assange, women and propaganda

"I have worked for years with women against rape. I have never seen a government take such extraordinary steps on behalf of women to address rape. If you believe this is about the sexual assault charges you probably believe the US went to war in Afghanistan to protect women's rights. Women must watch and analyze how the USA is using women as an instrument of propaganda. Women are the preferred PR spokespersons for the energy and nuclear industries these days. Women's rights are referred to when the US gov't. speaks of the arab world as if Christian and Jewish fundamentalism isn't just as oppressive and dangerous to women. All fundamentalisms are violence producing ideologies and very bad for women. "Feminism" is being used against feminists in multiple ways and we don't have a good media analysis about this. Unfortunately, the Women's Media Action is a good voice for more women in media but not very savvy about media analysis that would challenge US hegemony. Are some women ready to fill this void?"

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/08/19-0

an article i wrote in 2010 on the use of women to justify war. prolong occupation.

Interestingly, an earlier WikiLeaks document clarified this exact point. A March 2010 memorandum from the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), called ‘Sustaining West European Support for the NATO-led Mission [in Afghanistan]: Why counting on apathy might not be enough’, presented a plan for a propaganda war designed to shore up declining public support in Germany and France – winning hearts and minds in Europe and, now America for a continued military presence. The very first line indicates the CIA researchers’ exact anxiety: ‘The fall of the Dutch Government over its troop commitment to Afghanistan demonstrates the fragility of European support for the NATO-led ISAF mission.’ Focusing, then, on Germany and France, which have the third- and fourth-largest troop contingents in Afghanistan, the CIA proposed public-relations strategies that fixed on pressure points that had been identified within these countries. For France, this was the sympathy of the public for Afghan refugees and women. For Germany, it was the fear of the consequences of defeat – drugs, more refugees, ‘terrorism’ – as well as Germany’s standing in NATO.

The CIA report had clear bullet points about retaining power, including the suggestion that ‘Appeals by President Obama and Afghan Women Might Gain Traction’. It stated: ‘Afghan women could serve as ideal messengers in humanizing the ISAF role in combating the Taliban ...

http://www.himalmag.com/component/content/article/287-violence-to-promote-violence.html