Latest Psyops Leaflets in Afghanistan

The second leaflet shows a group of mines in the desert. The back shows two burning trucks. This leaflet is coded AFD94.

The United States military has been tasked with locating and destroying buried mines in the many nations that it aids. Since 1993, the U.S. has sent forces into dozens of countries to help identify and safely dismantle mines. In 1997 the President of the United States supported a plan to eliminate all land mines that endanger civilians by the year 2010.

During the recent wars in Somalia, Kuwait, Bosnia, and Kosovo millions of leaflets, coloring books, and comic books were distributed to warn civilians of the danger of approaching and handling mines and other explosives. The mine awareness leaflet is a standard PSYOP product of American Special Operations.

One of the first American soldiers severely wounded in Afghanistan lost a foot to a hidden landmine. The United States has destroyed mines and other explosives when found. One dropped leaflet pictures seven types of dangerous mines and grenades with a skull and crossed bones in the background. The leaflet also appears as a small poster. The text is "ATTENTION. Partnership of Nations forces are destroying unexploded ordinance and weapons to keep the citizens of this region safe. There is no reason to be alarmed. For your own safety, stay away! STAY AWAY."

The code number of the leaflet poster is AE1A-11-P3. A similar leaflet poster is coded AFD-DG2. It shows the seven explosives and the skull and crossed bones. The leaflet text is "Danger! Unexploded ordanance (sic) can kill! Do not touch! Help us keep you safe."

Another mine leaflet that was found more recently is in bright red to attract attention and shows a skull and crossed bones at the left and six mines at the right. The text is "Stop and turn away. Stay out! Mines. Help us keep you safe!" This leaflet is coded AFDDG1.

A mine clearing conference was held at MacDill Air Force Base on February 13, 2002. At that time it was estimated that a minimum of 2-million mines were still buried in Afghanistan. That number is probably low.

The third leaflet shows five Taliban fighters in a cave about to eat a meal laid out on a rug. In the background a "smart bomb" is seen falling near the cave entrance. The back of the leaflet shows three Taliban soldiers with their eyes wide open in fear, the cave entrance blocked with rubble. This leaflet is coded AFD69b.

The final threat leaflet shows an AC130 Spectre gunship above the clouds with guns firing downward. These gunships are armed with two 20mm Vulcan cannons, one 40mm Bofors cannon, and one 105mm howitzer. The back shows three Taliban fighters with crosshairs over their faces. This leaflet is coded AFD40d.

One of the new leaflets is a reward leaflet. Similar to the earlier bin Laden reward leaflet, an unnamed Taliban member is shown at the right in profile, and again at the left behind bars. U.S. $20 bills are pictured at the center of the leaflet. The back of the leaflet is all text. Although the individual portrayed is not named, he is evidently Mullah Omar, the leader of the former Taliban government. This leaflet is coded AFB29p. The same general vignettes and text were used on a leaflet poster. It showed the US currency at the upper left and bottom right, and Omar at the upper right and lower left. The text was the same: "Reward for information leading to the whereabouts or capture of Taliban and al Qaida leadership." This leaflet poster was coded AFG06.

Another reward leaflet released in February of 2002 showed a beautiful city at the left and an Afghan elder at the right. The text on the front is "Get wealth and power beyond your dreams - help the anti-Taliban force to rid Afghanistan of murderers and terrorists." Text on the back is "You can receive millions of dollars for helping the anti-Taliban force catch al-Qaida and Taliban murderers. This is enough money to take care of your family, your village, your tribe for the rest of your life - pay for livestock and doctors and school books and housing for all your people." The leaflet is coded TF11-RP09.

The third category might be called a "morale" leaflet. It is aimed at destroying the confidence and morale of the Taliban and al Qaida troops. A serious Osama bin Laden is shown on the front with the text "Usama bin Laden sends his murderers into the world to kill for his cause." The back of the leaflet shows a smiling bin Laden and the text "Usama bin Laden laughs at you because you don't know he has sent you to your death." This leaflet is coded TF11RP05. This leaflet is in regard to the captured bin Laden video tape where is jokes that many of the terrorists on the hijacked aircraft sent to destroy the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were not aware that it was a suicide mission. This leaflet is coded TF11RP05.

Leaflet Number: TF11RP05

The final category consists of five "consolidation" leaflets. These might best be described as leaflets directed toward populations of either liberated or occupied areas to facilitate military operations and promote maximum cooperation with the liberating or occupying power. They are also used to build confidence and loyalty to the new government. All of these leaflets attempt to bring the various ethnic tribes and clans of Afghanistan together into one cohesive people.

