U.S.-led coalition to distribute 200,000 radios in Afghanistan

[Judi Lynn]

U.S.-led coalition to distribute 200,000 radios in Afghanistan

ASSOCIATED PRESS

BAGRAM, Afghanistan, Nov. 29 — The U.S.-led coalition will distribute more than 200,000 shortwave radios to people across Afghanistan, the U.S. military said Saturday.

''Truth is one of the most effective weapons against the terrorists and anti-coalition forces that are attempting to reinfect Afghanistan,'' spokesman Maj. Bryan Hilferty told a news briefing at the coalition headquarters at Bagram Air Base.

The radios would be given to Afghans for free to allow them ''unfettered access to many sources of news,'' he said. Most of Afghanistan lacks a regular supply of electricity.

Hilferty gave no further details about the cost of the radios or their distribution. The radios are powered by a crank.

The announcement comes as the former ruling Taliban regime and its allies appear to be trying to undermine the U.S.-backed Afghan government and efforts to rebuild the war-battered country. snip/...)

http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/ap11-29-005139.asp?reg=ASIA

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now they'll be able to pick up some of our de luxe propaganda beamed right at them.

[w13rd0]

1. crank powered radios...

...where there's no running electricity. What a fascinating concept. I'll actually say, this is a good move. They'll get more than our propaganda (maybe, I'd like to see one of these radios. hell, I'D like one), and if its just propaganda we might hear about that too. Can we also provide them with crank powered tools to provide clean, running water?

[DUreader]

5. Here are some I am considering

http://www.survivalunlimited.com/radios/infomate.htm




http://www.bigfrogmountain.com/searchresults.cfm?Type=Radios#




http://www.hammacher.com/electronics/el_shortwave_radios_1.asp?catID=11

[BiggJawn]

9. I have one.

A BayGen "Freeplay". It's AM/FM only, but I'm a handy lad with a soldering iron...:-)

[slaveplanet]

2. Boy either this is a really

smart move, or a really stupid one.

Shortwave can go around the planet...the Fundies here use it because it's cheap and travels wide.
Now if our forces are going to use this as some kind of trap to tempt Afgani Taliban fundies into pirate broadcasts that give away their postions. that might be good.

On the other hand the masses can riled from a distance with shortwave.

[RC]

3. It is harder to control a well informed public.

How come they same "they" that is behind controling what we see, hear & learn in this country seen to be doing the opposite over there?

[moondust]

4. I didn't know Fox was into radio.

Propaganda, boys, will win them over!

[zx22778a]

6. Will the radios have a tuner??

Something makes me think that these radios will be locked into a particular frequency that only has coalition propaganda. Time to start building some jammers.

[newyawker99]

21. Hi zx22778a!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[conservdem]

7. Good move, and long over due.

I hope we also broadcast some info. that would help our efforts.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

8. Can the radios get more than the one U.S.-sanctioned station?

[BiggJawn]

10. "You are listening to the Afghan service of Radio for Peace International"

Now THAT would be good thing...Or at least more BBC.

I got a stinking suspicion that they're gonna be single-channel fixed-tune radios, like the Nazis distributed to the German public during WWII....

[0007]

11. Ah, who will be the new 'Tokyo Rose? Ann Coulter perhaps?

[ConcernedCanuk]

12. Hmmm - not that I don't trust the BFEE -

. . and despite the dollar cost, which the BFEE has no limit on spending in these evil wars

. . it is certainly within their technology to install a wee chip with GPS and monitor who is listening to what, and where they are at the time.

. . I have a feeling that these "gifts" won't be "off-the shelf" models from Wal-Mart or Radio Shack.

. . I mean they'd need "modification" so they can guarantee the Afghanis "decent" reception, no?

Jus A Dumm Canuk Thot

[unpsyops]

13. The VE-301 radio, pre-WWII

This reminds of the how the nazis in pre-wwII Germany produced the VE-301 radio for the masses. It sold for less than half the price of other radios and soon one of every 2 households in Germany had a radio; the highest percentage in Europe well before WWII. Its sole purpose was to distribute nazi propaganda.
In Afghanistan today, I cant see Bush doing anything to actually help the masses. We know that "unfettered access to news and information" to find the truth does not exist here in the USA! You have to look for it by searching the internet and that is hardly "unfettered". So the "truth" angle they talk about is pure BS.

These crank radios are either manufactured by a heavy GOP contributer or its a tracking device. Period. No truth , no altruism. Just more lies.

heres some info on the VE-301 and its role in nazi propaganda:


http://www.sit.wisc.edu/~pnpoltzer/nazi_saturation.htm

[bobthedrummer]

14. Hilferty was one of the most arrogant movers and shakers behind

the alledgedly shut down Office of Strategic Influence/OSI and Admiral Poindexter's liason guy for TIA.

Now his enthusiasm has seen him demoted to 200,000 short wave radios in Afghanistan, a media blitz-LOL!

[grilled onions]

15. Tokyo Rose Move Over...

Iraqie Iris and Afghan Aster have moved to town!

[Cocoa]

16. that's a lot of radios

try topping that, evildoers!

[Billy Burnett]

17. Radios permanently tuned to Radio Marti

Its all the same propaganda anyway.

[stevedeshazer]

18. As a long time listener of shortwave radio

I can say that this is likely a propaganda coup extraordinaire.

Dropping 200,000 radios is easily done. But, what quality? They are likely Chinese-made radios that are cheap but unreliable over distances required in mountainous Afghanistan.

Cheap radios will pick up only locally broadcast propaganda Additionally, how many stations broadcasting information in Urdu, Pashtun, and the myriad other languages spoken in the region can there be?

I'll be looking into these broadcasts via the considerable Internet community of SW DXers and will report back later.

Bottom line: This smells badly.

[bobthedrummer]

19. Hilferty was huge for bio-metrics and profiling

all types.

[NickB79]

20. People are living in a hellhole, and we give them RADIOS!!

So, we bomb the hell out of a country, destroy their government and economy, and we give them friggin radios?!?! These people need JOBS, they need FOOD, they need warm winter CLOTHING, they need MEDICINE, they need CLEAN WATER, they need SECURITY!!! But radios, genius. We can brain-wash them into thinking they're living in palaces and eating gourmet meals all day, cheaper than the real thing.

[karlschneider]

22. "Let them eat radios!"

:eyes:

[Endangered Specie]

23. I'd bet theyd rather have food

Curious as to what they will be hearing on these radios?, any bets? Limbaugh w/ arabic translation?

[45th Med]

24. LOL. Only 1 channel tho

Sources say it will only be tuned into FOXnews.