Phil Taylor's papers
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BACK TO : PSYCHOLOGICAL OPERATIONS (PSYOPS) - General. Rebranded 2010 as MISO
War of Words: PSYOP in Afghanistan by Ryan Battles 
Sat, Sept 27 Apart from the relentless bombing raids on Afghanistan, the US and its allies have also launched another more subtle attack on the Taliban regime, through the use of Psychological Operations or Psyops. Dating back to the times of Alexander the Great, Psyops has been used as a weapon in countless wars to break down the mental strength of the enemy and influence their behaviour. In the past few days American aircraft have hijacked the airwaves over Afghanistan broadcasting in Arabic to civilians about the horrors of Osama bin Laden's Al Qaida network and how their war is not with the Afghan people or Islam, but with terrorists. One of the most successful uses of Psyops was during the 1991 Gulf War where over a seven week period 29 million leaflets were dropped into various sections of enemy territory, informing that within 24 hours they would be bombed and that they should surrender to avoid destruction. The International Red Cross reported that approximately 87,000 Iraqi soldiers turned themselves in, most clutching the leaflets or hiding them in their clothing. Major Ed Rouse served with the 4th Psychological Operations Group (Airborne) during the Gulf War and also the 2nd Infantry Division in Korea and the 24th Infantry Division. How much preparation goes into Psyops before it's used in enemy country and what kind of personnel is involved? Major Rouse: The 4th Psyops Group Airborne located at Fort Bragg, North Carolina is comprised of a Headquarters Company, four regional support battalions, a Psyop dissemination battalion and an operational tactical battalion. With only about 1,145 soldiers and 57 civilian analysts in the entire group the battalions are small with generally fewer than 200 soldiers, compared with a standard infantry battalion of about 750 soldiers. Once a mission is identified, a Psyop estimate of the situation is done to identify potential areas which could be impacted by psychological operations. Next is the planning stage where the type of media to be used is determined. If the population is generally illiterate a newspaper would be a poor choice for media dissemination. The same for a television broadcast if the target audience has no television. Once the media means are chosen, then the message is developed. Then a native focus group of the intended target audience is used to make sure the message is received as intended and not misunderstood. During the Gulf War we tried this on Saudi Arabian personnel to give their opinions. What firsthand experience do you have of this being successful? Major Rouse: During the Gulf War some indicators of success were: 34 per cent of all enemy prisoners of war reported hearing loudspeaker broadcasts and more than half of those followed the speakers' instructions. One of the best successes was at Faylaka Island where a Psyop team flew in an helicopter with loudspeakers telling the enemy to surrender the next day at the radio tower. The next day, 1,405 Iraqis including a general officer waited in formation at the radio tower to surrender, without a shot being fired. How long do the Psyops last for? Major Rouse: It usually continues until all the objectives of the initial plan are met. In most cases that will last throughout the war eg: Vietnam, Granada, Panama, Haiti, Somalia, Gulf War, Bosnia/Kosovo. Have there been any negative results when Psyops have been used? Major Rouse: The information you get to the audience must be credible. The sender must know and thoroughly understand everything about their target audience to include their customs, beliefs, strengths and weaknesses. An example of where this failed was during the Gulf War when the Iraqis chose a woman, Baghdad Betty to conduct propaganda broadcasts. In one of her first broadcasts she warned the American soldiers that their wives and girlfriends back home were sleeping with Tom Cruise, Tom Selleck and Bart Simpson. It was ridiculous enough to think that two of Hollywood's biggest stars were seducing our wives but to infer that they were sleeping with a cartoon character was ludicrous. Another example of an error was during Operation Restore Home in Somalia in 1972. The US dropped leaflets which had text beginning with "Adoonka Cidanka" which we understood to mean World Forces or United Nations. Unfortunately although pronounced the same, the correct word for world is "Aduunka". The word we had used meant "slave". Who is handling this propaganda war better: the Allies or Osama bin Laden? Major Rouse: This is going to be a war of information. Whoever controls the information and has the most credible information will gain the hearts and minds of the people. We have a real challenge before us. It is an unfair question at this point to evaluate who is doing the best job as we have just begun our Psyop campaign using radio broadcasts and leaflets. Initially bin Laden has the advantage as the media in Afghanistan has been controlled by the Taliban. The Afghanistan people have been taught for many years that America is the home of the Great Satan. This is an image that bin Laden hopes to nourish and maintain. Any "collateral damage" (innocent non-combatants) killed by US bombings may provoke the impressionable youth to enlist in bin Laden's network. Our Psyop campaign could have as many as five different target audiences. This will include: the Northern Alliance which will likely be given weapons and intelligence to win its support; the Taliban fighters to encourage their defection to the Northern Alliance; the Afghan civilians, to convince them neither they nor Islam are the targets; and the terrorists themselves and people of Pakistan and other surrounding Islamic countries to try and overcome the anti-American feelings among them. Ryan Battles, Freeserve News |