ABSTRACT
Victory in any terrorist conflict ultimately depends on two key factors. The first is the intelligence war; each side must protect its own secrets and plans while uncovering those of the other. The second is what has come to be called the battle for hearts and minds (Payne, 2009). Failure on either one of these fronts might not be terminal, but failure on both will ensure defeat. As is recognized in the opening quote, the power of the role of the media is in the fundamental part it plays in the battle for hearts and minds. Whoever communicates the most compelling message significantly improves their chances of winning. Yet the counter-terrorism strategies of many countries tend not to recognize this as promptly as their terrorist opponents. The irony of this has not gone unnoticed: many terrorist organizations are using the open media, which represents the values and institutions of the liberal-democratic nations they are targeting, for their own purposes (Ganor, 2005).
