Bloggers fight online battle with extremism

WASHINGTON // From nondescript cubicles in a Washington office block, native speakers of Arabic, Farsi and Urdu are aiding the US battle against extremism in cyberspace. The team's chatter and messages with blog writers across the Middle East and Asia are a far cry from the stiff and formal statements given by US government spokesmen, but they share the same purpose - to explain and clarify deeply unpopular US policies. Insults and accusations of acting as American spies are common, but the team says it takes heart from the thousands who read the team's replies. "Our analysts openly identify themselves as coming from the state department," said Brent Blaschke, a career foreign officer who is director of the Digital Outreach Team. "Before we started, people worried we wouldn't have a dialogue, but even those who are negative or hostile welcome our presence as a chance to vent." The team expanded last year to six speakers of Arabic, two Farsi and one Urdu. They fall under the aegis of the US Counterterrorism Communication Centre, which co-ordinates public diplomacy efforts. Iraq, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay and torture are some of the most common topics of conversation. Opinion polls show these are the main issues behind America's poor standing in the Middle East in recent years. In their web posts, the team's members try not to debate the pros and cons of any particular US policy but to correct factual mistakes or steer blog writers to more accurate sources of information, which are not always available in censored societies. Blog writers from across the region take part, including many from Gulf countries. The team engages on websites with high traffic considered closer to the mainstream, such as BBC Arabic, al Jazeera and Elaph.com, not extremist or al Qa'eda supporter sites, Mr Blaschke said. "It's been a surprise even to me to see how conspiracy theories permeate these websites. It's more pervasive than I thought," he said. Feelings of persecution even encompass the Tom and Jerry cartoon. One blogger wrote that the series was created to send a political message, with Tom the cat representing the Arabs, while Jerry the mouse stood for Israel, always getting away with bad behaviour. The dog, which protects the mouse, symbolised the United States. Samir Zedan, a Palestinian team member who comes from a town near Bethlehem in the West Bank, wrote the following response. "I did not know whether to laugh or cry when I read this posting, but let me add one thing. The Tom and Jerry cartoon series was developed by two Americans of Arab descent - William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. The first episodes were produced in 1940, ie well before the establishment of the State of Israel." Mr Zedan previously worked for the development agency USAid in Baghdad, where he said, not entirely as a joke, that he went to "being the occupier after being the occupied" in the West Bank. On his posts, he talks about his varied experiences of living in Iraq as well as in the United States. "I tell people the Iraq war was an opportunity to shift the region into a different level. I also say I would like to return home one day to Palestine." He often tries to explain US policies towards the Palestinians. The Palestinian newspaper Al Quds published one of his blogs, creating controversy back home. "It has become clear that the failed strategy of violence has not accomplished anything but only increased the agonies and suffering of the people," he wrote. "The United States seeks to put an end to that bankrupt strategy through its support to the peace efforts between the Palestinians and Israel and by encouraging any negotiations that can help bring about a comprehensive and just peace in the region." Other topics have included Sudan, Kosovo and Bosnia, where he said in one post that Islamic countries did too little to stop the killing at the time. "One could still see the close relationship between the 'hero' of the ethnic cleansing, Slobodan Milosevic, and his counterpart Saddam Hussein," Mr Zedan wrote. Mr Blaschke said he was not aware of any danger to his analysts but some general threats had been passed to relevant authorities. However, one of the Iranian blog writers uses the pseudonym "Noushin" to protect family members still in Iran. "I get insults every day. I'm called stupid or told to shut up because I don't know anything," she said. "Sometimes I would like to use direct language in my replies and tell them all they hear are lies but we must remain calm and explain US policy." Nonetheless, she has seen a "little shift" on the part of some of her respondents, who have thanked her for the chance to get more information on topics ranging from the Holocaust to the US stance on the Iranian nuclear programme. "One forum I go on is for revolutionary guards and is very extremist and pro-Hizbollah," she said referring to the Lebanese Shiite group. "One calls himself the Soldier of Mahdi and doesn't like me but he's most talkative. If I don't appear, they start asking 'where's Miss Digital Outreach'." Mr Blaschke said it was practically impossible to gauge the team's success in changing anyone's mind but anti-US sentiment would definitely be higher without the team's activities. "We're not trying to turn people into flag-waving patriots," he said. "And people are saying we're glad you're there." @email:sdevi@thenational.ae