The first leaflet show three Afghans building a house together with the text, "Brick by brick..." The back shows seven hands holding a map of Afghanistan. This leaflet is coded AFD85.

The second leaflet shows eight spools of thread and a rug. The back shows the same seven hands and map as the previous leaflet. This leaflet is coded AFD88a.

The final three leaflets are very similar. They are all in black and white and of a more "cartoonish" nature. Each has the exact same illustration and text on front and back, with the only difference being the language, one side in Pashto, the other in Dari.

The first shows two Afghans, one with a white turban, one with a black turban shaking hands. the text is "The time has come for all Afghans to make peace." This leaflet is coded AFD91. Curiously, this consolidation leaflet was still in use long after the formal cessation of fighting. They were dropped once again in early February 2002 after a flare-up of tribal violence in Gardez, capital of Paktia province in eastern Afghanistan. United Nations and Afghan government envoys entered the city to negotiate a peace plan after Pastun tribal factions killed at least 61 people in a local power struggle.

The next leaflet shows bin Laden sitting cross-legged on a pile of dead Afghans. It should be noted that during Desert Storm Saddam Hussein sometimes was shown sitting on a throne of skulls. This leaflet is coded AFD93.

The final leaflet shows three heavily-armed Taliban fighters. This leaflet is coded AFD92.

Another leaflet that is very similar to this group was released in February of 2002 and shows Mullah Omar feasting while bin Laden sits on the pile of dead Afghans. The text is "Mullah Omar is a murderer and a coward and a traitor." Text on the back is "Mullah Omar is a murderer, a coward and a traitor to the freedom-loving Pashtun people - he let Usama bin Laden's foreign murderers come to Afghanistan to hide - now Omar the coward and traitor to the Pashtun people hides in safety and comfort while his people suffer." This leaflet is coded TF11- RP07a.

A fancier leaflet appears in full color. It shows Mullah Omar feasting at the left, and two Afghans making a drug deal at the right. The text on the front is "Mullah Omar is a murderer and a coward and a traitor." Text on the back reads "Mullah Omar is a murderer, a coward and a traitor to the freedom-loving Pashtun people - he made millions of dollars selling evil drugs to Muslims - he did not use his fortune to help the Pashtun people - he used his fortune to help Usama bin Laden murder innocent civilians - now Omar the coward and traitor hides in safety and comfort while Pashtuns suffer." This leaflet is coded TF11-RP07b.

The single poster shows al-Qaida terrorist Mohammed Atta, and offers rewards to people who report suspicious activities to the U.S. State Department. The title text is "He was spotted in Hamburg, Prague, Florida and Maine. And if someone had called us, his picture wouldn't be spotted in this ad." The poster offers rewards of up to $25 million. The poster contains numerous errors and some details were actually borrowed from other terrorist acts. An unidentified State Department spokesman said that the poster's creators "took some liberties with some of the content."

On January 8 the Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press Agency reported that U.S. planes had dropped leaflets in eastern Afghanistan urging civilians not to give fleeing al-Qaida fugitives refuge, warning that they could be the victim of aerial bombing.

On February 9 the United States Centcom site showed two new leaflets regarding the occupation of Kandahar Airport. United States Marines from the 15th and 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) secured the airport December 15, 2001 during Operation Swift Freedom. Two leaflet-posters are known. The first pictures a Marine in silhouette with jet fighters in the background. the text is "WARNING. The Partnership of Nations has secured the Qandahar Airport to insure that humanitarian aid will reach the people of this area. For your own safety please stay away. STAY AWAY." This leaflet is coded AF1A-11-P1.

The second leaflet poster depicts a number of helicopters and a C17 Globemaster aircraft. The text is "STOP! TURN AWAY NOW! The Partnership of Nations has secured the Qandahar Airport to insure that humanitarian aid will reach the people of this area. For your own safety please stay away. HELP US KEEP YOU SAFE!"

Centcom released over a dozen leaflets to the public on February 18, 2002. Many of these were obviously from previous series that we have already mentioned. Most were consolidation and nation-building types, but there were some variations of the morale and reward leaflets we have seen in the past.

In February a number of armed skirmishes took place among the various ethnic and religious factions of Afghanistan. It became clear that Hamid Kamil did not have the full support of his people. Local warlords were consolidating their power and dividing Afghanistaninto private fiefdoms. The United Stateshad no interest in sending a large occupying force to that nation, so every effort was made to bring the people under control of the new government through the use of propaganda and the occasional implied threat of bombing.

A series of bright green and black leaflets supporting the government were prepared and dropped. The first shows a white dove of peace over a map of Afghanistanand clasped hands with the text "A United Afghanistan offers peace and prosperity." This leaflet-poster is coded AF-8-B-11-HB1.

