Phil Taylor's papers
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BACK TO : PSYCHOLOGICAL OPERATIONS (PSYOPS) - General. Rebranded 2010 as MISO
US Military Psychological Warfare October 2001 - March 2002 by Radio Netherlands 
US Military Psychological Warfare October 2001 - March 2002 US Psychological War At first glance, the dull grey propeller-driven E-130 aircraft converted from cargo service, looks as slow and clunky. But Commando Solo II is in fact a special modified US$70 million plane, where the fuselage has been stuffed with computers, radio and TV production equipment, and quite powerful radio and TV transmitters. This gear allows the plane's 11-man crew to jam selected TV and radio broadcasts and substitute messages - true or false - on any frequency. Commando Solo has already been battle-tested by the 193rd Special Operations Group, an Air National Guard unit based in the US state of Pennsylvania. During the Persian Gulf War, the plane's crew broadcast radio reports on military frequencies targeted at Iraqi soldiers, including some of the next areas to be targeted by US bombers. As a result, it is claimed, many Iraqi soldiers deserted those positions. To prepare Haiti for the US intervention there, Commando Solo beamed in radio and TV messages from deposed President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Each broadcast began with the crow of a rooster, the symbol of Aristide's political party. An Air Force crew member adjusts the output of a transmission during an EC-130E Commando Solo II training mission. Photo by Master Sgt. David Hawkins, USAF The US Army's 4th Psychological Operations Group prepares the taped messages that Commando Solo airs. Since the Taliban closed down the fledging Afghan TV service when they came to power, the mission for the psycho war this time concentrated on radio. In early October 2001, leaflets were dropped over population centres with a simple message to tune into three frequencies. 1107 kHz a channel has been used by a 100 kW mediumwave transmitter outside Kabul, 864 kHz mediumwave was a frequency used in Kandahar and, for some at least, the curious channel of 8700 kHz, in Upper Side Band (USB). From the start, the US-backed transmissions on 8700 were perfectly audible in The Netherlands. Ehard Goddijn of Radio Netherlands Programme Distribution Department made this recording of a Commando Solo transmission at 1629 UTC on Wednesday 17 October 2001. Tactics The medium wave channels were thought to come from Commando Solo. 8700 kHz, on the other hand, was thought to be a land-based. There was speculation as to the location of this transmitter. This shortwave frequency may simply have been to provide a back-up signal to the airplane. It may also have been hoped that Taliban forces would tune in using military communications equipment. This is the kind of tactic used against Iraqi forces during the Persian Gulf War. But most Afghans will not have the sophisticated radios needed to tune in the 8700 kHz transmissions, which is in Upper Side Band. The schedule on 8700 was normally 0030-0530 and 1230-1730 UTC. Here is a sample text as released by US authorities in October 2001 "Attention Taliban! You are condemned. Did you know that? The instant the terrorists you support took over our planes, you sentenced yourselves to death. The Armed Forces of the United States are here to seek justice for our dead. Highly trained soldiers are coming to shut down once and for all Osama bin Laden's ring of terrorism, and the Taliban that supports them and their action. When you decide to surrender, approach United States forces with your hands in the air. Sling your weapon across your back muzzle towards the ground. Remove your magazine and expel any rounds. Doing this is your only chance of survival." Basic Not Black Propaganda The contents of the US PsyOps broadcasts made it quite clear about where the message was coming from. The concept of black propaganda did not emerge on this mission. If this had been the case, the US would have pretended to be Taliban radio and sowed seeds of dissent from within. The British used such tactics during the Second World War, where French resistance and even German Forces Radio (Soldatensender Calais) were faked from studios near Milton Keynes and a mediumwave transmitter in Crowborough, England. Freeplay Wind-Up? There were reports at the start of campaign that US military planes had dropped special version of the Freeplay wind-up radios with the dials fixed to the frequencies used by Commando Solo. At a press conference on October 15th, US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said leaflets to publicize the broadcasts had been dropped over the weekend of 13-14th October 2001. But