Phil Taylor's papers
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BACK TO : PSYOPS IN IRAQ 2003-6
Occupying Iraqi airspace by IFE 
Occupying Iraqi airspace by Index for Free Expression, 20 March 2003 The US strikes against Iraq on 20 March included a massive electronic blitz on Iraqi state radio, comprehensively raiding and then occupying its airspace. Nick Grace of Clandestine Radio Watch listened in. With the words "The facilities of the Iraqi regime have started to be hit... This is the day we have been waiting for... The attack on Iraq has begun," the United States military jammed and then obliterated Baghdad Radio with its own psychological war programming in a remarkable move to control the airwaves over Iraq. The sudden announcement occurred at approximately 0230 GMT on 20 March. Contrary to early reports that Iraqi state radio was seized by U.S. troops, its signal appears to have been drowned out from broadcasts over the airborne Commando Solo EC-130E psyop fleet. Its signal, according to multiple wire reports, disappeared from the airwaves after the surgical airstrikes. Iraqi television, meanwhile, remains on the air. Radio Baghdad, Al-Shabab, and Sawt al-Jamahiriyah, Iranian radio reports, are responding to the psywar assault by shifting transmissions to new frequencies. Sawt al-Jamahiriyah, which is run by Uday Hussein, broadcast martial music and defiant annoucements. Reuters quoted one as announcing: "This is our day. Let us start the fight. We will be victorious. We will all die as faithful martyrs... Our brother martyrs will die defending our great Iraq. Today is our day. Rise up our brothers for the jihad. Hit the enemies and prove that we are sons of freedom and honor... Rise up like lions. Saddam is our beloved leader and God is our great Allah. Rise up, rise up and attack the foreigners. Victory with God's help is near...defeat the infidel enemy." Information Radio, which is the only known programme broadcast from Commando Solo, broadcast a mix of psyop messages and Arab music as anti-aircraft fire lit up the skies over Baghdad. Clandestine Radio Watch monitored the radio station on 9715.1 kHz between 0250 and 0345 GMT when its signal faded out. A station identification was heard at 0337 GMT over traditional flutes. During President Bush's address to the American public at 0315 GMT Information Radio broadcast an announcement about al-Qaeda and the regime of Saddam Hussein. A more complete analysis of the announcements will be forthcoming. Recordings of the monitored broadcasts are available at the www. clandestineradio.com. Information Radio broadcasts 24 hours per day on 9715 kHz and between 1500 and 2000 GMT on 756, 693 kHz, 100.4 MHz. Its broadcasts, according to wire reports, are already responsible for Iraqi troop defections on the Iraq-Kuwait border. In addition to Information Radio the United States broadcasts four covert radio stations, smothering Saddam Hussein's regime within a wall of psywar messages. |