political warfare and psychological operations
TRANSCRIPT
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1 5 0 E a s t 5 8 t h S t r e e t , N e w Y o r k , N Y 1 0 1 5 5
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U S N ( R e t . )
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K E N N E T H d e G R A F F E N R E I D
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Georgetown University)
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W a s h i n / z t o n , I ). C . 2 0 4 0 2
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POLITICAL WARFARE
and
PSYCHOLOGICAL OPERATIONS
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P O L I T I C A L
W A R F A R E
and
P S Y C H O L O G I C A L
O P E R A T I O N S
R E T H I N K I N G the U S A P P R O A C H
Edited by
FRANK R. BARNETT
CARNES LORD
1989
~ National Defense University Pressin cooperation with
National Strategy Information Center, Inc.0
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N a t i o n a l D e f e n s e U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s P u b l i c a t i o n s
T o i n c r e a se g e n e r a l k n o w l e d g e a n d i n f o r m d i s cu s s io n , N D U P r e ss
p u b l i s h e s b o o k s o n s u b j e c t s r e l a t i n g t o U S n a t i o n a l s e c u r i t y .
E a c h y e ar , t h e N a t i o n a l D e f e n s e U n i v e r s i t y , t h r o u g h t h e I n s t i t u te f o r N a -
t i o n a l S t r a t e g i c ~ ; t u d i e s , h o s t s a b o u t t w o d o z e n S e n i o r F e l l o w s w h o e n g a g e
i n o r i g i n a l r e s e a r c h o n n a t i o n a l s e cu r i t y is su e s. N D U P r e s s p u b l i s h e s t h e
b e s t o f t h i s r e s e a r c h .
I n a d d i t i o n , t h e P r e s s p u b l i s h e s o t h e r e s p e c i a ll y ti m e l y o r d i s t i n g u i s h e d
w r i t i n g o n n a t i o n a l s e c u r it y , a s w el l a s n e w e d i t i o n s o f o u t - o f - p r i n t d e f e n s e
c la ss ic s , a n d b o o k s b a s e d o n U n i v e r s i t y - s p o n s o r e d c o n f e r e n c e s c o n c e r n i n g
n a t i o n a l s e c u r i t y a f f a i r s .
C o p y r ig h t , v 1 9 8 8 b y th e N a t io n a l S t r a t e g y In fo rma t io n C e n te r , In c . P r in te d b y p e r -
mis s io n .
O p i n i o n s , c o n c l u s i o n s , a n d r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s e x p r e s s e d o r i m p l i e d i n t h i s v o l u m e
a re s o lely th o s e o f th e a u th o rs a n d d o n o t n e c e s s a ri ly r e p re s e n t th e v ie w s o f th e N a -
t i o n a l D e f e n s e U n i v e r s i t y , t h e D e p a r t m e n t o f D e f e n s e , o r a n y o t h e r g o v e r n m e n t
a g e n c y o r p r i v a t e o r g a n i z a t i o n .
E d i t o r i a l R e s e a r c h A s s o c i a t e s , W a s h i n g t o n D C , c o p y m a r k e d t h e f i n a l m a n u s c r i p t ,p r o o f r e a d p a g e p r o o f s , a n d p r e p a r e d t h e i n d e x f o r t h i s b o o k u n d e r c o n t r a c t .
N D U P r e ss p u b l i c a t i o n s a r e s o ld b y t he U S G o v e r n m e n t P r i n t i n g O f f i c e . F o r o r d e r -
i n g in f o r m a t i o n , c a ll (2 02 ) 7 8 3- 3 2 3 8 o r w r i te t o S u p e r i n t e n d e n t o f D o c u m e n t s , U S
G o v e r n m e n t P r i n t i n g O f fi c e , W a s h i n g t o n , D C 2 04 02 .
F i r s t p r in t in g , J a n u a ry 1 9 8 9
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
P o l i t i c a l w a r fa re a n d p s y c h o lo g ic a l o p e ra t io n s .
In c lu d e s b ib l io g ra p h ie s a n d in d e x .
1 . P s y c h o l o g i ca l w a r f a r e . 2 . U n i t e d S t a t e s -
M i l i t a ry p o l i cy . I . B a r n e t t , F ra n k R . I i . L o rd ,
C a r n e s .
U B 2 7 6 . P 6 5 1 9 8 8 35 5.Y 4 Y0 97 3 8 8 - 3 4 4 6 9
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Contents
F o r e w o r d
I n t r o d u c t i o n
T h e M o d e r n C o n t e x t
Fred C. lkle
T h e P s y c h o l o g i c a l D i m e n s i o n i n N a t i o n a l S t r a t e g yCarnes Lord
C o m m e n t
Paul A. Smith, Jr.
Richard G. Stilwell
M i l i t a r y P s y c h o l o g i c a l O p e r a t i o n s
Alfred H. Paddock, Jr.C o m m e n t
Richard Brauer
Barry Zorthian
P o l i t i c a l W a r f a r e
Angelo M. Codevilla
C o m m e n tDonald F. B. Jameson
Abram N. Shulsky
P o l i t i c a l S t r a t e g i e s f o r R e v o l u t i o n a r y W a r
Richard H. Shultz, Jr.
C o m m e n t
Joseph D. Douglass, Jr.
Robert C. Kingston
ix
xi
13
38
45
66
77
102
111
139
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Pol i t i ca l S trateg ies for
C o e r c i v e D i p l o m a c y a n d L i m i t e d W a r
A l v i n H . B e r n s t e i n
C o m m e n t
J o s e p h G o l d b e r g
E d w a r d N . L u t t w a k
145
1 60
P ol i t i ca l S t ra t eg i e s f or Gen era l War:
T h e C a s e o f E a s t e r n E u r o p e
H e n r y S . R o w e n
C o m m e n t
A l e x a n d e r A l e x ie v
E d w a r d A t k e so n
1 69
198
A f t e r w o r d - - T w e l v e S t e p s t o R e v i v i n g A m e r i c a n P S Y O P
F r a n k R . B a r n e t t
2 0 9
T h e E d i t o r s 2 2 5
C o n t r i b u t o r s 2 2 5
I n d e x 2 2 9
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Foreword
THE P O TE N T IA L D E ST RU CT IV E N ES S o f o p e n w a r f a r e be tw e e n
t h e s u p e r p o w e r s h a s te n d e d t o s h if t E a s t- W e s t c o m p e t i t i o n to
t h e l o w e r e n d o f t h e " s p e c t r u m o f c o n f l i c t , " t o w a r d p o l i t i c a l
a n d p s y c h o l o g i c a l w a r f a r e . W h i l e t h e S o v i e ts h a v e a c t iv e l y
w a g e d p o l i t i c a l w a r a g a i n s t t h e W e s t , t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s h a s ,
t o a l a rg e e x te n t , s h i e d a w a y . T h e n e g a t i v e c o n n o t a t i o n s in
t h e W e s t o f t h e w o r d propaganda s u g g e s t w e h a v e t r e a t e dp o l i t ic a l w a r a s i n c o m p a t i b l e w i t h d e m o c r a t i c v a l u es a n d
t r a d i t i o n s .
T h i s b o o k , b a se d o n a s y m p o s i u m c o s p o n s o r e d by th e
N a t i o n a l D e f e n s e U n i v e r s i t y , t h e N a t i o n a l S t r a t e g y I n f o r m a -
t i o n C e n t e r , a n d t h e G e o r g e t o w n U n i v e rs i ty N a t i o n a l S e c u r i-
t y S t u d i e s P r o g r a m , c o n s i d e r s w h a t t h e U n i t e d S t a te s c a n d o
t o o v e r c o m e t r a d i t i o n a l A m e r i c a n a v e r s i o n t o p o l i t i c a l w a r -
f a r e a n d c o m p e t e b e t t e r i n t h e p o l i t i c a l s t r u g g l e t h a tc h a r ac t e ri z e s i n t e r n a t i o n a l r e la t io n s t o d a y . T h e s y m p o s i u m
b r o u g h t to g e th e r p r a c t i t i o n e r s - m i l i t a r y a n d c i v i l i a n - a n da n a l y s t s t o a d d r e s s t h e s e i s s u e s . T h e p a p e r s i n c l u d e d i n t h i s
v o l u m e r e v e a l b o t h s u c c e s s e s a n d m i s t a k e s o f t h e p a s t , a n d
p r e s e n t p o s s i b i l i t i e s f o r i m p r o v i n g U S e f f o r t s t o d a y a n d i n
t h e f u t u r e . A l t h o u g h d i s a g r e e i n g o n s p e c i f i c i s s u e s a n d t a c -
t i cs , t h e v a r io u s a u t h o r s u n a n i m o u s l y b el ie v e t h a t t h e U n i t e d
S t a t e s m u s t u p g r a d e i t s p e r f o r m a n c e i n t h e p o l i t i c a l -p s y c h o l o g i c a l a r e n a .
W i l li n g o r n o t , t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s is i n v o l v e d i n t o d a y ' s
i n t e r n a t i o n a l p o l i t i c a l- p s y c h o l o g i c al c o n f l ic t . T h i s b o o k s u g -
g e s ts h o w t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s c a n a c t t o c o u n t e r S o v i e t p o l i t ic a lw a r f a r e , a n d t o b u i l d a n d d e p l o y i t s o w n p o l i t i c a l a n d
p s y c h o l o g i c a l c a p a b i l it i e s.
B r a d l e y C . H o sr a e r
Lieutenant Genera l , US Air Force
Pres iden t , Na t iona l Defense
Univers i ty
/x
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I ntroduction
PERHAPS NO OTHER COMPONENT of US national security
policy has been so neglected in recent years as the one that
forms the subject of this book. Even the terminology of thefield is likely to seem strange to many readers, including
many with long experience in the uniformed military and in
other agencies of the US government. P s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a -
t i o n s (frequently abbrevia ted PSYOP) is a long-standing term
of military art designating the employment of certain
dedicated communications assets (principally broadcasting
and printing equipment and thc platforms and personnel
associated with it) in support of combat operations.However, the term is sometimes also used in a broader and
less technical sense to refer to a range of psychological war-
fare activities conducted by civilian as well as military
organizations. P o l i t i c a l w a r f a r e is a term that is less well
established in usage and doctrine, but one that seems useful
for describing a spectrum of overt and covert activitiesdesigned to support national political-military objectives.
In the spirit of the adage that it is necessary to crawlbefore one can learn to walk, the present volume is modest in
its scope and intention. Its primary purposes are to stimulate
serious thought about a forgotten aspect of strategy, and to
lay the groundwork for a revival of psychological-political
planning and operations within the larger framework of US
national security policy as a whole. It approaches this task in
all modesty and with due skepticism, in recognition of the
enormous difficulties any such project must encounter giventhe nature of our society and the particular cultural and
political constraints that currently work to limit any
American or Western efforts in this area.
Psychological warfare has a long history. An impressive
understanding of the psychological dimension of war is evi-
x i
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x ii L V T R O D U C T I O N
d e n t i n t h e c l a s s i c t r e a t i s e o n t h e a r t o f w a r b y t h e C h i n e s e
s t r a t e g i s t S u n T z u , w r i t t e n o v e r t w o t h o u s a n d y e a r s a g o .H i g h l y e f f e c t i v e m i l i t a r y s t r a t e g i e s w i t h a m a j o r
p s y c h o l o g i c a l c o m p o n e n t h a v e b e e n e m p l o y e d b y i m p e r i a l
p o w e r s s u c h a s an c ie n t R o m e , t h e M o n g o l s o f t h e M i d d l e
A g e s , a n d t h e E u r o p e a n c o l o n i a l e m p i r e s o f t h e n i n e t e e n t h
c e n t u r y . A t t h e s a m e t i m e , p s y c h o l o g i c a l s t ra t eg i e s h a v e o f t e n
p r o v e n a t t r a c t i v e t o w e a k s t a t e s f o r c e d t o r e l y f o r t h e i r s u r -
v iv a l o n d i p l o m a t i c m a n e u v e r a n d d e c e p t i o n ; t h e B y z a n t i n e
E m p i r e i s p e r h a p s t h e c l a s s i c c a s e . W i t h t h e r i s e o f m i l i t a n tr e l i g i o n s a n d ( i n o u r o w n t i m e ) o f m e s s i a n i c i d e o l o g i e s , n e w
o p p o r t u n i t i e s a n d i n s t r u m e n t s b e c a m e a v a i l a b l e f o r w a g i n g
p s y c h o l o g i c a l w a r f a r e . I n d e e d , it b e c a m e i n c re a s i n g p o s s i b l e
t o d i v o r c e t h e p s y c h o l o g i c a l d i m e n s i o n o f s t ra t e g y f r o m a c-
t u a l w a r f a r e , a s id e o l o g y a n d r e li g i o n p r o v e d e f f e ct i v e t o o l s
f o r w e a k e n i n g h o s t i l e s t a t e s a n d e x t e n d i n g o n e ' s o w n p o w e r
w i t h l i t t l e o r n o m i l i t a r y e f f o r t .
P s y c h o l o g i c a l- p o l it ic a l p e n e t r a t i o n a n d s u b v e r s i o n o ff o r e i g n s t a t e s a n d o f i n t e r n a t i o n a l o r g a n i z a t i o n s a n d
m o v e m e n t s r e m a i n s a d i s t in g u i s hi n g f ea t u re o f t h e c o n t e m -
p o r a r y s t r a t e g i c e n v i r o n m e n t . T h o u g h t a k i n g p l a c e i n
p e a c e t i m e ( o r w h a t c u r r e n t l y p a ss e s u n d e r t h a t t e r m ) , s u c h
a c t i v i t y i s n o n e t h e l e s s i n t i m a t e l y l i n k e d w i t h v i o l e n c e . T e r -
r o r i s m , r e v o l u t i o n a r y i n s u r g e n c i e s , a n d t h e im p l i c it v i o l e n c e
o f l a r g e m i l i t a r y f o r c e s i n b e i n g s u p p l y m u c h o f t h e c u r r e n c y
in w h i c h p s y c h o l o g i c a l w a r f a r e t o d a y t r a d e s . I ts p r i m a r yp r a c t i t i o n e r is , o f c o u r s e , t h e S o v i e t U n i o n . I n c r e a s i n g l y ,
h o w e v e r , t h e t e c h n i q u e s o f p s y c h o l o g i c a l - p o l i t ic a l w a r f a r e
a r e b e in g m a s t e r e d a n d e f f e c ti v e ly u s e d n o t o n l y b y T h i r d
W o r l d M a r x i s t- L e n i n i s t m o v e m e n t s a n d r e g i m e s ( s uc h as th e
S a n d i n i s t a s i n N i c a r a g u a ) b u t a l s o b y s t at e s o f w h o l l y d i f-
f e r e n t id e o l o g i c a l o u t l o o k ( s u c h as I r a n ) .
P a r t o f t h e r e a s o n f o r th e c u r r e n t n e g l e ct o f
p s y c h o l o g i c a l - p o l i t ic a l w a r f a r e in t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s is t h e p e r -v a s iv e n o t i o n t h a t w h a t i s i n v o l v e d h e r e is f u n d a m e n t a l l y a
c o m p e t i t i o n i n i d e a s w h o s e e f f e c t o n t h e n a t i o n ' s c o n c r e t e
s e c u r i t y in t e r e s t s is m a r g i n a l a t b e s t . T o h o l d t h i s n o t i o n is t o
u n d e r e s t i m a t e s e r io u s l y t h e e x t e n t to w h i c h S o v i e t ( a n d S o v i e t
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I N T R O D U C T I O N x i i i
surrogate) psychological-political activities form an integral
part of Soviet policy and strategy generally-and in par-ticular, the extent to which they support and are supported by
the use of force. It also reflects a failure to identify and
assimilate the lessons of the chief defeats the United States
has suffered internationally in the postwar period. Above all,
the Vietnam War was won by the Communists, and lost by
the United States, at the psychological-political level of
conflict.
