Posted on 11/30/2003 7:49:15 AM PST by Ragtime Cowgirl
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1st AD unit battling Iraqi rumor mill By Franklin Fisher, Stars and Stripes European edition, Saturday, November 29, 2003 BAGHDAD, Iraq Around midnight, the lights went out in Baghdad. A power outage. By morning, with the power still out, some Iraqis began speculating over their morning tea: The U.S. military had deliberately cut power to punish ordinary Iraqis for the attacks some insurgents had been making on U.S.-led coalition forces. Soon, word of that rumor began filtering in to the 1st Armored Division, the unit that patrols Baghdad and maintains its headquarters at the sprawling Baghdad International Airport. The division would need to deal quickly with the rumor. But this was the kind of problem that no Bradley fighting vehicle or troops throwing up a roadblock could fix. Instead, it fell to the divisions information operations staff, which is trained to cope with such delicate, people-oriented problems. This was not the first time wed heard this, said Maj. Joyce Oakley, the divisions information operations officer. There had been an outage in July, too, and a similar rumor stirred. Our understanding is that this is something that Saddam used to do for neighborhoods that had in some way displeased him, Oakley said. They perceived that the coalition forces were punishing them for attacks that the coalition forces were experiencing. What followed was the typical process the division uses to handle one of the biggest challenges the U.S. military continues to face the task of fostering public support for the coalition. First, Oakley knew, shed need hard facts about the outage before she could know what kind of message to draw up for public release. In this case, she called on the divisions chief engineer. Jeff, she told him, I got an issue. I need your help. He gives me the facts. We sit down and talk about how to get this out. And Ill draw up an article and pass it out. At other times, shes met with other subject matter experts within the divisions staff its chief legal officer on a matter dealing with detainees, its force protection officer on a matter involving roadside checkpoints in Baghdad. There are just so many people that I go to help get the word out correctly. I mean factually correct, legally correct, Oakley said. Once she had the facts, she drew up a brief statement that summed up in five sentences what had happened. Then its final sentences addressed the rumor directly: The coalition does not and will not stop the flow of power to the citizens of Baghdad as a means of punishment. The coalition will continue to work to maintain and increase the amount of electricity that is provided to the citizens of Baghdad. She sent it to the engineer to ensure she had the facts right. Then came the next step, taking it to the divisions chief of staff, Col. Jackson L. Flake. And he will say Yes, this is or is not the message that we as the 1st Armored Division want to issue, she said. In this case, Flake OKd the statement and Oakley gave it to the divisions media center for translation into Arabic. The statement was then ready for distribution to the English- and Arabic-language newspapers, for radio broadcasts, and to the divisions brigades, which can get it out in their respective geographic areas of the city. The divisions information efforts occupy about 100 people in various offices and units, said Oakley. They include the 315th Psychological Operations Company, elements of the 354th Civil Affairs Brigade, and the divisions public affairs office. Their efforts, variously, include designing and distributing handbills and posters that address a range of issues; publishing a twice-monthly newspaper called Baghdad Now in English and Arabic; arranging commercial radio broadcasts in which brigade commanders and other senior military officers are featured guests; and aiding U.S. and foreign news organizations in covering the divisions activities. Being proactive in addressing public concerns is crucial, said Maj. David Tucker II, commanding officer of the 315th Psychological Operations Company. We find that a lot of the distrust can develop among the populace if the military is not communicating. And our job is to communicate. If you explain it to em, theyre usually very supportive. The division will soon bring out a monthly newspaper aimed at Baghdad youth and also is exploring ways to get several television stations back on the air. Winning a populaces trust and confidence is not something you do in a few months time, Oakley said. And we just have to be honest and consistent and persistent with our message. |
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The 1st Armored Division's "information efforts" ~ "include the 315th Psychological Operations Company, elements of the 354th Civil Affairs Brigade, and the divisions public affairs office" ~ working to win the trust of Iraqis misled and abused for decades by Saddam and co.
Saddam used to turn off the power as punishment. Now when the power goes out...it's up to our troops to establish facts, get the word to the people.
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Kind of like what the Democratic dictator in California used to do? I heard they had a regime change there, too, but that the new guy may not be much different of better than before. We'll see over a period of time, I guess.
-archy-/-
He makes a great automaton and a really decent barbarian, but as you say time will tell if he is a good politician.
Kind of. *g*
LA 'neighborhood' Davis loyalists didn't murder the children of neighborhood Davis critics to reenforce the message.
Saddam on the DNC mailing list, or a NY Times subcriber?
Would either "group" turn him in to our military?
It's always more comforting when our actors-turned-politico have portrayed a chief executive in at least one film role so we'll get some idea of how good a figurehead they'll make.
We REALLY should have elected Jimmy Stewart to the Senate. But there's still time for Fred Ward.
-archy-/-
This is journalistic integrity new to Iraqis, so new they'll have to be impressed.
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