DoD Strategic Communication Plan for Afghanistan

[Jedburgh]

Mountain Runner (http://mountainrunner.us/), 30 Sep 07: Department of Defense Strategic Communication Plan for Afghanistan (http://mountainrunner.us/files/pubd/dod_afghan_sc_plan.pdf)

.....Desired End State: The Afghan people and people in Allied and partner countries recognize and support the efforts of the Afghan government, the U.S., its Allies and partners in stabilizing and reconstructing Afghanistan. The Afghan people strongly support their government and reject insurgency, terrorism, and the narcotics trade.

Achieving desired effects. on audience perceptions are critical to achieving the end state. For supported goals, see Annex A. For desired effects, see "Desired Effects" column ofthe Execution Matrix in Annex B....

[Jedburgh]

ICG, 24 Jul 08: Taliban Propaganda: Winning the War of Words? (http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/getfile.cfm?id=3536&tid=5589&type=pdf&l=1)

....The Taliban seeks to create the illusion of inevitability and invincibility, while trying to defend the legitimacy of its actions. It has succeeded in conveying an impression of coherence and momentum far greater than reality, both within Afghanistan, among a population that is weary of war, and outside, with those in Western capitals also weary of commitments to a far distant conflict. The insurgents cannot win on the battlefield, but they do not have to. All they need to do is wear out their opponents – and influencing perceptions at home and abroad are a vital component of this strategy. The Afghan and other governments engaged in the Afghanistan endeavour have failed to communicate robustly and honestly with their populations in a way that would help build and sustain popular will for a long-term endeavour. The Taliban has proved adept at fuelling existing grievances, suspicions and perceptions in its attempt to drive a wedge between the Afghan people and the Karzai government and its international supporters. Kabul has not managed in a firm and coherent way to undermine the Taliban’s legitimacy through consistently highlighting its violent tactics and links to criminal groups. Instead, it has too often simply sought to crack down on the local media, which, admittedly, in its fledgling state and in the absence of other narratives, has often portrayed the conflict naively.

Both Kabul and its international supporters need to respond in a timely, coordinated manner if they are to effectively counter Taliban allegations. They must also focus, far more than is presently done, on the human costs of insurgent violence. The members of the multilateral coalition must also realise the importance of communicating exactly what is at stake in Afghanistan to their domestic constituents. This should not be so difficult; 11 September 2001 demonstrates the importance of ensuring that Afghanistan does not once again become a failed state that hosts extremists.....

[milnews.ca]

Mods, if this isn't the best place, please feel free to shift.

One of the things I've included as part of maintaining my "news aggregator" page on RC-S in AFG is Taliban statements. By the end of November, I pulled together the Canadian references in Taliban statements I could find, and developed this:
http://milnewstbay.pbwiki.com/f/TPW-CAN-NOV2008.pdf
(24kB .pdf)

If this is of use to anyone, feel free to use/share - if it sucks, please let me know why, and what else I should be thinking of/doing in monitoring and/or summarizing such statements to make it a more useful product.

Thanks, in advance, for your help!

[Ron Humphrey]

In getting inside their thought process it might be nice if you were to copy and paste the actual statements, otherwise some of us might not be entirely keen on web surfing those particular sites and all the associated niceties that accompany that:wry:

[milnews.ca]

In getting inside their thought process it might be nice if you were to copy and paste the actual statements, otherwise some of us might not be entirely keen on web surfing those particular sites and all the associated niceties that accompany that:wry:

Can quite easily include as an annex (CAVEAT: in a lot of cases, it's Google English translations, so some of them leave something to be desired - still, one gets a general sense) - good one, thanks!

[milnews.ca]

http://tonyprudori.pbwiki.com/f/TPW-CAN-OCT2008.pdf

Again, all feedback, good, bad or ugly, welcome.

[Ron Humphrey]

http://tonyprudori.pbwiki.com/f/TPW-CAN-OCT2008.pdf

Again, all feedback, good, bad or ugly, welcome.

Thanks for the effort.

[milnews.ca]

Much appreciated - all others, feel free to jump in as well.

[milnews.ca]

Afghans Sick of TV Horrors
Grisly public information films aimed at deterring people from joining the insurgency draw complaints from viewers across the country.
Sayed Yaqub Ibrahimi, Institute for War and Peace Reporting, 8 Jan 09
Article link (http://www.iwpr.net/EN-arr-f-348967)


Graphic footage of shattered body parts, bloodstained clothing and other horrors of war are regular fodder for television viewers across Afghanistan.

TV channels include footage of the latest carnage as part of their nightly news bulletins, but there’s growing controversy over whether gruesome imagery should be used in public information films aimed at deterring Afghans from joining the insurgency.

The films, aired by TV stations across the country, have been issued by government departments – but the ministry of information, which claims it has not been consulted about them, has been expressing concern over their content.