The scope and structure of the present volume are in-tended to help correct these errors. Rather than focusing on
more familiar aspects of the broader psychological-political
strugglc with the Soviet Union, the volume concentrates on
those instrumentalities of national policy in this area that are
now or have traditionally been the responsibility primarily of
US military and intelligence organizations. At the same time,
considerable emphasis is given to the overall policy
framework that must control the use of these instrumen-talities and lend them strategic meaning.
How can or should the United States respond to the long-
standing challenge of Communis t psychological-political war-
fare? What opportunities exist in this field for the United
States to advance its own political-military interests? What
are the lessons of past American efforts? What is the situa-
tion today? What are the prospects for the future? What are
the conceptual, political, cultural, and bureaucratic obstaclesto a more effective use by the United States of psychological-
political approaches and techniques?
These are the questions raised and addressed in the pres-
ent volume. The papers included here were originally
presented at a symposium jointly sponsored by the National
Defense University, the National Strategy Information
Center, and the Georgetown University National Security
Studies Prog ram, held at the National Defense University inWashington, DC, 21 and 22 November 1986. This sym-
posium was modeled on a similar conference sponsored by
these same organizations in March 1983 on the subject of
special operations, out of which grew the book S p e c i a l
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xiv INTRODUCTION
Operations in US Strategy, p u b l i s h e d b y t h e N a t i o n a l
D e f e n s e U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s . T h e m o r e r e m o t e i n s p i r a t i o n f o rt h e s e c o l l e c t i v e i n q u i r i e s i n s e n s i t i v e p o l i c y a r e a s r e l a t i n g t o
l o w - in t e n si ty o r u n c o n v e n t i o n a l w a r f a re w a s p r o v i d e d b y t h e
s er ie s o f s y m p o s i a o r g a n i z e d o v e r a p e r i o d o f s e v e ra l y e a rs b y
t h e N a t i o n a l S t ra t eg y I n f o r m a t i o n C e n t e r u n d e r t h e a eg is o f
t h e C o n s o r t i u m f o r t h e S t u d y o f I n t e l l i g e n c e . T h e p r o -
c e e d i n g s o f t h e s e s y m p o s i a , p u b l i s h e d i n a s i x - v o lu m e se rie s
w i t h t h e g e n e r a l t i tl e Intelligence Requirements for the 1980s,
h a v e b e e n w i d el y a c k n o w l e d g e d a s a n i n v a lu a b l e s o u rc e o fd i s p a s s i o n a t e a n a l y s i s a n d d i s c u s s i o n o f s e n s i t i v e a n d c o n -
t r o v e r s i a l i n t e l l i g e n c e p o l i c y i s s u e s .
A l l o f t h e s e c o n f e r e n c e s h a v e b e e n a t t e n d e d b y i n -
d i v i d u a l s w i t h o p e r a t i o n a l e x p e r i e n c e i n th e r e le v a n t d is -
c i p li n e s, a s w e ll as b y o t h e r e x p e r ts . T h e s y m p o s i u m o n
p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s a n d p o l i t ic a l w a r f a r e w a s a t t e n d e d
b y s o m e 100 p e r s o n s , i n c l u d i n g f o r m e r a n d c u r r e n t l y ac t iv e
s p e c ia l is ts in m i l i t a r y p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s a n d c o v e r t a c-t i o n a n d e x p e r t o r i n t e r e s t e d o b s e r v e r s f r o m a v a r i e t y o f
g o v e r n m e n t a g e n c ie s , c o n g r e s s i o n a l s ta f fs , t h e m e d i a , a n d
t h e a c a d e m i c w o r l d . F r o m t h e o u t s e t , i t w a s h o p e d t h a t t h e
s y m p o s i u m w o u l d l ea d to a p u b l i c a t i o n t h a t w o u l d p r o v e
u s e f u l f o r g o v e r n m e n t ag e n c i es , s er v ic e s c h o o l s a n d w a r c o l-
l e g e s , a n d n a t i o n a l s e c u r i t y s t u d i e s c u r r i c u l a i n c o l l e g e s a n d
u n iv e rs it ie s t h r o u g h o u t t h e c o u n t r y .
T h i s v o l u m e o p e n s w i t h a p a p e r b y t h e H o n o r a b l e F r e dC . I k l e , f o r m e r u n d e r s e c r e t a r y o f d e f e n s e f o r p o l ic y . D r . I k l e
d i sc u s se s th e i m p o r t a n c e o f p s y c h o l o g i c a l a n d p o l i ti c a l c o n -
f l ic t in t h e c u r re n t i n t e r n a t i o n a l e n v i r o n m e n t , a n d a r g u e s th a t
s u c h m e t h o d s a r e n o t o n l y l e g i ti m a t e b u t n e c e s s a ry f o r th e
U n i t e d S t a t e s if i t is t o s u s t a i n t h e s e c u r i t y o f t h e F r e e W o r l d
o v e r t h e l o n g t e r m .
I n t h e n e x t p a p e r , D r . C a r n e s L o r d , f o r m e r s ta f f
m e m b e r o f t h e N a t i o n a l S e c u ri ty C o u n c i l , p r o v id e s a b r o a d
o v e r v i e w o f t h e p s y c h o l o g i c a l - p o l it i c a l d i m e n s i o n in U S
s t ra t c g y . H e b c g i n s b y r e v ie w i n g th e r o le o f p s y c h o l o g i c a l
w a r f a r e p l a n n i n g a n d o p e r a t i o n s in U S n a t i o n a l s e c u r i ty in
t h e e a r l y p o s t w a r y e a r s , a n d t h e n a t t e m p t s t o s o r t o u t t h e
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I N T R O D U C T I O N x v
c o n c e p t u a l d i f f i cu l ti es th a t c o n t i n u e t o i m p e d e u n d e r s t a n d i n g
o f t h e s e a c t i v it ie s . H e a r g u e s t h a t p s y c h o l o g i c a l - p o l i t i c a l w a r -
f a r e h a s b e e n t o o o f t e n i d e n t if i e d w i t h t h e c o n f l i c t o f i d e a s,
o p i n i o n s , a n d i d e o l o g y , w h e r e a s i t is " a ls o a b o u t c u l t u r a l a n d
p o l i t i c a l s y m b o l s , a b o u t p e r c e p t i o n s a n d e m o t i o n s , a b o u t t h e
b e h a v i o r o f in d i v i d u a l s a n d g r o u p s u n d e r s tr es s , a b o u t t h e
c o h e s i o n o f o r g a n i z a t i o n s a n d a l li a n c es . "
A f t e r a b r i e f d i s c u s s i o n o f t h e t e r m p u b l i c d ip lo m a cy
a n d i t s i n a d e q u a c y a s a g e n e r a l r u b r i c f o r t h e a c t i v i t i e s i n
q u e s t i o n , h e g o e s o n t o c h a r a c t e r i z e pol i t ica l war fare as ag e n e r a l c a t e g o r y o f a c t i v i t i e s t h a t i n c l u d e s poli t ical act ion,
coercive d ip lomacy, a n d covert poli t ical warfare, t h e l a t t e r
c o r r e s p o n d i n g r o u g h l y t o t h e c o v e r t a s p e c t s o f w h a t t h e
S o v i e t s r e f e r t o a s " a c t i v e m e a s u r e s " ; a n d h e a r g u e s t h a t t h e
t e r m psycho log ica l opera t ions s h o u l d b e r e s e r v e d f o r u s e i n
t h e p u r e l y m i l i t ar y s p h e r e . D r . L o r d t h e n p r o c e e d s to a d d r e s s
t h e g e n e ra l q u e s t i o n o f t h e c u l tu r a l a n d b u r e a u c r a t i c f a c t o rs
i n h i b i t i n g e f f e c t i v e e n g a g e m e n t i n p s y c h o l o g i c a l - p o l i t i c a lc o n f l ic t b y th e U n i t e d S t a t e s, w i t h p a r t i c u l a r a t t e n t i o n t o t h e
c u r r e n t r o le o f t h e A m e r i c a n m e d i a . H e n o t e s t h a t U S e f f o rt s
i n t h i s f ie l d in th e p a s t h a v e c o n s i s t e n t l y s u f f e r e d f r o m t h e i n -
a d e q u a c y o f i n t e g r a t e d s t r a t e g i c p l a n n i n g a n d d e c i s i o n -
m a k i n g a t t h e n a t i o n a l l e v e l , a s w e l l a s f r o m i n s t i t u t i o n a l
r e s i s t a n c e w i t h i n t h e n a t i o n a l s e c u r i t y b u r e a u c r a c y . H e c o n -
c l u d e s w i th a d i s c u s s i o n o f m i l i ta r y p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s
t h a t s tr es s es t h e n e e d f o r a fu l le r in t e g r a t i o n o f n o r m a lm i l i t a r y a c t i v i t i e s i n a P S Y O P f r a m e w o r k , a s w e l l a s g r e a t e r
a t t e n t i o n t o p s y c h o l o g i c a l - p o l i t i c a l f a c t o r s in w a r p l a n n i n g
a n d c r i s i s m a n a g e m e n t .
I n r e s p o n s e t o D r . L o r d ' s p a p e r , M r . P a u l A . S m i t h , J r . ,
f o r m e r e d i t o r o f t h e j o u r n a l P r ob le m s o f C o m m u n i s m , ra i se s
a q u e s t i o n a s t o t h e p r o p e r t e r m i n o l o g y f o r d e s c r i b i n g
p s y c h o l o g i c a l - p o l i t i c a l c o n f l i c t . H e s u g g e s t s t h a t t h e t e r m
pol i t ica l war i s a n a c c e p t a b l e g e n e r a l d e s i g n a t i o n f o r a l lp s y c h o l o g i c a l - p o l i t i c a l a c t iv i t ie s d i r e c t e d a g a i n s t h o s t i l e
s t a t e s .
G e n e r a l R i c h a r d G . S t i lw e ll , f o r m e r l y d e p u t y u n d e r
s e c r e ta r y o f d e f e n s e f o r p o l i c y w i t h s p e c ia l r e s p o n s i b i li t ie s
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xvi INTRODUCTION
in t h e a r e a o f i n t e l li g e n c e a n d m i l i t a r y p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a -
t i o n s , a l s o w o n d e r s w h e t h e r t h e t e r m psychological opera-
tions s h o u l d n o t b e u s ed b r o a d l y t o c o v e r n o n m i l i ta r y as w ell
a s m i l it a r y a s p e c ts o f p s y c h o l o g i c a l - p o l i t i c a l w a r f a r e . G e n e r a l
S t i l w e l l g o e s o n t o d i s c u s s t h e p r o b l e m s e x p e r i e n c e d w i t h i n
t h e U S g o v e r n m e n t in i m p l e m e n t i n g N a t i o n a l S e c u ri ty D e c i-
s i o n D i r e c t i v e 1 3 0 , w h i c h c a l l e d f o r a r e v i t a l i z a t i o n o fp s y c h o lo g i c al o p e r a t i o n s i n t h e D e p a r t m e n t o f D e f en s e
w i t h i n t h e c o n t e x t o f a g e n e ra l r e vi ew o f U S i n t e r n a t i o n a l in -
f o r m a t i o n p o l i c y . H e a r g u e s t h a t t h e r e is a n e e d t o r e s t r u c t u r ea n d i m p r o v e t h e in t e ra g e n c y m e c h a n i s m a n d p r o c e d u r e s
g o v e r n i n g p u b l i c d i p l o m a c y a n d p s y c h o l o g i c a l- p o l i t i ca l w a r -
f a r e g e n e r a l l y .
C o l o n e l A l f re d H . P a d d o c k , J r . , f o r m e r c o m m a n d e r o f
t h e 4 th P S Y O P G r o u p a t F o r t B r a gg , N o r t h C a r o l in a , a n d
u n t il r e c e n t ly d i r e c t o r o f p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s i n t h e O f -
f i c e o f t h e S e c r e t a r y o f D e f e n s e , n e x t d i s c u s s e s t h e h i s t o r y ,
c u r r e n t s t a t u s, a n d f u t u r e p r o s p e c t s o f p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a -t io n s w i th i n t h e U S m i l it a r y e s t a b l i sh m e n t . A c c o r d i n g t o C o l -
o n e l P a d d o c k , a r e v i e w b y S e c r e t a r y C a s p a r W e i n b e r g e r o f
D e p a r t m e n t o f D e f e n s e c a p a b i l i t i e s a n d n e e d s i n t h e a r e a o f
p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s l e d in 1985 to t h e f o r m u l a t i o n o f a
c o m p r e h e n s i v e P S Y O P " M a s t e r P l a n , " w h i c h n o w s er ve s a s
t h e f r a m e w o r k f o r a n o n g o i n g r ev i ta l iz a t io n o f p s y c h o l o g i c a l
o p e r a t i o n s w i t h i n t h e D e f e n s e D e p a r t m e n t .
T h e n e e d f o r c o m p r e h e n s i v e j o i n t d o c t r i n e i n t h is a r ea ,f o r i m p r o v e d p l a n n i n g , f o r i m p r o v e d e d u c a t i o n a n d t ra i n in g ,
a n d f o r a m o d e r n i z e d P S Y O P f o r c e s t r u c t u r e a r e b r ie f ly
d i s cu s s e d . C o l o n e l P a d d o c k t h e n a d d r e s s e s tw o i ss ue s o f p a r -
t i c u l a r i m p o r t a n c e f o r t h e f u t u r e o f m i l i t a r y p s y c h o l o g i c a l
o p e r a t i o n s : t h e r e l a ti o n s h i p o f P S Y O P a n d s p e ci al o p e r a t i o n s
a n d t h e p r o s p e c t i v e e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f a J o i n t P s y c h o l o g i c a l
O p e r a t i o n s C e n t e r. H e s t r o n g l y d e f e n d s th e s e p a r a t i o n o f
P S Y O P f r o m s p ec ia l o p e r a t i o n s a n d i ts i n t e g r a t i o n w i th c o n -v e n t i o n a l m i l i t a r y p l a n n i n g a n d o p e r a t i o n s .
C o l o n e l R i c h a rd B r a u e r , c o m m a n d a n t o f t h e A i r F o rc e
S p e c i a l O p e r a t i o n s S c h o o l a t H u r l b u r t F i e ld , F l o r i d a , s h a r e s
C o l o n e l P a d d o c k ' s v ie w o f t h e n e e d f o r a b r o a d e n e d c o n c e p t
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I N T R O D U C T I O N x v i i
of psychological operations. PSYOP should not be
understood to be solely an Army responsibility; it should in-
volve a strategic perspective, and it should make use of a
variety of non-PSYOP resources to accomplish its mission.
Mr. Barry Zorthian, former director of the Joint United
States Public Affairs Office of the US Military Assistance
Command-Vietnam, stresses the importance of integration
of military and civilian PSYOP programs and personnel in
situations of low-intensity or revolutionary conflict.
In the next paper, Dr. Angelo Codevilla, senior research
fellow at the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and
Peace of Stanford University, addresses the general subject
of political warfare. Beginning from the premise that political
warfare is "the forceful political expression of policy," Dr.
