Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2001 00:44:49 -0400
To: Matthew Gaylor <freematt@coil.com>
From: Matthew Gaylor <freematt@coil.com>
Subject: US Food Aid Propaganda
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" ; format="flowed"

Earlier I had sent notice of an article to my mailing list 
(Freematt's Alerts) titled "One object of information warfare -- or 
"infowar"..."  the original located at 
<http://www.newhousenews.com/archive/story1c100301.html>.  Then as a 
watched the news tonight I heard again what I've been hearing on 
various American media ad infinitum that the US Military had dropped 
37,500 food packages along with the first wave of attacks on 
Afghanistan, on Sunday.  Realizing that there are several million 
refugees in the northern areas of Afghanistan, such a small number of 
food packages doesn't seem really that adequate.  But if you realize 
why the US Military would bother dropping such minuscule numbers of 
aid packages it only makes sense with a backdrop of PSYOPS.

"We call psychological operations (PSYOPS) the ultimate weapon," said 
retired Col. Jim Noll, who commanded the 13th Psychological 
Operations Battalion in the Persian Gulf War and helped develop 
tactics that led to the surrender of large numbers of Iraqi troops. 
For example, U.S. food distribution to Afghan refugees has 
"far-reaching psychological impact," Noll said."

My theory is that if you hear that the US is dropping food packages 
along with bombs it reinforces the propaganda that the US is doing 
this to "help" the Afghan people.  It doesn't matter from a 
psychological operations perspective if the aid is effective but 
rather it only matters if the target group thinks you're helping.  In 
this case the target audience being the Afghan refugees and the 
unwitting American media consumer.

I'm rather disappointed but certainly not surprised that the 
establishment media doesn't pick up on any of this.

Regards,  Matt-



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