It has asked the ministries producing the broadcasts to discuss them with its staff before they’re distributed to the stations – and warned the latter that they will ban the films that are currently being shown unless they are toned down....


....But Zemarai Bashari, spokesman for the ministry of interior, one of the government departments producing the films, says the footage has been deliberately chosen to discourage anti-government activity and bolster support for the work of the security agencies – although he did concede that the scenes were troubling.

However, he insisted that the broadcasts were necessary to show people the consequences of extremist acts....


....some in the medical profession are backing the ministry of information’s call for government departments to exercise greater care over their use of distressing imagery in public information films.

They’ve expressed concern over the psychological effect such footage might have on a population that has endured more than two decades of war....

[Bob's World]

This is not an endstate:

".....Desired End State: The Afghan people and people in Allied and partner countries recognize and support the efforts of the Afghan government, the U.S., its Allies and partners in stabilizing and reconstructing Afghanistan. The Afghan people strongly support their government and reject insurgency, terrorism, and the narcotics trade."
This is a statement expressing our desire for others to support our current scheme of engagement in Afghanistan.

Hopefully any true endstate will be just about the Nation of Afghanistan, its populace and its governance, something more like:

"Endstate: A Sovereign Afghanistan with a functioning, self-determined government."

In otherwords, any Afghan "Endstate" that includes the United States and our allies, is not an end, it is a middle. Similarly, any endstate that descrides conditions that the US wishes to exist, but are not similarly desired by the populace and government of Afghanistan is certainly imporper, and most likely infeasible. I would send this effort back to the drawing board.

[Eden]

I am often stunned by the pap that comes out of headquarters and organizations full of smart people that would receive a failing grade at any reputable staff college. Your example is what happens when staff products wend their way through all the organizational, institutional, and cultural hoops between concept and approval.

I would bet my next paycheck that what you proposed as an endstate is very close to what was submitted by some bright young staffer. It was then massaged by several levels of bureaucrats until what emerged was the inoffensive yet spectacularly useless product in the final document.

I shudder to think senior leaders actually signed off on this.

[milnews.ca]

...with the latest summary of Taliban statements claiming Canadian casualties:
http://milnewstbay.pbwiki.com/f/TPW-CAN-JAN2009.pdf

Tried including a touch more detail, text from the original statements as a pseudo-annex, and a bit of graphics. All feedback (good, bad or ugly) still welcome and greatly appreciated.

[George L. Singleton]

You are now seeing the latest attempt at psychological warfare by the Taliban. Interesting. Thanks for your dowloadable posting.

[Ken White]

Thanks much for the post and link.

[davidbfpo]

Milnews.Ca,

Quickly scanned the latest news. How are the Canadians countering the claims? Perhaps too sensitive for here, can but try.

Is there a similar service provider for other nations? Thanks.

davidbfpo

[milnews.ca]

...and even the bad stuff is welcome if it'll help improve the product.

Quickly scanned the latest news. How are the Canadians countering the claims? Perhaps too sensitive for here, can but try.

My only eye on the situation is what I see in open sources, so I've got no secrets to share in this respect. I don't see any content evidence in the media or on Canadian government web pages I scan of a deliberate campaign to specifically counter the Tailban's claims. Then again, like a successful spy, the best campaigns are the ones you can't spot, right?

The only open source info I've seen on this is in a recent Canadian Press report (http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20081029/taliban_infowar_081029?s_name=&no_ads=) (29 Oct 08):

....Canadians are trying to work more closely with Kandahar's lively media landscape, which includes newspapers, radio and TV stations.

Local media outlets are invited to Kandahar Airfield to discuss the flow of information with Canadian officers. Afghan reporters say they're eager to get information from western sources on everything from security incidents to development projects as quickly as they can get it.

Canadian money, too, buys ads on all local media.

"Some of the small radio stations are only surviving because of our advertising," says Davis.

Canada even runs a Pashtu-language radio station. RANA-FM broadcasts local music, talk and phone-in shows 24 hours a day**.

In the field, soldiers on operations are accompanied by psyops teams, which brief commanders on the local cultural landscape, says Capt. Shawn Stewart.

"They try to find out who they are, where they're from, what village ... We try to paint a picture of affiliations."

Such information is crucial to sorting out the good guys from the bad.

"We've had situations where people have offered up others as being insurgents, but it was actually a historical rift between tribes. They were taking an opportunity to inflict some retribution."

Canada now has two psyops - psychological operations - teams, up from one. By next spring, there will be a third. Even the Afghan Army is developing its own psyops teams and information officers....
** - RANA-FM (http://www.ranafm.org/) is actually based in Kingston, Ontario (http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/World/2007/01/03/3154453.html) - a Canadian military official is quoted saying, "“We’re located in Canada but linked into Afghanistan by satellite and basically we just rebroadcast the transmission.”