Codevilla argues that the chief difficulties facing the United
States in this area stem from the inconsistencies and failures
that have marked American foreign policy or national
strategy generally. Dr. Codevilla defines political warfare as
"the marshaling of huma n support, or opposition, in order to
achieve victory in war or in unbloody conflicts as serious as
war." As such, political war fare is in a sense coextensive with
all international action and is not confined to the tools
specifically associated with political warfare operations.
Political warfare may be overt or covert, but it must provide
foreigners true and convincing reasons why they should iden-
tify themselves and their cause with the United States.
Dr. Codevilla goes on to analyze the elements of politicalwarfare as conducted historically by the United States and
their relationship to American policy, with particular atten-
tion to gray propaganda, black propaganda, agents of in-
fluence, and political support operations. He argues that
there is a fundamental moral issue involved in providing sup-port for foreign states and movements in cases where the
United States lacks the political will or competence to ensure
their success. Finally, he addresses the future of political war-fare, arguing that while the potential usefulness of the tools
of political warfare is great and increasing, there are fewgrounds for optimism concerning the ability of the US
government to make effective use of them.
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xviii INTRODUCTION
M r . D o n a l d F . B . J a m e s o n , a f o r m e r C I A o f f ic i a l w i t h
e x p e r i e n c e i n t h e f ie ld o f c o v e r t a c t i o n , a r g u e s i n r e s p o n s e t o
D r . C o d e v i l l a t h a t " w h a t ' s w o r t h d o i n g is w o r t h d o i n g
b a d l y , " r e f e rr in g t o t h e s u c c es s t h e U n i t e d S t a te s h a s e n j o y e d
i n c e r t a i n o f i t s p o l i t i c a l w a r f a r e e n d e a v o r s ( n o t a b l y , i n s u p -
p o r t i n g n o n - C o m m u n i s t in t el le c tu a l a n d c u l tu r a l f o r c es in
E u r o p e a f t e r W o r l d W a r I I) in s p it e o f p e r s is t i n g a m b i g u i ti e s
in n a t i o n a l p o l ic y . D r . A b r a m N . S h u l s k y , fo r m e r l y m i n o r i t y
s t a f f d i r e c to r o f t h e S e n a t e S e le c t C o m m i t t e e o n I n te l li g e n c e,
s h a r e s s i m i l a r r e s e r v a t i o n s c o n c e r n i n g D r . C o d e v i l l a ' s a r g u -m e n t . W h i l e a c k n o w l e d g i n g t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f t h e l i nk b e -
t w e e n p o l i t i c a l w a r f a r e o p e r a t i o n s a n d p o l i c y , h e s u g g e s t s
t h a t U S p o l i cy t o w a r d t h e S o v i e t U n i o n in p a r t i c u l a r w ill
a l m o s t i n e v i t a b l y la c k th e k i n d o f c la r i ty D r . C o d e v i l la s e e m s
t o d e m a n d o f i t. H e f u r t h e r p o i n t s o u t t h a t i t is f a r f r o m c le a r
t o w h a t e x t e n t t h e U n i t e d S t a te s c a n b e h e l d m o r a l l y c u l p a b l e
w h e n i t p r o v i d e s p o l it ic a l a n d m a t e r ia l s u p p o r t t o f o r e ig n e r s
w h o o p p o s e C o m m u n i s t r e g i m e s f o r g o o d a n d s u f f i c i e n tr e a s o n s o f t h e ir o w n .
D r . R i c h a r d H . S h u l tz , J r . , o f t h e F l e tc h e r S c h o o l o f
L a w a n d D i p l o m a c y o f T u f t s U n i v er s i ty , n e xt ta k e s u p t h e
q u e s t i o n o f t h e r o l e o f p s y c h o l o g i c a l - p o l i t ic a l s t ra t e g ie s i n t h e
U S a p p r o a c h t o r e v o l u t io n a r y w a r. R e v o l u t io n a r y w a r is
d i s t in g u i s h e d f o r th e p u r p o s e s o f th i s p a p e r f r o m o t h e r f o r m s
o f l im i t e d o r l o w - i n t e n s i ty c o n f l ic t . A t i s s u e is t h e s u p p o r t t h e
U n i t e d S t a te s c a n u s e f u ll y p r o v i d e e i th e r t o g o v e r n m e n t s
s e e k i n g to s u p p r e s s C o m m u n i s t - o r i e n t e d i n s u r g e n t
m o v e m e n t s o r to i n su r g e n ts se e k in g t o o v e r t h r o w C o m m u n i s t
r e g i m e s . D r . S h u l t z a r g u e s t h a t w h a t d i s t i n g u i s h e s t r u e
r e v o l u t i o n a r y w a r f r o m o t h e r f o r m s o f g u e rr il la o r i rr e g u la r
w a r f a r e i s p r e c i s e l y t h e p o l i t i c a l c h a r a c t e r o f t h e m e a n s a s
w e l l a s t h e o b j e c t i v e s o f t h e s t r u g g l e . I n r e v o l u t i o n a r y w a r ,
t h e f i n a l o b j e c t i v e o f t h e i n s u r g e n t s is to r e p l a c e t h e e x i s t in g
r e g i m e w i th a n e w r e g i m e ; t h e y s e e k t o a c h i e v e t h is o b j e c t i v e
t h r o u g h p r o p a g a n d a a n d p o l i ti ca l a c t i o n , m a s s m o b i l i z a ti o n ,
e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f a p o l i ti c a l -m i l it a r y i n f r a s t r u c t u r e , m i l it a r y
a n d p a r a m i l i t a r y t a c ti c s , a n d o u t s i d e a s s is t a n c e .
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I NT R O D U CT I O N x i x
D r . S h u l t z e m p h a s i z e s t h e i m p o r t a n t r o le t h e S o v i e t
U n i o n a n d i t s s u r r o g a t e s h a v e a c c o r d e d t o p o l i t i c a l a n dp s y c h o l o g i c a l m e a s u r e s in t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l a r e n a a s a f o r m
o f a s s i s t a n c e t o i n s u r g e n t m o v e m e n t s . T h e s e m e a s u r e s i n -
c l u d e p r o p a g a n d a , i n t e r n a t io n a l f r o n t o r g a n iz a t io n s , a n d
p o l i t i c a l a c t i o n w i t h i n i n t e r n a t i o n a l a n d r e g i o n a l o r g a n i z a -
t i o n s .
A f t e r d i s c u ss in g t h e p r o b l e m s w i th U S c o u n t e r i n s u r g e n -
c y a n d p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s e f f o r t s in V i e t n a m , D r .
S h u l t z p r o c e e d s t o a d d r e s s r e c e n t U S e x p e r i e n c e s in C e n t r a lA m e r i c a . H e s u g g e s t s t h a t t h e U n i t e d S t a te s h a s te n d e d i n E l
S a l v a d o r - m u c h a s in V i e t n a m - to e n c o u ra g e a c o n v e n t i o n a l
w a r f a r e a p p r o a c h b y th e S a l v a d o r a n m i l i t ar y a n d g o v e r n -
m e n t , w i t h s u f fi c ie n t a t t e n t i o n t o p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s
a n d c i vi c a c t i o n . W i t h r e s p e c t t o N i c a r a g u a , h e a r g u e s t h a t
t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s h a s s o f a r f a i l e d t o a s s i s t t h e C o n t r a s i n
d e v e l o p i n g a n i n t e g r a t e d p o l i t i c a l - m i l it a r y s tr a t e g y o r i n
l e g i ti m i z i n g t h e m s e l v e s in t h e r e g i o n a l o r i n t e r n a t i o n a l c o n -t ex t . H e c o n c l u d e s b y o u t l i n i n g t h e e l e m e n t s o f a c o m p r e h e n -
s iv e a p p r o a c h t h e U n i te d S ta te s m i g h t a d o p t i n s u p p o r t o f in -
s u r g e n c y a n d c o u n t e r in s u r g e n c y e f f o r t s in t h e T h i r d W o r l d .
G e n e r a l R o b e r t C . K i n g s to n , f o r m e r c o m m a n d e r o f t h e
U S C e n t r a l C o m m a n d , a g re es w i t h D r. S h u l tz c o n c e r n i n g t h e
c e n t r a l i m p o r t a n c e o f p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s f o r in s u r g e n -
c y a n d c o u n t e r in s u r g e n c y o p e r a t i o n s , a n d e m p h a s i z e s th e
n e e d f o r P S Y O P p l a n n i n g a n d o p e r t io n s t h r o u g h a ll p h a s e so f s u c h c o n f l ic t . D r . J o s e p h D . D o u g l a s s , J r . , w h o h a s w r it -
t e n e x t e n s i v e l y o n v a r i o u s a s p e c t s o f S o v i e t m i l i t a r y t h o u g h t ,
c al ls a t t e n t i o n t o t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f u n d e r s t a n d i n g t h e n a t u r e
a n d o r i g i n s o f S o v i e t s u p p o r t f o r i n s u r g e n c i e s a n d i n t e r n a -
t i o n a l t e r r o r i s m . H e a r g u e s t h a t t h e r e h a s b e e n a g e n e r a l
f a i l u r e w i t h i n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s t o g r a s p t h e l o n g - t e r m ,
s t ra t e g ic c h a r a c t e r o f t h e s e S o v i e t e f f o r t s a n d t o d e v i s e a p -
p r o p r i a t e c o u n t e r s t r a t e g i e s .D r . A l v i n H . B e r n s te i n , c h a i r m a n o f t h e D e p a r t m e n t o f
S t r a t e g y a t t h e N a v a l W a r C o l l e g e , n e x t e x a m i n e s t h e
p s y c h o l o g i c a l a n d p o l it ic a l d i m e n s i o n o f U S p o l i c y r e la t i v e t o
t h e l i m i te d u se o r t h r e a t e n e d u s e o f f o r ce . N o t i n g t h a t t h e e f-
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x x I N T R O D U C T I O N
f e c ti v e n es s o f d i p l o m a t i c c o e r c i o n a n d l i m i t e d m i l it a r y o p e r a -
t io n s d e p e n d s d e c is iv e ly o n a n a t i o n ' s c u m u l a t i v e r e p u t a t i o nf o r a c t u a l l y e m p l o y i n g it s m i l it a r y f o r ce s , D r . B e r n s t e i n
a r g u e s th a t t h e U n i t e d S t a te s h a s b e e n h a n d i c a p p e d s in c e t h e
V i e t n a m W a r b y a p e r c e i v e d d e c l i n e i n i t s c r e d i b i l i t y i n t h i s
a r e a . A t t h e s a m e t i m e , r e c e n t e x a m p l e s o f th e s u c c e s s f u l a p -
p l i c a t i o n o f l i m i t e d f o r c e b y W e s t e r n n a t i o n s ( t h e F a l k l a n d s
W a r , G r e n a d a , U S o p e r a t i o n s a g a i n st L i b y a) in d i c a te t h a t ,
c o n t r a r y t o a c o m m o n v i e w , m i l i ta r y f o rc e r e m a i n s v e ry
m u c h a n e f f ec t iv e i n s t r u m e n t o f n a t i o n a l p o l ic y ; a n d t h e ya l s o r e v e a l t h e c o n t i n u i n g i m p o r t a n c e o f t h e p s y c h o l o g i c a l
d i m e n s i o n o f c o n f l i c t a t t h i s l e v e l .
D r . B e r n s t e i n d i s c u s s e s t h e s p e c i f i c r o l e o f n a v a l a n d a i r
p o w e r a s i n s t r u m e n t s o f p s y c h o l o g i c a l w a r f a r e , a s w e ll a s th e
p s y c h o lo g i c a l i m p o r t a n c e o f A m e r i c a n o r W e s t e r n
t e c h n o l o g i c a l s u p e r i o r i t y i n c o n f l i c t s w i t h T h i r d W o r l d n a -
t i o n s , c a l l i n g a t t e n t i o n p a r t i c u l a r l y t o t h e r o l e o f
s o p h i s t i c a te d i n te l l ig e n c e c o l le c t io n , c o m m u n i c a t i o n s , a n do t h e r e l e c t r o n i c t e c h n o l o g i e s . H e a l s o s tr es s es t h e i m p o r t a n c e
o f d ir ec t c o m m u n i c a t i o n o f U S o b je c ti v es a n d i n t en t i o n s in
l i m i t e d c o n f l i c t s i t u a t i o n s .
I n r e s p o n s e to D r . B e r n s te i n 's p a p e r , D r . E d w a r d N .
L u t t w a k , s e n i o r fe l lo w o f t h e C e n t e r f o r S t r a te g i c a n d I n t e r -
n a t i o n a l S t u d i e s , a d d r e s s e s t h e r o l e o f t h e p s y c h o l o g i c a l e le -
m e n t in w a r f a r e g e n e r a l ly , a r g u i n g t h a t t h is e l e m e n t i n c re a s e s
i n i m p o r t a n c e t o t h e d e g r e e t o w h i c h a c o n f l i c t o f f e r s g r e a t e rs c o p e f o r r e l a ti o n a l m a n e u v e r as d i s t in g u i s h e d f r o m a t tr i t i o n .
P r o p e r l y u n d e r s t o o d , t h e d i sc ip l in e o f P S Y O P is a n i n te g r al
a s p e ct o f t h e c o n d u c t o f m i l i t a r y o p e r a t i o n s a n d a g e n e ra l
c o m m a n d r es p o n si b i li ty .
R e g a r d i n g c o er c iv e d i p l o m a c y , D r . L u t t w a k e m p h a s i z e s
t h e f a i lu r e o f t h e " p r a g m a t i c s t y le " o f f o r e i g n p o l i c y
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c o f t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s t o p a y a t t e n t i o n t o t h e
p s y c h o l o g i ca l i m p o r t a n c e o f a n a t i o n 's a c c u m u l a t e d r e p u t a -t i o n f o r t h e e f f e c ti v e u s e o f i ts p o w e r . D r . J o s e p h G o l d b e r g ,
p r o f e s s o r o f r e s ea r c h a t t h e N a t i o n a l D e f e n s e U n i v e r s i t y , e m -
p h a s iz e s t h e p o t e n t i a l e f fe c t i v e n es s o f c o o r d i n a t e d c a m p a i g n s
o f c o e rc iv e d i p l o m a c y a n d t h e m a n a g e m e n t o f a n a d v e r sa ry 's
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INTRODUCTION xxi
perceptions of US military power, and discusses the recent
case of Libya.In the final paper, Dr. Henry S. Rowen, senior research
fellow at the Hoover Institution and former director of the
National Intelligence Council, discusses political and
psychological approaches to general war with the Soviet
Union, with particular reference to allied strategy with
respect to Eastern Europe. Dr. Rowen begins by recalling
that the notion of disrupting the enemy's alliances was
recognized as a critical element of strategy by Sun Tzu, andthat the Soviets have themselves long followed this advice in
their planning for a war against NATO. In the contempor ary
West, by contrast, little has been done along these lines.
Yet the common view that the Soviets possess un-
challengeable conventional superiority in Europe rests on the
assumption that the very substantial military forces of the
East European countries will follow Moscow's orders. Recent
turmoi l in Poland, among other things, suggests that this maynot necessarily be the case; and a number of steps could be
taken by the West, Dr. Rowen suggests, to create even greater
complications and uncertainties for Soviet war planning in
the European theater. For example, NATO could signal its
intention to treat as neutrals any East European nations op-
ting out of a Soviet invasion of the West, or not to use
nuclear weapons against them. Approaches to the East Euro-
peans could be secret, through diplomatic channels, orpublic, through Western radio broadcasts. To be truly effec-
tive, however, such approaches would require a rethinking of
NATO war aims and a more plausible threat of offensive ac-
tion into Warsaw Pact territory than NATO currently poses.
