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发帖数: 16824 | 1 http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/jan/31/british-army-fac
British army creates team of Facebook warriors
The British army is creating a special force of Facebook warriors, skilled
in psychological operations and use of social media to engage in
unconventional warfare in the information age.
The 77th Brigade, to be based in Hermitage, near Newbury, in Berkshire, will
be about 1,500-strong and formed of units drawn from across the army. It
will formally come into being in April.
The brigade will be responsible for what is described as non-lethal warfare.
Both the Israeli and US army already engage heavily in psychological
operations.
Against a background of 24-hour news, smartphones and social media, such as
Facebook and Twitter, the force will attempt to control the narrative.
The 77th will include regulars and reservists and recruitment will begin in
the spring. Soldiers with journalism skills and familiarity with social
media are among those being sought.
An army spokesman said: “77th Brigade is being created to draw together a
host of existing and developing capabilities essential to meet the
challenges of modern conflict and warfare. It recognises that the actions of
others in a modern battlefield can be affected in ways that are not
necessarily violent.”
The move is partly a result of experience in counter-insurgency operations
in Afghanistan. It can also be seen as a response to events of the last year
that include Russia’s actions in Ukraine, in particular Crimea, and
Islamic State’s (Isis) takeover of large swaths of Syria and Iraq.
Nato has so far been unable to find a counter to what the US and UK claim is
Russia creating unrest by sending in regular troops disguised as local
militia, allowing president Vladimir Putin to deny responsibility.Isis has
proved adept at exploiting social media to attract fighters from around the
world.
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The Israel Defence Forces have pioneered state military engagement with
social media, with dedicated teams operating since Operation Cast Lead, its
war in Gaza in 2008-9. The IDF is active on 30 platforms – including
Twitter, Facebook, Youtube and Instagram – in six languages. “It enables
us to engage with an audience we otherwise wouldn’t reach,” said an
Israeli army spokesman.
It has been approached by several western countries, keen to learn from its
expertise.
During last summer’s war in Gaza, Operation Protective Edge, the IDF and
Hamas’s military wing, the Qassam Brigades, tweeted prolifically, sometimes
engaging directly with one another.
The new brigade is being named the 77th in tribute to the Chindits, the
British guerrilla force led by Maj Gen Orde Wingate against the Japanese in
Burma during the second world war. Wingate adopted unorthodox and
controversial tactics that achieved successes completely disproportionate to
the size of his forces, sending teams deep into Japanese-held territory,
creating uncertainty in the Japanese high command and forcing it to alter
its strategic plans.
In a nod to the Chindits, members of the 77th Brigade will have arm badges
showing a mythical Burmese creature.
The aim is that the new force will prove as flexible as the Chindits in the
face of the dizzying array of challenges being thrown up in the early part
of this century.
The creation of 77th Brigade comes as the commander of Nato special
operations headquarters, Lt Gen Marshall Webb, speaking in Washington this
week, expressed concern about Russia and about Isis.
“Special operations headquarters is uniquely placed to address this,” he
said. “We tend to take an indirect approach. We can engage without being
escalatory or aggressive. We tend to view things from an oblique angle, and
we absolutely acknowledge that trust, information-sharing and interagency
collaboration is crucial.” | l*****i
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