[iwar] [fc:DOD.Officials.Call.Afghanistan.'Ideal'.For.Psychological.Operations]

From: Fred Cohen (fc@all.net)
Date: 2001-11-08 07:00:40
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Inside The Pentagon
November 8, 2001
DOD Officials Call Afghanistan 'Ideal' For Psychological Operations
The isolation and poor infrastructure in Afghanistan that have complicated
the ongoing war on terrorism also make the nation an "ideal" environment for
psychological warfare operations, Defense Department officials say.
PSYOPS missions are an integral part of Operation Enduring Freedom,
officials say. The missions, such as broadcasts to Afghan radios by EC-130
Commando Solo aircraft and leaflet drops over the country, are one of the
few ways the United States can effectively communicate to the people of
Afghanistan.
Most people in Afghanistan get their information by radio or word of mouth,
Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. Craig Quigley told Inside the Pentagon this
week. Therefore, the PSYOPS radio and leaflet missions have become "major,
major vehicles" in DOD's effort to counter the information monopoly once
held by the Afghanistan's ruling Taliban faction, Quigley said.
The absence of televisions or independent sources of information also make
Afghanistan conducive to psychological operations, Quigley added.
An official with the unit that flies the Commando Solo said Nov. 7 that
Afghanistan is "pretty much an ideal situation for what we do," and that all
indications are that the message is getting through "loud and clear."
Although it is almost impossible to know how many people are actually tuning
in to the broadcasts or reading U.S. leaflets, DOD does have anecdotal
evidence that the U.S. message is being heard, the official added. The
Pentagon has gotten feedback from the Northern Alliance, supporters and
their families indicating the messages are getting through.
"Afghanistan is a good location" for PSYOPS efforts, according to Pentagon
spokesman Air Force Maj. Michael Halbig. The leaflet drops are effective
partly because the Afghan people are more literate than commonly portrayed,
he said, and "a lot of people do have radios" to pick up Commando Solo
broadcasts.
Messages include calls for Taliban defections; assurances that the U.S. is
intervening in Afghanistan to help its people, not to attack them; and
explanations of how the Taliban and Osama bin Laden are oppressing the
country and forcing a corrupt form of Islam on the Afghan citizens.
"Commando Solo is deeply involved in all aspects of the operation over
there," noted recently retired Air National Guard Commander Maj. Gen. Paul
Weaver in a meeting with reporters Oct. 27. According to the transcripts of
the broadcasts, one of the messages is that it is useless for Taliban
supporters to resist the United States.
"You have only one choice -- surrender now and we will give you a second
chance. We will let you live. If you surrender, no harm will come to you.
When you decide to surrender, approach United States forces with your hands
in the air. . . . Doing this is your only chance of survival," one Commando
Solo message states.
This type of message was highly successful in the past, according to a fact
sheet from the 193rd Special Operations Wing, Harrisburg, PA -- the only
unit to fly the EC-130. "Programs intended to convince Iraqi soldiers to
surrender" during the 1991 Persian Gulf War "helped to minimize both enemy
and friendly casualties by contributing to the massive Iraqi defections and
surrenders," the fact sheet states.
In a new report, the Defense Science Board states that broadcasts and
leaflet drops are "effective in areas with limited access to outside media,"
though they may lack credibility among listeners.
"An established 'brand identity' must be solidly in place long before the
need to project a critical message to a target foreign audience, the
implication of which is that peacetime operation is a key to success," wrote
former DOD acquisition chief Jacques Gansler in the January letter
requesting the report, "Managed Information Dissemination."
The report finds psychological operations effective and necessary under the
right circumstances. "Audiences for U.S. broadcasting spike in international
crises and listening rates can be high where credible alternative news
sources are limited," the DSB report notes. "Despite its successful use by
the U.S. armed forces since the earliest days of the republic, PSYOPS is
viewed by some as a black art that employs falsehoods, half-truths, and
deception, In fact the opposite is true."
Although Commando Solo transmissions and leaflet messages do not
"necessarily present balanced news or attempt to meet journalistic standards
of impartiality [they] may present only selected information, albeit
truthfully, to support a particular U.S. policy objective," according to the
DSB task force. If the message is seen as a lie, it will be ignored.
Despite its success over Afghanistan, the PSYOPS mission is in transition.
Even as "tactical" PSYOPS missions are succeeding, the overall mission
attracts attention for shortcomings and past failings. For example, a
previous DSB report was ordered "in response to Congressional concerns over
limitations in military operations in the Balkans, where Commando Solo . . .
aircraft were unable to adequately disseminate TV and radio broadcasts."
Consequently, the six legacy EC-130 aircraft flown now are scheduled to be
replaced with new Lockheed Martin EC-130J models to improve reliability and
overall mission effectiveness. Five EC-130Js have been budgeted so far.
"We are flying some very old C-130s" as Commando Solos, Weaver noted. "We
are just about maxed out with all the equipment that we've got on board . .
. with all that equipment, and the weight on it, we certainly do need a new
aircraft," he said. "I don't care how much you put on the engines. I don't
care how much corrosion control you do. They are still very old airplanes."
The new J-models will enable Commando Solos to fly at higher altitude, and
for protection the aircraft always fly as high as possible, according to
officials. Altitude limitations "haven't hindered us" in Afghanistan, one
officer said, because the EC-130s are always flying with air support. "We're
pretty well covered," he said.
The Air Force will turn to a common, wide-bodied aircraft such as the Boeing
767 to replace the Commando Solo, and "when we get the technology, [PSYOPS]
could possibly be done by space," Weaver said.
The DSB suggested that DOD skip the EC-130J alternative and pursue the more
advanced alternatives because "the estimated cost of $250 million to
cross-deck . . . to an EC-130J platform is not justified by the marginal
increase in performance" (ITP, Sept. 28, 2000, p1).
Weaver agrees the EC-130J is a temporary solution, but added, "we are a long
way" from having a wide-body or space alternative. Including both the
aircraft and specialized equipment, each new Commando Solo will cost about
$80 million, according to the Air Force. Lockheed Martin spokesman Peter
Simmons said the five aircraft currently under contract will be delivered to
the service by the end of next year.
"We have got to look to a common widebody and I believe [Air Force Chief of
Staff Gen. John] Jumper and [Air Force Secretary James] Roche are on the
mark" in advocating a common aircraft for several missions, he added
"I personally look at the J as the interim for that because I believe that
the common, widebody capability would fulfill that requirement much better
for all of those types of weapon systems," Weaver said last month.
-- Adam J. Hebert 

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