Commenting on Dr. Rowen's paper, Dr. Alexander
Alexiev, senior Soviet analyst for the Rand Corporation,
agrees that the opportunities as well as the motives for NAT O
to undertake such measures are greater than ever. He suggeststhat NATO might extend these effort to parts of the Soviet
Union such as the Ukraine, as well as to Soviet forces sta-
tioned in Europe, and stresses the importance of the "infor-
mation revolution," which is giving East Europeans increasing
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xxii INTR OD UC TION
access to the West. Finally, Dr. Alexiev cautions that Soviet
vulnerabilities in Eastern Europe must not be used as an ex-cuse for ignoring NATO's basic military problems.
Major General Edward Atkeson, former national in-
telligence officer for General Purpose Forces, also agrees
with Dr. Rowen's analysis. He stresses Soviet sensitivity to
Western influence on their Warsaw Pact allies, the degree of
Soviet dependence on the forces of those allies, and the lack
of incentives for the East Europeans to join in any Soviet at-
tack on Western Europe.We can conclude from the work collected.here that the
United States and the West can compete successfully in the
political-psychological struggle, but that we face a very large
task. First, we must do a great deal structurally and educa-
tionally to cnable ourselves to compete. Then, the competi-
tion itself will require intensive effort over the long term by a
broad array of people and organizations, inside and outside
government. The effort, though, is essential, because theneed to compete is compelling.
FRANK R. BARNETT
CARNES LORD
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POLITICAL WARFARE
and
PSYCHOLOGICAL OPERATIONS
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T he M odern C ontext
FRED C. IKLE
B OTH PSYCHOLOGICAL OPERATIONS and politicalwarfare, or PSYOP and POLWAR (all good concepts
must have acronyms), have risen in importance in the last few
years. Moreover, it is not merely the Reagan administration's
attention to these subjects that has made them impor tant but
also the current world situation. In today's world, PSYOP
and PO LWAR have become constant expressions of interna-
tional conflict.
Approximate military parity between the superpowersenhances the importance of PSYOP and POLWAR. Major
adversaries equally armed and equally capable of destroying
each other must turn away from shooting wars to settle their
genuine conflicts. POLWAR and PSYOP pose a lower risk
of escalation. Our era has become the age of terrorism, in-
surgency, and limited war because each of these is an essen-
tially political method of struggle. In this era of superpower
confrontation, it is no longer facetious to set Clausewitz' dic-
tum, "War is the continuation of politics by other means," on
its head. In our modern world, international politics is the
continuation of war by other means.
We live in an age of PO LWAR and PSYOP. So we need
to talk about the contempora ry POL WAR -PS YOP struggle
with special reference to the United States. In this paper, I
will also discuss the means available to a democracy engagedin political warfare and the POLWAR goals a democracy can
achieve. But it is crucial to bear in mind that these are but
means, not ends, and political warfare can only be under-
taken to achieve a legitimate national goal within the overall
context of US leadership of the Free World.
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4 IKLE
A n y d e m o c ra c y u n d e r ta k in g P O L W A R a n d P S Y O P
m u s t f a ce t h e f ac t t h a t m o d e r n c o m m u n i c a t i o n s a n d
d e m o c r a t i c o p e n n e s s c o m b i n e t o e n s u r e t h a t c o v e r t o p e r a -
t i o n s d o n o t r e m a i n c o v e r t f o r v e r y l o n g . J o u r n a l i s t s c a n
r e p o r t i n s t a n t l y f r o m a n y w h e r e i n t h e w o r l d , a n d a d v e r s a r y
s p o k e s m e n e n j o y i m m e d i a t e ac ce ss to A m e r i c a n a n d i n te r n a -
t io n a l m e d i a . T h e H a s e n f u s i n c i d e n t in N i c a r a g u a i ll u st ra t e s
m y p o i n t . A n d a d v e r s a ri e s o f t h e A m e r i c a n p o l i ti c a l s y s t e m
a r e a b l e t o u s e i t s o p e n n e s s t o p r o m o t e t h e i r s t r a t e g i c i n -
t e r e s t s . C o m a n d a n t e D a n i e l O r t e g a w a s a b l e t o t r a v e lt h r o u g h o u t o u r c o u n t r y l o b b y i n g e v e n a s C o n g r e s s v o t e d
m i l i t a r y a i d a g a i n s t h i m .
F o r t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s , p o l i t i c a l w a r f a r e a n d
p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s m u s t b e s e e n w i t h i n t h e c o n t e x t o f
o v e r a ll E a s t - W e s t c o n f l ic t . A l t h o u g h n o t e v e r y i n s u r g e n c y is
S o v i e t - i n s p i r e d , a n d n o t e v e r y c o n f r o n t a t i o n i n v o l v e s U S -
S o v i e t c o n f l i c t , t h e c r it ic a l c o n f l i c ts o f t h i s n a t u r e a r e i n d e c d
i n s p i r e d o r s u p p o r t e d b y t h e S o v i e t U n i o n a n d i t s c l i e n t s .T h r o u g h o u t h i s t o r y , S o v i e t l e a d e r s h a v e a d m i t t e d t h a t t h e
n a t u r e o f t h e i r s y s te m is e x p a n s i o n i s t . I n a s i t u a t io n o f r o u g h
m i l it a r y p a r i ty , a n d d r i v e n b y t h e n e c e s s i ty t o c o n t i n u e t o e x -
p a n d , t h e S o v ie t U n i o n a n d its s u rr o g a te s h a v e c o n c e n t r a t e d
h e a v il y o n t h e m e t h o d s o f p o l it ic a l a n d p s y c h o l o g i c a l w a r -
f a re . H o w e v e r , t h is is h a r d l y n e w , s i nc e t h e C o m m u n i s t s ,
f r o m L e n in o n , h av e b e en m a s te rs o f P O L W A R a n d
P S Y O P . I n d e e d , t h a t is h o w t h e y or ig i na l l y t o o k p o w e r .W h i l e t h e C o m m u n i s t s a re o b v i o u s l y p r o f e ss i o n a ls a t
p o l i t i c a l w a r f a r e , t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s , p a r t i c u l a r l y s in c e t h e
V i e t n a m W a r , h a s s h u n n e d p l a n n e d , i n te g r a te d , a n d p u r -
p o s e f u l p o l it ic a l a n d p s y c h o l o g i c a l w a r f a r e .
T h e c o n f l i c t b e t w e e n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s a n d i t s a d v e r -
s a ri es c a n b e i l lu m i n a t e d b y r e c a l li n g t h e s i t u a t i o n o f t h e o l d
B y z a n t i n e E m p i r e . T h e E a s t e r n E m p i r e s u r v i v e d n e a r l y a
t h o u s a n d y e ar s a f te r t h e B a r b a r i a n s c o n q u e r e d R o m e . D e f i n -
i n g i t s g o a l s c a r e f u l l y , f i t t i n g i t s m e a n s a p p r o p r i a t e l y t o i t s
g o a l s, a n d u s i n g m i l i t a r y p o w e r o n l y a s a b s o l u t e ly n e c e s s a ry ,
B y z a n t i u m w a s a b l e t o m a i n t a i n i t s p o l i t i c a l i n d e p e n d e n c e
a n d r e l a t i v e p r o s p e r i t y f o r c e n t u r i e s i n t h e f a c e o f f e a r s o m e
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THE MODERN CONTEX T 5
challenges. The Byzantine rulers used political warfare,
psychological operations, military force, and other elements
of national power in a controlled and judicious manner to
resist every invader and rival. The Byzantine Empire ebbed
and flowed in size but held on to its core. But the rulers of
Byzantium made one crucial error. They did not foresee that
dedicating a nation's resources to maintaining stability can-
not guarantee indefinite survival.
Yet what have the Western democracies learned from
such historical cases? To the average educated American, the
adjective Byzantine means "devious and surreptitious." This
reveals our culture's attitude toward political warfare and
PSYOP. Indeed, the Byzantines were masters of both
methods. The Byzantine rulers relied on the indirect ap-
proach, cleverness, tricks, stratagems, subterfuges, and
whatever methods of political warfare and psychological
operations could be used in that age of limited technology.
But our attitude resembles that of the British Admiral deRobeck, who, safely on his ship at Gallipoli in 1915, watched
hundreds of British Empire troops rushing to the Turkish
guns to be slaughtered. At the sight, hc remarked admiringly,
"Gallant fellows, these soldiers; they always go for the
thickest place in the fence."
In today's world, America cannot afford to "go for the
thickest place in the fence." We cannot afford the casualties,
we cannot afford the resources, and we cannot afford thedeserved lack of trust and confidence in the government that
would result. But practitioners of POLWAR and PSYOP
need to be constantly aware that de Robeck's attitude remains
embedded in Amer ican culture today, restricting use of these
less frontal methods. Despite such attitudes, though,
POLWAR and PSYOP methods are by no means inescap-
ably in conflict with the moral requirements of modern
democra tic government. Democracy's greatest strength in the
worldwide conflict will always be its fundamental moral
bases: respect for the individual and for the truth.
POLWA R and PSYOP are merely methodologies, without
moral connotation. It was the social context of knighthood
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6 IKLE
that made the crossbow "immoral" - not any characteristic of
the weapon; so it is for POLWAR and PSYOP. POLWAR
and PSYOP planners who internalize the morality of
democracy become more effective against an ideologically
bankrupt adversary. None of these are new observations. Sun
Tzu said, "Those skilled in w a r . . , preserve the law and are
therefore able to formulate victorious policies." In his com-
mentary on Sun Tzu's point, Tu Mu added, "Those who excel
in war first cultivate their own humanity and justice and
maintain their laws and institutions. By these means theymake their governments invincible."
In this connection , we need to remember that every asset
of national power must contribute to political warfare.
Political maneuvering, diplomatic actions, public diplomacy,
economic strategies, cultural appeal, ideology, and military
p o w e r - a n d the media and methods by which these strengths
can be brought to bear--are all potential contributors to
achieving national goals. Yet this list is hardly inclusive. Incvery case, whatever methods are used, success will depend
on planned, integrated, and coherent use of the tools of
political and psychological warfare.
In a modern constitutional democracy, integrating andcoordinating strategic POLWAR actions is difficult. No one
has ever stopped a congressman from speaking his mind, and
the statements he or she might make are often viewed as part
of US policy by people outside our system. Yet within thepresent system it is merely difficult to devise a coherentstrategy, not impossible. As leader of the Free World,
however, the United States faces many problems in which the
American people have little interest or knowledge. Our ex-
perience in Southeast Asia at least taught us one important
lesson: in a democracy, no strategy can long be undertakenwithout the support of the people. The elected leadership of
the country must be able to articulate the issues and clearlyexplain the goals, rationale, and expected outcomes for every
POLWAR situation. Any major or long-term effort will re-
quire congressional funding, and Congress, as the Founding
Fathers intended, reflects accurately the will of the people
over time.
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THE MODERN CONTEXT 7
In today's world, no important US political initiative can
remain unexamined for long. If the media does not discover it
on its own, the adversary will point it out. Then his profes-
sional propagandists will spread arguments that are plausible
in the context of our democrat ic debate, to balk the develop-
ment of a successful counterstrategy. Unfortunately, there
may be a Gresham's Law of Truth-perhaps lies drive out
truth , just as bad coinage drives out good. Only the dedicated
efforts of good men and women will keep truth in the
forefront o f debate. The healthy functioning of a democracydepends on the truth being available to its citizens. But
available truths don't necessarily become dominant in debate.
For example, the Reagan administration took over just
after the prior administration had suspended aid to the San-
dinista regime because of its illegal support for the Com-
munist insurgency in E1 Salvador. In 1982 the House In-
telligence Committee concurred in this view, concluding that
Nicaragua provides the military "life line" for the Salvadoraninsurgents. Later, President Reagan showed captured arms
from E1 Salvador at the State Department. Napoleon
Romero, a former Salvadoran guerrilla leader, stated to the
president and the media that the guns had come from
Nicaragua. Yet a letter published not long ago in the
Washington Post insisted that no credible proof of
Nicaraguan support to Salvadoran guerrillas has ever been
presented by the government. It is not surprising that it tookyears for Congress to approve support for the armed
resistance in Nicaragua. Perhaps a Gresham's Law of Truth
has indeed been in effect.
Yet a democracy cannot a fford to respond with Leninist
methods. Truth is democracy's best POLWAR and PSYOP
weapon. The facts are on our side. Specifically validating Tu
Mu's point is the fact that democratic falsehoods strengthen
the dangerous argument of moral equivalency. For the goals
of democracy can only be accomplished with methods that
are compatible with democracy. We cannot maintain stability
for its own sake, but must seek to establish a world climate
that is safe for all democracies. All true democracies are in-
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8 I K L E
h e r e n t l y a n d n a t u r a l l y a ll i es . W e r e w e n o t r u l e d b y
d e m o c r a t i c a n d m o r a l p r i n c ip l es , w e c o u l d " s o l v e " a n in -
s u r g e n c y s i t u a t i o n b y " m a k i n g a d e s e r t a n d c a ll in g i t p e a c e , "
a s t h e R u s s i a n s s e e m t o b e t r y in g t o d o i n A f g h a n i s t a n . B u t
s u c h s t a b i l i t y w o u l d m a k e u s n e i th e r s a f e n o r s t ro n g .
D e m o c r a c y i s b e s t p r o te c t e d b y t h e s p re a d o f d e m o c r a c y
t h r o u g h o u t t h e w o r l d . W h e n w e s u p p o r t d e m o c r a t i c in -
s u rg e n c ie s t h r o u g h o u t t h e w o r l d , w e a re p r o t e c t in g o u r s e l v e s .
A n d w e a r e h e l pi n g t o b r i n g t o o t h e r s t h e b e s t s y s t e m o f
g o v e r n m e n t .
B u t P O L W A R , a n d i ts h a n d m a i d e n , P S Y O P , m u s t b e
u n d e r t a k e n w i t h a s m u c h d e l i b e r a t i o n a s a n y s h o o t in g w a r .
T h e a i m s o f p o l i ti c a l w a r f a r e m u s t b e a s c l e a r ly d e f i n e d a s
v i c t o r y c o n d i t i o n s f o r a n y s h o o t i n g w a r . G o a l s n o t c l e a rl y
d e f i n e d w i l l n e v e r b e a c h i e v e d .
S o m e c o m m e n t a t o r s b e li ev e t h a t t h e o v e r a l l U S g o a l
o u g h t t o b e s ta b i l it y . B u t s ta b i l i t y c a n n o t b e d e f i n e d i n t e r m s
t h a t p r o v i d e g r o u n d s f o r a c t i o n . S t a b i l i t y c a n m e a n a s i tu a -t io n o f n o c h a n g e . S t a b il i t y c a n m e a n d y n a m i c e q u i l i b r iu m
a b o u t a c e n t r a l p o i n t . I f d y n a m i c s t a b i li t y is t h e g o a l , h o w
c a n a n y s t ra t e g i s t j u d g e a n y p a r t ic u l a r c h a n g e w i t h in t h e
o v e r a ll c o n t e x t o f c o n t i n u e d s t a b il i t y ? D o e s a n y p a r t ic u l a r
s m a ll c h a n g e f o re t e ll b r e a k d o w n o f t h e e n t ir e s y s te m ? H o w is
t h e s t r a t e g i s t t o d e c i d e w h e t h e r t o e n c o u r a g e a p a r t i c u l a r
m o v e m e n t o r t o r e s i s t i t w i t h a l l a v a i l a b l e m e a n s ? W e h a v e
s e en in o u r o w n t i m e n e w g o v e r n m e n t s o r ig i na l ly b e l ie v e d b yr e p u t a b l e o b s e r v e r s to b e d e m o c r a t i c s o o n p r o v e d t o b e t h e
o p p o s i t e . C u b a a n d N i c a r a g u a l ea p i m m e d i a t e ly to m i n d .
