Officials say Fort Bragg's 4th Psychological Operations group has the ability to make the leaflets in the field with portable presses. However, officials say to ensure better quality, they are made at home and then shipped overseas. The local facility has the ability to make thousands of leaflets an hour.
Some leaflets warn Iraqi forces against firing at the U.S. troops. Others stress that U.S. coalition forces do not wish to harm innocent Iraqis.
Dropping leaflets has been used since World War II. Army veteran Wayne Knox said psychological operations have the success they do for one simple reason.
"Psychological Operations understand that all people are basically the same. We all have the basic needs and wants," he said. If you can get beyond the politics and religion and just hit the core of the human being, we are all the same and by pushing a particular message, you are going to get the same response."
During the last Gulf War, 28 million leaflets were dropped in Iraq. In this new war, already more than 80 million have been dropped.
• Credits
Copyright 2024 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
