Arabic media analysts important to MND-B information war

Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Benjamin Crane | Nick, a resident of Chicago, who serves as a civilian linguist in the media monitoring...... read more read more

Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Benjamin Crane | Nick, a resident of Chicago, who serves as a civilian linguist in the media monitoring analysis cell, 4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad, watches an Arabic news channel in his office in the Media Operations Center to hear and analyze what is being said about coalition forces in Iraq.  see less | View Image Page

BAGHDAD, IRAQ

10.15.2008

Story by Spc. Benjamin Crane 

Multi-National Division Baghdad

✔ ✗ Subscribe

3

By Spc. Benjamin Crane
Multi-National Division - Baghdad

CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq – The phrase "knowledge is power" has been used for many years, and in a time of modern warfare where technology and information are used as weapons, knowing what the enemy is saying may be the difference between winning and losing.

For Sgt. Andrew Pershing and the nine linguists who work in the media monitoring analysis cell, 4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad, finding out what the Iraqi media is saying about the U.S. Armed Forces, especially as it pertains to MND-B, is their everyday duty.

"They are civilian contractors, and they monitor the open-source Arab media," said Pershing, a Marion, Iowa, native, and the noncommissioned officer in charge of the MMAC, referring to the civilians he works with. "They watch TV, listen to the radio and they look at Web sites and basically collect information about what the Arab media is putting out so we can monitor that side of the media field."

Four TVs line the walls of the office inside the Media Operations Center on Camp Liberty, where Nick, Mike, Ray and Marcus, all of whom speak Arabic as their primary language, sit in front of them for at least seven hours a day to get a feel for what is going out over Iraqi airwaves.

"The Iraqi media reflect what the Iraqi side is talking about, the main issues for the Iraqi people or what the Iraqi channels or the Iraqi parties are saying to the local people about our side and the American troops," said Marcus, a resident of Chicago, who serves as a linguist working in the MMAC.

"It's very important because we consider ourselves as a liaison between the Iraqi people and the American Army," said Nick, a resident of Detroit, who also serves as a linguist in the MMAC. "It's important to the civilians, the state department and the Army. They need to know that the Iraqi media is saying on their TV and radio's and they need to know the Iraqi people's reactions."

After they gather the information from 15 Arabic TV stations, radio stations and Web sites, they take the information and make it so it can be distributed through email to the leaders of 4th Inf. Div. and MND-B.

"The linguists collect the information from their shift and put them in a concise, compiled word document, and then they give it to me and I ask questions to make sure the story is correct," said Pershing. "We then put the product out to the people in the International Zone, the leaders of 4th Inf. Div. and MND-B so they can use it to further other missions."

As for what the Iraqi media is broadcasting, those working in the MMAC all say the same thing: It is not completely accurate but pretty close.

"Its not accurate 100 percent, but most of the channels belong to different parties and each channel is like the party that they represent. Each party gives different opinions so that is why we watch and listen to different channels," said Najjar.

"This is the main issue: If you listen to the same subject as a foreigner, and I listen to it as an Iraqi man, I will feel different than you will you feel," said Sorrou. "I can say it different than you can say it."

Having Arabic-speaking contractors, those who know about the Iraqi people, to analyze the media gives leaders and Soldiers of MND-B an edge in gaining greater support from the local populace and hopefully eliminates the potential for misunderstandings in a fight where information both good and bad, true and false, has become a major weapon.