Battle to win over hearts and minds

War on terrorism: Psychology

The United States and its allies are fighting to win the hearts and minds of the Afghan population in addition to launching military strikes against Osama bin Laden and the forces of the Taliban.

Among the special forces gathering on the borders of Afghanistan are teams of specialists in psychological operations, or Psy Ops. These soldiers will be responsible for fighting the propaganda war.

Armed with mobile broadcast stations, leaflets and loudspeakers, members of the 4th Psychological Operations Group based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, will aim to demoralise the Taliban forces and to convince the population that America is not an enemy.

The first night of bombing was accompanied by a leaflet drop. Transistor radios tuned to broadcasts in the local language may also be dropped into Afghanistan soon.

William Nash, a retired army general who is now part of the Council on Foreign Relations, told USA Today: "The information campaign is very important, both strategically and with respect to Afghanistan. We need to talk directly to the Afghan people."

Like the work of all the special forces troops, the Psy Ops operations are cloaked in secrecy. However, experts say that any materials dropped into Afghanistan or broadcast there will have been tested on Afghan Americans to ensure they are not considered offensive.

Appeals are expected to be made to the population's Muslim principles, pointing out that the religion is opposed to violence and that the Koran talks of peace.

Probably to assist the Psy Ops team, the 193rd Special Operations Wing, based at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, has flown to the region with its six EC-130E "commando solo" aircraft. These are airborne broadcast stations that can monitor and jam electronic transmissions.

The success of the Psy Ops force is not certain, and there are serious problems in communicating with people in a country where two out of three cannot read.

In addition, much of the population is on the move, heading towards refugee camps, making it difficult to make contact. Psy Ops personnel might try to use this to their advantage, by spreading the word that the food being distributed is being provided by the US and its allies.

Psy Ops officials do claim several previous successes. In 1990, the Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega surrendered after blaring music was played for three days consecutively outside the Vatican embassy where he was hiding.

During the Gulf War, thousands of Iraqis were persuaded to surrender to the Allies by leaflet drops and broadcasts over mobile loudspeakers.