USA Today.com had an article “As Syrian Rebels advance,
intervention holds promise” (http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/story/2012-08-13/syria-rebels-us-intervention/57039798/1).
The world has been watching events unfold in Syria and for the most part that
is exactly what they have been doing - watching. Just as with Libya, the
temptation to intervene on the side of ‘the people’ has been resisted by the
world community.
According to the article while the President “has resisted
calls for military intervention…” Secretary of State Clinton “said over the
weekend that the U.S. is discussing several options, including establishing a
no-fly zone, with Syria’s neighbor Turkey.” The no-fly zone tends to favor the
rebels since the “Assad’s forces seem to have stepped up the use of helicopters
and attack jets recently” the article states.
What does all this mean to the influence war? The first
thing I did was take a look at the balance of urban versus rural. According to
Nationmaster.com it’s a 50/50 split (http://www.nationmaster.com/country/sy-syria/peo-people).
This would bode well for the use of traditional media and the Internet as the
means of influence. If it were me, my approach would be a combination of mass
messaging and targeted. First and foremost I would single out those who are on
the fence and might be induced to defect or support the anti-government forces.
Once they were identified I would do a social network analysis and determine
linkages.
From a targeted perspective I would employ mobile phones as
the delivery vehicle. Part of my strategy would also be to provide video and
graphic content to a variety of sources that would show the government’s
unconscionable acts and balance that with content showing successes of the
rebels and support by the people.
Clearly the White House and the State Department are the
driving forces at this point in time. The mere fact that Secretary Clinton is
making public statements is a strong indication that other actions, often those
behind the scenes activities which have become a hallmark of her management
style, are also under way.
MISO at varying levels from no fly zone through ground
engagement ought to be at least templated,
perhaps based on the Libyan scenario.
One of the interesting aspects of a career in MISO is that
as Gilda Radner, the famous comedian once said, “there’s always something”.
Photo Source: By Khalil Hamra, AP
Syrian men inspect a hole allegedly made during an airstrike by government
forces in the town of Marea, Syria, on Monday.
USA Today article referenced above.
3 comments:
Good thought process on your means of delivery. However, your loyal audience would prefer to know what your message would be.
Do we really want to support the anti-government forces? Who are they truly?
@Anon - I'll leave the messages to those who actually know the policy and the CDR's intent.
Understandable - but that makes no sense.
As a credible authority on our craft - one would hope that you could offer some insight into what you think a message should be.
Instead - you fall into the trap that mire so many PSYOP Professionals - the medium for the delivery of the message.
Personally - I would employ skywriters, or develop a proxy air force that can tow some of those huge banners like you see at the beach.
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