HOW WESTERN POWERS USE THE ETHNO-CONFESSIONAL FACTOR IN THE MIDDLE EAST

E. I. USTINOV

Candidate of Historical Sciences

Near and Middle East Keywords:, ethno-confessional manipulation, US program for working with the local population

Politicians and military personnel of Western states, led by the United States and Great Britain, are trying to force the population of the Middle East (as well as other countries where the West is implementing its expansionist policy) to "love" uninvited guests from a distant and alien world, or at least treat them with sympathy. The support of local residents is needed by these "guests" who are constantly uncomfortable with the hostile attitude of the indigenous population towards them. This article tells about the attempts made by the West to "build bridges" between two ideologies, cultures, lifestyles, and, by and large, between two worlds. Analysis of the mechanisms used by the United States to use the ethno-confessional factor makes it possible to identify the direction of current events in the region, their real driving forces, as well as to predict the emergence and development of new crisis situations, identify tools and methods for their solutions.

USA AND ETHNO-CONFESSIONAL MANIPULATION

In modern conditions, the United States, while solving the problems of ensuring free access and possible control over the energy resources of the Middle East, seeks to ensure the continuity of the strategic foundations of its foreign policy and still considers the region as a zone of its vital interests. A characteristic feature of the activity of American foreign and security agencies in achieving global leadership is the use of multidimensional approaches, including sociological innovations in the military sphere, to manipulate local interethnic and inter-religious contradictions.

American administrations, pushing world public opinion and US citizens to believe that the reason for the so-called "civilizational lag" and the growth of extremist sentiments in the Middle East is the "lack of democracy", have adopted a number of special programs, projects and doctrines to legitimize their activities and justify them ideologically. The latest among them are " The US National Strategy for Public Diplomacy and Strategic Communications "(2007) and "The System of working with local population" (2007).

Within the framework of these initiatives, the US foreign and security agencies, maneuvering from the use of "hard power" during the presidency of George W. Bush to the use of "soft power" tactics during the administration of Barack Obama, combined political, economic, informational, moral, psychological and military measures in an effort to rebuild the region in accordance with their own interests. ideas.

At the same time, the US leadership is actively using interethnic and interfaith factors to push the region to dismantle its disliked political regimes and impose its own principles of building socio-political and economic life on Muslim countries.

Washington's actions in the ethno-confessional sphere in the Middle East are based on:

- a thorough study of the situation, which makes it possible to identify the key, most painful and sensitive problems of the countries of the region;

- purposeful deepening of ethnic and religious discord between individuals, groups, organizations, and parties;

- selectivity of economic and foreign policy support for ethno-confessional partners in the region: granting one of the ethno-confessional groups socio-political and economic privileges and preferences, including in the field of security and law and order - for example, the Kurdish and Shiite communities in Iraq or the Maronite in Lebanon;

- imposing religious or socio-political innovations that are not traditional for Middle Eastern societies, including in relation to the so-called "democratization process" , etc.

How this or that result is achieved in such a complex and sensitive area for the region is demonstrated by the example associated with the implementation by the Americans of the special US military program "System for working with the Local Population" (SRMN) - Human Terrain System (HTS).

AMERICAN TOOLKIT

After conducting military operations to change the regimes of Saddam Hussein in Iraq and the Taliban in Afghanistan, the Americans faced the problem of disloyalty of the majority of the local population, the manifestation of open hostility and confrontation on the part of religious and ethnic radical organizations and groups. At the initial stage of the military mission, the American side exerted brutal pressure on the local population, completely ignoring the traditional foundations of both Arab and Afghan societies. In addition, in Iraq, Washington sought to create a political system based on a mechanical transfer of the principles of Western democracy.

As a result, in the case of Iraq, the US army command and special services, having achieved

After the capture of Baghdad, they encountered fierce resistance from tribal structures that controlled smaller settlements. The behavior of the local sheikhs and their tribesmen suggested that they were ready to die for the territories that had belonged to them for centuries, and not to allow outsiders there.

