<nettime> United States' next step: information warfare & KLA mercenaries

[Geert Lovink <geert@xs4all.nl>]

From: Richard De boer <risjaar@dds.nl>

The Sunday Telegraph, April 4, 1999, page 4: " (...) The Sunday Telegraph
has also learnt that the US is planning "information warfare" attacks on
Serb television, seen by Nato as Milosevic's most effective weapon. Nato
has promised not to attack the transmitters but it is able, by using a
specially adapted aircraft, to jam the signal and even broadcast its own
programmes over parts of Yugoslavia. The system was tested in Bosnia where
propaganda broadcasts by hardline Bosnian Serbs were blocked by Nato
peacekeeping forces.

At least one ground force operation is already under way.  According to
defence intelligence sources, the American mercenary company MPRI has been
given a contract by the US State Department to train Kosovo Liberation
Army fighters in Albania. The mercenaries are not believed to be directly
involved inside Kosovo, and KLA success is hard to judge, but the use of
contracted proxy fighters may prove a way forward for governments
desperate to appear tough without risking their own soldiers. (...) "

---
#  distributed via nettime-l : no commercial use without permission
#  <nettime> is a closed moderated mailinglist for net criticism,
#  collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets
#  more info: majordomo@desk.nl and "info nettime-l" in the msg body
#  URL: http://www.desk.nl/~nettime/  contact: nettime-owner@desk.nl