While bombers rain tons of explosives on military targets in Afghanistan, other aircraft whose job is equally important drop sheets of paper on the masses below, the mission: change the hearts and minds of the Afghan people.

The propaganda leaflets dropped from planes and the information broadcast over short-wave radio contains messages for the Afghanistan military and people.

"The purpose of propaganda is to get others to share your point of view," Osondu Eke college of communications lecturer said. "Whoever controls the perception of the public will always have the edge."

One leaflet dropped contains a picture of an American soldier shaking hands with a man in traditional afghan dress, a report from MSNBC.com said.

The words 'The partnership of nations is here to assist the people of Afghanistan' are printed on the leaflet.

Radio broadcasts warn those living in Afghanistan to not give shelter or aid to the Taliban and to move away from terrorist training camps and potential targets. The broadcast continues with the message that the United States does not want to hurt innocent Afghans.

"Information is a crucial thing in this conflict," Eke said. "If you don't have public opinion on your side, you will be seen as immoral,"

However, the United States are not the only ones using propaganda to try and influence individual opinions.

"Both sides will use propaganda," Eke said.

The Taliban has been very effective at controlling what the news media reports about the bombings in Afghanistan, Eke said. They take journalists to places where children have been killed and structures such as hospitals have been bombed, he said.

"Propaganda warfare is equally as important as dropping bombs," Eke said.

The job of reaching Afghan people with America's message is made more difficult by the fact that the Taliban government controls the media, he said.

"Part is painting your opponent as the bad guy, but also painting yourself as the good guy," he said.

Throughout the history of warfare, propaganda has been a tool used in conjunction with the weapons of war. However, its effectiveness at convincing the enemy to surrender is somewhat debatable.

During World War II, American forces used propaganda in both Atlantic and Pacific theaters.

"It's difficult to gauge whether it was effective of not," Robert Maddox a retired professor of history said.

American forces would drop leaflets similar to the ones used in Afghanistan over enemy cities as well as using loudspeakers to get their messages across, Maddox said.

One of the main problems with propaganda during wartime is the people are wary of any information coming from the opposing side, Maddox said.

"You're assumed to be the enemy and to be lying," he said.

Although the leaflets and radio broadcasts may have little effect on the hardened Taliban fighters, the barrage of information will continue.

"Whether it works or not, we may not know, but the government and people planning this war think it's worth trying," Eke said.