[ad_1]
And while Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi was heading to Washington in mid-August to discuss America’s role in Iraq, a smartphone deal was headed in the opposite direction in the interest of American soldiers in that country, as that the momentum for these new technologies is just the beginning, to help on the informational battlefield and an attempt to humanize the alliance in the face of local public opinion.
According to Foreign Policy magazine, the shipment was requested by Colonel Miles Caggins, a spokesman for the Washington-led coalition forces against ISIS. “I’m sure this is the first time that iPhone 11 Pro Max phones have been given to soldiers doing public relations,” Caggins said. “It’s a breakthrough”.
These telephones have become a symbol of a greater challenge facing the international coalition, in the field of the fight against fake news that is spread in Iraq and Syria, and also to explain the mission of the coalition, at a time when that the United States is in the midst of a complex information war waged by Iranian groups, the Syrian government and Moscow. And intended to dissipate confidence in the international coalition’s mission in Iraq and Syria.
In the past six months, there has been an increase in rocket and improvised explosive device attacks against US soldiers in Iraq by groups seeking to expel Americans from this country and have posted videos of the attacks online to post. a message to Washington. Pro-Iranian groups such as the Hezbollah militia and al-Nujaba regularly publish messages accusing the United States of using its embassy as a military base to justify further attacks.
In Syria, the Iranian media make daily accusations of American transgressions, such as the theft of Syrian oil. Russian ground forces also trigger American patrols, and Russian officials and media describe these clashes as an American mistake.
Indeed, this confusion between the military standoff in Iraq and Syria and the messages on the ground is for domestic consumption, at a time when regional leaders appear determined to undermine the US presence. In an unprecedented move in late September, Washington informed Baghdad that if those attacks on the embassy and American soldiers were not stopped, the United States would withdraw its massive embassy from Iraq.
When Caggins arrived in Baghdad in August 2019, public relations officers in Baghdad barely had the means to contact their comrades in the Syrian Democratic Forces, a Kurdish militia that had been Washington’s main ally in the battle against ISIS in Syria. . Despite four years of working together, the coalition’s Twitter account did not follow the account of “Syrian Democratic Forces” spokesman Mustafa Bali. Caggins was the first coalition spokesperson to tweet in Kurdish to his counterparts in Syria to coordinate messages.
The coalition’s use of tweets to send messages to adversaries and partners on the ground underscores the impact of social media in the current war. Caggins described the rumors of attacks on US convoys as “false” and showed the solidarity of the tribes in the Euphrates Valley who had suffered the massacres of “ISIS”, noting that the tribes are key to providing security to the role of the coalition. in the protection of oil fields today. Dispelling pro-Iranian fake news is also essential to de-escalation.
As a spokesperson for the coalition, Caggins played a key role in promoting new technologies, tweeting in Kurdish, building local relationships, and pushing for active use of social media. Caggins left office last month, but his vision could change the way the United States fights its future wars and illustrate Washington’s struggle at this crucial moment in Baghdad.
According to Foreign Policy, Caggins’ black complexion and his service in a unique public office at a time when the United States was experiencing a profound confrontation with racism at home contributed to the success of his mission in the Middle East, as his color of Piel helped him build relationships with the locals in places like Iraq.
And when the demonstrations began condemning the killing of African American George Floyd by police in the United States, Caggins said that many Kurds had sent him messages expressing their solidarity because they also faced historical discrimination in Iraq and Syria.
Perhaps the problem with US forces is that they need advanced intelligence on the villages that support the Syrian regime and those that show sympathy for the United States. This means that it must be in continuous contact with the ground. It also means that soldiers have access to technology that enables them to counter propaganda campaigns launched by Damascus and Moscow.
For example, Russians quickly post videos of certain events on the Internet. And American speakers have had to constantly refute stories in Syria and Iraq about the American deployment of Patriot missiles, or even the burning of agricultural crops. So the push for modern technology, such as smartphones, to help respond on the information battlefield and try to humanize the alliance is just the beginning.
[ad_2]