Before something appears in the media, even a repudiation of Taliban statements, a reporter has to ask the question. I know the Taliban tends to be pretty aggressive getting their stuff out there (good stuff on this here (http://www.sipri.org/contents/conflict/foxley_paper.pdf), here (http://ics.leeds.ac.uk/papers/pmt/exhibits/2919/The_Talibans_information_warfare.pdf), here (http://usacac.army.mil/BLOG/blogs/cgsc_student_blog/archive/2008/10/22/information-operations-the-taliban-s-integrated-air-defense-system-iads.aspx) and here (http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=5589)), so I can only speculate that reporters are either
1) seeing the Taliban statements and ignoring them, or
2) seeing the Taliban statements and picking/choosing tidbits as they do with statements from other sources.


Is there a similar service provider for other nations? Thanks.

I haven't seen any - if I find such a product, I'll be happy to share it here.

[Jedburgh]

CSIS, 11 Feb 09: Public Opinion Trends in Afghanistan (http://www.csis.org/media/csis/pubs/090211_afghanlangerpoll.pdf)

ABC News/BBC/ARD poll in Afghanistan

• Fourth in a series since 2005

• Field Dates: Dec. 30, 2008-Jan. 12, 2009

• Interviews: 1,534

• Coverage: Full national

• Methodology: 194 random sampling points, stratified urban/rural, PPS to district, SRS at settlement level.

• Oversamples: Balkh, Helmand, Herat, Kandahar, Kunduz, Logar, Nangarhar, Wardak.

• Field: Random route, Kish grid. 176 Afghan interviewers, 86/90 w/m, 18% supervised or backchecked, logical controls in DP.

• Average 33-minute interview. Contact rate 91 percent, co-operation rate 95 percent, net RR 86 percent.

• Field work by Afghan Center for Socio-Economic and Opinion Research (http://www.acsor-surveys.com/public/home.asp), subsidiary of D3 Systems Inc., Vienna, VA.

[milnews.ca]

...highlighting Canadian references now ready for downloading:
http://milnewstbay.pbwiki.com/f/TPW-CAN-FEB2009.pdf

As always, good, bad or ugly feedback always welcome.

[milnews.ca]

...why there would be such a difference in content between the English and Arabic statements by the Taliban highlighting the same (alleged) event? More details here (http://milnewstbay.pbwiki.com/TALIBAN-CHINOOK-SHOOTDOWN) - happy to hear the range of theories. Mine, literally off the top of my head:

1) Misunderstanding between writer & translator.
2) Different versions written in isolation using same fact base given to different writers.
3) Poor command of English on part of translator = mixing up Brits & Americans.
4) A typo on one or the other version.

[George L. Singleton]

This is not an endstate:

".....Desired End State: The Afghan people and people in Allied and partner countries recognize and support the efforts of the Afghan government, the U.S., its Allies and partners in stabilizing and reconstructing Afghanistan. The Afghan people strongly support their government and reject insurgency, terrorism, and the narcotics trade."
This is a statement expressing our desire for others to support our current scheme of engagement in Afghanistan.

Hopefully any true endstate will be just about the Nation of Afghanistan, its populace and its governance, something more like:

"Endstate: A Sovereign Afghanistan with a functioning, self-determined government."

In otherwords, any Afghan "Endstate" that includes the United States and our allies, is not an end, it is a middle. Similarly, any endstate that descrides conditions that the US wishes to exist, but are not similarly desired by the populace and government of Afghanistan is certainly imporper, and most likely infeasible. I would send this effort back to the drawing board.

Well said, it is not offensive to me, and tells it like it is.

A simplier end point is "Afghanistan for the Afghans" who we hope and pray are not the Taliban and al Qaida all over again!!!

[Ron Humphrey]

...why there would be such a difference in content between the English and Arabic statements by the Taliban highlighting the same (alleged) event? More details here (http://milnewstbay.pbwiki.com/TALIBAN-CHINOOK-SHOOTDOWN) - happy to hear the range of theories. Mine, literally off the top of my head:

1) Misunderstanding between writer & translator.
2) Different versions written in isolation using same fact base given to different writers.
3) Poor command of English on part of translator = mixing up Brits & Americans.
4) A typo on one or the other version.

5) When you making stuff up anyway details really are that important:wry:
6) It might reflect the greater personal angst by either one of the authors or translators against their personal favorite target

What one might be able to infer is that the incident and its reporting where adhoc reactionary and thus didn't allow for proper prep time.
Gotta get it to print

Then again theres always
7) your guess is as good as mine:confused:

[Ken White]

Rule of thumbs (2) in the ME / South Asia:

If numbers are reported, subtract or add as appropriate 50-80% to the numbers given to adjust for accuracy. The number will virtually always be modified to make either the reporter or you look good. Use the lower number if you know the individual reporting and think he likes you, the higher number if you do not know him or her.

What is said in English will rarely much resemble the harsher language and more flowery rhetoric used in Arabic / Dari / Farsi / Pushtu / Tajik / Turkmen.


