ABC Radio - The World Today February 28, 2003
Psychological warfare in US weaponry
This is a transcript of The World Today broadcast at 1200 AEST on local radio.
JOHN HIGHFIELD: Well, if the United States and its limited list of allies do decide to make a move against Iraq as seems increasingly likely, the speed of the much hoped-for Iraqi military collapse could depend on the effectiveness of the allies' psychological operations, "psy-ops" as they're known in the military.
As Hamish Robertson reports for us, "psy-ops" are not new. They've been practised in a more primitive form for centuries. But thanks to information technology, they've been brought to a new level of sophistication:
HAMISH ROBERTSON: As the economies of the developed world become increasingly based on information, this process has also had a profound impact on warfare.
Our memories of the first Gulf War may be dominated by images of laser-guided missiles destroying their targets, but by today's standards that conflict was relatively low-tech. A whole new generation of techniques have been either refined or developed over the past 11 years, some of which have already been used in Kosovo and Afghanistan.
Patrick Garrett is a defence analyst with the Washington-based think tank, Global Security.org.
PATRICK GARRETT: Information warfare really had its debut during allied force, the war in Kosovo. But with all bits of information we've been able to see, or all accounts that have, have come out in the press, it looks as if information warfare is going to play a much more decisive role in the coming war with Iraq.
There have been the use of wires, mass blanketings, a paper drop by our central command over southern Iraq warning the soldiers not to, or the Iraqi military, not to fire at American aircraft. And at the same time asking them to tune in to certain radio frequencies so they can listen to non-biased discussions of what exactly the United States is trying to do.
There's also a lot of discussion as to what sort of information operations the US will engage in once the war begins as in altering the actual information displays that the Iraqi Government sees on their computers. What, and altering what they understand reality to be by limiting what information that they get and giving them, and really controlling what it is that they know.
HAMISH ROBERTSON: So, even before the first shots have been fired, the information war has already begun. And one of its first priorities has been to emphasise that the quarrel is not with Muslims, nor with the Iraqi people. The primary goal of information warfare is to turn the Iraqi army, and the population, against the regime of Saddam Hussein.
Michael Vickers is Director of Strategic Studies at the Centre for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments in Washington.
MICHAEL VICKERS: Well there's a variety of techniques used. Some direct email to Iraqi commanders telling them, you know, they better not follow Saddam's orders and use weapons of mass destruction or they could be treated as war criminals. There are leaflets being sent to the Iraqi population about not letting Saddam escape, or not resisting US forces, the US forces come as liberators. A wide, wide range of techniques.
HAMISH ROBERTSON: This is likely to be highly effective as far as let's say 90 percent of the Iraqi armed forces are concerned and sections of the civilian population. But what about the hard core? The 15,000 or so Republican Guard members in central Baghdad who might be a much tougher proposition? How critical is it for the psy-ops operation to aim at that particular target?
MICHAEL VICKERS: Well, it is important to target them because, particularly the special Republican Guard that guards Saddam and moves weapons of mass destruction around and, and has other functions like that. It would be a fabulous prize if one could turn them.
They're of course the most loyal supporters and the hardest target to crack. But once you try to target them, the regular Republican Guard which number some 80,000 or so have a lot of fissures and so they may, they may actually be a much better target.
HAMISH ROBERTSON: There now seems to be a growing consensus among military analysts that the United States will not expose its troops to urban warfare by attempting to take central Baghdad street by street. Instead sealing off the central urban area while consolidating control of the rest of the country.
Patrick Garrett agrees that information warfare will play an absolutely crucial role here in persuading the special Republican Guard still holding out in central Baghdad to turn against their leader and to disobey any orders he may give to unleash chemical or biological weapons:
PATRICK GARRETT: It looks as if Secretary of Defence, Donald Rumsfeld, as well as other elements within the Administration have been trying to make the case that the Iraqi military leadership should rebel in the opening hours of the war or should quite frankly just get rid of Saddam Hussein now and that the war would be over, you know, fairly soon.
They're also making it clear that there would be impacts on them or consequences if the Iraqi leadership decides to use chemical or biological weapons against US forces or against civilians.
So, yes, I think that the United States does have a much more difficult job with regards to the Special Republican Guard. But convincing them not to fight for Saddam Hussein is really a crucial element in their campaign.
JOHN HIGHFIELD: Patrick Garrett is a specialist at Global Security.org, a think tank in Washington. Hamish Robertson speaking to him.
Copyright © 2003, Australian Broadcasting Corporation