in reply to a question from Media Network, Major Michael T. Halbig, Press Officer in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense, told us on 17 November 2001 that as far as he was aware, no such drops took place. Perhaps this is just as well. Although mains electricity and batteries may be a problem for many Afghans, the wind-up radios are also rather conspicuous. Owning one in Taliban-controlled territory meant you must have been listening to opposition radio. Likewise, the tuning mechanism of the Freeplay radio would need some heavy re-enforcement to withstand being dropped out of a plane and remaining spot on the pre-assigned frequency. Philips also makes a "mini-jukebox" shaped wind-up radio that charges an internal battery and gives around 90 minutes of playing time. Sony has a similar concept that is sold in Japan as a part of a basic home earthquake kit. To the best of our knowledge, these radios have not been airlifted into Afghanistan either. Leaflet Campaign In order to explain the Information Radio campaign, US-led forces dropped a variety of leaflets over Afghanistan. The US Department of Defense supplied press with copies of the originals and English language translations. At first, the leaflets stressed the humanitarian effort being launched. The Psyops project also got publicity in the form of leaflets In November 2001, the leaflets being dropped on Afghanistan as part of the psychological operations effort of the anti-terrorism coalition took on a more sinister tone. They showed a snapshot of Taliban leader Mohammed Omar´s car licence plate, apparently taken by a US spy plane. The official photos are from the US Department of Defense. Translation: Lt. Edward E. Shank of the 193rd Special Operations Wing, sent out the following message to those who reported reception of the psyops broadcasts on 8700kHz USB: "Now that things are up and running with the war effort in Afghanistan, I would like to take this opportunity to thank those of you who were kind enough to notify my unit of your reception of the broadcasts you've received regarding our efforts to win the hearts and minds of people during Operation Enduring Freedom. Although I am not authorized to authenticate your receptions at this time, I am touched by the sentiments expressed regarding your support of US military operations. To date, I have learned a great deal from people residing in areas of the world such as Japan, Finland, Holland, Germany, the United Kingdom and several regions throughout the United States just to name a few. In the 15 years that I've been in the military I have witnessed many changes in US policy. Now, in this post-Cold War climate, I am encouraged by the fact that hobbies such as yours have brought the diverse countries of this world closer together. Keep up the good work. I will keep your names and addresses on file and, as soon as I am able to do so, I will do my part to satisfy your desire to learn more about our part in the effort to rid the world of terrorism. Sincerely, Lt. Edward E. Shank, Chief of Public Affairs 193rd Special Operations Wing The name "Commando Solo II" also has meaning. Commando refers to the special operations mission, and Solo refers to the fact that the aircraft can go it alone, says Shank. VOA and RFE Opt for PsyOps Mountainous Afghanistan is a very difficult country to target effectively. Receivers in the country are cheap and can only pick out the stronger stations from the background noise. Many models have only the lower frequency shortwave bands on them (i.e. between 5 and 12 MHz) and so foreign stations must use transmitters within a 5000 km radius of Kabul in order to provide a competitive signal. Mediumwave coverage into Afghanistan is severely limited during the day, slightly better at night. There is an extra medium wave transmitter on the Commando Solo aircraft, so at the end of October 2001, VOA and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty accepted an opportunity to use it for clear reception across Afghanistan. The frequency was 980 kHz and the programming consisted of VOA Dari and Pashto and RFE/RL Uzbek, Tajik and Persian language broadcasts. These were combined into two five-hour transmission streams at the same time as the other Commando Solo transmissions: 0030 to 0530 and 1230 to 1730 UTC. However 980 kHz contained only RFE and VOA material and none of the psycho-war messages being broadcast on 864 and 1107 kHz. Such a tactic was also used in Kosovo during the NATO military action against Serbian forces. The Commando Solo operation continued until mid-March 2002, by which time various projects to re-establish the domestic broadcasting network were well under way. © Radio Netherlands Media Network. |