Marketing

This big giant mural stands in front of the Brigade Headquarters. It took about five Soldiers 3 nights to complete. They had to redo it once because it didn't look good enough. They also had to move the T Walls to get them straighter. We also learned it is difficult to find the right kind of paint pens here in Iraq-- we had to go out of the way to get them.

Extravagant? Absolutely. Waste of Soldier's time and effort? Debatable.

But The Wall represents the Brigade. It is the backdrop for a lot of our Soldier recognition ceremonies. Every General that comes to visit (up to seven in one week) gets their picture made in front of it with our commander. Everyone who goes by it knows that the Third Brigade of the First Cavalry Division is here, and we want you to know that. It is important for us to send this message that we are here, we aren't going away, and we are operating in accordance with the Security Agreement signed back in 2008 between the Government of Iraq and the United States.

A lot of what we do here is pretty much like marketing. We highlight the efforts of our Iraqi Security Force (ISF) partners and denigrate the efforts of the various insurgents attempting to run amuck. We showcase the good things of the Iraqi Government, and speak the good virtues of a representative government. Our real war is about information and messaging, and in a conflict that is vying for the support of the people, a lot of what we do is sell our message and see how the bad guy's image sets with the people. It has really become a war of influence, and it's all about messaging. We have some of our smartest people on it, and it is a major line of effort. Unfortunately, even after eight years, we struggle at it, mostly because our stuff has to be true, as we get called on the carpet for it by international media.

While there is US vs. insurgent marketing, there is also marketing done by Iraq's neighboring states, which plays out in the international media. All the while there is internal lobbying and jockeying for power in both the Government and the tribes (a constant theme my last tour). Tribes seem to hold the power, but the Government is empowered to run the show. Surely you have heard of the recent musings and discussions of extending a US presence in Iraq, and there is marketing on all sides weighing in. Some hate us and want us to leave, some want us to stay.

All want our money.

If you thought politics in America were ugly and complex, you wouldn't believe Iraq.

The bad guy propaganda is very good. They can say whatever they want -and they do. It doesn't have to be true, and all they have to do is achieve unrest. Every attack has a cameraman, and it is on extremist websites in a matter of hours. Social media had a critical effect on Arab countries and their uprisings this Spring. Iraq's so called Day of Rage in February (reference previous zombie attack post earlier) was born of Facebook, but it didn't work out so good for Muqtada al Sadr, the Iranian-backed cleric, who has a heavy hand in Iraqi politics and thought he'd get a million people. He got significantly less than that, but he didn't let it stop him.
Never thought the media would be a weapon system, but it's the best one we have. We just need to figure out how to use it.

Hope all's well.

Ron