The Most Powerful Weapon

Published in Sin Chew
(Malaysia ) on 9 August 2010
by 蔡思潔 Chai See Jie (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by NG AI FERN . Edited by Heidi Kaufmann.
Several oil-rich Middle East countries have recently banned BlackBerry services due to information security.

Canadian-designed BlackBerry has been on the market for about 10 years, and its popularity around the world is comparable to the United States Apple's iPhone. Even U.S. President Barack Obama has continued to use his BlackBerry since his election. (U.S. Intelligence once worried about the infiltration by foreign agents into the president’s phone and wanted to ban its usage.) But why are the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and other countries in such a fuss now?

It is said that some of the BlackBerry communications content has been protected with encryption technology even the government is unable to break. Some countries worry that this encryption may be used by terrorists or interested parties to form a security loophole which will threaten national security.

Many have realized that many Western countries have captured the world by their soft power without firing a single shot to "rule" people around the globe.

The strongest penetration is nothing but American culture, which is all over the world — even in the most anti-American capital, Iran’s Tehran. I have seen fast-food restaurants imitating Starbucks and Kentucky Fried Chicken. America’s Coke has even entered into the remote mountains of Nepal and become an expensive premium drink.

Today, information technology from the West is leading the world with great inventions like the computer, the Internet and mobile phones. In every corner of the world, every computer in every household is using either a Microsoft or an Apple operating system.

The virtual community site Facebook, created by young American Mark E. Zuckerberg, and the iPhone, launched by Apple, are prevalent over the entire world. It simply shows how the West has changed the world using communications technology products.

These communications products from the West may be more powerful than nuclear bombs. They can control people’s minds without shedding any blood. Based on this point, how could those Middle East or Muslim countries not feel afraid?

Previously, the U.S.-led Western countries had used money to secretly influence Third World countries toward a pro-American agenda. Now, using these encrypted smart phones, one can escape the local government’s scrutiny and push for anti-government action. To prevent infiltration from the West, how could one not block these communications products?


中東幾個石油富國最近先後宣佈禁黑莓機服務,高舉的是信息安全的大旗。加拿大人設計的黑莓機面市至今已有10年,在全球各地受歡迎程度不輸美國蘋果的iPhone,就連美國總統奧巴馬當選後,也致力爭取把黑莓機留在身邊(美國情報部擔心外國特務入侵總統的手機,曾一度想禁奧巴馬使用),何以阿聯酋、沙地阿拉伯等國如此小題大作?
據說,黑莓機的部份通訊內容,經過加密技術保護,連政府都難以破解,有些國家擔心這可能會被恐怖份子或有心人士利用,形成安全漏洞,威脅國家的安全。
許多人都發現,不少西方國家藉由軟實力擄獲人心,不需一鎗一炮,就已能“統治”世界公民。
其中以美國的文化滲透力最強,遍佈世界各地,即使在最反美的伊朗首都德黑蘭,我都曾見過模仿星巴克及肯塔基家鄉雞的速食餐廳。美國的可樂更是進入尼泊爾山區,成了昂貴的高級飲品。
而今,西方的資訊科技正在引領世界,電腦、互聯網及手機都是西方人偉大的發明。不論在世界哪個角落,每家每戶的電腦,有哪一台不是用微軟或是蘋果作業系統?美國小伙子佐伯克創造的虛擬社區網站面子書已風靡全球;蘋果公司推出的智能手機iPhone又讓地球村的潮人為之瘋狂,人手一台。這都在在顯示西方正在用通訊科技產品改變世界。
西方的這些通訊產品可能比核彈更厲害,不用流血,即可控制人心。想到這一點,中東國家或是一些回教國家怎麼會不害怕?
以前,美國為首的西方國家用錢收買第3世界,暗中推動親美議程,現在只要使用加密的智能手機,就可以躲過當地政府的審查,通暢無阻地推動各種反當地政府的行動。要防西方滲透,哪裡可以不防這些通訊產品?
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