Fresh on the heals of the Harpers Magazine sting operation where PR firm APCO Worldwide was seduced into courting Turkmenistan, one of central Asia's most repressive countries... now we've got one for real!  A leading expert in international relations says that the Taliban is getting PR counsel. Can you guess who's their firm? Yikes!

BACKGROUND

First, by way of a little background, according to a CBC News interview with Doug McArthur, a political scientist at Simon Fraser University:

"The now-ousted Taliban regime had once banned all forms of modern media — even photographs — but the militant Islamist group is now recording messages on video which it posts on the Internet. Some of the same Taliban leaders who ordered televisions smashed on the grounds that modern media is a satanic innovation, are now giving their phone numbers to select journalists and routinely assigning cameramen to record roadside bomb attacks. Last month, for example, the Taliban filmed a graduation ceremony for suicide bombers in which a Taliban commander urged scores of young men to launch attacks on four Western countries. The footage was then given to American television network ABC to guarantee maximum exposure in the West."

And their new communications strategy is working! "It's happening quite quickly and they are getting a big payoff for their efforts," McAuthur said.

PR'S INCREASING MORAL FLEXIBILITY

In an interview earlier this year, 5WPR CEO Ronn Torossian helped clarify how PR firms might rationalize various nefarious clients and their causes:

- PR agencies take on controversial clients just like lawyers represent controversial public figures. We may not be under oath like an attorney, but we are believers in the First Amendment.
- Even large, respected companies have dirty laundry lists. It’s a sad reflection on the state of business in the US, but laying the blame on that company’s external service providers isn’t the answer. This is what PR folks do. We create and maintain positive perceptions for clients.
- You’re holding us to your own personal standards. If you were a gun control advocate, you’d have a similar reaction if we signed Heckler & Koch. If you were a staunch environmentalist, you’d gag if we signed General Electric. Hill & Knowlton represents the Bin Laden family. Does the fact that GE makes energy-saving light bulbs for American households absolve them for polluting the river and poisoning children?

Add to that, big international conglomerates are not moored necessarily to any national affiliation. Money is money. And if one firm won't take it, another firm will.  

TAKE THE POLL

Directly below is a poll. Who do you think might be the Taliban's new PR Firm? Guess. (Note: Poll closed 6/30/07.)

END NOTE

The firms we offer here are the most likely suspects. They either have an international capability or can quickly fashion a network of firms. Also, it is in our opinion that the firms here would not necessarily be dissuaded by a suspension of human rights, the occasional beheading or the total annihilation of Israel. If you think another firm should be considered, please add it in the comments.