Oh, and (9) -- Nothing in the ME / SA area is as it seems.

[milnews.ca]

5) What one might be able to infer is that the incident and its reporting where adhoc reactionary and thus didn't allow for proper prep time. Gotta get it to print
How unlike the mainstream media? ;)


What is said in English will rarely much resemble the harsher language and more flowery rhetoric used in Arabic / Dari / Farsi / Pushtu / Tajik / Turkmen.
Two points along these lines....

1) Someone WAY smarter than me pointed this out early on in my work: if you look at the official English postings, they feel very cookie cutter. A couple of recent examples:

Today morning 11-03-2009 at approximately 10:06 am , Mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan with remote controlled landmines blew up 1 vehicle of puppet army near Lashkargah city capital of Helmand province, the landmine destroyed the vehicle and a comander and 4 terrorists in it were killed. Reported by Qari Muhammad Yousuf Ahmadi


Today afternoon 11-03-2009 at approximately 5:36pm local time, Mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan with remote controlled landmine blew up a tank of British invaders army in Khak Kash area of Sangin district of Helmand province, the landmine destroyed the tank and killed all the invader terrorists in it . Reported by Qari Muhammad Yousuf


Thursday midnight 12-03-2009 at approximately 12 pm local time, Mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan attack puppet army post in Pai Nawa of Tarenkot capital of Uruzgan province, in the attack Mujahideen captured the post, killed four puppet terrorists and a stock of weapons were Mujahideen's booty. Reported by Qari Muhammad Yousuf

This suggests the Taliban are using a template into which they plug in date, time, location, nationality, etc. This actually makes sense if you want to quickly disseminate info in a language you may not be strong in - get someone who knows to develop a template, then teach someone where different words go.

2) Not only do you lose flowery language, but a fair bit of detail is excluded in the official English translations. For example, compare the official English version here (http://www.anti-imperialist.info/vb/showthread.php?t=9342) (or here (http://milnewstbay.pbwiki.com/f/www-anti-imperialist-info_vb_showthread-php_1n4mersj.pdf), a .pdf scan loaded to my own page in case you don't want to click to a jihadist site from where you're reading this):

Last night 27-02-2009, 4 police of puppet administrator surrender to Mujahideen in center of Sangin district of Helmand province, also different kinds of weapons were Mujahideen's booty. Reported by Qari Muhammad Yousuf
to the Google English translation (yeah, I know the caveats, but I'm comfortable of getting at least a rough feel using Google Translation) of the Arabic version:

4, join the police to the mujahideen in Sngen
Qari Muhammad Yussuf (Ahmadi) - 28/2/2009
Join the night of Thursday, four policemen were in the client management in the province of Helmand Sngen state of the ranks of the Islamic Emirate, Mujahideen Khalq, a result of a previous association with the heavy and light weapons. The transfer of these soldiers with the following weapons to the Mujahideen: (1) RPG (3) of the Kalashnikov machine guns, (1) gun-type 82 mg m, and a large quantity of small arms bullets. Soldiers acceded to the ranks of the mujahideen who were working security at a point near the headquarters of the province, and after joining the Mujahideen transferred to a safe area. Has given them the safety of themselves and their money by the regulations prepared by the Mujahideen in this regard.
If I could find a web-based free translation page for Persian, it would be interesting to see how different, if at all, those versions are from the Arabic versions.

Finally, an indication that whoever is providing English language translation services may be thinking phonetically (.pdf of original (http://milnewstbay.pbwiki.com/f/GORILLA-ATTACK-VOICE-OF-JIHAD-130757MAR09.pdf) on my site):

Puppet intelligence service official killed in Kandahar
Today morning 02-03-2009 at approximately 8 am local time, Mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in gorilla attack killed puppet intelligence service official in 5th number of Kandahar city , in the attack the official was the small brother of comando chief of Kandahar province. Reported by Qari Yousuf Ahmadi

[milnews.ca]

...in Taliban statements about helicopter shoot-downs- more here (http://milnewsca.wordpress.com/2009/03/15/taliban-chopper-confusion-2/).

:confused:

[Culpeper]

...in Taliban statements about helicopter shoot-downs- more here (http://milnewsca.wordpress.com/2009/03/15/taliban-chopper-confusion-2/).

:confused:

Not to be sarcastic but any helicopter will do.

[milnews.ca]

Not to be sarcastic but any helicopter will do.

Someone elsewhere suggested it was cooler to take credit for an American than Brit shoot-down... ;)

[Culpeper]

Someone elsewhere suggested it was cooler to take credit for an American than Brit shoot-down... ;)

Their version of American Idol. The poor guy that gets a Canadian helicopter ends up the butt of everyone's joke.


Jihadist #1: Hey Ali, I heard you shot down a Canuck chopper what's that all aboot, eh?

