Posted on 10/17/2001 7:17:27 AM PDT by spycatcher
From CNN Watch, January 30, 2001
The Arab League uses a technique of propaganda called "turnspeak", where you attack someone and then turn it around 180 degrees and claim they attacked you. Because the truth is the exact opposite of the information being disseminated it is psychologically difficult to counter and leads to confusion.
The term was first used by journalists to describe German propaganda after it invaded Czechoslovakia in March of 1939. To win sympathy for their invastion, the Germans practiced what has become known as "turnspeak". They turned the blame back on the Czechs for trying to precipitate an all-out war in the region. In other words, the Czechs in their attempt to hang onto their land were ready to plunge all of Europe into war.
How did the rest of Europe respond to this lie? They believed it. World leaders decided that something had to be done to preserve peace at any cost.
Author William Shirer, who was a reporter in Europe at the time, distilled the truth simply when he wrote, "Thus the plight of the German minority in Czechoslovakia was merely a pretext...for cooking up a stew in a land he [Hitler] coveted, undermining it, confusing and misleading its friends and concealing his real purpose...to destroy the Czechoslovak state and grab its territories..."
The Arab claims that Jews are "Nazis" are not without motive. They are trying to cover up their close connection with the Nazi's. During World War II leading Muslims including Haji Amin al-Husseini (Arafat's uncle) worked for the Nazis in Germany, calling for a intifada against Britain. Amin was the grand mufti of Jerusalem and Arafat's uncle.
The Arabs, especially Iraq, sided with Germany during WWII. In fact, Mufti Haj Amin al-Husseini issued afatwa-"summons to a holy war against Britain" in May 1941. The Mufti's widely heralded proclamation against Britain was declared in Iraq, where he was instrumental in "the pro-Nazi" Iraqi revolt of 1941.
Yasser Arafat's actual name is Abd al-Rahman abd al-Bauf Arafat al-Qud al-Husseini. He shortened it to obscure his kinship with the notorious Nazi and ex-Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Muhammed Amin al-Husseini.
See Muftism and Nazism: World War II Collaboration Documents http://www.eretzyisroel.org/~jkatz/nazis.html
The examples of "turnspeak" abound in todays news media. For example a recent CNN article reported "The settlers are a roaming the west bank with guns and randomly shooting at Palestinian civilians... making Palestinians prisoners in their own villages", or a New York Times article that said "They [the settlers] are hunters... They go into jail through one door and out the other." It is even more obvious in Arafat's claims that Israel is stopping the peace process.
It got to the point that every speech by a Clinton was in FORM a condemnation of Republican greed, but in CONTENT was a Clinton confession.
Clinton says U.S. can thwart terrorism by fighting poverty, spreading democracy
Definitely. Inside their heads must be a scary place to be.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.