Latest / GNN Daily Breaking News / U.S. Military May Require Troops in Middle East to Surrender Cell Phones

Transcript

U.S. Military May Require Troops in Middle East to Surrender Cell Phones · GNN Daily Breaking News

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: The US military is weighing a controversial step in its
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Middle East deployments, ordering some troops to surrender their cell phones.
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: Commanders say the move is necessary after evidence emerged that
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: Iran has been monitoring videos and photos posted online by
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: American soldiers to assess the success of its strikes in
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: real time. Admiral Brad Cooper, head of US Central Command,
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: warned that even casual smartphone use is creating serious operational
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: security risks. A recent example underscored the problem. Footage posted
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: earlier this month showed US troops running for shelter during
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: an Iranian missile attack on Waffafac Salty Air Base in
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: Jordan on July seventeenth. That video, widely shared online, gave
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: adversaries immediate insight into the strike's impact. Since the war
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: began on February twenty eighth, Iran's attacks have killed eighteen
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: U S service members and wounded more than six hundred.
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: Jordan has been one of the hardest hit locations, and
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: sources say American personnel station there have already been told
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: their phones will be confiscated in the coming days. While
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: Syncom has not issued a blanket order across the region,
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: officials confirm the restriction is under serious consideration. For troops,
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: the policy would be a heavy burden. Many rely on
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: phones to stay connected with family during deployments, and losing
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: that lifeline could add stress to already difficult conditions. But
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: commanders argue the trade off is necessary. By limiting mobile use,
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: they hope to deny iron valuable open source intelligence that
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: has been shaping its targeting strategy. The debate highlights a
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: new dimension of modern warfare. Smartphones and social media have
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: blurred the line between personal communication and battlefield transparency. What
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: once seemed harmless a quick video or photo shared with
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: friends can now expose troop position, bans, vulnerabilities, and outcomes
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: to adversaries halfway around the world. If implemented widely, the
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: policy would mark one of the most restrictive communication measures
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: for US forces in recent years. It reflects the reality
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: that in today's conflicts, information security is as critical as
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: physical defense.