Jihadist #2 [pointing gun at Jihadist #1] It's "ABOUT". We have ways of making you pronounce the letter O, pal.

[120mm]

Today morning 11-03-2009 at approximately 10:06 am , Mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan with remote controlled landmines blew up 1 vehicle of puppet army near Lashkargah city capital of Helmand province, the landmine destroyed the vehicle and a comander and 4 terrorists in it were killed. Reported by Qari Muhammad Yousuf Ahmadi

The above report struck pretty close to home.

As in, just a few feet away.

[milnews.ca]

...and take care.

[milnews.ca]

This from a statement from a Taliban official (http://xrl.us/bemhey) (re)writing an interesting history of the days when they were in charge (.pdf permalink (http://milnewstbay.pbwiki.com/f/IEAPC-STATEMENT-AGHA-JAN-MUTASSIM-23MAR09-242020MAR09.pdf) to non-jihad web page) - highlights mine:

(Question): Considering the reign of your government, many observers and the public of the world think that you are against the modern educational system, particularly the education of women. Do you admit, it is true?

(Answer): I do not agree with this claim. Obviously, we were facing various problems during the reign of the Islamic Emirate but still kept the door of schools and universities open and procured enough books as well as other facilities. The country had passed through a period of anarchy given rise to by the factional fighting which had resulted into the destruction of many schools. Many remained ruined but some schools and universities had been closed down due to the armed clashes among the factions prior to the formation of the Islamic Emirate. Many sons of our land were deprived of education and knowledge. But here, I would like to reiterate that higher female education was available for women in Kabul, Kandahar, Mazar, Herat and Jalalabad during the reign of the Islamic Emirate particularly in the field of medicines. The said process of education continued intermittingly throughout the period of our governance. In addition to this, female education continued in home schools. Of course, education is a necessity and mandatory for women as they are for men. However, we should take into account the Islamic rules as to the observation of the veil. But if the international community had granted us ten percent of the assistance of what they are now giving to the stooge regime in Kabul, we would have opened all the schools and institutes for male and female education and even we would have brought the standards of education in parallel to the world standard of education. But it is a matter of pity that the international community has been assisting the puppet regime financially and their funds are being wasted and gulped down by the prevailing corruption and embezzlement at the Administration ....

Don't worry, though - they've learned their lessons....

(Question): Does Islamic Emirate follow its former policy regarding all issues surrounding Afghanistan and other relevant affairs?

(Answer): As a principle, The Islamic Emirate is based on Islamic system, protecting all Islamic, political and national interests. However, the prevailing situation then was not a normal one. There were some shortcomings and some unpalatable measures which we are now trying to rectify. To achieve that, we are ready for bilateral understanding to be reached in this regard. Furthermore, a future strategy should be worked out on the basis of intra-Afghan consultation, taking into account all the new developments and requirements in order to bring about positive changes in the policy in line with the Islamic rules. But simultaneously, we should take every care that we should not violate the current policy of The Islamic Emirate which is focusing on military approach in the country .... Upon the withdrawal of foreign troops, the Islamic Emirate will carry out consultation with all important circles of the Afghan issue to reach an understanding about a mechanism of political system in Afghanistan ....

Riiiight.......

[milnews.ca]

.....posted here (http://milnewstbay.pbwiki.com/f/TPWSUMM-MAR2009.pdf) (109 KB .pdf) - next month, will try without "other vehicles" section to simplify. As usual, feeback (good, bad or ugly) always welcome!

[milnews.ca]

.....posted here (http://milnewstbay.pbworks.com/f/TPWSUMM-APR2009.pdf) (103 KB .pdf). As usual, feeback (good, bad or ugly) always welcome!

[milnews.ca]

First I've seen of the Taliban posting a table of stats in English (don't know Arabic, Farsi or Pashto, so I can't tell if they've done this elsewhere).

For April 2009 across Afghanistan, the Taliban alleges:

* 5 villages and 2 Taliban vehicles destroyed
* 12 Taliban dead
* 58 Taliban wounded
* 533 foreign troops killed
* 952 Afghan troops killed
* 73 foreign troops wounded
* 170 Afghan troops wounded
* 3 foreign helicopters destroyed
* 53 civilian casualties
* 10 “martyrdom operations”
* 339 "operations"*

* - not clear whether this includes martyrdom operations or not

A .pdf of the table, with breakdown by category and province, is available here (http://milnewstbay.pbworks.com/f/TALIBAN-STATS-APR2009-theunjustmedia.com-10May09.pdf) at non-terrorist web page. A bit more analysis here (http://milnewsca.wordpress.com/2009/05/10/taliban-publishes-april-2009-stats/).

[milnews.ca]

.... on this question from way back about Taliban propaganda claims:

How are the Canadians countering the claims? Perhaps too sensitive for here, can but try.

This (http://www.thestar.com/printArticle/632693), from today's Toronto Star:

Canada plans to boost its propaganda reach by tapping into mobile phones in Afghanistan to send text messages, run contests and drive listeners to its military-run, Pashto-language radio station.