This is evidenced by two large - scale but unsuccessful military operations of the coalition forces (in April and November 2004) with the participation of American, British and other military personnel and contractors of private military corporations-their attempts to seize the 300-thousand-strong city of Fallujah. The US military command engaged 6-10 thousand soldiers, used aircraft, heavy artillery weapons, and also carried out psychological pressure actions against the city's defenders, but for a long time it was not possible to solve the task. At some stages of the operation, the Americans, having suffered serious losses of personnel, were forced to enter into negotiations with the Iraqi insurgents, conclude interim agreements on the terms of local leaders.¹

This clearly demonstrated to the American army leadership the need to actively study and critically evaluate the motives of the local population's behavior, its socio-cultural characteristics. At the regional level - in order to stabilize the internal socio-political situation and keep the US-controlled regimes in power, at the local level-to smooth out the distrust of the local population in the activities of the US military, which could localize attempts to conduct guerrilla and insurgent actions and support the terrorist activity of the Islamic State of Iraq movements - one of the branches of Al-Qaeda"The Qaeda."

This approach resulted in the introduction of the Civil Considerations Amendment to the U.S. Army Field Charter (FM3-0), as amended in June 2007 as an element of the operational situation - METT-T (information about the task, enemy, geographical and weather conditions, friendly troops, logistics support and time - Mission, Enemy, Terrain and weather, friendly Troops, support available and Time). Later, on this basis, the US army, under the leadership of Colonel Sharon R. Hamilton, launched the above-mentioned SRMN program, funded from the US military budget.²

The creation of this program once again demonstrated the desire of the US military to involve modern scientific potential and innovative approach in the process of solving complex geopolitical problems in the Middle East. According to the idea of the creators of the SRMN program, as it is implemented, in the future, it will increase the effectiveness of command decisions at all stages of military and special operations in various regions of the world, not only by the US army, but also by NATO as a whole.

The goal of the program is to form and use special groups capable of supporting the leadership of the US military bloc in Iraq and Afghanistan with their knowledge of the ethno-religious, socio-cultural specifics of the local population, obtained on the basis of operational sociological research, as well as for effective planning, preparation, implementation and evaluation of the results of military and special operations.

COMMUNITY OUTREACH GROUPS

During the implementation of this program, Human Terrain Teams (HTT) were formed, trained and put into operation in the structure of US Army units stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Each of them has 5-9 employees - military personnel and civilians, certified specialists in the field of sociology, anthropology, linguistics, information and analytical work. It included a specialist who speaks local languages-Arabic, Kurdish, Pashto, etc. In addition, it was considered appropriate to introduce one female specialist into each group, the so - called "white cell". This arrangement of groups made it possible to remove suspicion and hostility in the course of their contacts with the local population and, as a result, to encode the true goals of their work3.

In accordance with the guidelines for the activities of the GRMN, their tasks include::

a) continuous study of the theater of military operations before and after the deployment of combat units in order to assess the local ethno-confessional and socio-cultural aspects;

b) use of group research results in the planning of military operations;

c) providing the army leadership during a military operation with information support to localize, resolve, and mitigate threats of counteraction by the local population in the form of partisan or insurgent actions, especially if the reaction of the local population to the activities of the US military is unstable and fluctuating. GRMNS can join the work of civil and humanitarian aid missions, whose status helps to hide targeted activities to collect the necessary information.;

d) conducting prognostic activities in order to assess the results of the behavior of the local population under the influence of American military operations, as well as identifying the nature of threats from the local population to American military formations;

e) training of US Army personnel (at the battalion level and below) on the cultural, ethno-religious, and tribal aspects of the region, since military personnel in this category maintain most contacts with the local population.

The emphasis in the information work of the GRMN is to identify::

- unofficial and formal leaders;

- socio-economic difficulties and problems of the local population;

- the depth and nature of local ethno-confessional and socio-cultural conflicts and disagreements;

- the most urgent and urgent needs of the population, which can be profitably used by the American side;

- factors that contribute to the effectiveness of US military operations.

In the order of operational subordination, GRMNS can be assigned as attached units in the special headquarters of brigades, divisions, US Army corps, and combined groups.

Group members process information from a wide range of open sources, including MA-

research centers, such as: The Center for Strategic and International Studies, Parameters, RAND, Strategic Studies Institute, Congressional Research Service, а также периодических изданий: The Small Wars Journal, Long War Journal, Foreign Policy, International Journal of Middle East Studies и др.

In addition, the GRMN collects information in the course of contacts with representatives of various US services and units involved in the project.:

- psychological and information operations {Psychological Operations, Information Operations (PSYOP, 10);

- Embedded Provincial Reconstruction Teams (EPRT);

- providing assistance to local law enforcement and security agencies, Army National Police Training / Transition Teams (NPTT), Military Training Teams (MTT);

- work through the United States Agency for International Development (US AID), etc.