B y c o n t r a s t , w h e n g o a l s a r e c le a r a n y e v e n t c a n b e e x-
a m i n e d c l e a rl y . I f w e d e f i n e o u r g o a l t o d a y a s s ta b i l i ty , t h e n
t h e w o r l d s i t u a t i o n m u s t b e a t o t a l d i s a s t e r , f o r f u l ly o n e -
f o u r t h o f th e w o r l d ' s c o u n t r ie s a r e a t w a r i n o n e f o r m o r
a n o t h e r . O n t h e o t h e r h a n d , i f o u r g o a l is e n h a n c e m e n t a n d
g r o w t h o f d e m o c r a c y t h r o u g h o u t t h e w o r l d , t h e c u r re n t
s i tu a t io n is n o t a t h r e a t b u t a n o p p o r t u n i t y . W e r e N i c a r a g u a
s t ab l e , t he r e w o u l d b e n o h o p e f o r d e m o c r a c y th e r e .
A n d w e f a c e an a d v e r s a r y w h o s e e s i n s ta b i li ty a s a n o p -
p o r t u n i t y f o r p r o g r e s s . H e b a l k s t h e g o a l o f s t a b i li t y a t e v e r y
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THE MODERN CONTEXT 9
t u r n . A n d b y s e e k i n g o n l y s t a b i l i t y , w e b e c o m e t h e
a d v e r s a r y ' s u n w i t t i n g a l l y .
T h e u s e o f p s y c h o lo g i c a l w a r f a r e t o i n d u c e u n b e a r a b l e
t e n s io n h a s b e e n a C o m m u n i s t t e c h n i q u e f o r a lo n g t im e .
L e o n T r o t s k y s t a te d i t q u i t e s u c c in c t ly w i t h r e g a r d t o t h e
p o l i c y o f " R e d T e r r o r . " I n Democracy Versus Dictatorship h e
w r o t e , " T h e r e v o l u t i o n . . , k il ls i n d iv i d u a ls a n d in t im i d a t e s
t h o u s a n d s . " W e k n o w t h a t C o m m u n i s t i ns u rg e n cie s u se
v i o le n c e t o b u i l d u n b e a r a b l e t e n s i o n i n t h e t a rg e t p o p u l a t i o n .
A t t h e a p p r o p r i a t e t i m e , t h e t e r r o r i s t o f f e r s , a n d t h e v i c t i ma c c e p t s , a F a u s t i a n b a r g a i n . T o o b t a i n r e li e f f r o m t h e te n s i o n
o f d a i l y li fe in a n a t m o s p h e r e o f c o n s t a n t a n d a p p a r e n t l y r an -
d o m v i o le n c e , th e v i c t im s u r r e n d e r s h i s b i r t h r i g h t o f f r e e d o m
i n e x c h a n g e f o r p e a c e - l i t e r a l l y , a t a n y p r i c e . A n d t h e
s t r a t e g i s t w h o m a k e s s t a b i l i t y h i s g o a l h a n d s a p e r f e c t
m e t h o d o l o g y t o h is t o r m e n t o r , w h o m e r e ly h a s to d i s tu r b
s ta b il ity . E a c h b o m b i n g , a s s a s s in a t io n , o r k i d n a p p i n g th r o w s
t h e s ta b i li ty - s ee k e r o f f b a la n c e . T w o s te p s f o r w a r d , o n e s t e pb a c k - a n d t h e s ta b i li ty - s e ek e r p l a ys t h e t u n e f o r th is d e a d l y
d a n c e .
A n d e a c h s i t u a t i o n o f i n s t a b i l i t y i s u s e d t o p r o b e
d e m o c r a c y ' s r e a c t i o n . O n e o f L e n i n i s m ' s f a v o r i t e p l o y s i s t o
p r o b e w i t h a b a y o n e t u n t i l s t e e l i s m e t . I n t h e A n g o l a n s i t u a -
t i o n i n 1 9 7 5 , C o n g r e s s f o r b a d e a n y a i d t o t h e a n t i c o m m u n i s t
f o r c e s . R e c e n t l y C o n g r e s s r e v e r s e d t h a t v o t e , a n d i t h a s p r o -
v i d e d m i l i t a r y a i d to t h e f r e e d o m f ig h t e rs in N i c a r a g u a . T h e
m e s s a g e i s c l e a r : t h e n e x t o b j e c t t h e b a y o n e t m e e t s w i l l b e
s t e e l . F o r t h e s t e e l i s a l w a y s t h e c l e a r i n t e n t t o r e s i s t t h e
t h r u s t , t o m a k e f u r t h e r a d v a n c e c o s t m o r e t h a n t h e g a m e i s
w o r t h - o r b e t t e r y e t , t o t u r n t h e s i t u a t io n o f i n s ta b i li ty i n t o
d e m o c r a t i c v i c t o r y . T h e t r u e s t s te e l is f o r g e d o f w ill . P o l i t ic a l
w a r f a r e a n d p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s a r e a m o n g t h e b e st
w a y s t o m a k e c l e a r A m e r i c a n r e s o l v e .
F o r n o t o n l y c a n t h e s e m e t h o d s c o n v e y a s ig n a l, b u t t h e y
a c t u a l l y a d v a n c e d e m o c r a c y . B a c k e d u p b y m i l i t a r y a c t i o n
w h e n it b e c o m e s n e ce s sa r y , as it w a s in G r e n a d a , P O L W A R
a n d P S Y O P , w i t h in t h ei r r e a lm o f c o m p e t e n c e , c a n tu r n
s i t u a t i o n s o f d i s a d v a n t a g e i n t o v i c t o r y . V i c t o r y is t h e r e s t o r a -
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10 IKLE
tion o f democracy. To return to one of my earlier points, the
best security for American democracy is a world network of
viable democracies. Despite the short-term disagreements
between democracies, in the long run, all democracies must
be partners against totalitarianism-and every present
democracy needs to understand that.
I have been discussing in a general way the context, the
means, and the goals for political warfare and psychological
operations by the United States. The context is that of a com-
plex world with instant communications making every au-dience broader than the target audience. Within that context,
we face an avowedly expansionist adversary. But American
democracy is burdened in this battle both by historical ig-
norance and by a distorted notion of what is acceptable for a
democracy engaging in political warfare. Nor can we forget
that POLWAR and PSYOP came back into prominence
because of the relative military strengths of the contending
powers. Without effective deterrence, POLWAR cannot pro-tect us from unleashed might, whether conventional or
nuclear.
Moreover, the means available to the political or
psychological war planner in a democracy appear at first to
be limited by moral scruples. Yet even a casual second glance
reveals that these limitations are the source of our greatest
st re ng th - the moral differentiation that makes the expansion
of democracy not a form of imperialism, but an inherentgood and the ultimate protection of all democracies.
Finally, we need to consider goals. To put it crudely,
those who aim at nothing are guaranteed to hit it. Goals for
political warfare and psychological operations must be as
completely and carefully defined as goals for armed conflict.
Goals specifically defined guide effective action; generalized
statements lead to defeat. Further, mere stability is an im-
possible goal for the American strategist, and sets thestrategist up for his own psychological defeat. He who seeks
stability in a dynamic world will see every change as a threat.
Eventually, his will to victory is overwhelmed by an endless
succession of self-defined defeats. Today, restoring
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THE MODER N CONT EXT 11
d e m o c r a c y , a s w e d i d in G r e n a d a , o r h e l p in g in N i c a r a g u a t o
d o t h e s a m e , a r e w o r t h w h i l e a n d p u r s u a b l e g o a l s fo r p o l it ic a l
a n d p s y c h o l o g i c a l p l a n n e r s .
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The Psychological Dimension
in National Strategy
C A R N E S L O R D
T O R E C A L L T H E T I M E w h e n p sy c h o lo g ic a l a n d
p o l i t ic a l w a r f a r e w a s w i de ly a c k n o w l e d g e d b y
A m e r i c a n s as a n i m p o r t a n t i n s t r u m e n t o f n a t io n a l s t ra t eg y
r e q u i r e s a c e r t a i n e f f o r t o f h i s t o r i c a l i m a g i n a t i o n . S u c h w a s
i n d e e d t h e c a se , h o w e v e r , f r o m t h e e a rl y d a y s o f th e S e c o n d
W o r l d W a r u n t i l r o u g h l y t h e m i d -1 9 6 0 s . A l t h o u g h it is n o w
o f t e n a s s u m e d t h a t i n t e r e s t i n t h e s e t e c h n i q u e s s i m p l yr e fl ec t ed t h e p o p u l a r m e n t a l i t y o f t h e e ra o f th e K o r e a n W a r
a n d S e n a t o r J o e M c C a r t h y , t h e f a c t is t h a t t h e e x p e r ie n c e o f
W o r l d W a r I I c o n v i n c e d m a n y A m e r i c a n p o l i ti ca l a n d
m i l i ta r y le a d e r s t h a t t h e p s y c h o l o g i c a l d i m e n s i o n o f c o n f l i c t
h a d b e c o m e c r i t i c a l i n t h e c o n t e m p o r a r y w o r l d .
M o d e r n c o m m u n i c a t i o n s te c h n o lo g ie s a n d t o ta l i t a r i a n
r e g i m e s s p e c ia l i z in g in t h e u s e o f i d e o l o g y a n d s u b v e r s i o n a s
t o o l s o f a g g r e s s i o n c o n s t i t u t e d a q u a l i t a t i v e l y n e w s t r a t e g i cp r o b l e m f o r t h e W e s t . T h e l e ss o n s o f r e c e n t h i s t o r y ( a n d i n
m a n y c as es d ir e ct w a r t im e i n v o l v e m e n t ) h a d a t th e s a m e t im e
s h a r p e n e d t h e i n t e r e s t o f A m e r i c a n s o c i a l s c i e n t i s t s i n p r o p -
a g a n d a o r p o l i t i ca l c o m m u n i c a t i o n g en e r a l l y as a
p h e n o m e n o n o f m a s s s o cie ty . T h e p o s t w a r y e a rs w i tn e s s e d a n
o u t p o u r i n g o f a c a d e m i c s tu d ie s in th is a r ea , m o s t o f w h i c h
t o o k f o r g r a n t e d t h e n e c e ss i t y a n d l e g it im a c y o f a v i g o r o u s
A m e r i c a n r e s p o n s e t o t h e e m e r g i n g p o l i t i c a l - i d e o l o g i c a lt h re a t p o s e d b y t h e S o v ie t U n i o n a n d t h e in t e r n a t i o n a l C o m -
m u n i s t m o v e m e n t . 1
T h e U S g o v e r n m e n t a l lo w e d its p r o p a g a n d a a n d p o l i ti ca l
w a r f a r e c a p a b i l i t i e s t o w i t h e r i n t h e y e a r s o f r a p i d
d e m o b i l iz a t i o n im m e d i a t e ly fo l lo w i n g W o r l d W a r I I. B u t t h e
13
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14 LORD
creation of the Central Intelligence Agency in 1947, as suc-
cessor to the wartime Coordinator of Information (COI) andOffice of Strategic Services (OSS), provided a fresh impetus
and an organizat ional vehicle for covert psychological opera-
tions and political action in peacetime. The deteriorating
political situation in Western Europe in the late 1940s-with
strong Communist parties poised to take power in France and
Italy, Communists supported by Soviet allies fighting a civil
war in Greece, and a successful Communist coup in
Czecho slo vak ia- cre ated a theater of operations and urgentobjectives for the CIA's covert action directorate.
The coming of the Korean War stimulated im-
provements in US overt capabilities as well. In 1950, Presi-
dent Truman created a Psychological Strategy Board in the
White House to provide a high-level focus for government-
wide activities in this area. A new International Information
Administration was established within the State Department;
military psychological operations were given new life (theArmy established a Psychological Warfare Center at Fort
Bragg, North Carolina, in 1952); and a Psychological Opera-
tions Coordinating Committee attempted to provide opera-
tional coordination among the various involved agencies. 2 It
was also around this time that Radio Free Europe and Radio
Liberty (originally Radio Liberation) were established by the
CIA to broadcast to Communist-controlled areas of Eastern
Europe and to the Soviet Union. 3 In 1953, after commission-ing a comprehensive review of US policy and capabilities for
propaganda and political warfare, President Eisenhower
moved to create the US Information Agency (USIA) as an
autonomous agency reporting directly to the National Securi-
ty Council?
There can be little question that the United States'
political warfare effort scored important successes in these
years. The reconstitution of democratic political forces and
cultural life in Western Europe after the war owed much to
CIA intervention. 5 CIA covert operations with a high
psychological-political content were successfully mounted in
Guatemala and Iran. 6 US internat ional radio broadcasting
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N A T I O N A L S T R A T E G Y 15
built a mass audience throughout the world, which it retains
today.Yet it can be questioned whether the US government as a
whole was able at that time to develop an effective doct rine
and organizational structure for the conduct of psychological
and political warfare. Recognizing that much of the relevant
material from these years remains classified and little studied,
it would appear, nonetheless, that sharp differences of opin-
ion existed over fundamenta l questions of strategy toward the
Soviet bloc and the role of key agencies such as the CIA andUSIA, and that operat ional coordination among the agencies
left much to be desired. 7 The Bay of Pigs disaster of 1961
revealed serious problems of coordination between the CIA
and the military in situations of low-intensity conflict. During
the Vi et na m years, in spite of some notable successes with
psychological and political techniques of counterinsurgency
warfare, the US military and the government as a whole
proved unable to devise and execute an overall strategy thattook due account of the vital importance of the
psychological-political dimension of the struggle.
It could perhaps be argued that the militarization of the
Vietnam conflict was the key factor underlying the pro-
gressive atrophy of US political warfare capabilities after the
mid-1960s. However, it seems evident that larger issues of
governmental organization and national style or culture alsofigured critically in this development. In spite of the con-
siderable strides made by Truman and Eisenhower in
establishing formal decisionmaking mechanisms that would
support genuine strategic direction of US policy, such direc-
tion was more an aspiration than a reality through the 1950s;
and in the 1960s it ceased even to be an aspiration. 8 At the
same time, it should have been clear that the assignment of
political warfare responsibilities to new agencies would noteliminate-and in certain respects would probably for-
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16 LORD
ti fy -- th e sources of bureaucratic resistance to the use of this
new instrument of national power. 9 Finally, mention must bemade of the cultural revolution that took place in the United
States beginning in the mid-1960s. The shattering of the
foreign policy consensus of the postwar decades as a result of
Vietnam meant, in the first place, a questioning of the worth
of American values and the legitimacy of a leading role forthe United States in the world. Such attitudes could only spell
trouble for any strategy that depended on the confident pro-
jection abroad of America's political identity and values.Any attempt to rethink the role of political and
psychological warfare in US strategy today must take account
of these fundamenta l and persisting obstacles. Before turning
to consider them more systematically, however, it is necessary
to sketch briefly the basic features of political and
psychological warfare and their relationship to other in-
struments of national power. This sketch is necessary par-
ticularly in view of the conceptual confusion that continues tobedevil discussions of this entire subject-a confusion that
owes something to the involvement of a number of powerful
bureaucracies with very distinctive outlooks, but also reflects
an inherent problem.