It's a fairly crude, transparent tactic in the high science of counter-insurgency, but the military sees it as a way to better connect with local Afghans in a war-torn land where the cellphone is one of the fastest growing, and only reliable, means of communication.

The capability, to be set up this summer, will encourage Afghans to sign up for text-message alerts from defence officials and to enter military-run contests awarding prizes to lucky locals, according to public tendering documents.

It will also let Afghans send text messages to Rana-FM, a radio station set up by the military in 2006, and have them read on the air, half a world away at the broadcast centre in Kingston, Ont. The station, whose name means "light" in Pashto, is staffed by Afghan-Canadians, and mixes messages from Canadian and coalition officials with news programming and popular music aimed at teenage and young adult listeners in Kandahar.....

More on link

[davidbfpo]

Thanks for the update. I suspected from a RAND study on mobile telephony that something was possible.

I just wonder how the opposition will react and how the "text race" will work. There is a danger that someone will attempt to block the radio station's text facility, possibly by advertising on the web. Not my field, I prefer dinosaurs.

davidbfpo

[IntelTrooper]

Thanks for the update. I suspected from a RAND study on mobile telephony that something was possible.

I just wonder how the opposition will react and how the "text race" will work. There is a danger that someone will attempt to block the radio station's text facility, possibly by advertising on the web. Not my field, I prefer dinosaurs.

davidbfpo

If I may butt into the conversation (and I apologize if this has already been addressed) ---

An effective IO campaign in Afghanistan, especially in the more remote, rural areas, could very simple and low-tech. When something goes "boom," or when security forces do a raid, the radio stations almost invariably broadcast some kind of report, usually with few facts and a lot of artistic license. Even "pro-government" radio stations are easily influenced to broadcast reports which cast the security forces in a negative, super aggressive, incompetent light (i.e., the Americans did a raid and killed a bunch of babies but let the target get away).

By setting up more powerful, less influenceable radio stations, NATO forces could easily counter the propaganda effect of the less truthful reports. The rural folks believe what they hear on the radio and even if they are suspicious of it, there's really no alternative media other than first-hand reports from neighbors (which are likely to be exaggerated anyway).

Pretty much any time there was an explosion, there was a news report. If the Talibs could get their propaganda guys working fast enough, the report was usually that an American "tank" (they use the same word for Humvees, MRAPs, tanks, etc.) was destroyed and 3 - 7 occupation forces were killed. Since the Americans/pro-government forces were pretty incompetent at IO, that was usually the only report that the public heard.

The web-based stuff is really not for the consumption of the Afghans. Internet access is pretty unheard of, so it's more for generating revenue from credulous, rich supporters who do not reside in Afghanistan.

[davidbfpo]

Intel Trooper.

No, you are not butting in. SWC have discussed IW several times IIRC, not the tactical application. That is the advantage of SWC we can all contribute, often from very different viewpoints, let alone national "armchairs".

Just getting more BBC World Service in Pashto / Pushto would be a start. I understand that station is still respected and I have a vague recollection it was proposed.

davidbfpo

[milnews.ca]

...for:

- May 2009 in statements about RC-South (http://milnewstbay.pbworks.com/f/TPWSUMM-MAY2009.pdf) (.pdf at non-terrorist web site)
- May 2009 all across AFG, according to the Taliban's count (http://milnewstbay.pbworks.com/f/TPW-TAILBAN-MAY2009-STATS-011746JUN09.pdf) (.pdf at non-terrorist web site)

HUGE spike in the past month or 6 weeks in the number of attacks claimed by the Taliban in RC-South in English statements. No stats on this, but LOTS seem to be taking credit for American deaths. Can you say "statement surge"?

Also, far, far fewer mentions of Canadian deaths/casualties in May - 4, compared to an average of around 9/month.

As always, feedback (good, bad or ugly) always welcome.

[milnews.ca]

...for:

Canadian casualties claimed by the Talibs in RC-South (http://milnewsca.wordpress.com/2009/07/12/tpw-june-2009-summary-can-cas/)

and

Taliban claims all across Afghanistan (http://milnewsca.wordpress.com/2009/07/05/tpw-june-2009-stats/) (links to non-terrorist web page).

In general, LOTS more attack claims across Afghanistan, but not so many last month mentioning Canadian troops (do the Taliban know Canada's not likely to extend its mission in Kandahar, so it's not worth focusing on Canadians anymore?).

[milnews.ca]

This month's summary of Taliban statements claiming responsibility for Canadian Casualties here (http://www.scribd.com/doc/18012124/Tailban-Propaganda-Watch-Summary-Canadian-Forces-References-July-2009).

Latest ratio: Since last October, Taliban reporting almost 13 Canadian casualties for every one announced by Canada.

