The Problem
The US government wants to help democratic protest movements around the world, but it doesn't know how.
The revolution will not be televised; it will be tweeted.
The Backstory
In the last year, major protests have appeared in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Bahrain, Iran, Israel, Greece, Spain, England and India (among others.) The causes are varied -- corruption, lack of representation, unemployment, austerity measures, inequality -- but the methods aren't. They are planned and organized on the internet, specifically on social media. They are very, very adaptable. Because of the rise of smart phones, it's possible for a million man march to change direction halfway through with a single facebook post or sms. It's possible for documentation of violence against protestors to get out of the scene and even out of the country in seconds. In the last few decades, world internet use has been growing and we have apparently arrived at the tipping point. It seems now that if you allow a country of disenfranchised people to talk to each other, Tunisia, Egypt, and Syria is the result.
Unfortunately, after the protests start, everything doesn't always go smoothly. In Iran, Syria, Libya and Yemen (possibly Bahrain too) the pro-democracy marches have been met with wave after wave of violent government repression. The dictators have also noticed the importance of the internet in growing these movements and they have responded the rational way -- by cutting it off. The protestors are struggling. In the US, there is a sense of duty to support fledgling democratic movements like these, but we can't afford to send troops or even missiles every time. Libya is a rare case. That won't work in Syria, or Yemen, or Iran. There is also the very real risk that any help we provide will give ammunition to those pro-government forces who want to claim that the protests are the work of an instigating foreign power, not their own beloved citizens. The US is left helpless on the sidelines as a result.
The Solution
We need to give the US State Department a real R&D budget and their first project should be the development of a kind of wifi bomb. That is, a transportable device that can provide wireless internet to an entire city or region at the flip of a switch. The device could broadcast from US Navy ships operating in international waters, and if it's cheap enough (and possible), be smuggled into the troubled countries. Then, when a calculating despot turns off his people's internet, we can turn it right back on.
During World War II, when German and Italian soldiers in Europe were in complete control of the continent, all phone lines, telegraph lines and postage went through them. Millions of conquered people were cut off. But the British fought back, and they did it with radio waves. BBC radio was broadcast everywhere and no matter how thorough the nazis were they couldn't stop people from putting together tiny receivers in their homes and learning the truth about the war. The resistance movement and the continued hope of millions relied completely on this single source.
"Keep searching! The Eurovision Songs should have started already ..."
We have the potential to do something similar today. Providing wireless internet without censorship to oppressed countries would have the greatest possible positive effect on their struggles for democracy. It will not cost American lives and will require neither invasion nor assassination. And the resulting technology will be as useful for our cities and our businesses as it will be for our foreign policy.
Furthermore, this will not give PR ammunition to the dictators because they deny turning off the internet anyway -- leaving them unable to blame us for turning it back on.
Notes
I know that in the age of spending cuts and deficit considerations the money needs to come from somewhere so I would take it out of the Defense Department's budget. Ideally, we will save enough money by not needing to employ our military in these situations that the project will at least break even. I also sincerely believe this will generate some sorely-needed goodwill towards America, especially among the next generation of leaders who will likely have been in the protests themselves.
I can think of a few other uses for a State Department R&D component as well -- namely non-lethal weapons -- but I'll save that for another post.
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