Media is not only reporting the war against terrorism. It has become heavily involved. In the US, media organisations like NBC were the
first to be targeted by those spreading the anthrax virus. In Afghanistan, silencing the Taliban's voice and ensuring a replacement has been one of the first aims of the US-led military campaign over
Afghanistan. The military operation against Afghanistan started on 7 October. As expected, one of the first targets was the
Taliban regime's radio station, The Voice of Shariat. Within the first hour, journalists in Afghanistan reported that the station had gone off the air. Shortly afterwards the Foreign Minister of the
opposition Northern Alliance said that 'Kabul Radio' had been one of the first targets to be attacked by the allies. However,
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Recording of the Voice of Shariat in English, recorded on 21 September 2001 at 1535 UTC.
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the station returned to the air a few hours later. Apparently, the electricity supply in the area near the station was
interrupted by the first wave of bombing.
Off the Air
The following morning the station came back on the air, claiming there had been no human loss of
life or material damage. Media Network's Victor Goonetilleke, listening in Sri Lanka, confirmed that he could hear the 100 kW shortwave outlet on 7084 kHz at 1530 UTC on 8 October. At 1607
UTC, the Voice of Shariat went off the air abruptly and has not been heard since. The US Department of Defense has subsequently released photos that, it claims, are before and
after shots after the bombing of Voice of Shariat on October 8th.In peacetime, Voice of Shariat has always been difficult to
receive outside Central and South Asia. Broadcasts via a high power (1 Megawatt) mediumwave transmitter on 1107kHz are audible though in border regions of neighbouring Pakistan. There is also a
network of low power regional domestic stations on mediumwave, but no reliable information is available about their operational status. Strategic Voices
Now that the main broadcasting centre in Kabul has been rendered inoperative, these regional outlets are starting to be used as the strategic voices of the Taliban regime. BBC Monitoring reports that Radio
Voice of Shari'ah of Balkh Province - the Taleban-controlled provincial radio station based in the northern city of Mazar-e Sharif - continues to
be heard. It was monitored on Monday 15 October from 1230-1510 UTC and on Tuesday 16 October from 0230-0420 UTC on 1584 kHz mediumwave. The Taliban seem to be communicating their messages via the Qatar based Al-Jazeera network, which indirectly feeds Western TV networks
such as CNN. Attempting to reach neighbours with external radio broadcasts has not been part of any recent Taliban strategy. US Psychological War
At first glance, the dull grey propeller-driven E-130 aircraft converted from cargo service, looks as slow and clunky. But Commando Solo is in
fact a special US$70 million plane, where the fuselage has been stuffed with computers, radio and TV production equipment, and quite powerful
radio and TV transmitters. This gear allows the plane's 11-man crew to jam selected TV and radio broadcasts and substitute messages--true or false--on any frequency. Commando Solo
has already been battle-tested by the 193rd Special Operations Group, an Air National Guard unit based in the US state of Pennsylvania. During the Persian Gulf War, the plane's crew broadcast
radio reports on military frequencies targeted at Iraqi soldiers, including some of the next areas to be targeted by U.S. bombers. As a result, it is
claimed, many Iraqi soldiers deserted those positions. To prepare Haiti for the U.S. intervention there, Commando Solo beamed in radio and TV
messages from deposed President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Each broadcast began with the crow of a rooster, the symbol of Aristide's political party.  The US Army's 4th Psychological Operations Group prepares the taped messages that Commando Solo
airs. Since the Taliban closed down the fledging Afghan TV service when they came to power, the mission for the psycho war this time is concentrated on radio. Leaflets have been dropped over
population centres with a simple message to tune into three frequencies. 1107 kHz a channel used by a 100 kW mediumwave transmitter outside Kabul, 864 kHz mediumwave believe to be a frequency used
in Kandahar and the curious channel of 8700 kHz, in upper sideband.
The US-back transmissions on 8700 are perfectly audible in The Netherlands. Ehard Goddijn of Radio
Netherlands Programme Distribution Department made this recording at 1629 UTC on Wednesday 17th October.
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Ehard Goddijn of Radio Netherlands Programme Department made this recording of a Commando Solo
transmission at 1629 UTC on Wednesday 17 October. |
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Tactics
The medium wave channels
are thought to come from Commando Solo. 8700 kHz, on the other hand, is probably a land-based back-up from a US military or US owned broadcast base in the Asian region. This shortwave frequency may
provide a back-up signal to the airplane. It may also be hoped that Taliban forces may tune in using military communications equipment. This
is the kind of tactic used against Iraqi forces during the Persian Gulf War. But most Afghans will not have the sophisticated radios needed to tune in
the 8700 kHz transmissions, which is in upper sideband. The schedule on 8700 seems to be 0030-0530 and 1230-1730 UTC over the last few days, although on Thursday October 18th
the station went off 8700 kHz after 14 UTC as noted by Victor Goonetilleke in Sri Lanka.
"Attention Taliban! You are condemned. Did you know that? The instant the
terrorists you support took over our planes, you sentenced yourselves to death. The Armed Forces of the United States are here to seek justice for our
dead. Highly trained soldiers are coming to shut down once and for all Osama bin Laden's ring of terrorism, and the Taliban that supports them and their
actions….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."
Black Propaganda
So far the contents of the US PsyOps broadcasts are quite clear about where the message is coming from. The concept of black propaganda has
not (yet) emerged. If this were the case, the US would pretend to be Taliban radio and sow seeds of dissent from within. Such tactics were used by the British during World War 2, where French resistance and
even German Forces Radio (Soldatensender Calais) were faked from a mediumwave transmitter in Crowborough, England. There were reports at the start of campaign that US military planes had dropped Freeplay wind-up radios with the
dials fixed to the frequencies used by Commando Solo. As of October 19th however, this appears to be part of future strategy. At a press conference on October 15th
, US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said leaflets to publicize the broadcasts had been dropped over the weekend of 13-14th October. But no radio sets have been dropped as
yet. Although mains electricity and batteries may be a problem for many Afghans, the wind-up radios are also rather conspicuous. Owning one in
Taliban- controlled territory means you must be listening to opposition radio. Likewise, the tuning mechanism of the Freeplay radio would need
some heavy re-enforcement to withstand being dropped out of a plane and remaining spot on the pre-assigned frequency.
- Manfred Reiff in Wuppertal, Germany reports that the US PsyOps base is prepared to reply to reception reports of 8700 kHz. Reports or cassette tapes can be sent to:
193rd Special Operations Wing
Chief of Public Affairs
Attn: Lt. Edward Shank
81 Constellation Court
Middletown, PA 17057
USA
Tapes will not be returned.
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