U.S. Defense Sec'y Robert Gates: Whomever Invented Internet, Bin Laden Rules It

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- No matter what's being said in Washington about improving conditions on the ground, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates remains convinced the war in cyberspace has turned into a virtual rout against America. He says al-Qaeda is using the Internet extremely well to communicate its message, and that American efforts to match it have flopped. The Pentagon chief said it is "plain embarrassing" that a movement headquartered in an Afghanistan cave has proven more adroit at adapting to the new online technologies than the United States. Even if the Internet was invented in the U.S., Gates sees Al-Qaeda's geeks as having a 21st Century mindset as they demonstrate its power to reach people around the globe.

"For example, public relations was invented in the United States, yet we are miserable at communicating to the rest of the world what we are about as a society and a culture, about freedom and democracy, about our policies and our goals. It is just plain embarrassing that al-Qaeda is better at communicating its message on the Internet than America. As one foreign diplomat asked a couple of years ago, 'How has one man in a cave managed to out-communicate the world's greatest communications society?' Speed, agility, and cultural relevance are not terms that come readily to mind when discussing U.S. strategic communications."

Gate made the remark Monday at Kansas State University in a foreign policy lecture that urged the U.S. to put more emphasis on what he called "soft" power as opposed to hard military might. A full transcript of his remarks is here. The Internet comment is near the conclusion of the lecture. It was not mentioned in news reports nor a Defense Department press release that summarized his speech.

Gates seemed to be saying that the Internet was as critical a tool as diplomacy, foreign aid assistance, civil administration and democracy-building programs.

"My message is that if we are to meet the myriad challenges around the world in the coming decades, this country must strengthen other important elements of national power both institutionally and financially, and apply the capability to integrate all of the elements of national power to the problems and challenges abroad."

Kent State University Denies Links to 'Jihadist' Professor Web Site

KENT, Ohio (TDB) -- Kent State University issued a statement today that strongly denies any involvement with an Islamic jihadist Web site that openly supports terrorist groups and Osama bin Laden's goals in Muslim world.

"Julio Pino, an associate professor of history at Kent State University, is being accused of authoring an anti-American Web site. This site has no connection to Kent State, and we object to having the university's name linked to it," the statement says. It was issued as an uproar develops over suggestions that the that the NE Ohio school could have looked the other way while a faculty member advocated slaughtering Americans. Rightwingers are disseminating the story at the speed of light, and even some liberals and centrists are wondering what was going on in Portage County.

[UPDATE: The latest from The Plain Dealer's Jesse Tinsley says Pino's comments about suicide bombers earlier this decade triggered a flap. He also writes that KSU is issuing "cease and desist" orders to blog and other sources to stop them from linking the school to the jihadist news service. That wording indicates some kind of legal action may be in the works.]

[UPDATE 2: Pho's Akron Pages delves into the hubbub and says the incident leaves many questions to be answered. He's level headed.]

The school said it investigated and has so far found "no evidence that this Web site is authored by Pino -- that is NOT [original emphasis] his picture on the site, and it contains no reference to him or to Kent State. In any case, there is no connection between this site and the university."

It also said no school servers were used to create or maintain the site, and that hate mail and threats are coming in against Pino and Kent State. It did not say if any disciplinary action will be taken against the professor, who was described as a competent teacher who converted to Islam.

A link to the jihadist site that is at the root of the tumult is HERE , and it definitely seems to cheer when Americans are killed in Iraq or Afghanistan. Matt Naugle at RightAngleBlog was first to break this story in the Ohio blogosphere, and he got the scoop from Townhall.com, a conservative operation that brought the issue to light in the first place.