GRMN employees also conduct a continuous survey of US Army soldiers, officers, and interpreters involved in contacts with the local population, including when patrolling designated areas of responsibility, performing official duties at roadblocks, and in other situations.

One of the most responsible and important areas of the GRMN's activity is the implementation of direct contacts with the local population. Direct contacts allow employees of groups not only to "remove information" from its carriers, but also, during conversations, which is especially valuable, to influence local leaders who have the right to make decisions (sheikhs of tribal structures, leaders of religious groups, communities, representatives of local authorities, etc.) that are beneficial to the American side.

The GRMN analytical reports submitted to the US military command reflect such issues as the reaction of the local population to the activities of the US Army; the effectiveness of its interaction with the US army; the effectiveness of the local law enforcement system, security structures, religious institutions, health care, mail, media, and social services. The article analyzes and takes into account the contacts of local citizens with foreign religious organizations and structures that are important "components" of the internal political ethno-confessional situation. These documents provide data on the demographic and ethnic composition of the population, estimates of literacy, employment, education, etc., and also record the leaders and structure of local tribal associations, families, and clans. Serious attention is paid to institutions and organizations that influence national policy decisions.

GRMN employees are recommended to submit analytical material in the form of diagrams and diagrams to the army leadership. They are proposed to reflect the most significant links between local actors with influence, which the American mission can influence in a way that is beneficial for itself. These "communication diagrams" should illustrate the attitude of these individuals to the US mission, as well as their position in society, including connections with key political players, radical organizations and groups.

Thorough training of each member contributes to the effectiveness of the GRMN's work. The group activity manual provides a detailed description of the job responsibilities of each of its employees, as well as methods and techniques for collecting the necessary information, conducting surveys and interviewing objects to achieve profitable influence and results.⁴

EFFECT OF THE CPMN PROGRAM

The intensity and range of activity of such groups is indicated by examples given in articles published in the US Army's Military Intelligence Professional Bulletin. ⁵

An article by Melvin Hall, one of the participants in the Community Outreach System program - "Integrating Social Research into the military divisional planning process" - describes the activities of the" Community Outreach Analysis Group - North " (HTAT-N), attached to the 4th Infantry Division in Iraq (c December 2010 to May 2011).

In preparing a review of security issues within the provinces of Diyala, Kirkuk and Nineveh, the team visited 22 joint checkpoints, two joint coordination centers, and interviewed more than 400 people. Among the latter are Kurds from regional security brigades, Iraqi army fighters, local police and security units, employees of the so-called "daughters of Iraq", as well as 30 local sheikhs and political leaders.

As a result, an extensive study was prepared that reflected the key ethno-confessional issues of the area and was taken into account by the army command when planning the withdrawal of American units and transferring control of checkpoints in Iraq to the local command.

Brian Gunn, author of Building Trust: Engaging Local Religious Leaders in the Central Helmand River Valley, notes that American community outreach teams can play a significant role in creating an impression of the authority and legitimacy of the Afghan Government and National Security Forces (ANSF)^.6

The feasibility of this approach is confirmed by the Taliban's monopolization of contacts with local religious leaders and interpretation of Islam in a way that is favorable to them, which makes it possible to justify violent actions against the Afghan government, the army and the International Security Forces in Afghanistan (ISAF).

The author notes that in order to defeat the insurgents represented by the radical Islamist movement "Taliban", the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan should, first of all, take measures to counteract pro-Taliban propaganda and form a trusting attitude towards the government on the part of the local population. This approach involves reaching out to key local influencers in the communities-sheikhs and imams, since Afghanistan remains largely a society where news is transmitted orally and word - to-mouth communication is most effective. Information resonates most successfully when expressed by an individual who is already known and respected by the community.

In this regard, the author notes the difference in the approaches of American and Afghan societies to religion. Americans, according to Gunn, often shy away from frank discussions of religion, considering this topic as a very personal aspect of life, and separate it from public duties. At the same time, in the Afghan environment, Islam covers all aspects of human and social life. In this context, the division will be illegal.

Further, Gunn points out to the American military command that it is necessary to maintain contacts at the level of battalions and platoons not only with village elders, but, above all, with local religious leaders who have an extremely important quality of influencing the society in which they serve.

