A Hollow Propaganda - A Shallow knowledge of Human character
By Seikholen Thomsong
In a propaganda aimed at denting the myth of invincibility that certain terrorists have achieved in Iraq, the US army released a video on Iraqi TV and the Al Arabiya. The video showed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the dreaded terrorist who has evaded capture so far, fumbling with an American made weapon. A general cadre officer of the US army, Maj Gen Rick Lynch, spokesman of the American force there, mocked the inability of Zarqawi to fire the weapon, M-249, in auto or burst mode and his inability to set the weapon right when it jammed. He also went on to cast doubts on the military ability of the terrorists in Zarqawi’s command when an unidentified man held a fired weapon by its barrel. The US army should change its propaganda men and I shall tell you why.
Training of a soldier vis-à-vis a terrorist
A soldier is trained for months and years on weapons which are the standard authorized weapons of his army. For instance, a US soldier trains with M-16 and the likes, where as a Russian soldier would most obviously train with an AK 47 etc. So Russian soldiers on an average would have better mastery over the AK series or say a Dragunov while American soldiers on an average would excel in weapons with which they train so hard, M-16 or whatever.
A terrorist, on the other hand trains in weapons made available by the host country or army which trains him. It cannot be expected that every terrorist would be able to handle all weapons. Also the period of arms training that a terrorist undergoes may be very short in duration. It has to be done in stealth, with limited resources at its disposal and always away from the prying eyes of certain governments and its intelligence agencies.
Impact of training
If I trained only with SLRs, Insas and AK-47/56 none can expect me to be an excellent shot with an M-16 or G-3. I would at least require some basic lessons in handling or firing a weapon which I have never seen or handled. That just seems to be what Zarqawi and his men were doing when they were filmed. Only a Jason Bourne or 007 James Bond would handle all sorts of weapons and gadgets efficiently without even a basic training. Perhaps, Gen. Lynch read too much about adrenaline charged super-human characters of Ian Fleming and Robert Ludlum.
I am sure, a day after the recording was made, Zarqawi and his men would have become very competent with the weapon. Who knows they might have become crack shots after the trials. I would hasten to say that handling of a weapon is much an individual skill. It is true some might show better talents than others irrespective of which weapon you have trained more with.
The shallow mentality
One thing that strikes you is the mentality or the attitude of Maj Gen Lynch. He, or for that matter all Americans, seem to think that anything American is all pervasive all over the world. His logic is proof of the narrow personal outlook of all Americans. It seems to many of them that there is nothing beyond US of A-M-E-R-I-C-A. Can we call somebody who cannot handle an American weapon an impotent? Can we call a person who does not know American history, an illiterate? Or would you call someone who is not familiar with American pop-culture, a fool? Can I call you an ignoramus if you do not know what I know? That is just what Gen Lynch did like so many of us. So, by laughing at Zarqawi, Lynch exposed his own ignorance of human behavior or character. Militarily, the whole thing smacked of complacency on the part of the American army. Soldiers anywhere on earth know too well that complacency always pays a heavy price. It would not be a surprise if the US Army pays with men and material again.
No sympathizer of terrorism
Do not brand me as sympathetic to the terrorist cause as yet. I just wanted to point out certain human attitudes, which we see in persons like Lynch. Who knows it could be prevalent amongst so many of us too. We all have a part of Gen Lynch in us. Look at our own sense of cultural, racial or political superiority. Look at our own sense of superiority in regards to knowledge, morality, wealth, origin or birth. Can we see traces of the Nazis’ frame of mind in our Hindutva etc? Perhaps, Nietzsche* would have smiled in his grave, aware of how he had unleashed a Frankenstein to this world and changed the course of history.
* (Note: For those who came in late – as Lee Falk explains in Phantom comics, Ha!- the main great influence on the Nazi philosophy was said to be the Theory of Super-men propagated by the above mentioned philosopher.)
In a propaganda aimed at denting the myth of invincibility that certain terrorists have achieved in Iraq, the US army released a video on Iraqi TV and the Al Arabiya. The video showed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the dreaded terrorist who has evaded capture so far, fumbling with an American made weapon. A general cadre officer of the US army, Maj Gen Rick Lynch, spokesman of the American force there, mocked the inability of Zarqawi to fire the weapon, M-249, in auto or burst mode and his inability to set the weapon right when it jammed. He also went on to cast doubts on the military ability of the terrorists in Zarqawi’s command when an unidentified man held a fired weapon by its barrel. The US army should change its propaganda men and I shall tell you why.
Training of a soldier vis-à-vis a terrorist
A soldier is trained for months and years on weapons which are the standard authorized weapons of his army. For instance, a US soldier trains with M-16 and the likes, where as a Russian soldier would most obviously train with an AK 47 etc. So Russian soldiers on an average would have better mastery over the AK series or say a Dragunov while American soldiers on an average would excel in weapons with which they train so hard, M-16 or whatever.
A terrorist, on the other hand trains in weapons made available by the host country or army which trains him. It cannot be expected that every terrorist would be able to handle all weapons. Also the period of arms training that a terrorist undergoes may be very short in duration. It has to be done in stealth, with limited resources at its disposal and always away from the prying eyes of certain governments and its intelligence agencies.
Impact of training
If I trained only with SLRs, Insas and AK-47/56 none can expect me to be an excellent shot with an M-16 or G-3. I would at least require some basic lessons in handling or firing a weapon which I have never seen or handled. That just seems to be what Zarqawi and his men were doing when they were filmed. Only a Jason Bourne or 007 James Bond would handle all sorts of weapons and gadgets efficiently without even a basic training. Perhaps, Gen. Lynch read too much about adrenaline charged super-human characters of Ian Fleming and Robert Ludlum.
I am sure, a day after the recording was made, Zarqawi and his men would have become very competent with the weapon. Who knows they might have become crack shots after the trials. I would hasten to say that handling of a weapon is much an individual skill. It is true some might show better talents than others irrespective of which weapon you have trained more with.
The shallow mentality
One thing that strikes you is the mentality or the attitude of Maj Gen Lynch. He, or for that matter all Americans, seem to think that anything American is all pervasive all over the world. His logic is proof of the narrow personal outlook of all Americans. It seems to many of them that there is nothing beyond US of A-M-E-R-I-C-A. Can we call somebody who cannot handle an American weapon an impotent? Can we call a person who does not know American history, an illiterate? Or would you call someone who is not familiar with American pop-culture, a fool? Can I call you an ignoramus if you do not know what I know? That is just what Gen Lynch did like so many of us. So, by laughing at Zarqawi, Lynch exposed his own ignorance of human behavior or character. Militarily, the whole thing smacked of complacency on the part of the American army. Soldiers anywhere on earth know too well that complacency always pays a heavy price. It would not be a surprise if the US Army pays with men and material again.
No sympathizer of terrorism
Do not brand me as sympathetic to the terrorist cause as yet. I just wanted to point out certain human attitudes, which we see in persons like Lynch. Who knows it could be prevalent amongst so many of us too. We all have a part of Gen Lynch in us. Look at our own sense of cultural, racial or political superiority. Look at our own sense of superiority in regards to knowledge, morality, wealth, origin or birth. Can we see traces of the Nazis’ frame of mind in our Hindutva etc? Perhaps, Nietzsche* would have smiled in his grave, aware of how he had unleashed a Frankenstein to this world and changed the course of history.
* (Note: For those who came in late – as Lee Falk explains in Phantom comics, Ha!- the main great influence on the Nazi philosophy was said to be the Theory of Super-men propagated by the above mentioned philosopher.)
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