QinetiQ Chairman warns that the West is losing the propaganda war

Dame Pauline Neville-Jones, Chairman of QinetiQ, the defence and security group, has warned that the West risks losing the propaganda war to Al Qaida and other terrorist groups because of a lack of a clear, strategic information campaign. Speaking at IQPC's Information Operations Europe conference at QinetiQ's Malvern site, Dame Pauline emphasised the need for an inclusive approach based on messages and actions of co-operation rather than of coercion, moving away from the current stance of 'either with us or against us'.

Addressing an international audience of Government, military and academic information operations experts, Dame Pauline said: "The West needs to develop a more positive, forward-looking information campaign that seeks not to put up the barriers but rather to shape the world through influence, negotiation and partnership. Those that may be tempted to line up behind Al Qaida and their ilk need to be persuaded that they stand to benefit more by opposing the extremists.

"Western governments, and particularly the current US administration, have tended to reinforce differences that Al Qaida itself would have us believe - that there are no shades of grey, that there is only absolute good and evil. An inclusive approach, rather than an exclusive one, is essential. When we use the phrase 'with us or against us' it draws the same battle lines demanded by Al Qaida and risks putting the broad range of opinion that exists the wrong side of the line."

Dame Pauline, a former chair of the UK's Joint Intelligence Committee, concluded: "There are no quick fixes. A long-term and wide-ranging pragmatic political and economic strategy should, over time, help marginalise the extremists. Dialogue must be entered into and countries like Iran and Syria have to be engaged. Common objectives need to be developed. A series of partnerships adapted to local conditions should be established. This will not be easy and we shall not succeed everywhere. There will be setbacks.

"Currently Al Qaida and other terrorist groups can seize the initiative faster than we can. We have to get ahead of them. Transatlantic disagreements over Iraq and especially Israel/ Palestine, where we cannot agree on the analysis let alone the prescription, are a serious impediment to a genuinely joint strategy and are losing us precious time. These divisions also greatly aggravate our task of persuasion in the Middle East. History will not be charitable about this delay. It is time to stop arguing and get down to a long hard slog."

IQPC's Information Operations Europe 2004 conference (22-24 June) has brought together information operations specialists from around the world. In addition to Dame Pauline's speech, delegates discussed a range of other issues, including:

• the origins and potential developments in Al Qaida strategy;
• the increasing use of psychological operations in warfighting;
• the role of strategic influence and perception management in modern warfare;
• the role of new technologies in shaping an information campaign;
• the role of information operations in managing the transition from war to peace.