THE SHIITE JIHAD IN SYRIA AND ITS REGIONAL EFFECTS

32 n THE SHIITE JIHAD IN SYRIA
KH-SDS and the mujahedin, including routing numbers to send financial contributions.
These clips were immediately recorded and redistributed on You-
Tube and Facebook. (See appendix 8.)
The techniques used to roll out KH-SDS will likely serve as a near-term
model for Iran’s Shiite Islamist proxies. Through a mix of different and
complementary media platforms, full saturation of sites like Facebook could
easily be attained. The material promoted demonstrates that Shiite militias
understand their audience, particularly younger potential supporters and
recruits. These youth are fully integrated into the social media and Internetbased
atmosphere, and groups such as Kataib Hezbollah have seen that they
can be exploited using various media. These strategies all found their genesis
in the recruitment efforts for Syria and, given their success, asymmetric
advantages, and the Internet’s wide reach, will likely continue to be used by
Iran and its proxies.
Recruitment Phone Banks
The discussion so far has shown the ways in which embedded links on social
media with phone numbers and email addresses have allowed Shiite militias
to recruit members with relative ease. It bears noting, however, that the mere
fact of numbers being posted does not mean they are active on discovery. In
fact, three number sets posted by an Iraqi Shiite Iranian proxy were inactive
less than twenty-four hours after being posted. 178
Calls to phone banks often included a brief discussion with the recruiter. 179
Out of twelve different recruitment numbers called in 2014, eleven recruiters
would allow the potential recruit to give a brief statement of purpose for calling
and would then ask questions. Most calls lasted from two to eight minutes,
with an average of around three minutes. Callers from different locations
(e.g., the United States and Europe) were never discouraged. Nevertheless,
particular scrutiny was often paid to U.S.- and Europe-based callers. Recruiters
were regularly vague and would offer few direct answers when asked
details about recruitment, potential payments, or where a potential recruit
would be trained.
For some numbers affiliated with recruitment lines established for LAFA,
callers would first hear a Shiite religious song. Once the phone was picked up
by the recruiter, a cryptic set of prayers would be recited. 180 When asked about
recruitment and what training would entail, one recruiter claimed “personal
expenses” would be covered but did not go into details. 181 When asked if train-