Iran and the Forgotten Cognitive Front
Iran and the Forgotten Cognitive Front There are two fronts in every war – one kinetic, one cognitive. The kinetic front is obvious, the cognitive not so. We will succeed on the kinetic front in the Iran war in the next few weeks, but what happens on the cognitive front will be the determining factor of success or failure. The cognitive front is fought to influence will, support, and ideology. It is the forgotten front, as our decades being mired in Afghanistan and Iraq demonstrated. We must understand how, and if, we are impacting the cognitive front against the Iranian leadership, military, and their supporters, their citizens, and our own citizens. Unfortunately, we have many challenges to overcome. One challenge, is denying, disrupting, and proactively superseding the global front of propaganda, false images and narratives of Iran, Russia, and China driving fear, economic reaction, and creating doubt. Success could severely diminish resolve amongst Iranians to rise up and ...