A rchive Date
[ 18-10-2001 ]
Category
[ International Relations ]
sub-Categoy
[ U.S ]
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[http://msnbc.com/news/644557.asp
U.S. reaches out to Afghans via radio
Psychological operations group wages war via information
MSNBC STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
Oct. 18 - Any Taliban troops who want to live should raise their hands and empty their clips of bullets. That’s just one of various messages, interspersed with music, that the United States is broadcasting into Afghanistan with the help of a psychological operations unit and its flying radio stations.
“YOU HAVE guaranteed your own demise,” says the surrender message, transmitted by Air Force EC-130 aircraft flying over the country as part of a campaign called Commando Solo. “Surrender now and we will give you a second chance. We will let you live.”
The message also details how fighters should give up:
“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.”
It was not clear why the message cites U.S. forces in Afghanistan; the Pentagon hasn’t made public any plans to send in ground troops.
'PERSUADE, CHANGE AND INFLUENCE’
The flying radio stations are supported by troops from the Psychological Operations Group at Fort Bragg, N.C. Their motto is “Persuade, change and influence” and their tools include leaflets, loudspeakers to blare messages and even mobile print shops that can be dropped by parachute.
Six of the Commando Solo aircraft are in the U.S. inventory, all flown by the Air Force’s 193rd Special Operations Wing. Such aircraft were deployed to Saudi Arabia and Turkey in support of the 1991 U.S.-led drive to expel Iraqi forces from Kuwait. Their “preparation of the battlefield” helped to minimize both enemy and coalition casualties by contributing to massive Iraqi defections and surrenders, Pentagon officials said.
The Afghanistan broadcasts are part of a strategy that White House press secretary Ari Fleischer on Monday said would use all forms of communication, including the Voice of America radio network, to reach citizens in the region. The VOA has expanded broadcasts in five languages that are spoken in Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Iran and 21 countries in the Middle East and North Africa.
The Taliban, for its part, accuses Western broadcasters, including the VOA and the BBC, of waging a propaganda war against the Afghan leadership.
PATRONIZING TONE?
The Commando Solo’s broadcasts use a short-wave band and two AM frequencies, including one the Pentagon says was used by the Taliban until U.S. strikes took out the transmitters.
It’s not clear how effective the radio transmissions are. Monitors at the British Broadcasting Corp. apparently aren’t among the fans. “Our monitors are saying that the tone of some of the speech is irritating and patronizing,” said Mike Linstead, who works at the BBC monitoring center. “And they are also saying that the music being employed in these broadcasts is not really in tune with what they perceive to be the mood of the Afghan people, which of course is one of fear and uncertainty.”
Another message urges the Afghan people not to help the Taliban and Osama bin Laden and to stay away from possible bombing targets.
“It is not you, the honorable people of Afghanistan, who are targeted, but those who would oppress you, seek to bend you to their own will and make you their slaves,” says a broadcast aimed at the Afghan population.
There are several versions being broadcast and dropped in leaflets over sectors of Afghanistan.
The broadcast tells Afghans that the United States was the target of terrorist attacks Sept. 11, “leaving no choice but to seek justice for those horrible crimes,” according to an English translation transcript released by the Pentagon.
“It will take the combined efforts of the international community and you to remove these evil people from Afghanistan,” it said.
“Take the following action: Do not give food, shelter, or any type of aid to the Taliban or Osama bin Laden. This will be a great help in the effort.”
It also warned Afghans to “stay away from military installations, government buildings, terrorist camps, roads, factories or bridges.”
“If you are near these places, then you must move away from them ... we do not wish to harm you,” it said.
LEAFLETS PART OF STRATEGY
U.S. warplanes also began dropping leaflets over Afghanistan Sunday — one showing a Western soldier in camouflage and helmet shaking hands with a man in traditional Afghan dress in front of a mountain scene.
“The partnership of nations is here to assist the people of Afghanistan,” the leaflet said.
Another depicts a radio transmitting tower and sketches of radios and tells times and radio stations to tune to for “Information Radio.”
The broadcasts started earlier, but leaflets telling people to listen were delayed because of windy conditions last week, a Pentagon official said.
The message to the Taliban warns that by harboring bin Laden and his al-Qaida terrorist network, “you have declared war on the United States.”
“Our military is bigger, faster and stronger, with more modernized weapons and better-trained troops,” it says.
“You will be attacked by land, sea, and air.”
The message to civilians says the United States does not want to “spill the blood of innocent people.”
“We will hunt down and punish these terrorists,” it says. “They will pay with their blood.”
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
 World Fact Book (CIA)]
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