The problem is indicated by the general tendency to use
the terms psychological warfare and pol i t ical warfare inter-
changeably to designate the overall phenomeno n, not to men-
tion a variety of similar terms-i deolo gical warfare, the warof ideas, political communication, psychological operations,and more. The uncertainty of reference derives partly from
the fact that this sort of warfare is waged to a considerable
extent with weapons that are not truly distinctive. There are
indeed distinctive psychological instruments-namely,
capabilities for the communication of information and ideas,such as radio broadcasting, publications of various kinds,
and educational and cultural programs. But because thesecapabilities are easier to conceptualize and easier to handle
bureaucratically, the tendency has been to give them undue
weight when it comes to defining the overall phenomenon.There is a psychological dimension to the employment of
every instrument of national power, emphatically including
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NA TIONA L S TRA TEG Y 17
m i l i t a r y f o r c e a t e v e r y l e v e l . S i m i l a r l y , m a j o r i n c r e m e n t s o f
m i l i t a r y a n d e c o n o m i c p o w e r n e c e s s a ri ly g e n e r a t e p o l i t ic a l e f-
f ec ts . I n t h i n k i n g a b o u t p s y c h o l o g i c a l a n d p o l i ti c al w a r f a r e ,
t h e t e n d e n c y h a s b e e n t o t h i n k a b o u t t h e c o n f l i c t o f i d e a s ,
i d e o l o g i e s , a n d o p i n i o n s . Y e t t h i s c o n c e p t i o n i s i n f a c t
s e r i o u s l y m i s l e a d i n g . P s y c h o l o g i c a l a n d p o l i t i c a l w a r f a r e i s
a l s o a b o u t c u l t u r a l a n d p o l i t i c a l s y m b o l s , a b o u t p e r c e p t i o n sa n d e m o t i o n s , a b o u t t h e b e h a v i o r o f i n d i v i d u a l s a n d g r o u p s
u n d e r s t r e s s , a b o u t t h e c o h e s i o n o f o r g a n i z a t i o n s a n d
a l l i a nc e s .T o u s e t h e t e r m warfare t o d e s c r i b e U S p s y c h o l o g i c a l -
p o l i t i c a l s t r a t e g y i n i t s b r o a d e s t s e n s e , f u r t h e r m o r e , i s i t s e l fp r o b l e m a t i c . P s y c h o l o g i c a l - p o l it i c a l o p e r a t i o n s n e e d n o t b e
d i r e c t e d o n l y t o a d v e r s a ri e s ; i n d e e d , n o t o n l y n e u t r a l b u t a ls o
a l li e d a n d s e m i - a l li e d n a t i o n s p o t e n t i a l l y c o n s t i t u t e h i g h l y i m -
p o r t a n t t a rg e t s , s in c e t h e w e a k e n i n g o f U S a l li a n c e s t r u c tu r e s
is a k e y s t r a t e g i c o b j e c t i v e o f t h e p o l i t ic a l w a r f a r e a c t i v it ie s o f
t h e S o v ie t U n i o n . A n d , o f c o u r s e, p s y c h o l o g ic a l- p o li t i c alo p e r a t i o n s n e e d n o t b e u n d e r t a k e n o n l y i n a c o n t e x t o f
m i l it a r y c o n f l i c t. O n t h e o t h e r h a n d , t o d i v o r c e p s y c h o l o g i c a l -
p o l i t i c a l o p e r a t i o n s e n t i r e l y f r o m t h e a r e n a o f i n t e r n a t i o n a l
c o n f l i c t a n d n a t i o n a l s t r a t e g y - a n a t u r a l t e n d e n c y i n t h eU n i t e d S t a t e s a n d o t h e r W e s t e r n d e m o c r a c i e s , f o r c u l t u r a l a s
w e ll a s b u r e a u c r a t i c r e a s o n s - r u n s t h e ri sk o f c u t ti n g t h e m
a d r if t f r o m a n y t a n g ib l e n a t io n a l p u r p o s e a n d d e s t ro y i n g th e i r
e f f e c t ive ne ss .T h e E n g l i sh la n g u a g e a p p e a r s n o t t o i n c l u d e a g o o d t e r m
t o d e s i g n a t e p s y c h o l o g i c a l - p o l it i c a l o p e r a t i o n s i n th e i r
b r o a d e s t s e n s e . I n r e c e n t y e a r s , b u t e s p e c i a ll y s i n c e t h e a r r i v a l
o f t h e R e a g a n a d m i n i s t r a t i o n , t h e t e r m publ ic
diplomacy h a s g a i n e d c o n s i d e r a b l e c u r r e n c y i n W a s h i n g t o n
( i f n o t e l s e w h e r e ) . E v e n t h o u g h , i n t h e a b s e n c e o f a n y
a u t h o r i t a t i v e p u b l i c p r e s e n t a t i o n o f a d m i n i s t r a t i o n p o l i c y i n
t h i s a r e a , i t s e x a c t m e a n i n g r e m a i n s u n c e r t a i n , p u b l i c
d i p l o m a c y a p p e a r s t o e n c o m p a s s t h r e e d i st in c t th o u g h c lo s el y
r e l a t e d f u n c t i o n s . T h e s e a r e i n t e r n a t i o n a l i n f o r m a t i o n , i n t e r -
n a t i o n a l p o l it ic a l a c t io n ( o r w h a t m a y b e c a l le d o v e r t p o l it ic a l
w a r f a r e ) , a n d p u b l i c a f f a i r s . T h e i n c l u s i o n o f p u b l i c a f f a i rs is
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18 LORD
a r e c o g n i t io n o f t h e i m p o s s i b il i t y in a m o d e r n d e m o c r a c y o f
s e p a ra t in g s h a rp l y th e c o m m u n i c a t i o n o f i n f o r m a t i o n t o
d o m e s t ic a n d t o i n t e r n a t io n a l a u d i en c e s ; b u t t h e d o m e s t i c
f u n c t i o n a s s o c i a te d w i th p u b l ic d i p l o m a c y d i f fe r s f r o m t ra d i -
t i o n a l p u b l i c a f fa i r s b y i ts s tr a t e g ic a p p r o a c h a n d its a c t i v e e f-
f o r t to s h a p e t h e d o m e s t i c p o l it ic a l a g e n d a . ' °
T h e p u b l ic d i p l o m a c y r u b r ic s e rv e s a u s e f u l p u r p o s e , b u t
it is n o t a n d w a s n o t i n t e n d e d to b e c o m p r e h e n s i v e . C o v e r t
p o l i t i c a l w a r f a r e w a s e x c l u d e d f r o m i t s p u r v i e w f r o m t h e
b e g i n n i n g . ( A f t e r s o m e in i ti al h e s i t a t io n , C I A r e p r e s e n t a t i v e sw e r e n o t p e r m i t te d t o a t t e n d i n te r a g e n c y p u b l ic d i p l o m a c y
m e e t i n g s e v e n f or p u r p o s e s o f c o o r d i n a t i o n . ) N o r d o e s i t
h a v e a n y c le a r r e l a t i o n s h i p t o m i l i ta r y p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a -
t i o n s , t o e d u c a t i o n a l a n d c u l t u r a l a f f a i r s , o r t o t h e r a n g e o f
U S g o v e r n m e n t ac tiv it ie s t h a t m a y b e g r o u p e d u n d e r t h e
g e n e r a l l ab e l o f i n t e r n a t i o n a l a id a n d h u m a n i t a r i a n a f f a ir s .
W h i l e r e c o g n i z i n g t h e s t a t e o f f l u x o f t h e r e l e v a n t t e r -
m i n o l o g y a n d c u r r e n t d i s a g r e e m e n t s (in s o m e c a se s s h a r p ) a s
t o t h e d e g r e e o f a s s o c i a t i o n d e s ir a b le o r n e c e s s a r y a m o n g t h e
r e l e v a n t a c t iv i ti e s, I w o u l d p r o p o s e , i f o n l y f o r t h e s a k e o f t h e
c l a r i t y o f t h e d i s c u s s i o n , t h e f o l l o w i n g a n a t o m y o f b a s i c
p s y c h o l o g i c a l -p o l i t ic a l w a r f a r e f u n c t i o n s .
Political warfare i s a g e n e r a l c a t e g o r y o f a c t i v i t i e s e n -
c o m p a s s i n g p o li ti c a l a c t i o n , c o e r c iv e d i p l o m a c y , a n d c o v e r t
p o l i t i c a l w a r f a r e . I n g e n e r a l , t h e f i r s t o f t h e s e f u n c t i o n s i sp e r f o r m e d b y d i p l o m a t i c p e r s o n n e l , t h e s e c o n d b y m i l i t a r y
a n d d i p l o m a t i c p e r s o n n e l , a n d t h e t h i r d b y i n te l li g e n ce p e r -
s o n n e l . Political action m e a n s a r a n g e o f a c t iv i ti e s i n c l u d i n g
c e r t a i n k i n d s o f m u l t i l a t e r a l d i p l o m a c y , s u p p o r t f o r f o r e i g n
p o l i ti c a l p a r t ie s o r f o r c e s , a n d s u p p o r t f o r o r w o r k w i t h in t e r-
n a t i o n a l a s s o c i a t i o n s o f v a r i o u s k i n d s . t 1 Coercive diplomacy
r ef er s t o d i p l o m a c y p r e s u p p o s i n g t h e u s e o r th r e a t e n e d u s e o f
m i l i t a r y f o r c e t o a c h i e v e p o l i t i c a l o b j e c t i v e s . ~2 Covert
political warfare c o r r e s p o n d s r o u g h l y to t h e c o v e r t a sp e c ts o f
w h a t t h e S o v i e t s c a l l a c t i v e m e a s u r e s , a n d i n c l u d e s s u p p o r t
f o r i n s u r g e n c i e s , o p e r a t i o n s a g a i n s t e n e m y a l li a n c e s , in -
f lu e n c e o p e r a t i o n s , a n d b l a c k p r o p a g a n d a . 1 3
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N A T I O N A L S T R A T E G Y 19
P s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s , o n c e f r e q u e n t l y u s e d i n a
g e n e r a l s en s e to d e s i g n a t e p s y c h o l o g i c a l -p o l i t ic a l o p e r a t i o n sa s a w h o l e , i s p r o b a b l y b e s t r e s e r v e d f o r u s e a s a t e r m o f a r t
t o d e s i g n a t e m i l i ta r y p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s ( P S Y O P ) . 1 4
M i li ta r y P S Y O P c a n e n c o m p a s s b o t h o v e r t a n d c o v e r t ac -
t i v i t i e s i n b o t h p e a c e t i m e a n d w a r , a n d i t s s c o p e c a n v a r y
f r o m t h e t a c t i c a l b a t t l e f i e l d t o t h e o p e r a t i o n a l a n d s t r a t e g i c
l e v e l s o f c o n f l i c t . H i s t o r i c a l l y , h o w e v e r , U S m i l i t a r y i n t e r e s t
in P S Y O P h a s f o c u s e d h e a v il y o n t a c ti c al a p p l i c a t i o n s i n w a r -
t i m e . S o m e t i m e s b a t t l e f i e l d P S Y O P i s d i s t i n g u i s h e d f r o mc o n s o l i d a t i o n P S Y O P , w h i c h is g e a r e d t o s e c u r i n g t h e l o y a l t y
a n d c o o p e r a t i o n o f c iv il ia n p o p u l a t i o n s i n c o m b a t a re a s; c o n -s o l i d a t i o n P S Y O P is c lo s e ly re l a te d t o c iv ic ac t ion c o n d u c t e d
b y m i l it a r y f o r c e s i n l o w - i n t e n s i t y c o n f l i c t s i t u a t i o n s .
A n o t h e r r e l a t ed f u n c t i o n is t r o o p i n f o r m a t i o n o r e d u c a t i o n ,
w h i c h s e rv es a m o n g o t h e r t h i n g s - - m u c h l ik e p u b l i c af f ai rs i n
r e l a t io n t o p u b li c d i p l o m a c y - t o c o u n t e r t h e p sy c h o lo g i ca l
o p e r a t io n s o f t h e e n e m y .I n t e r n a t i o n a l c o m m u n i c a t i o n s i s a n o t h e r g e n e r a l
c a t e g o r y t h a t i s o f t e n a p p l i e d i n v e r y l o o s e f a s h i o n . I t i s
p e r h a p s b e st u n d e r s t o o d a s e n c o m p a s s i n g i n t e r n a t i o n a l in f o r -
m a t i o n a n d i n t e r n a t i o n a l e d u c a t i o n a l a n d c u l t u r a l a f f a i r s .
U S I A (a t o n e t im e t h e I n te r n a t io n a l C o m m u n i c a t i o n s A g e n -
c y) p e r f o r m s t hi s r an g e o f f u n c t i o n s , t h o u g h o t h e r o r g a ni z a-
t i o n s - i n p a r ti c u l a r , R a d i o F r ee E u r o p e / R a d i o L i b er ty , b u t
a ls o t h e D e p a r t m e n t s o f S ta te a n d D e f e n s e - p e r f o r m i nf o r-m a t i o n f u n c t i o n s o f p o l i t i c a l o r s t r a t e g i c i m p o r t a n c e a sw el l . ~
T o w h a t d e g r e e e d u c a t i o n a l a n d c u l t u r a l a f f a i r s s h o u l d
s h a r e t h e m o r e e x p l i c i t l y p o l i t i c a l a i m s o f U S i n f o r m a t i o n
p r o g r a m s r e m a i n s a c o n t r o v e r s i a l is su e , a s d o e s t h e q u e s t i o n
o f t h e a u t o n o m y o f t h e i n f o r m a t i o n f u n c t i o n i ts e l f r ela ti ve t o
o t h e r s tr a te g i c i n s t r u m e n t s a n d o b j e c t iv e s . I t s h o u l d b e n o t e d
t h a t t h e r e ar e a n u m b e r o f g o v e r n m e n t - a d m i n i s t e r e d e d u c a -
t i o n a n d t r a i n i n g p r o g r a m s i n v a r i o u s a r e a s t h a t a r e n o t
g e n e r a l l y t h o u g h t o f i n t h i s c o n t e x t , y e t h a v e c o n s i d e r a b l e
p o t e n t i a l f o r f u r t h e r i n g U S s t ra t e g ic i n te r e st s . F o r e m o s t
a m o n g t h e s e a r e t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l M i l i t a r y E d u c a t i o n a n d
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20 LORD
T r a in i n g (I M E T ) p r o g r a m r u n b y t h e D e p a r t m e n t o f
D e f e n s e , a n d t r a i n i n g p r o g r a m s f o r f o r e i g n in t e ll ig e n c e a n ds e c u r i t y p e r s o n n e l .
