Think-tank: U.S. Neglecting Psychological Warfare

It can be argued that the greatest weapon of the insurgency has been their ability to prevail on the propaganda front:

The United States and its allies must pay more attention to 'psychological warfare' as they battle insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan, an influential think-tank said on Wednesday.

"Insurgents and jihadists have proved adept at conducting successful information campaigns that reach a global audience and foment violence elsewhere," the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) said.

This important aspect of any warfare is being ignored whenever the question of "winning" in Iraq is brought up. Its one reason why we ultimately were defeated in Vietnam - the enemy won the psychological war. For example, every time an American is blown up or shot down by a sniper it appears on the Internet. The Bush administration has instead chosen to use propaganda on the American people rather than on the enemy.