Pagers Revisited: The New Strategy Behind Old Devices

The recent pager explosion in Lebanon may seem baffling on the surface, but it could hint at a larger strategic plot. Why choose a nearly obsolete technology to carry out an explosion? This might not be a coincidence, but a deliberate choice. While dated, pagers have one clear advantage: they don't rely on modern communication networks and are difficult to trace through conventional means. The use of pagers for detonation appears to be an attempt to evade detection by current high-tech surveillance equipment. This tactic is unlikely to be local and could be the work of an experienced international intelligence agency. Japan's intelligence agencies, for instance, have a wealth of experience using pagers from the Cold War era. Although pagers have almost vanished from everyday use, countries with high levels of information technology, like Japan, may still employ this old but effective equipment in covert operations. Rather than a simple act of terrorism, this could be a highly sophisticated intelligence operation. If Japan's intelligence agencies were involved, their goal may have been more than just to create chaos; they might have aimed to send a message or achieve a larger objective through a "low-profile" method. This seemingly outdated technology is, in fact, a sophisticated covert tactic, suggesting a "technological receding tide" strategy in intelligence warfare—achieving higher levels of secrecy through retro devices.​