_________________________________________________________________________Swansea University E-Theses Image warfare in the war on terror: Image munitions and the continuation of war and politics by other means. Roger, Nathan Philip How to cite: _________________________________________________________________________ Roger, Nathan Philip (2010) Image warfare in the war on terror: Image munitions and the continuation of war and politics by other means.. thesis, Swansea University. http://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa42350 Use policy: _________________________________________________________________________ This item is brought to you by Swansea University. Any person downloading material is agreeing to abide by the terms of the repository licence: copies of full text items may be used or reproduced in any format or medium, without prior permission for personal research or study, educational or non-commercial purposes only. The copyright for any work remains with the original author unless otherwise specified. The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holder. Permission for multiple reproductions should be obtained from the original author. Authors are personally responsible for adhering to copyright and publisher restrictions when uploading content to the repository. Please link to the metadata record in the Swansea University repository, Cronfa (link given in the citation reference above.) http://www.swansea.ac.uk/library/researchsupport/ris-support/ Image warfare in the war on terror: Image munitions and the continuation of war and politics by other means Nathan Philip Roger Submitted to the University of Wales in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Swansea University 2010 ProQuest Number: 10798058 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 10798058 Published by ProQuest LLC(2018). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 LI2RARY Abstract This thesis argues that the image as circulated within society has changed from what is broadly conceived of as a mass media society to that of an information society or a rhizomatic condition. This discontinuity is linked to changes that have taken place both within technology and the ‘communications systems’ that make up the media. This is theorized as a move from the ‘mobilization of images’ to the ‘weaponization of images’ and it takes the following form: the mobilization of images is connected to a twentieth century notion of propaganda and the rise of a mass society; whereas the weaponizing of images is understood as emerging through a networked/rhizomatic society connected with new media. It has also resulted in a paradigm shift from techno-war to image warfare. More specifically, this thesis is about exploring how American and British governments and militaries are failing to manage image warfare because they are operating with an outdated understanding that it is possible to ‘control’ images; whereas A1 Qaeda appears to be understanding image warfare better. What I seek to show in this thesis is the disjuncture between this outdated idea of ‘controlling’ images (which Western governments and media continue to use) and a more dispersed or deterritorialized idea about how images operate in a rhizomatic condition. I explore this via my three conceptual terms: ‘image munitions’, ‘counter-image munitions’, ‘remediation battles’, with specific reference to the war on terror and specifically through four thematic case studies - political communications, suicides, executions and abuses - which allow exploration of different parts of this new theatre of war. In the conclusion I reflect on the implications of this analysis for understandings of contemporary and future warfare. Declarations and Statements DECLARATION This work has not previously been accepted in substance for any degree and is not being concurrently submitted in candidature for any degree. Signed ^ (NATHAN PHILIP ROGER) D ate.........0 .% la n l.W i:Q.................................... STATEMENT 1 This thesis is the result of my own investigations, except where otherwise stated. Where correction services have been used, the extent and nature of the correction is clearly marked in a footnote(s). Other sources are acknowledged by footnotes giving explicit references. A bibliography is appended. Signed _____________ 4 (NATHAN PHILIP ROGER) D ate .OA.jo.4./...^o.(.Q.................................... STAREMENT 2 I hereby give consent for my thesis, if accepted, to be available for photocopying and for inter-library loan, and for the title and summary to be made available to outside organisations. Signed (NATHAN PHILIP ROGER) Date Alj..0.6./...M(9................................... For my late Mum, my Dad and Brother Contents Preface and Acknowledgements 1 Abbreviations 6 Introduction 10 The Aesthetic Turn in International Relations 18 Chapter Summary 21 Chapter One War/Images and International Relations Theory 27 Introduction 27 Media Actors, Objects and Subjects 29 War and Images 40 Media and the Vietnam War 42 Media and the First Gulf War 45 Media and the Kosovo Conflict 49 Media and September 11, 2001 and the War on Terror 52 Images and Warfare in IR Theory 60 Conclusion 84 Chapter Two Theorising Image Warfare 87 Introduction 87 War Studies in the Age of Image Warfare 88 War and Propaganda in the Age of New Media 97 Theorising Postmodern War 105 Theorising Image Warfare 108 Image Munitions 118 Counter-Image Munitions 122 Remediation Battles 123 Circulating Flag Raising at Iwo Jima and The Unknown Rebel (or Tank Man) 125 Methodology 129 Conclusion 136 Chapter Three Political Communications 139 Introduction 139 ‘The Oval Office’ and ‘ 10 Downing Street’ 140 Mediated Contact with Osama bin Laden 148 Circulating bin Laden’s Image 161 Conclusion 169 Chapter Four Suicides 171 Introduction 171 Conceptualising A1 Qaeda’s Suicide Terrorism 173 September 11, 2001 and United Airlines Flight 93 178 The 9/11 Suicide Video Wills 183 Iraq, 7/7 and 21/7 186 The July 7th Suicide Video Wills 191 Circulating Suicide Terrorism Footage 194 Conclusion 205 Chapter Five Executions 207 Introduction 207 Hijackings and Hostage-takings in History 208 From Hijacking to Hostage-taking 212 Visualizing Contemporary Hostages 219 Circulating Hostage Images 234 Hunting, Killing and Circulating Uday and Qusay Hussein 237 Hunt/Capture/Trial/Execution and Circulation of Saddam Hussein 241 Conclusion 251 Chapter Six Abuses 254 Introduction 254 Conceptualizing War Abuses 256 Abu Ghraib: A New Visibility 264 Abu Ghraib: Image Munitions 268 Circulating Abu Ghraib 275 Guantanamo Bay and Extraordinary Rendition 284 Circulating Guantanamo Bay and Extraordinary Rendition 290 The Faked Abuse Images and Camp Breadbasket Abuses 295 Abuse Images and the ‘Own Goal Effect’ 300 Conclusion 306 Conclusion 309 Bibliography 319 Preface and Acknowledgements As this thesis will explore the journeys of some of the most powerful images in the war on terror, it makes sense to first give a general outline of the journey taken in the production of this thesis. The images of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks - images of planes flying into the twin towers of the World Trade Center, images of people falling to their deaths from the WTC, images of the towers collapsing and more - were shocking. I was on a break from a summer maintenance job at my old school (earning some money before starting university) when someone came into the maintenance office and turned the television on. Almost two weeks later I enrolled as an Undergraduate in the Department of International Politics at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth. Professor Ken Booth’s welcome address was confirmation that 9/11 was going to be a dominant theme in the Interpol Department (and International Relations internationally) for the foreseeable future. I watched the start of the war in Afghanistan, the airing of bin Laden videos, Western responses to these videos and the start of the 2003 Iraq War all unfold on my television in my student accommodation. I particularly remember the ‘Saving of Jessica Lynch’; the fall of Saddam Hussein’s statue in central Baghdad; President Bush’s ‘Mission Accomplished’ speech; and the mediated images of the corpses of Uday and Qusay Hussein. During the Easter break of my first year I travelled to Zanzibar to teach English and Civics at a village school, whilst there I took a few of our students to Stone Town (the capital of Zanzibar) where we visited The House of Wonders (Beit el Ajaib) Museum of History and Culture of Zanzibar and the Swahili Coast. The House of Wonders has had a varied history. In the nineteenth century it was the ceremonial palace of the Sultan Barghash. Today it is a museum. When I visited it was hosting a travelling exhibition of the American photographer Joel Meyerowitz’s images from ‘Ground Zero’, one stop on a global tour of over sixty countries. After 1 September 11: Images From Ground Zero 1 was supported by the US State Department, local American