War of ideas

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061027/ts_nm/security_usa_ideas_dc_1

"The people of jihad need to carry out a media war parallel to the military war ... because we can observe the effect that the media have on nations," said the document, signed by Najd al-Rawi of the Global Islamic Media Front, a group associated with al Qaeda.

"It lists targets for a public relations campaign ranging from the obvious -- Internet chat rooms -- to the surprising -- 'famous U.S. authors with e-mail addresses' and mentions New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman and the academics Noam Chomsky, Francis Fukuyama and Samuel Huntington."

And, it is deemed effective.

 

From the same article: 'Experts agree on the sophistication. "They (the jihadists) are more effective than us" on the propaganda front, said Peter Bergen, a terrorism expert at the New America Foundation, a Washington think tank.'

Their link: http://www.newamerica.net/

 

Please explain how previous administrations were effective in dealing with terrorism where this one is not.