A cable dated May of 2009 states that American film and television programs are doing more to dissuade young Muslims from becoming jihadists than virtually anything else.
Reruns of shows like "Desperate Housewives" and "Friends" run uncensored on television in Saudi Arabia, giving the average Saudi a glimpse into American life and culture. And like many an American couch potato, these Saudi tube enthusiasts are fascinated by what they're seeing. The title of one U.S. television-related cable pretty much says it all: "David Letterman: Agent of Influence."
The cable in question recaps one U.S. official's meeting at a Starbucks -- yet another agent of American influence! -- overseas. The upshot: American TV shows are much more effective than al-Hurra, a U.S.-funded news channel that often features interviews with U.S. politicians and plenty of programming with a pro-American slant.
"It's still all about the war of ideas here, and the American programming on MBC and Rotana is winning over ordinary Saudis in a way that al-Hurra and other US propaganda never could," the cable says. "Saudis are now very interested in the outside world and everybody wants to study in the US if they can. They are fascinated by US culture in a way they never were before."
The cable also reports that a Saudi news-channel director disclosed that American television shows have become the most popular programing in the country -- even in the remote, highly conservative regions of Saudi Arabia where anti-Western thought typically proliferates. The cable quotes him saying that out in the Saudi hinterlands, "you no longer see Bedouins, but kids in western dress." What's more, he notes, American television has greatly heightened their interest in the outside world in a way that other information outlets hadn't.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20101208/ts_yblog_thelookout/wikileaks-cable-hollywood-helping-to-stop-the-spread-of-terrorism/print
