U.S.-UK aircraft dropped leaflets over Iraq, informing people about UN, Resolution 1441 as well as other topics

WASHINGTON, February 25 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – The United States already went to war against Iraq, this time using super- secret weapons that could flash millions of watts of electricity to cripple Iraqi computers and equipment and literally turn off the lights in Baghdad.

Military commanders plan electronic attacks on power grids, communications systems and computer networks along with other burgeoning means of information warfare, a leading American newspaper reported Tuesday, February 25.

These deception and psychological operations are meant to try to break the Iraqi military's will to fight and to sway Iraqi public opinion.

It is a conflict being fought with electrons and words in advance of any order by President George W. Bush to let loose bullets and bombs, The Straits Times reported.

American cyber-warfare experts recently launched an e-mail assault against Iraq's political, military and economic leadership, urging them to break with the regime.

A second wave of messages has gone to private cell phone numbers of specially selected officials, added the paper.

More than eight million leaflets have been dropped over Iraq, including towns 100km south of Baghdad, warning Iraqi anti-aircraft missile operators that their bunkers will be destroyed if they track or fire at allied warplanes.

Surrender and Live

A similar blunt notice has gone to Iraqi ground troops: “Surrender, and live”.

Radio transmitters hauled aloft by Air Force Special Operations EC-130E planes are broadcasting directly to the Iraqi public in Arabic with programs that, by mimicking the styles of local radio stations, are generations advanced from the clumsy preaching of previous wartime propaganda efforts, The Straits Times reported.

'Do not let Saddam tarnish the reputation of soldiers any longer,' said a recent broadcast.

"Saddam uses the military to persecute those who don't agree with his unjust agenda. Make the decision." Added another.

"The goal of information warfare is to win without ever firing a shot," said James Wilkinson, spokesman for the Central Command in Tampa, Florida.

One type of leaflet dropped threatened Iraqi air defense personnel not to track or fire on them

"If action does begin, information warfare is used to make the conflict as short as possible." He added.

The broadcast messages try to be more persuasive, comparing Saddam Hussein to Stalin and telling the Iraqi people that the war is not a war against Islam.

"We do not fight a religion," U.S. President George W. Bush says in a rebroadcast of remarks he gave in talks with U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan.

"Our war against terror is a war against individuals whose hearts are full of hate," Bush continues.

Among the messages broadcast is also the biography of the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Egyptian Mohamed El-Bareidi, to show that prominent Arabs have also taken a stand against Iraq.

Another message accuses Saddam Hussein of starving his people, wisely not mentioning the trade embargo the U.N. slapped for 12 years now.

More than 10 million of Iraq's estimated 25-million population suffer from malnutrition, with the average daily consumption of calories having dropped to 2,033 from 3,581 before the embargo was imposed.

Senior military officials say, for example, that the radio shows broadcast from "Commando Solo" planes follow the format of the popular Iraqi station Voice of the Youth, managed by President Saddam Hussein's older son, Uday, said the paper.

The American programs open with greetings in Arabic, followed by Euro-pop and 1980s American rock music. It is designed to appeal to younger Iraqi troops who are perceived by officials as the most likely to lay down their arms.

The broadcasts include traditional Iraqi folk music so as not to alienate other listeners and a news programs in Arabic prepared by army psychological operations experts at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Then comes the official message: Any war is not against the Iraqi people but is intended to disarm Saddam and end his regime.

Washington is trying to tout that looming war against Iraq is only to target Saddam. But many felt skeptical over its claims they would not bear the brunt in such a large-scale war.

American commanders, reported the paper, say these opening psychological salvoes have in part influenced Iraqi forces to move or curtail their anti-aircraft fire.

'It pays to drop the leaflets,' Lt-General Michael Moseley, commander of allied air forces in the Gulf, said by telephone from his headquarters in Saudi Arabia.

"It sends a direct message to the operator on the gun. It sends a direct message to the chain of command." He added.