387 Felipe Santos Rodríguez Strategic communication in modern conflicts : Afganistan 5. Conclusions 1. These new wars are demanding greater amount of specific and strategic commu-nication management. It is vital to have knowledge of the public or the audience of military operations and its sociopolitical context. One can follow its operations in real-time through multiple platforms. It is essential to count on the news media as a vehicle in order to articulate the necessary domestic consensus in decision-making. strategic communication helps legitimize the move to exercise military operations or missions. To prevent the erosion of the domestic support of military operations, strategic communications will play a fundamental role in managing expectations concerning the duration of the conflict. Professional armies will allow a “professional” approach of the missions, limiting the emotional effects of a compulsory military service. Communication is also present in “non-warlike” use of military power, typically characteristic of the new armies after the Cold War. The use of military contractors sometimes takes the public spotlight off the managing of sensitive operations against asymmetric adversaries. In these new wars you will never see the enemy grouped together or even visible. They remain fragmented and hidden in the new war trenches: the population and new news media. 2. The complexity of its operations will increase. Multilateral organizations are involved in solving international crisis. In their attempt to do so, the result is often inefficiency and lacks coordination. This projects an image of ineffectiveness and causes widespread impatience. This projects an image of ineffectiveness and causes widespread impatience. In principle, the Integral Approach should be able to help rationalize this complexity. 3. Communication battles are always long term ones, “these hybrid operations in-variably require demonstrable strategic patience on the part of the nations involved “. 75 To change the perception of things needs time. It can be established that Strategic Com-munication perhaps should be based on medium and long term objectives. However, in Afghanistan today, it can be clearly seen that the international community wants to withdraw as soon as it can. The strategy developed by General Stanley McChrystal required a lot more time than what was available to bring about to the Afghan people the desired changes of perception. 4. The war in Afghanistan demonstrates that the new armies must be founded on the basis of two things: the use of speed in its deployment and its ability to build credibility within the population via its actions. What began as a war to overthrow the Taliban, due to their hiding the person responsible for the September 11 attacks, 75 LINDLEY-FRENCH, J. Operationalizing the Comprehensive Approach. Atlantic Council, Issue Brief, 2010, p. 4.
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