A second similar leaflet shows a map of Afghanistan at the left, clasped hands in the center, and the planet Earth at the right. The text is "Afghanistan- The partnership of nations is here to assist the people of Afghanistan." This leaflets is coded AF5-C-11-HB1. This same leaflet also exists with the code AF5c11L1.

A fourth leaflet shows the exact same illustration and text as leaflet AF-8-B-11-HB1 on the front. The back shows Afghan musicians at the left and a young girl at the right. The text is "A new government offers new freedoms. The future of Afghanistandepends on your support of the new government." This leaflet is coded AFD105.

A second series of four similar leaflets were coded AFG7-AFG10. The first shows a young girl at the left, a group on smiling children below, and two boys at the right. One of the boys has some cash showing prominently from his pocket. The text is "Help bring back happiness to Afghanistan. Supporting your new government offers a brighter future for you and your children." This leaflet is AFG07.

The next leaflet shows a photograph of a young female, an older male in turban, an Afghan family, and a group of musicians. The text is "A united Afghanistan= peace prosperity. The future of Afghanistandepends on your support of the new government. A new government offers new freedoms." This is leaflet AFG08.

Leaflet AFG09 has the exact same text as the previous leaflet, but just two photographs, that of the Afghan musicians and the young female.

The final leaflet of this series shows the four photographs of the young female, the older male in turban, the Afghan family, and the group of musicians over a map of Afghanistanwith the text "A new government working for all Afghans. The future of Afghanistandepends on your support." This is leaflet AFG10.

Although the major fighting portion of the war was believed to be over, a vicious battle erupted once again in early March of 2002. A group of from 400 to 2000 Taliban and al-Qaida fighters were found to be regrouping near Gardez in the Paktia Province of eastern Afghanistan. Over 1000 American troops were deployed along with other members of the coalition and Afghan government forces in "Operation Anaconda."

A number of new leaflets were dropped during the operation. One shows what appear to be seven Taliban and al-Qaida troops sitting on a vehicle. The text is "Hand over Taliban or al-Qaida or you will be destroyed. Give any information you have about al-Qaida or Taliban to the coalition forces."

Another leaflet pictured five armed Taliban or al-Qaida in a cave. The leaflet texts published so far are "The International community is watching. Do not help al-Qaida or the Taliban or you will be destroyed," and "The Taliban and al-Qaida are not good people. They use your women and children as human shields. Turn them in to the coalition. They are bad people."

Al-Qaida was also active on the propaganda front. Although the Taliban was unable to drop leaflets from aircraft, they used other means to distribute their propaganda. On October 30 a report from Kazakhstan told of three men detained for spreading leaflets that claimed that support for the anti-terrorist coalition against Afghanistan meant betrayal of the cause of Islam.

The fundamentalist party Hizb ut-Tahrir in Pakistan released a number of propaganda leaflets and statements. They included such phrases as "the war criminal Bush is waging an unjust war on the Muslims..." and in regard to Bin Laden's guilt, "We are used to America's lies and willful deception in such situations."

Osama bin Laden produced a number of propaganda videotapes that were sent to Al-Jazeera, an Arabic satellite TV news network. In his messages he claimed that the United Nations was anti-Muslim for supporting the American bombing of Afghanistan.

United States Navy SEALs discovered an al-Qaida propaganda poster showing Osama bin Laden and a civilian passenger aircraft striking the N.Y.C World Trade Center during a search and destroy mission in the Zhawar Kili area on January 14, 2002. Despite some Muslim protestations that bin Laden was innocent of the crime, he appears to be taking credit for the terrorist act in the poster.

Apologies if these have been posted previously, some of these were new to me.

I'm glad they finally clarified how much they can buy with the reward money. I heard some Afghans thought 25 million was a small amount that would only last them a short time. That one and the "Unite Afghanistan" ones will probably do the best for public support.

4 posted on 6/2/2002, 3:45:28 AM by Libertarianize the GOP

awesome.....

Stay Safe !

Interesting, though I'm skeptical of the utility of showing U.S. $20 bills to your average Afghan.

6 posted on 6/2/2002, 5:26:18 AM by RightOnTheLeftCoast

I always liked that "partnership of nations" BS. We're just making things up as we go along.

The psyops guys are doing a good job.

Can.t we save some tax dollars and send them some coloring place mats from Denny's along with some crayons. That will keep them entertained.

Denny's placemats would probably mean just as much to the average Afghan. I doubt many of 'em can read. Much less read English.

Can't we save some tax dollars and send them some coloring place mats from Denny's along with some crayons? That will keep them entertained.

Dropping copies of the latest Playboy featuring StripperMom might work too.

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