The same process is seeing a considerable increase in book publishing
for an audience dissatisfied with the leftist common ‘academic’
pap.
“The Iranian example illustrates another potential of the Internet--the
extension of disintermediation to diplomacy. Internet-based businesses
have already cut out the middlemen in commerce, and Internet bloggers
are cutting out the middlemen in journalism. But the growth of Iranian
and Iraqi blogs, and the close interaction between many of these bloggers
and their counterparts in America and elsewhere, suggests that the Internet
may, in time, come to displace some of the work of diplomats. While
government-to-government negotiations are likely to remain the province
of professionals, the role of diplomats as a public face for their home
country may be reduced as communication between individuals and small
groups becomes widespread. Though the potential for misunderstanding
is significant, it is probably smaller--and less likely to be significant
in any individual instance--where this sort of communication goes on.
“The definitive story of the Internet and the War on Terror has
not yet been written, and such a story would undoubtedly include events
not mentioned above--such as, to name just one, the role of "white
hat" hackers in pursuing and sometimes even seizing control of
Al-Qaeda affiliated websites. But it seems safe to say that prewar predictions
that the Internet would be a force against war, and in favor of lefty,
EU-style moral equivalency human rights advocates, turn out to have
been partly right, but not in the way advocates seem to have thought.
The Internet turned out to be a stronger force for human rights properly
understood than for peace at any price, and the ability of people to
use the Internet to bypass traditional organizations with different
priorities has made a significant difference. This effect will probably
grow larger over time. With the growing ubiquity of digital cameras
(including digital video cameras) and broadband Internet access, the
gatekeeper role of traditional news media, and other international organizations,
is likely to disappear.
“Such a change is unlikely to be "pro-war" or "anti-war"
in the abstract. Rather, it is likely to change the kinds of wars that
get good coverage. Wars that liberate oppressed populations, and especially
wars that do so with minimal civilian casualties, are likely to fare
the best. It is the good fortune of the United States that those are
the sorts of wars it is likely to be fighting in the foreseeable future.”
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