A f u r t h e r g e n e ra l c a t e g o r y t h a t s h o u l d b e m e n t i o n e d in
t h is c o n t e x t is w h a t w a s r e fe r r e d t o a m o m e n t a g o a s interna-
tional aid and humanitarian affairs. T h i s c a t e g o r y i n c l u d e s
f o re i g n e c o n o m i c a n d d e v e l o p m e n t a id , f o o d a i d ,
h u m a n i t a r i a n a s s i s t a n c e ( r e s c u e o p e r a t i o n s , d i s a s t e r r e l i e f ,
f a m i n e r e l i e f , a n d t h e l i k e ) , a n d t e c h n i c a l a s s i s t a n c e o f
v a r i o u s k i n d s . M a n y a g e n c i e s a r e i n v o l v e d i n s u c h a c t i v i t i e s ,i n c lu d i n g t h e D e f e n s e D e p a r t m e n t ; t h e A g e n c y f o r I n t e r n a -
t io n a l D e v e l o p m e n t a n d t h e P e a c e C o r p s a re o r g a n i z a ti o n s
w i t h d e d i c a t e d m i s s io n s in th i s a re a . A l t h o u g h t h e s e f u n c -
t i o n s a r e b u r e a u c r a t i c a l l y s c a t t e r e d a n d v e r y l a r g e l y
a u t o n o m o u s , t h e y h a v e a v e r y i m p o r t a n t p s y c h o l o g i c a l -
p o l i t ic a l c o m p o n e n t . W h e t h e r i n t e n t i o n a l ly o r o t h e r w i s e ,
t h e y s e rv e as s i g n i fi c a n t in s t r u m e n t s o f U S f o r e i g n p o l i c y a n d
n a t i o n a l s t r a t e g y .F i n a l ly , t o r e p e a t w h a t w a s s a i d e ar li e r, a p s y c h o l o g i c a l -
p o l i t ic a l c o m p o n e n t is i n h e r e n t in e v e ry u s e o f t h e d i p l o m a t i c ,
e c o n o m i c , a n d m i li ta r y i n s t r u m e n t s o f n a t io n a l p o w e r . T h e
a r t o f n e g o t i a t i o n re st s o n a n u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f i n d i v i d u a l a n d
g r o u p p s y c h o l o g y a n d a s e n si ti v it y t o c u l t u r a l c o n t e x t s . T h e
e x e r c i s e o f m i l i t a r y c o m m a n d a t a l l l e v e l s s i m i l a r l y i n v o l v e s
a n a s s e s s m e n t o f t h e p s y c h o l o g i c a l s t r e n g t h s a n d
v u l n er a b il it ie s o f t h e e n e m y c o m m a n d e r a n d h is f o rc e s;d e c e p t i o n a n d s u r p r is e a r e k e y e l e m e n t s o f t h e m i l i ta r y a rt . A
n a t i o n ' s e c o n o m i c a n d m i l i t a r y s t r e n g t h o f n e c e s s i t y c r e a t e s
p o l i t i c a l w e i g h t t h a t c a n b e e x p l o i t e d i n a v a r i e t y o f w a y s t o
a d v a n c e t h e n a t i o n a l i n t e r e s t .
T h e i m p e t u s f o r a r e t h i n k i n g o f t h e r o le o f p o l i ti c al a n d
p s y c h o l o g i c a l f a c t o r s i n U S n a t i o n a l s t r a t e g y h a s c o m e
p r i m a r i l y f r o m t h e r e n e w e d a t t e n t i o n t h e R e a g a n a d m i n i s t r a -
t i o n h a s g i v e n th e s e m a t t e r s . 16 S i n c e 1 9 81 , a m a j o r e f f o r t h a sb e e n u n d e r w a y t o m o d e r n i z e a n d e x p a n d U S g o v e r n m e n t
c a p a bi li ti e s in t h e a r e a o f i n t e r n a t i o n a l c o m m u n i c a t i o n s , p a r -
t i c u l a r l y r a d i o a n d t e l e v i s i o n b r o a d c a s t i n g . 1 7 T h e e s t a b l i s h -
m e n t o f a r a d i o s ta t io n f o r b r o a d c a s t i n g t o C u b a ( R a d i o
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N A T I O N A L S T R A T E G Y 21
Marti) revealed a new appreciation on the part of the
American political leadership of the strategic value of sur-
rogate broadcasting operations to Communist countries.~8
In June 1982, in a major policy development, President
Reagan delivered a speech to the British Parliament in which
he sketched the outlines of a new US strategy to promote
democratic institutions around the world. One result of this
initiative was the creation of the quasi-governmental Na-
tional Endowment for Democracy as a mechanism for
overseeing the disbursement of funds for the support ofdemocrat ic political and cultural institutions abroad. '9 In
1983, the White House announced the creation of the Special
Planning Group, a cabinet-level committee chaired by the
president's national security adviser, to improve coord inat ion
of interagency activities in the field o f public diplomacy. 2°
Major public diplomacy campaigns were undertaken to pro-
mote administration policy in Central America and in the
general area of defense and arms control . 2~In spite of these very considerable achievements,
however, it remains doubtfu l whether the administration has
succeeded in overcoming the internal and external obstacles
to a thorough revitalization of US psychological-political
capabilities and their full integration into national strategy. 2"
In many respects, the cultural pressures working against such
an effort are as strong as or stronger than ever. In addi tion to
a kind of generic resistance to such activities on the part ofAmericans as Americans, there has been a wholesale loss of
understanding and support of them among American elites in
recent years. But perhaps equally troublesome is the
resistance stemming from the national security bureaucracy
itself, and from the continuing weakness of integrated
strategic planning and decis ionmaking at the national level.
Painful as it may be to face squarely the question of
American cultural inhibitions in the area of psychological-political conflict, the effort is ne ce ss ar y- in order not only to
develop intelligent approaches to dealing with them but also
to achieve the cultural self-consciousness essential for effec-
tive participation in this kind of conflict. It is essential
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22 LORD
because Americans tend to assume that people everywhere
are much like themselves, with similar fundamental motiva-
tions and views of the world. But blindness to differences in
national characteristics is apt to be a fatal handicap for
anyone attempting to affect the psychological orientation and
political behavior of foreign audiences.
Perhaps the most severe single limitation in the
American out look is, indeed, its tendency to discount the
relevance to political behavior of nonmater ial factors such as
history, culture, and ideas. Americans tend to assume that
concrete interests such as economic well-being, personal
freedom, and security of life and limb are the critical deter-
minants of political behavior everywhere. It is an interesting
irony that such a view is so prevalent in a country as fun-
damentally idealistic as the United States, while the impor-
tance the Soviets attribute to ideological factors stands in
some tension with the materialist basis of Marxism.
Connected with this emphasis on material considerationsis the fact that Americans, unlike many peoples, are uncom-
fortable with personal confrontation and argument and do
not customarily debate political and ideological questions in
their private lives. Americans tend to look on the political
realm as an arena not of conflict and struggle but of bargain-
ing and consensus, where strongly held opinions and prin-
cipled positions are disruptive of the process and to be
discouraged. This tendency makes it extremely difficult forAmericans to deal effectively in international settings where
basic American values are under challenge. Furthermore,
American notions of fair play and due process are subject to
serious misinterpretation abroad. Americans' insistence on a
presentation of both sides of any argument is frequently seen
as reflecting a lack of confidence in themselves. In general,
the openness and penchant for self-criticism of American
society strike many foreigners as manifestations of weaknessrather than strength.
Manifest or latent in the attitudes of many Americans
toward the practice of psychological-political warfare is a
distaste for any sort of psychological manipulation or decep-
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N A T I O N A L S T R A T E G Y 2 3
t i o n . T h e i d e a t h a t p s y c h o l o g i c a l - p o l i t i c a l w a r f a r e i s a b l a c k
a r t t h a t c a n b e m o r a l ly j u s t i f i e d o n l y u n d e r t h e m o s t e x t r e m e
c i r c u m s t a n c e s is a d e r i v a t iv e o f s u c h a t t i tu d e s . T h a t s u c h a c -
t iv i ti es n e c e s s a r i l y i n v o l v e m i s r e p r e s e n t a t i o n o r d e c e p t i o n is
in a n y c a s e f a r f r o m t h e t r u t h . ( T h e c o n v e y i n g o f p u r e l y f a c -
t u a l i n f o r m a t i o n u n d e r c e r ta i n c i r c u m s t a n c e s c a n h a v e
p o w e r f u l p s y c h o l o g i c a l e f f e c ts . ) B u t e v e n a s s u m i n g t h a t s o m e
s u c h e l e m e n t is i n s e p a r a b l e f r o m e f f e c t i v e p s y c h o l o g i c a l -
p o l it ic a l o p e r a t i o n s , t h e m o r a l c a l c u l u s is b y n o m e a n s a s
c l e a r a s i s f r e q u e n t l y m a d e o u t .
M i l i t a r y p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s s u c h a s b a t t l e f i e l d
b r o a d c a s t in g , f o r e x a m p l e , h a v e as t h e ir p r i m a r y p u r p o s e t h e
s a v in g o f e n e m y a s w e l l a s f r i e n d l y l iv es . I n d e e d , s u c h a c -
t iv it ie s m a k e b o t h m o r a l a n d s t ra t e g ic se n s e . A c c o r d i n g to t h e
C h i n e s e s t ra te g is t S u n T z u , " w h a t is o f s u p r e m e i m p o r t a n c e
i n w a r is t o a t t a c k t h e e n e m y ' s s t r a te g y . . . . N e x t b e s t is t o
d i s r u p t h i s a l li a n c e s . . . . T h e n e x t b e s t is t o a t t a c k h is
a r m y . . . . T h e w o r s t p o l i c y is t o a t t a c k c i t i e s . " A s S u n T z up u t s it , " T o s u b d u e t h e e n e m y w i t h o u t f i g h ti n g i s t h e a c m e o f
s k il l, " w h i c h is t o s a y t h a t c o m p e t e n c e in t h e p s y c h o l o g i c a l -
p o l it ic a l s p h e r e is o f t h e e s s e n c e o f a r a t i o n a l a p p r o a c h t o
w a r . ~3 F a i l u r e t o a t t a i n s u c h c o m p e t e n c e w i t h i n t h e l im i t s o f
on e ' s po s s i b i l i t ie s i s a f a i l u r e t ha t is a l l t o o l i ke l y t o be p a i d
f o r i n b l o o d .
A s i m p o r t a n t a s th e e f f e c t o f t h e s e g e n e r a l c u l tu r a l b i a se s
is t h e r ol e o f th e A m e r i c a n m e d i a . D e v e l o p m e n t s in t h ec u l t u r e a n d o p e r a t i n g s t y l e o f ( e s p e c i a l l y ) t h e p r e s t i g e m e d i a
i n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s i n r e c e n t y e a r s h a v e s u b s t a n t i a l l y c o m -
p l ic a t ed a n y e f f o r t b y t h e U S g o v e r n m e n t t o e n g a g e s e r io u s ly
in p s y c h o l o g i c a l - p o l i t i c a l c o n f l i c t . B e f o r e t h e l a t e 1 96 0s, i t
m a y b e a r g u e d , a s a t i s fa c t o r y u n d e r s t a n d i n g e x i s te d b e t w e e n
j o u r n a l is t s a n d A m e r i c a n m i l i ta r y a n d g o v e r n m e n t o f f ic i al s
r e g a r d i n g t h e p r o p e r s c o p e a n d l im i ts o f p r es s c o v e r a g e o f n a -
t i o n a l s e c u r i ty a n d f o r e i g n p o l ic y m a t t e r s . I n p a r t i c u l a r , t h e
p r e ss in w a r t i m e t e n d e d t o a d o p t t h e n a t i o n a l c a u s e a n d t o a c -
c e p t b r o a d r e s p o n s ib i l it y n o t o n l y f o r p r o t e c t i n g s e n s it iv e in -
f o r m a t i o n b u t a ls o f o r s a fe g u a r d i n g t h e m o r a l e b o t h o f t h e
t r o o p s a t th e f r o n t a n d o f c iv i l ia n s a t h o m e . I t w a s , f o r e x a m -
p le , o n l y la te in W o r l d W a r I I t h a t p h o t o g r a p h s o f th e b o d i es
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24 LORD
o f d e a d A m e r i c a n s o l d ie r s w e r e s ee n in A m e r i c a n n e w s p a p e r s
a n d m a g a z in e s . T h e e m o t i o n a l im p a c t , a n d h e n c e t h e
p o l i t ic a l s i g n if i ca n c e , o f v i s u al i m a g e s o f s u f f e r i n g a n d d e a t h
w a s g e n e r a l l y u n d e r s t o o d , a n d s u c h m a t e r i a l w a s a c c o r d i n g l y
t r e a te d w i th c i r c u m s p e c t i o n .
S i n ce V i e t n a m , o f c o u r s e , t h e r e h a s b e e n a d r a m a t i c
c h a n g e . 24 I n t h e g e n e r a l w r e c k o f t h e n a t i o n a l f o r e i g n p o l i c y
c o n s e n s u s r e s u l t i n g f r o m t h a t e x p e r i e n c e , t h e m e d i a h a v e
a d o p t e d a n i n cr e as in g l y s k e p t i c a l a t t i t u d e n o t o n l y t o w a r d t h e
s p ec if ic p ol ic ie s a n d a c t i o n s o f th e i n c u m b e n t a d m i n i s t r a t i o n
b u t a l s o t o w a r d m a n y o f t h e f u n d a m e n t a l a s s u m p t i o n s t h a t
h a d u n d e r p i n n e d th e g lo b a l p o s i ti o n a n d r o l e o f t h e U n i t e d
S t a te s s i n ce W o r l d W a r I I . T h e l e g i t im a c y o f t h e A m e r i c a n
d e f e n s e a n d i n te l li g e n c e e s t a b l i s h m e n t s in p a r t i c u l a r h a s b e e n
s h a r p ly q u e s t io n e d , a n d s u b j e c te d t o s c r u t in y a n d e x p o s u r e
b y t h e n e w s ty le o f i n v e s t ig a t iv e j o u r n a l i s m i n a u g u r a t e d b y
t h e p r e s t ig e p r es s . M o s t s i g n if i c a n tl y , t h e m e d i a e n d e d t h e i r
d e f e re n c e to a n d i n f o r m a l c o o p e r a t io n w i th a n i n c u m b e n t a d -m i n i s t r a t i o n i n f a v o r o f a p o s t u r e o f n e u t r a l o b s e r v e r o r c ri ti c
a d ju d i c a t in g b e tw e e n t he g o v e r n m e n t a n d its d o m e s t i c - a n d
i n t e r n a t i o n a l - a d v e r sa r ie s . O n e r e s u lt o f th is sh i f t h a s b e e n a
g e n e r a l ( i f n o t a l w a y s c a t e g o r i c ) r e f u s a l t o t a k e r e s p o n s i b i l i ty
f o r t h e c o n s e q u e n c e s o f m e d i a c o v e r a ge 's e ff e c t o n n a t i o n a l
s e c u r it y p o l i c y o u t c o m e s . 25
T h i s c h a n g e i n m e d i a a t t i t u d e s is w o r t h d w e l l in g o n ,
s i n c e t h e r o l e o f t h e m e d i a o n t h e b a t t l e f i e l d o f t h e f u t u r e i sl ik e ly to d e c i d e w h e t h e r t h e U n i t e d S t a te s w i ll b e c a p a b l e o f
c o n d u c t i n g e f fe c t iv e m i l it a r y p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s . I n
g e n e r a l , t h e m e d i a n o w a c k n o w l e d g e a r e s p o n s i b i li t y t o a v o i d
j e o p a r d i z i n g t h e l i v e s o f A m e r i c a n s o l d i e r s e n g a g e d i n
m i l i t a r y o p e r a t i o n s . B u t t h e y d o n o t r e c o g n i z e a n o b l i g a t i o n
t o r e f ra in f r o m p u b l ic i zi n g i n f o r m a t i o n t h a t d e m o r a l iz e s
A m e r i c a n t r o o p s , r e ve a ls a sp e c ts o f A m e r i c a n i n t e ll ig e n c e o r
m i l i t a r y p l a n n i n g , u n d e r m i n e s A m e r i c a n d i p l o m a t i c i n i -t ia t iv e s , o r g iv e s p s y c h o l o g i c a l a i d a n d c o m f o r t t o t h e e n e m y .
