Phil Taylor's papers
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BACK TO : PSYOPS IN IRAQ 2003-6
Foreseeing the PSYOP Campaign by Stephen H. Baker 
Terrorism Project website PSYOP - Psychological Warfare Operations Nov. 22, 2002 View Standard Version One of the most important phases of any open conflict with Iraq is already being executed by U.S. forces. It is a unique form of warfare aimed at the heartbeat of Iraq. The target is huge - 24 million people, the entire population of Iraq. It is a phase of war that has zero collateral damage and could avert the precision slaughter of thousands. This is an ambitious, massive multi-media campaign, already underway; to create an environment in the Iraqi military that promotes surrendering or defecting once an invasion starts. All means of communication are being exploited. Some aspects of the U.S. psyop program are already bearing fruit. Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein finally appears to be taking the United States seriously. Throughout this summer and fall, U.S. President George W. Bush and the top leadership in the Department of Defense stated that the most viable option to disarm Iraq was a regime change by military force. It seems that only when Iraq was confronted by a credible threat of U.S. military action did Saddam decide to let the new inspection agency resume its work. For that reason, it makes sense to have that credible force present in the Gulf area as inspections commence. There are currently numerous reports, obviously being noted by the leadership of Iraq, that the planning and preparation for an all-out conflict with Iraq continues and the buildup of American forces in the region has not slowed down. A key ingredient to the Iraqi war plan will be a large-scale psychological-warfare campaign put in place to convince Iraqi military commanders that they will suffer great losses if they do not join the fight against Saddam or, at the minimum, refuse to take up arms against an invasion. Defectors and dissidents can play a very crucial role in the success of a quick victory. They will contact Saddam's generals to help convince them that resistance is pointless. Senior U.S. officials have stated that they know the names of every division commander in Iraq. Key officers are being contacted through clandestine intermediaries, defectors, email or personal phone calls from former Iraqi military officers to their one-time colleagues. An effort is underway to persuade regional commanders to order their troops not to fight. In a "best-case" scenario, military commanders could stage a coup or kill Saddam before a war begins. The 193rd Special Operations Wing with upgraded EC130 Commando Solo aircraft will bombard Iraqi airwaves preparing the battlefield through covert and overt psyops, and civil affairs broadcasts well before the first bomb is dropped. These aircraft can control the electronic spectrum of radio, television, and military communication bands in a focused area. Signals, transmissions and receptions can be "substituted" or jammed. Iraqi military computers can be invaded, manipulated and disabled. Psychological Operations groups, battalions and companies will support all of the armed services throughout the conflict. (Note: During Desert Storm, over a seven-week period, 29 million leaflets in at least 14 varieties were dropped behind enemy lines, allegedly reaching approximately 98 percent of the 300,000 troops. Radio and loudspeaker broadcasts combined with these psyop leaflet programs were major motivating factors to the estimated 100,000 soldiers who surrendered or deserted by the end of the war without firing a shot.) Clearly, U.S. psyop strategy includes the vision that the Iraqi people and military units nominally loyal to Saddam could be influenced to join a campaign against him. Bombing the Iraqi regular Army is an option the U.S. would like to avoid if possible. Aggressive attempts will be made to convince the military rank and file, already suffering from major morale problems, that fighting for the current regime is not fighting for Iraq. Postwar jobs could be offered in the regular army for those that surrender. The psyop campaign will call for all opposition forces in Iraq to spread the word throughout the population. The message should be loud and clear; two choices are available - help either change the regime leadership and build a democracy, or be destroyed. Commanders and men in weapons of mass destruction units are already being told that they will be tried as war criminals if they use their weapons against coalition forces and other nations. There will be continued attempts to persuade Iraqi weapons officers to disobey any orders to launch chemical or biological attacks in the face of an invasion. Expect millions of leaflets to be dropped in Iraq. Some are probably already printed out: "Saddam Exists No More - Surrender Now and Embrace Your Freedom;" "Saddam Does Not Control Iraq Anymore - Help Us Win Your Liberation Quickly With Minimum Loss Of Life;" "Stay In Your Barracks - Stay In Your House - We Are Not Here To Fight You;" "Reward For Information Leading To Chemical Weapons;" "We Know Who You Are - If You Fire Missiles You Will Be Killed Or Hunted Down As A War Criminal." If a full-scale war broke out, the opposition forces in coordination with U.S. Special Forces will attempt to communicate with the Iraqi people and the military in an effort to neutralize them and let them know that coalition forces have quickly gained control of large amounts of territory. There will be an appeal to the patriotism of all Iraqi's to help keep the infrastructure of their country intact. Specific lists of key individuals to contact inside Iraq are being regularly updated. The thought among U.S. psyops warriors is that fewer and fewer people in Iraq want to be on a suicide mission for Saddam Hussein, and that they should be part of the movement towards freedom from 23 years of oppression. If the majority of the inhabitants of Iraq are completely convinced that Saddam and his entire regime are about to fall, there could be little resistance and the carnage of war would be minimized. Rear Adm. (Ret.) Stephen H. Baker, USN CDI Senior Adviser sbaker@cdi.org View Standard Version ENTER FOR DEFENSE INFORMATION 1779 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20036-2109 Ph: (202) 332-0600 ยท Fax: (202) 462-4559 info@cdi.org |