The Belmont Club has a lengthy article, prompted by news that the Australian Federal Police are expanding the use of "deprogramming" on captured terrorists. "Deprogramming" is a term for the set of techniques used to undo the brainwashing a cult performs, accidentally or on purpose, on its members.
The idea of treating the Jihad like a mental disease or lunatic cult may sound like an innovative approach. But in war, probably more than any other profession save one, the new is very, very old.
A lengthy, and fascinating, description of psy-ops used during the War against Communism follows. Richard sums up:
Leafing through history, one realizes that it is possible to write an account of warfare without mentioning a single weapons system other than the human mind. The reader can try to expunge from the tale all reference to the human heart, but in vain: for man is at the center of warfare. His will is its ultimate prize; his broken body its ultimate currency. In that light the "deprogramming" efforts of the Australian Federal Police in the dingy corners of the world are simply a return of warfare to its roots. The jihadis want our souls; the rule in warfare is that we will want theirs.
People refer to a "battle for hearts and minds", but they seldom think of the battle in quite these terms.
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