Missile strikes just the start, says expert
Last night’s allied strikes are the first phase of a campaign that shows the growing importance of ‘‘psychological warfare’’, according to a military expert.
Nick Cook, of Jane’s Defence Weekly, said he believed the initial attacks were aimed at delivering ‘‘a strong hammer blow’’ to the Taliban’s military and political infrastructure - their command and control centres, air bases and air defence sites.
These strikes show the increased reliance on a kind of psychological warfare, with strict management of information related to the attacks by the allies.
Around 50 Tomahawk cruise missiles, which have a range of 1,000 miles and travel at 500mph, were launched from US and British vessels.
Mr Cook said last night’s missile strikes amounted to ‘‘a traditional softening up’’ of Afghanistan’s defences.
‘‘Once the airspace is deemed to be relatively secure, they send in combat aircraft, which have a much more flexible targeting approach and could respond to movement on the ground.’’
The attacks illustrated ‘‘the influence of the information warriors’’, Mr Cook said.
‘‘As deployed by the US Air Force, these people are attached to strike planners and part of their remit is to attach psychological significance to the attacking of targets,’’ he said.
These psychological operations officers aim to minimise ‘‘collateral damage’’ to schools and hospitals and any other targets that could undermine support for action internationally and among the public at home.
‘‘We have a very well-managed psychological offensive going on here,’’ Mr Cook said.
With a ground invasion directed at Osama bin Laden and his training camps likely, allied troops could take over the Taliban’s media and broadcast their own messages to the Afghan people, he said.
If the attacks on the Taliban’s strategic infrastructure targets are effective enough, the militia’s regime could cave in completely, he said.
Mr Cook added special forces already operating inside Afghanistan were likely to be liaising with opposition groups like the Northern Alliance with a view to creating an alternative government to the Taliban.
Allied forces have hugely superior military hardware to the Taliban forces.
The Taliban are thought to have only about 20 aircraft which could be relatively easily identified and disabled.
But a serious threat to allied planes could still be posed by shoulder-launched Stinger missiles which the Taliban are thought to have at their disposal.
These are very effective against aircraft flying below 12,000ft and are hard to locate from the air.
Mr Cook said keeping track of moving targets would provide another difficulty for allied forces, but one which they must overcome.
‘‘A lot of people are going to be on the move in Afghanistan and the US forces will have to distinguish between genuine targets and refugees.’’
