The "Information Operations" War in Iraq

Printer-friendly versionSend by email"Bush planners appear to have left television off the initial [bombing] target list because they wanted to use it to administer Iraq immediately after the war and to limit the damage to civilian infrastructure. Reports from Iraq, however, suggest that the American restraint was seen by many Iraqis as an indication of Mr. Hussein's resilience, undermining the allied message that his days were numbered. There are, in fact, two parallel battles underway. One is the intense assault American forces are mounting to set themselves up for a drive to Baghdad to overthrow the Saddam Hussein regime. The other, and equally critical, is the struggle to secure the support of Iraqi citizens. The military has a name for its campaign to win over the Iraq population It is called. 'I.O' for 'information operations.' The problem is that during the initial days of the war Mr. Hussein's 'I.O.' has been beating the allied 'I.O.' "