The number of English-language statements referring to Canadian casualties appear to be dropping - maybe the Taliban's convinced of Canada leaving by 2011?

As usual, all feedback (good, bad or ugly) always welcome.

[milnews.ca]

For those mass-distribution electronic night letters, I guess.

From the Xinhua news agency (http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-08/09/content_11851318.htm):

Taliban insurgents fighting Afghan and international troops based in Afghanistan have established their propaganda mouthpiece in the southern Ghazni province, locals said Sunday. The FM transistor, according to locals, airs program from 07:00p.m. until 09:00 p.m. local time and often broadcasts Taliban anti-government activities in local language of Pashtu. "This radio called itself "Da Shariat Ghag Radio" or Radio voice of Sharia (Islamic Laws) have been airing programs on Taliban anti-government activities over the past three days," a resident of Qarabagh district Noor Mohammad told Xinhua .... Meantime, Taliban purported spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told media from an undisclosed location via telephone claimed that militants have established four radios in the country.

[milnews.ca]

... from Pajhwok News (http://www.pajhwok.com/viewstory.asp?lng=eng&id=79248):

.... A spokesman for the FM radio says the station has been set up in the mountainous area of Shahi Kot, lying south of Gardez, capital of the southeastern Paktia province.

But FM broadcasts cannot be heard clearly over such a long distance. The station airs religious programmes, poetry praising Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH), pro-Taliban songs and commentaries on daily occurrences.

( .... )

Speaking on behalf of the Taliban, Zabihullah Mujahid told Pajhwok Afghan News the radio station was the most effective communication tool for the fighters.

He claimed the guerrillas were in control of enough territory in Ghazni, where they could freely run the FM radio, which could be listened to in a 50-kilometre radius from the provincial capital.

In order to convey their message to the masses, Mujahid added, Taliban had set up similar radio stations in Paktia, Paktika, Kunar and Nuristan provinces....

.pdf version of story here (http://milnewstbay.pbworks.com/f/RADIO-SHARIAT-PAJHWOK-8AUG09-092104AUG09.pdf) in case link not working

[milnews.ca]

...in a Globe & Mail article (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/taliban-claim-victory-over-vote/article1269257/) quoting folks claiming to be Taliban commanders:

“He said his fighters never intended to follow through on threats outlined in “night letters” – leaflets warning death and dismemberment to would-be voters.
Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.... :rolleyes:
The Globe piece has also been picked up by at least one pro-jihadi blogs like this one (http://globalislamicrevival.wordpress.com/2009/08/29/taliban-claim-victory-over-vote/).

[milnews.ca]

HIGHLIGHTS

• Taliban statements monitored during August 2009 claimed responsibility for at least 33 Canadian deaths. Canada announced the death of 2 soldiers during this period.
• Eight ( 8 ) Taliban announcements were monitored mentioning Canadian personnel or casualties in August 2009, compared to an average of 8.1 such reports per month since October 2008.
• Since October 2008, the Taliban have claimed 12.9 Canadian casualties for every one officially announced by the Government of Canada (387 alleged by Taliban vs. 30 reported by Canada).

Available in .pdf format here (http://www.scribd.com/doc/19287114/Taliban-Propaganda-Watch-Summary-Canadian-Forces-References-August-2009)

Feedback (good, bad or ugly) greatly appreciated.

[davidbfpo]

I am sure Night Letters have appeared on SWC before and this is possibly the right, current home.

Found whilst pursuing the links on SWJ Blog to the Strategic Communication post (http://smallwarsjournal.com/blog/2009/09/commander-steve-tatham-royal-n/ ), was a link to Small Wars & Insurgencies journal's article 'the Taliban Insurgency and Night Letters by Thomas Johnson (Sept '07): http://www.nps.edu/Programs/CCs/Docs/Pubs/Small_Wars_%20Pub.pdf

Quite long, but on a quick initial read worth placing here.

davidbfpo

[marct]

David,

As a note, Tom is coming out with a book on the Night Letters either this fall or early in the new year.

[milnews.ca]

Many messages issued by the Taliban are sent out in Arabic and area languages first, then in English. This one is interesting in that it went out in simultaneously in English and other languages.

Here's the original in English (http://is.gd/3rZg2) if you don't care if the Taliban get your IP number :D, and here's a link to a PDF version (http://www.scribd.com/doc/19938039/Message-of-Felicitation-of-AmirulMomineen-on-the-Occasion-of-EidulFitre) on a non-terrorist site.

A couple of highlights (more here (http://milnewsca.wordpress.com/2009/09/19/tpw-eid-2009-message/)):
1) They still want foreign troops out of Afghanistan.

“Our goal is to gain independence of the country and establish a just Islamic system there on the basis of the aspirations of the Muslim nation. We can consider any option that could lead to the achievement of this goal. We have left open all options and ways towards this end. However, this will only be feasible when the country is free from the trampling steps of the invading forces and has gained independence.”