Meanwhile, a group of authors led by Lawrence S. Katzenstein, highlighting the main features and practical experience of the HTS program analytical groups in Iraq, in particular HTAT-B/C groups, notes that the United States after the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001 was concerned not only with the problem of choosing the direction of response, but also with the problem of choosing the direction of the search for new ways to increase their effectiveness in the face of limited capabilities of allies, a slowdown in the growth of the American economy and a reduction in its own military potential after the end of the cold war.⁷

One of the most effective measures in response to this request, according to the authors mentioned, is to implement a program for working with the local population, which allows optimizing the process of managing the situation in Iraq and Afghanistan and reducing the terrorist activity of numerous radical Islamist groups, among which the largest are the Islamic State of Iraq and the Taliban.

The active integration of the SRMN program into the environment of US army units not only allows GRMN groups to increase the level of development and adoption of command decisions, but also to confidently convey to the relevant leaders an idea of the ethno-confessional problems of the population of Iraq and Afghanistan. At the same time, it provides an opportunity for the NRC and US Army teams to facilitate understanding of each other and take into account the local population, especially in areas of military conflict. In addition, the operation of the NRC program turns it into a so-called "pipeline" through which ideas and principles of American democracy will flow to the local population, contributing to the "achievement of stability and security" in the controlled territories.

Thus, the NRC program is designed to serve as a reliable "vehicle" for solving US geopolitical problems in the Middle East region.

Participants in the SRMN program do not hide the difficulties of the initial stage of their activities related to the difficult process of integrating GRMN groups into the structure of battalions, brigades and divisions of the US Army. First of all, this concerns, on the one hand, the difficulties of initial contacts of civilian personnel of the SRMN who are unfamiliar with the specifics of army life, and, on the other hand, army units who are not aware of the details of the SRMN program. In addition, the problems of relations between employees of HRMN groups and military personnel consist not only in a wrong idea of each other, but also in the use of different professional languages that are not always clear to each participant in a single process.

DEVELOPING AND IMPROVING...

The above points to the fact that today the struggle of the world's leading actors to maintain their own positions in the energy-rich regions of the world and, above all, in the Middle East is accompanied by the traditional use of the ethno-confessional factor as one of the most effective and efficient tools for managing political processes.

The effectiveness of ethno-confessional manipulation of major political players in the Arab countries and Afghanistan is based on a thorough study of the situation, identification and targeted impact on the key problems of socio-economic life of local tribal groups and clans, their unresolved national and religious differences and contradictions.

A distinctive and important feature of the activities of the US foreign policy and security agencies in such a sensitive and sensitive area as manipulating the ethno-confessional factor is an attempt to actively search for and implement new approaches to working with the local population based on sociological innovations, including in the framework of the implementation of the special military program discussed above. The root cause of this initiative is the desire of the United States to remove distrust and hostility of the local population, and in the future - to impose American ideological attitudes and orders on them.

It seems possible to assume that in the long run, the serious concern of the United States about the transition to the role of a "world system administrator", redistributing financial responsibility, police and peacekeeping functions among major world players, while securing the exclusive right to develop a global agenda and rules for the functioning of major international structures and institutions, will force them to actively develop and improve results and developments in modern technologies for ethno-confessional manipulation. It is likely that this trend will also significantly affect the mentioned program for working with local populations in the Middle East region and Afghanistan.

¹ The Encyclopedia of Middle East Wars: The United States in the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq Conflicts // ABC-CLIO, 2010, p. 440.

^{Bartholf M.} 2 The Requirement for Sociocultural Understanding in Full Spectrum Operations // Military Intelligence Professional Bulletin (MIPB). Human Terrain System. October-December 2011. Vol. 37, N 4. PB 34 - 11 - 4, p. 4 - 10.

^{Finney N.} 3 Human Terrain Team Handbook // HTS Doctrine Development Team Leader. September 2008. U.S., p. 97.

⁴ Ibidem.

^{Hall M.} 5 Integrating Social Science Research into Military (Division) Staff Planning // MIPB. Human Terrain System. October-December 2011, p. 69.

^{Gunn B.} 6 Building Credibility: Engaging Local Religious Leaders in the Central Helmand River Valley // MIPB. Human Terrain Svstem.., p. 74 - 80.

^{Katzenstein L.C., Albin M., McDowell P.} 7 HTAT Arrives at Multinational Division Baghdad // MIPB. Human Terrain System... p. 81 - 86.

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