[x-pubpol] Syria's Digital Proxy War

[Joly MacFie]

http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/10/syrias-digital-proxy-war/264309/

There are currently two separate U.S. policies that are falling short of
Washington's goal of safer and more widespread communication among the
Syrian opposition. The first is American sanctions on Syria that make it
more difficult for the regime's opponents to obtain vital anti-tracking
software. With fewer tools to evade government surveillance, these Syrian
activists are more vulnerable to Assad's death squads. The second is the
State Department's distribution of satellite phones, modems, and other gear
to the Syrian opposition through a training program based in Istanbul.
Reports that this equipment has only on occasion reached the front lines
bode ill for the rebels and for America's future influence in Syria.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has made the freedom to communicate --
whether online, on the phone, or in the public square -- a central goal of
U.S. statecraft over the last four years. The State Department has ramped
up funding for projects promoting Internet freedom, with $30 million
allocated last year on circumventing censorship.

But for every dollar the United States has spent on Internet freedom,
countries like Iran and China have spent many times more in
countermeasures. Iran has spent about $1 billion on an internal version of
the Internet that analysts say is nearing completion. *The Washington Post *
reported<http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/online-tools-to-skirt-internet-censorship-overwhelmed-by-demand/2012/10/21/390457a2-082d-11e2-858a-5311df86ab04_story.html>
this
week that there is a shortfall in funding for the State Department Internet
freedom program. With budget cuts looming over many U.S. foreign aid
programs because of the fiscal crisis, the funding gap between Tehran and
Washington on the subject seems likely to widen.



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