[Spooks] Commando Solo

Tue, 17 Dec 2002 19:44:59 +0100

Commando Solo is back:

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CLANDESTINE RADIO WATCH
December 17, 2002

Iraq: Commando Solo Broadcasts on SW
Iraq: U.S. Centcom Press Release
Iraq: (AP) Pentagon Broadcasts Propaganda Over Iraq

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Iraq: Commando Solo Broadcasts on SW
By Nick Grace, CRW Washington

[Dec 17] The psyop war has begun.  Commando Solo, according to leaflets 
being dropped on southern Iraq and released to the media by U.S. Central 
Commando on Monday, is broadcasting Information Radio with the following 
schedule:

*1500-2000* 756, 693, 9715, 11292 kHz, 100.4 MHz

A copy of the leaflet can be viewed on ClandestineRadio.com.

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Iraq: U.S. Centcom Press Release
December 16, 2002
COALITION AIRCRAFT DROP LEAFLETS IN SOUTHERN IRAQ
MACDILL AFB, FL � Coalition aircraft dropped 480,000 leaflets at about 4 
a.m. EST today over southern Iraq.

Leaflets containing six separate messages were dropped at six locations, 
including near communications facilities that were damaged or destroyed by 
Coalition aircraft flying Operation Southern Watch missions on December 14. 
Leaflets dropped at those locations warned Iraqi forces that the Coalition 
has targeted fiber optic cables for destruction and that repairing the 
facilities place Iraqi military lives at risk.

Other leaflets:

� referred Iraqis to radio frequencies where they could hear broadcasts by 
Coalition forces providing information
� warned Iraqi air defenses that targeting Coalition aircraft or tracking 
them with radar could result in Coalition air strikes
� stated that Coalition aircraft enforce the no-fly zones to protect the 
Iraqi people, and that threatening Coalition aircraft may result in air strikes

This was the seventh leaflet drop over southern Iraq in the last three months.

Broadcast transcripts: <http://www.centcom.mil/News/Misc/radioscripts.htm>

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Iraq: (AP) Pentagon Broadcasts Propaganda Over Iraq
By Pauline Jelinek, Associated Press
December 17, 2002
<http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20021217/ap_on_re_mi_ea/us_iraq_8>

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon has launched a radio propaganda war over Iraq, 
broadcasting anti-Saddam Hussein messages officials say are aimed at 
weakening his support among his people and his military.

"People of Iraq ... the amount of money Saddam spends on himself in one day 
would be more than enough to feed a family for a year," said an English 
translation of one radio broadcast released by the U.S. Central Command. 
"How much longer will this corrupt rule be allowed to exploit and oppress 
the Iraqi people?"

"Soldiers of Iraq. Saddam does not care for the military of Iraq," said 
another of several radio messages. "Saddam uses his soldiers as puppets ... 
for his own personal glory.

"Saddam also sacrificed thousands of soldiers during the Iran/Iraq war ... 
When the Iraqi soldiers that were taken prisoner were returned, Saddam 
ordered their ears to be cut off as punishment for being captured."

Transmitted five hours a night from American planes flying Iraq's southern 
no-fly zone, the broadcasts are the first of their kind since those used in 
the 1991 Persian Gulf War when Iraqi forces were ousted from Kuwait, 
defense officials said.

The broadcasts of Arabic music and anti-Saddam messages began Thursday, 
said Pentagon spokesman Lt. Daniel D. Hetlage. But the program only became 
known Monday when the Central Command said it had dropped 480,000 leaflets 
over the southern no-fly zone in Iraq, including some alerting the Iraqis 
to radio frequencies and times to tune in to the American broadcasts.

The radio programs aim to "dissuade the Iraqi military from supporting 
Saddam," said Hetlage.

Other versions include ones on Saddam's past use of weapons of mass 
destruction and explaining the world's view of weapons inspections now 
under way in Iraq.

They are being transmitted from an Air Force EC-130E Commando Solo 
aircraft, according to another official.

Leaflets dropped Monday to advertise the broadcasts feature a map of Iraq 
and two radio transmitters, with a message saying "Information Radio" can 
be heard from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m., at five frequencies.

The mass drop of nearly half a million leaflets was the seventh 
distribution of flyers over southern Iraq in three months � and the 
largest. Leaflets were dropped over six locations and also included 
messages warning Iraqi military not to shoot at coalition aircraft 
monitoring the restricted zones, saying the zones are set up to protect the 
Iraqi people.

Officials said other drops have had little effect in getting Iraqi forces 
to stop harassing British and American planes that have been monitoring 
no-fly zones set up a decade ago over the country. The northern zones 
protect the Kurdish minority and the southern zones protect the Shiites. 
Saddam considers the zones a violation of his sovereignty.

Secretary of State Colin Powell said Monday that Iraq's weapons declaration 
bears out U.S. skepticism that Saddam would come clean.

He withheld a detailed assessment of the Iraqi declaration on weapons until 
chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix reports to the U.N. Security Council 
on Thursday, but said the declaration appears suspect.

"We said at the very beginning that we approached it with skepticism, and 
the information I've received so far is that skepticism is well-founded," 
Powell said in his first public comments on the declaration.

Powell told reporters at the State Department that the United States was in 
consultation with international weapons inspectors and other Security 
Council members on what to do next.

If Iraq refuses to disarm, Powell said, "The international community has an 
obligation to act and do whatever is necessary to disarm Iraq of its 
weapons of mass destruction, and that includes the use of military force."

Iraq has denied harboring chemical and biological weapons and having 
programs to develop nuclear weapons and long-range missiles.

Last week, Bush administration officials dismissed the 12,000-page 
declaration as woefully short of facts. "We know that Iraq has weapons of 
mass destruction and has programs to create more," State Department 
spokesman Richard Boucher said Friday.

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