2) They want to like the alternative, kinder, gentler governing alternative.

“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has distinctive and useful plans for the future of Afghanistan under the shade of the just social system of Islam after the withdrawal of the foreign forces. They include rehabilitation of social and economic infrastructure, advancement and development of the educational sector, industrializations of the country and development of agriculture …. The Islamic Emirate (IE) believes in social and internal reform as well as in positive initiatives in the context of Sharia.”

E-mail me here (tony@milnews.ca) if you'd like the Arabic, Urdu, Farsi or Pashto versions in PDF.

[milnews.ca]

Many messages issued by the Taliban are sent out in Arabic and area languages first, then in English. This one is interesting in that it went out in simultaneously in English and other languages.

Here's the original in English (http://is.gd/3rZg2) if you don't care if the Taliban get your IP number :D, and here's a link to a PDF version (http://www.scribd.com/doc/19938039/Message-of-Felicitation-of-AmirulMomineen-on-the-Occasion-of-EidulFitre) on a non-terrorist site.

A couple of highlights (more here (http://milnewsca.wordpress.com/2009/09/19/tpw-eid-2009-message/)):
1) They still want foreign troops out of Afghanistan.


“Our goal is to gain independence of the country and establish a just Islamic system there on the basis of the aspirations of the Muslim nation. We can consider any option that could lead to the achievement of this goal. We have left open all options and ways towards this end. However, this will only be feasible when the country is free from the trampling steps of the invading forces and has gained independence.”

2) They want to like the alternative, kinder, gentler governing alternative.


“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has distinctive and useful plans for the future of Afghanistan under the shade of the just social system of Islam after the withdrawal of the foreign forces. They include rehabilitation of social and economic infrastructure, advancement and development of the educational sector, industrializations of the country and development of agriculture …. The Islamic Emirate (IE) believes in social and internal reform as well as in positive initiatives in the context of Sharia.”

E-mail me here (tony@milnews.ca) if you'd like the Arabic, Urdu, Farsi or Pashto versions in PDF.

[milnews.ca]

1) Talib spokesperson shares his account of the 28 Oct 09 attack on U.N. staff in Kabul (http://is.gd/4JiIp) (Voice of Jihad English page, link to PDF at non-terrorist page here (http://is.gd/4JjC7)) - proof of war crimes as defined by Amnesty International (http://milnewsca.wordpress.com/2009/10/31/tpw-kabul-atk-war-crime/)?

2) Yet another run-off election statement from the Taliban (http://www.alemarah.info/english/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=378:the-afghans-decision-about-the-runoff-elections-is-unchanged&catid=3:comments&Itemid=4) (PDF at non-terr site here (http://is.gd/4J52x)) - my haiku summary:

Western voting bad.
Last vote boycotted, rigged, fake.
Expect same again.

3) AFG Taliban Deputy Dog on US Plan to Buy Off "Moderate" Taliban (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8329129.stm): "We Can't Be Bought, and There ARE No Moderate Taliban." (http://milnewsca.wordpress.com/2009/10/30/tpw-brader-akhund-on-bribes/)

4) Latest ratio (over 12 months) of Taliban Claims of Canadian Casualtie vs. Canadians Announced Killed: 12.89 to 1 - more here (http://milnewsca.wordpress.com/2009/11/01/tpw-oct-2009-can-cas-rep/).

[milnews.ca]

Highlights

• Taliban statements monitored during January 2010 claimed responsibility for approximately 158 Canadian deaths. Canada announced 1 deaths during this period.
• In the past 12 months (including January 2010), the Taliban has claimed 15.5 Canadian casualties for every one officially announced by the Government of Canada (496 alleged by Taliban vs. 32 reported by Canada).

Full report available here (http://milnewsca.wordpress.com/2010/02/06/tpw-lies-o-the-month-january/).

[milnews.ca]

HIGHLIGHTS
• Taliban statements monitored during February 2010 claimed responsibility for approximately 25 Canadian deaths. Canada announced 1 death during this period.
• In the 12 months between March 2009 and February 2010, the Taliban has claimed 15.18 Canadian casualties for every one officially announced by the Government of Canada (501 alleged by Taliban vs. 33 reported by Canada).

Full report available in .pdf format here (http://www.scribd.com/doc/27972801/TPWSUMM-FEB2010)

[milnews.ca]

HIGHLIGHTS

• Taliban statements monitored during July 2010 claimed responsibility for at least 10 Canadian deaths. Canada announced 1 death during this period.
• Since the start of Taliban statement tracking in October 2008, the Taliban has claimed an average of 14.45 Canadian casualties for every one officially announced by the Government of Canada (795 alleged by Taliban vs. 55 reported by Canada).

Full summary here (http://www.scribd.com/doc/35178650/Taliban-Propaganda-Watch-SUMMARY-CANADIAN-FORCES-REFERENCES-July-2010) (Scribd.com)