United States) finds itself in a situation similar to the post-9/11 era. The United States does not have the narrative or the ability to confront this fast-moving moment from a news perspective. And an emotional one,” said George HW Bush, in the administrations of George W. Bush and Barack Obama. A working analyst said.
During the initial U.S. counterterrorism response to al-Qaeda’s attacks in 2001, U.S. officials were equally faced with the dilemma of how to calm growing anti-American sentiment in Arab and Muslim communities. The West is at war with Islam, noted Pandit, a researcher in the field of countering violent extremism.
According to the expert, the post-9/11 period provides lessons and possible guidance for US officials to address this conflict in the Middle East.
“Even though emotions are high and loud now, the administration needs to be active and clear in its engagement with these communities. In the coming weeks and months, this will require nuanced language from executives and opinion leaders outside of government,” he argued. .
The strategist believes it is “crucial” for the Biden administration to draw comparisons between terrorist acts committed by Hamas and past actions by other groups such as the Taliban and al-Qaeda to justify strong support for Israel.
However, in many Arab and Muslim communities, public perception of Hamas differs from perceptions of other terrorist groups, for example the Al Jazeera network, funded by the Qatari government, which Farah Pandit notes has “not yet been called out.” Hamas is a terrorist group.
With subtle manipulation, Pandit advised that the Biden administration should speak out “about this hypocrisy” and reaffirm abhorrence of violence against civilians as an early public platform.
“Because Al Jazeera has a powerful ability to run stories, the United States must develop an effective public diplomacy mechanism that can disseminate information in advance to do this,” he said.
To that end, Washington must now focus on work that impacts culture in a real way, and that includes increasing the budget for public diplomacy or “strengthening partnerships with private sector professionals across generations like Generation Z and Millennials.” generation,” according to the foreign policy strategist.
In his article, Pandit also believes that the US government should require US-based social platforms to take steps to reduce the spread of hate, as social media’s ability to quickly spread information and misinformation about this war is enormous. social conflict and complicate policy-making.”
Looking at the impact on North American domestic politics, the expert believes that an increase in violence and extremism on North American soil – as reported after the Hamas attacks – could increase domestic support for extremist political candidates, with a direct impact on the 2024 presidential election. .
“The conflict has already heightened intergenerational tensions between the Biden administration and young Americans, who are a key constituency for voting for Democrats and increasingly critical of Israel. Some college students label Hamas fighters as freedom fighters,” he noted. .
“As this conflict unfolds, the government has a moral and strategic imperative to combat anti-Muslim, anti-Arab, and anti-Semitism. Doing so will help it achieve its foreign and domestic policy goals,” he concluded.
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