A couple of posts back I mentioned that Feral Jundi signed on with Twitter, a mini-blogging site. I made a mention about connecting your phone to your Twitter account to receive updates via Short Message Service(SMS) or text messaging. The reason why you would want to do something like this, is to be instantly updated with news that is important to you, and to communicate back instantly. It is a simple concept, but extremely powerful. So I wanted to expand on this topic of text messaging, and try and tie this into how this could apply to counterinsurgency. So in the tradition of FJ, let’s build a snowmobile.
The stories I have posted below are a collection of text messaging usage throughout the world and in the various war zones out there. From recruiting and propaganda, to putting out an alert to protect the citizenry from attack, text messaging is becoming widely used tool of the populations of the world. And in my view, if text messaging is used correctly, we can certainly enhance our counterinsurgency efforts in this war.
Surprisingly, cellphones and the companies that sell the devices and plans are in wide use in such places like Iraq or Afghanistan. These local populations with phones are making calls and they are text messaging one another, and this is what makes the cell phone an excellent tool to use in order to connect with these populations. And believe me, I have seen Iraqis text message one another with the same excitement and enthusiasm as anyone here in the US or world. SMS is easy to use, and the technology is built into most phones that are used out there–and people like using it. I think it’s that ‘passing notes’ in class feeling, when you text someone, and it can be fun. It is also a universal feeling, and if you can read and push buttons on a phone, then you get to play. But how do you get people involved and interested in text messages?
My answer to that is entertainment. You take the most popular past time of that country, and you find ways to take advantage of this interest with text messaging. Much like American Idol here in the US, where viewers could text message votes and get involved with the process, you could apply something similar to Iraq or Afghanistan. It doesn’t have to be some American Idol thing–maybe soccer or something that the local population is excited about. The point is to get the population to use that phone as a tool to connect, and then start expanding on this connection with other means that could be valuable to a SMS Counterinsurgency(COIN) plan.
I say SMS COIN plan, because anyone serious enough about connecting with a population and wanting to protect it, should exploit all and any methods to connect with that population. The technologies are there, the populations know how to use it(or could easily learn), and war planners and commanders on the front lines should not be afraid to take advantage of this. But it must be done right, and there has to be a plan.
Now how could a planner use text messaging to their advantage. Well, the first step is to ‘learn’ from others throughout the world, and see what works. Build that snowmobile, and find the experts to make it happen. I like the warning system that the Israelis are using for oncoming missiles–protecting the local population. I like the Crime Stoppers use of text messaging as a tip line for criminals–population turning in the enemy. I like the use of text messaging to send recruitment notices–reaching out to the population for manpower. The only limit is your imagination as to the ways you could connect with the local population and find ways to protect them as well as entertain them. The goal should be to empower that population, and make them feel a part of the process. Use the local radio stations, and get people to vote in polls via text message about important issues. Or they could vote for their favorite soccer team, or send a text about the Taliban who are currently ravaging their village.
The other angle with text messaging/cellphones is when people fall in love with that technology, they tend to protect it. So once folks really enjoy the power of connecting, and someone threatens to take it away or destroys it, then the people will rise up. And in the opening story below, Dennis O’Brien of cellphone company Digicel discusses the power of the people in Haiti. He describes how the people were rioting against the government, and spared all the Digicel cellphone stores and towers. The reason why, was because the cellphone was a major part of their life. From business deals, to affairs of the heart, to discussing politics with others, and so on–the cellphone was a prized and extremely useful tool for daily life in Haiti. That is why they protected it, because they feared losing that vital tool of life and freedom. I can only imagine how I would react if someone destroyed my cellphone service, or even my internet service–I would not be happy.
These are just a few ideas below, but you get the basic idea. And just last night, I was using text messaging to send in a vote in a poll about the US Vice Presidential debates. I did it because I wanted to show a reaction to events, and voice an opinion. I wanted to connect and feel a part of the process. Like I said, if you are a war planner on the ground, and you do not have a SMS COIN plan, you are missing out on a huge opportunity to connect with the local populations. –Head Jundi
A message to Kenyans from their government via cellphone and text messaging(SMS).
Short Message Service Wikipedia
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August 23rd, 2008 at 11:59 pm
Bringing Cell Phones To the Third World (an excerpt from this article about Digicel and it’s owner Denis O’Brien)
He sums up his strategy thusly: “Get big fast. [Damn] the cost. Be brave. Go over the cliff. [The competition] doesn’t have the balls.” O’Brien doesn’t let government obstructionism or corruption deter him. He dots countries with cell towers, sometimes before rulers even grant a licence, then slashes the price of mobiles on opening day to get the masses using them fast.
It’s a bet that poor people who have never had phone service before won’t let the politicians take their phones away without a fight. Thus does O’Brien avoid the fate of many Western investors in corrupt, violent countries – being forced to sell out on the cheap.
That’s what happened to Royal Dutch Shell’s oil well on Russia’s Sakhalin Island. In an April riot in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, the mob not only spared Digicel stores from its burning and looting but even gathered in front of a few of them and cheered. Says a jubilant O’Brien, as he reads an e-mail on the news, “They’re calling us the Company of the People.”
Story Here
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Telephone Communications in Afghanistan
As of 2007, eight out of 100 people have access to a telephone. Mobile communications are improving because of the introduction of two wireless carriers into this developing country. There are over 1.4 Million cellular lines in the country. In 2007, Communication Minister, Amirzai Sangin, announced that 150,000 new fixed-telephone-lines would be installed in the 4 major cities of Afghanistan in one year. The project would be completed at the cost of 40 million US dollars, which will be provided from the development budget of the Afghan Ministry of Communications. There are also five or more VSAT’s installed in Kabul, Kandahar, Herat, Mazari Sharif, and Jalalabad, providing international and domestic voice/data connectivity. The international calling code for Afghanistan is +93. The following is a list of cellular phone companies in the country:
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