The Networks are Social

Wired has an article that implies that the problem the Americans are having in Iraq is that they have relied too much on electronic networks rather than social ones. I'm not sure I buy their argument but the article is interesting nonetheless. The brief section on the US Army psych ops sergeant was very interesting:

Colabuno's early efforts to persuade the population were just as subtle. He shows me a collection of his early posters, tabloid-sized pages laid on a table. Against a flaming background, a terrorist holds a child. The text asks why the parents of Fallujah would let insurgents harm their kids. Wrong move. This is a culture based on shame and honor; now you've just called the parents inadequate. Plus, the piece is just too on the nose, too blatant. The best propaganda is sneaky.