N. A. TSVETKOVA, Candidate of Historical Sciences Saint Petersburg State University Afghanistan Keywords:, information warfare, public diplomacy, USA, Pakistan The upcoming withdrawal of coalition forces from Afghanistan in 2014 may significantly increase the threats to security and stability not only in Afghanistan, but also in the entire region. Accordingly, the importance of non-military efforts in the humanitarian and socio-economic spheres is increasing in order to ensure the stability and sustainable development of this country in the so - called transition period until the end of 2014 and in the "decade of transformation (transformation)", covering the decade after 2014 (2015-2024)*. The information component also plays an important role. The new strategy for Afghanistan announced by Barack Obama in December 2009 * * involved not only increasing the intensity of military operations, but also implementing a set of measures aimed at countering the spread of the ideology of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, and attracting the elite and population to the side of the Afghan government and the United States and its supporters. other countries. This also applies to Pakistan, whose territory, especially Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly the Northwestern Border Province), serves as the rear base of the Afghan militants*** and the epicenter of their propaganda war against the United States and its allies in the international coalition. Various propaganda operations of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants against coalition forces in Afghanistan, supported by terror attacks (sending out intimidating "night letters", killing and capturing Afghans who cooperate with coalition forces, setting fire to American schools, creating mobile and elusive radio stations, etc.), are a formidable weapon. In these operations, provocative Islamophobic attacks by right-wing Western extremists are effectively used, such as cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad or clips of the film "Innocence of ... Read more