The Secret and the Surge: ISIS Response Self-help Principles for Would-be Warriors of the West

Amidst current crises in global affairs, Carter Page considers ways in which certain popular self-help concepts could prove beneficial to the practice of foreign policy.

Oprah Winfrey has been a major supporter of Barack Obama for over a decade, since before he rose to the world stage. She played an essential role from the early days of his first successful Presidential campaign until the victory speech celebration in Chicago’s Grant Park at the conclusion of the 2008 election. During that same era, Oprah’s advocacy of The Secret made this self-help movie and the associated book a best-selling media phenomenon in 2006. Rhonda Byrne began implementing The Secret’s principles as a response to a period of great chaos and trauma in 2004, writing the book amidst the process of making fundamental changes in her own life. As Western foreign policy leaders in general and President Obama in particular face increased turmoil around the world, the book’s concepts could prove similarly beneficial today.

Winfrey has already been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award of the United States. Although she has remained an Obama backer throughout his Presidency, helping to inspire such a transformational change in the practice of international relations could become Oprah’s most revolutionary achievement yet. Some humorous parodies and general skepticism previously emerged amongst critics of The Secret’s utility on a personal level. But the direct logic of many of these principles in a foreign policy context warrants serious consideration, particularly when compared alongside the malignant ideas which continue to prevail today.

The Secret is based in part on the law of attraction, which asserts that, "Like attracts like”. In essence, people attract the things that they think about. Rhonda Byrne suggests a three step process: Ask, Believe, and Receive.

The first step of Asking is described in The Secret as, “Make a command to the Universe. Let the Universe know what you want. The Universe responds to your thoughts.” Adding to the downward spiral of relations sometimes seen in the current conflicts of the Middle East, each side has consistently practiced an intensive use of negative hyperbole. In a September 2014 speech, President Obama vowed to “ultimately destroy ISIL”. Although seeking to differentiate himself from Obama at a Chicago Council on Global Affairs speech, potential 2016 U.S. Presidential candidate Jeb Bush stated a similar bottom line: “You've got to tighten the noose, and take them out.”

In the March 2015 edition of The Atlantic magazine, contributing editor Graeme Wood wrote an article entitled “What ISIS Really Wants” which provides important insights into the logic of the organization. As part of a range of recent related media appearances and building upon the personal insights he gained in his research, Wood has offered an even more important suggestion: the serious consideration of Dabiq, a magazine of the Islamic State. A vast majority of Dabiq’s articles clearly display the “like attracts like” concept, with analogous themes of destruction correspondingly found throughout.

As a case in point, Dabiq’s Issue 7 quotes a chapter of the Koran: “And if you punish [an enemy], punish with an equivalent of that with which you were harmed. [An-Nahl: 126].” Like attracts like indeed. In setting the stage for the attraction of more recent conflicts, U.S. National Security Advisor Susan Rice once famously noted, “I would come down on the side of dramatic action, going down in flames if that was required.”

As Byrne mentioned in The Secret’s introduction, “Everything that's coming into your life you are attracting into your life. And it's attracted to you by virtue of the images you're holding in your mind. It's what you're thinking. Whatever is going on in your mind you are attracting to you.” For Western and ISIS leaders alike, the continued focus on destroying and noose tightening certainly supports the perpetuation of these same ideas as the vicious cycle continues. In turn, the chronic destruction brought by wars across the Middle East follows the law of attraction.

Byrne explained that, “People who have drawn wealth into their lives used The Secret, whether consciously or unconsciously. They think thoughts of abundance and wealth, and they do not allow any contradictory thoughts to take root in their minds.” The same may be said of war, as the vast focus of policy initiatives in conflict regions such as the Middle East have accordingly shown a similar emphasis of intense outside attention.

Like Attracts Like: The Surge and the Attraction of More Violence

Neoconservative commentator Robert Kagan has indicated that U.S. politicians, "Need to show what kind of political courage they have". The key word of course being political. Pundits may have the bravery to sing a battle cry of war rhetoric and hawkish policy ideas from the comfort of their offices in Washington. But the courage demonstrated in their lack of any personal on-the-ground military service remains less than the majority of pre-teen jihadi soldiers, most of whom are in no small part inspired by the aggressive tactics that war advocates such as Robert Kagan support.

Many of these recent comments by Robert Kagan have focused on ramping up defense budgets. In this instance, like has attracted like as well. As described in the Telegraph, “Isil acquired three divisions' worth of up-to-date American arms and munitions - including M1129 Stryker 120-mm mortars and at least 700 armoured Humvee vehicles from the then fleeing, or since massacred, Iraqi army.”

Another key example of the “ask, believe and receive” framework was practiced by his brother Fred Kagan who designed the surge in the last Iraq war and authored the ironically entitled 2007 blueprint, “Choosing Victory: A Plan for Success in Iraq”. This prior example of asking for, believing in and receiving incremental levels of violence led to the series of events that created ISIS in the first place, coincidentally during the very same years. Amongst the ironic statements in Kagan’s proposal was that, “The ground forces must accept longer tours for several years. National Guard units will have to accept increased deployments during this period.” This coming from a man who never served one day in uniform in his life. As one commentator aptly said, “That the Kagans are beating the drum for war and still more war is not surprising as that is how they make a living... The Kagans are classic neocon entrepreneurs who rely on nepotism and cronyism to work their way through the system.”

Images Held in Mind: Everything is Poetry

Echoing Dale Carnegie’s earlier self-help book How to Win Friends and Influence People, another lawyer from Illinois named Abraham Lincoln once noted, “The best way to destroy an enemy is to make him a friend.” In 1963, U.S. jazz composer and musician Duke Ellington led a tour with his orchestra of the Middle East. One of the stops was Isfahan, Iran. According to the book Duke Ellington's America by Harvey Cohen, “In Isfahan, the applause was so long that the police had to interrupt.” By all accounts, the positive response was mutual. According to a Middle East Magazine article, Duke Ellington, “Recalled the city as being a place where everything is poetry. They meet you at the airport with poetry and you go away with poetry.”

In her book The Alpha Masters, Maneet Ahuja quotes Ray Dalio, founder of one of the world’s largest hedge funds Bridgewater Associates as saying, “I saw how the government lied or certainly spun things in a certain way. I had all these philosophical questions, like Whom do you believe? What is actually truthfully going on?” A similar inquiry in the foreign policy arena may prove equally valuable. It may likely expose that more violent interventionist action creates a stronger case for continued retribution by an enemy.

Anthony Robbins, Tim Ferriss and the late Stephen Covey stand among a wide range of other self-help authorities. In the wake of failed foreign policy doctrine, following a similar methodology as those used by some of these experts could offer valuable insights into possible approaches to improving the West’s response to current perceived threats.

Carter W. Page is Founder and Managing Partner of Global Energy Capital LLC. He is a Fellow at the Center for National Policy in Washington and an adjunct faculty member at New York University’s Center for Global Affairs and Energy.