Iraq Fiber PsyOps

"Turn your tank turrets downward. And don't even think about repairing those fiber optic cables." It's not just the Iraqi soldiers being targeted by the US military's psychological operations (PsyOps) as Operation Iraqi Freedom gets started. Some of the millions of "surrender leaflets" being dropped over Iraq have messages for Iraqi technicians who might be called upon to repair damaged communications infrastructure.

"Stop repairing military fiber optic cable," reads one of the leaflets, written in both English and Arabic and posted on the web site of the U.S. Central Command (CentComm). The leaflet shows a flaming crater, with a close-up detailing the severed fiver optic line at the crater's edge. "The cables are tools used to suppress the Iraqi people by Saddam and his regime," the message adds. "They are targeted for destruction."