T h i s o b l i g a t i o n i s d e n i e d e v e n t h o u g h t h e u l t i m a t e e f f e c t o f
s u c h d i s c l o s u r e m a y b e t o p r o l o n g m i l i t a r y o p e r a t i o n s a n d
c o s t A m e r i c a n l iv e s, n o t t o s p e a k o f m o r e g e n e r a ll y
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NA TIO NA L S TRA TEG Y 25
damaging the international position of the United States and
its ability to avoid future conflicts. Nor do the media
recognize any obligations with respect to the domestic au-
dience.
Of particular importance in this connection is the war-
time role of television. To argue (as media spokesmen
regularly do) that television coverage is essential to informed
debate on the merits of a particular military action is uncon-
vincing, not to say disingenuous. The information content of
TV pictures is typically low or nonexistent, and the emotionssuch pictures arouse are more likely to defeat than to pro-
mote rational discussion. The rapid juxtaposition of images
of death and destruction torn out of any intelligible context,
so common in television coverage of war, inevitably en-
courages the feeling that the current war is especially futile,
immoral, or absurd. 26
Equally harmful is the practice-pursued well beyond
the point of abuse by the networks in Lebanon in 1983-ofinterviewing American GIs on their feelings and views about
the situation they happen to be involved in. To portray
soldiers (and if they are looked for they will be found) who
are confused, inarticulate, naive, or bitter about the reasons
why a war is being fought or the way it is being conducted
serves no purpose. The immediate danger to morale and the
effect on allied and enemy perceptions are only part of the
costs of such behavior. As in the case of media obsession withthe families of terrorist victims, the effect is to pander to
private concerns and emotions and to mobilize them in a way
that greatly complicates the pursuit of rational policies by the
US government.
All of this suggests that serious thought needs to be given
to restricting or even eliminating at least the television
presence on the battlefield of the future, with or without the
coopera tion of the media. Particularly difficult, of course, is
the question of censorship or restraint of the media during
limited contingencies or undeclared wars such as in Vietnam,
Lebanon, or Grenada. Because the stakes in such conflicts
are relatively low, the pressures for preserving peacetime rules
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26 LORD
of media engagement are difficult to resist. Yet it is precisely
these conflicts in which the political and psychological ele-
ment in war is predominant, and which are therefore most
directly susceptible to influence by media repor ting. Devising
acceptable arrangements for limiting media coverage of such
wars in the future may well be critical if the United States is
ever to engage in them successfully.27
The Amer ican media have also affected US government
international information programs. In spite of the popular
image (and standard media treatment) of the Voice ofAmerica and Radio Free Europe /Radio Liberty as propagan-
da organs fully comparable to Radio Moscow, anyone
familiar with these broadcasting operations knows that they
have been profoundly affected by the evolution of the
American (and, in the case of RFE/RL, West European)
media over the last two decades, as well as by the general
cultural climate these media have reflected. Objectivity and
balance as understood by the new journalism have becomethe standards for these radios as well. The point here is not
that a balanced treatment of American or Soviet virtues and
vices is not in some sense desirable, but rather that the
domestic cultural context, instead of coherent analysis of
foreign target audiences and of US strategic objectives with
respect to them, shapes--to an unhealthy degree-the aims
and methods of the US international radios.
Let us, though, leave aside the role of the media and in-hibitions deriving from the American character and
American culture. The effective conduct of psychological-
political warfare by the United States is perhaps more im-
mediately constrained by bureaucratic and organizational
weaknesses within the US government itself.
In the first place, as indicated earlier, there is a connec-
tion between the inadequacy of US psychological-political
warfare efforts in the past and the inadequacy of strategicplanning and decisionmaking at the national level. Precisely
because the instruments o f psychological-political conflict are
not altogether distinctive, this arena requires fully integrated
planning and coordinated operations throughou t virtually the
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NAT IONA L STRA TEG Y 27
e n t ir e n a t io n a l s e c u ri ty b u r e a u c r a c y . T h i s c o o r d i n a t i o n h a s
a l w a y s p r o v e n d i f f i c u l t f o r t h e U S g o v e r n m e n t , g i v e n t h e
n a t u r e o f p r e s i d e n t i a l p o l i t i c s a n d t h e h i s t o r i c a l l y w e a k i n -
s t i t u t i o n a l s t ru c t u r e s o f th e W h i te H o u s e a n d t h e N a t i o n a l
S e c u r i ty C o u n c i l ( N S C ) s y s te m . P a r t i c u l a r ly in v i ew o f t h e
l a c k o f a re a l d o m e s t i c c o n s t i t u e n c y f o r s u c h a f u n c t i o n , it is
n o t s u r p r i s i n g t h a t i t h a s n o t r e c e iv e d s u s t a i n e d p o l i t i c a l s u p -
p o r t a t th e h i g h e s t le ve ls o f t h e g o v e r n m e n t . W h a t is p e r h a p s
s u r p r i si n g is t h a t t h e n e e d f o r a s u b s t a n t i a l s t r e n g t h e n i n g o f
U S c a p a b i l it ie s i n t h is a r e a w a s n o t m o r e w i d e l y r e c o g n i z e d a s
o n e o f t h e c h i e f l es s on s o f t h e g r e a te s t f a i lu r e o f U S n a t i o n a l
s e c u ri ty p o l i c y i n t h e p o s t w a r e r a, t h e lo ss o f S o u t h e a s t A s ia .
W e n e e d n o t d w e l l a t l e n g t h o n t h e c a u s es o f t h e
r e s is ta n c e t o p s y c h o l o g i c a l- p o l i t ic a l w a r f a r e t h r o u g h o u t t h e
U S d i p l o m a t i c , m i li ta r y , a n d i n te l li g en c e e st a b l is h m e n t s ; t h e y
a re a p p a r e n t t o m o s t o f t h o s e w h o h a v e h a d d i r ec t ex p e r ie n c e
i n t h is f i el d . T h e S t a t e D e p a r t m e n t c o n t i n u e s t o p l y its t r a d e
v e r y m u c h i n th e s p ir it o f t h e f o r e ig n m i n is t ri e s o f n i n e t e e n t h
c e n t u ry E u r o p e , w i th o n l y g ru d g i n g a c c o m m o d a t i o n to t h e
r ol e p l ay e d b y m o d e r n c o m m u n i c a t i o n s , p u b li c o p i n io n ,
i d e o l o g y , a n d p o l i t i c a l t h e a t e r i n c o n t e m p o r a r y i n t e r n a t i o n a l
a f f a i r s. 28 T h e m i l it a r y s e rv ic e s, i n t h e i r p r e o c c u p a t i o n w i t h
t e c h n o l o g y , m a j o r w e a p o n s y st em s , a n d t h e b ig w a r , t e n d to
n e g l e c t l o w - c o s t a p p r o a c h e s t o e n h a n c i n g o p e r a t i o n a l e f f e c -
t iv e n e s s , e s p e c ia l ly a t t h e l o w e r e n d o f th e c o n f l ic t s p e c t r u m ;
a n d t h e y t e n d t o r e g a r d p o l i ti c a l -p s y c h o l o g i c a l w a r f a r e a s
s o m e o n e e ls e 's b u s i n e s s . 29
T h e f a il u re o f e i th e r t h e S t a te D e p a r t m e n t o r t h e m i l i t a ry
t o a s s u m e p o l i ti c a l - p s y c h o l o g i c a l r e s p o n s i b i l it ie s m i g h t s e e m
t o p o i n t t o t h e in te l l ig e n ce c o m m u n i t y as th e n a t u r a l h o m e
f o r s u c h a c t i v it ie s . Y e t a p a r t f r o m t h e r e c e n t s t e e p d e c l i n e i n
t h e s k i l l s , h i s t o r i c a l m e m o r y , a n d o p e r a t i o n a l d o c t r i n e s
n e c e s s a ry f o r t h e e f fe c t i v e c o n d u c t o f p s y c h o l o g i c a l - p o l it ic a l
w a r f a r e , t h e C I A h a s g e n e r a ll y b e e n u n w i l l in g o r u n a b l e t o
a l lo w t h e d e g r e e o f c o o r d i n a t i o n w i th o t h e r g o v e r n m e n t a l en -
t it ie s t h a t i s e s s e n t i a l f o r a n i n t e g r a t e d n a t i o n a l s t r a t e g y i n t h i s
a r e a . T h e r e is a l so a f e e l in g a t t h e a g e n c y th a t t h e e r a o f C I A
i n v o l v e m e n t in p o l i ti c a l o r i d e o l o g i c a l s t ru g g l e s is e ss e n t ia l ly
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28 LORD
p a s t - t h a t in th e a b s e n ce o f a d o m e s t ic p o l it ic a l c o n s e n s u s
c o n c e r n i n g t h e p r o p e r p l a c e o f s u c h a c t iv i ti es in U S p o l i c y , a n
a g g re s si v e a g e n c y r o le c a n o n l y j e o p a r d i z e m o r e i m p o r t a n ti n s t i t u t i o n a l e q u i t i e s .
W h a t , t h e n , w o u l d b e i n v o l v e d in a re v i ta l iz a t io n o f U S
p s y c h o l o g i c a l - p o l i t i c a l w a r f a r e c a p a b i l it ie s ? T h e f o r e g o i n g
d i s c u s s io n is n o t m e a n t t o s u g g e st t h a t f u n d a m e n t a l c h a n g e is
a h o p e l e s s p r o p o s i t i o n , o n l y t h a t i t is e s s e n ti a l t h a t w e b e c o n -
s c io u s o f t h e o b s ta c l e s to i t - p a r t i c u l a r l y t h e le ss t a n g i b le
o b s t a c l e s t h a t c a n n o t b e f i x e d b y o r g a n i z a t i o n a l r e w i r i n g o r
o t h e r s h o r t - t e r m m e a s u r e s . A t t h e s a m e t im e , u s e f u l s te p s u n -
d o u b t e d l y c a n b e ta k e n w i t h o u t a t h o r o u g h r e v o l u t io n in th e
w a y A m e r i c a n s b e h a v e o r th e U S g o v e r n m e n t c o n d u c t s its
b u s i n e s s . A s f a r a s th e p o l i ti c a l c l i m a t e is c o n c e r n e d , t h e r e a r e
e n c o u r a g i n g s i g n s o f g r o w i n g i n t e r e s t i n C o n g r e s s a n d
e l s e w h e r e in s t r e n g t h e n i n g s tr a te g i c p l a n n i n g a t t h e n a t i o n a l
le v el a n d i n i m p r o v i n g U S m i l it a r y c a p a b i li ti e s f o r l o w -
i n t e n s i t y c o n f l i c t . P s y c h o l o g i c a l - p o l i t ic a l w a r f a r e w i ll c e r ta i n -
l y b e n e f i t f r o m a t t e n t i o n t o b o t h t h e s e a r e a s .P e r h a p s t h e m o s t p r o m i s i n g a r e a f o r c h a n g e is in th e
f ie ld o f m i li ta r y p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s . T h i s v e r y u n j u s t l y
n e g l e c t e d s u b j e c t m e r i t s s o m e f u r t h e r r e m a r k s .
T h e f ac t th a t m i li ta r y p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s h a v e
g e n e r a l l y b e e n t r e a t e d a s a s u b s p e c i a l t y o f s p e c i a l o p e r a t i o n s
is a g o o d i n d i c a t io n o f t h e c o n c e p t u a l a n d o p e r a t i o n a l l im i t a-
t io n s u n d e r w h i c h P S Y O P h a s l o n g l a b o r e d . 3° O f c o u r s e , t h e
v e ry i d e n t i f i c a t io n o f P S Y O P a s a s pe c ia l fo r c e s m i s s i o n h a st e n d e d t o i s o l a te it f r o m n o r m a l m i l i t a r y a c ti v it ie s a n d b r i n g i t
u n d e r a c e r t a i n s u s p i c i o n , w h i c h i t s " b l a c k " c o n n o t a t i o n s
h a v e f u r th e r s t r e n g t h e n e d . B u t P S Y O P h a s p e r h a p s s u f f e r e d
m o s t f r o m i d e n t i f i c a t io n w i th t h e h a r d w a r e a n d m i s si o n s o f
t h e ta c t ic a l b a t t l e f i e l d - t h a t is , l e a fl e t d e l iv e r y , lo u d s p e a k e r s ,a n d r a d i o b r o a d c a s t i n g . A s a re s u lt o f all t h is , P S Y O P h a s
h a d v e r y l ow p r i o r i ty in t e r m s o f p e r s o n n e l , e q u i p m e n t , t r a in -
i n g , e x e r c i s i n g , a n d d o c t r i n e . I n a d d i t i o n , i t h a s s u f f e r e df r o m l o w v i s i b i l i t y a t s e n i o r c o m m a n d l e v e l s w i t h i n t h e
m i l i t a r y ( p a r t i c u l a r l y o u t s i d e t h e A r m y , w h i c h o w n s m o s t
P S Y O P a ss ets ), n o t t o s p e a k o f o t h e r U S g o v e r n m e n t
o r g a n i z a t i o n s .
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N A T I O N A L S T R A T E G Y 2 9
This situation is now beginning to change as a result of
renewed interest within the military as well as at the nationa l
level. However, the rethinking of PSYOP roles and missions
is still at an early stage, and basic doctrinal and organiza-
tional questions remain to be worked out. The Air Force and
Navy appear not yet fully persuaded that PSYOP is a respon-
sibility of all the services and of all higher command
echelons. There is increasing recognition that PSYOP need
not be limited to the hardware- supported missions of the tac-
tical battlefield but can have important applications at the
operational and theater levels, particularly in low-intensity
conflict situations. But there is as yet little apparent consen-
sus on the role of PSYOP at the strategic level or in
peacetime.
The tendency to think of PSYOP in terms of direct ver-
bal communication is a strong one, and reflects the nature of
tactical PSYOP as historically practiced by the United States.
However, this is a tendency that must be resisted if the full
potential of nontactical PSYOP is to be realized and if the
services are to embrace the full range o f PSYOP activities as
lcgitimate and proper military missions. The uniformed
military generally acknowledge that the overriding purpose of
US military forces is not to fight wars but to deter them. But
deterrence is, of course, a psychological phenomenon, not a
simple reflection of the quantity and quality of military
forces; and there is every reason to suppose that foreign
perceptions of US military power can be shaped in various
ways to strengthen its deterrent effect, sl
Even if one accepts that it would be difficult and
possibly risky to attempt to shape Soviet perceptions of US
power ( though this is by no means evident), a strong case can
be made for the potentially high payoffs of efforts to shape
perceptions of the adversary in conflicts with Third World
countries. Within the Third World, decisionmaking is apt tobe less disciplined by adequate intelligence or orderly staff
procedures, strongly influenced by the passing impressions
and phobias of a small leadership element, and subject to
sudden internal political challenge. The lessons of the recent
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3 0 L O R D
American military confrontation with Libya deserve careful
study in this connection.
To detail PSYOP possibilities in this area is beyond the
scope of the present discussion. Certainly, publications pro-
grams geared to foreign military audiences could have con-
siderable utility. But much could also be accomplished simply
through deliberate exploitation of normal US military ac-
tivities such as exercises, deployments , air and naval displays,
and technology demonstra tions . At a higher level of activity,
with the movement of military forces dedicated specifically to
a psychological-political mission, PSYOP measures shade in-
to traditional coercive diplomacy. Certainly, the United
States has used both sorts of measures in the past. But ac-
tivities such as naval port visits and presence missions have
generally not been understood as belonging within the
PSYOP framework and do not appear to have been ap-
proached in a systematic or highly coordinated manner .
A characteristic weakness of the American approach to
war and force has been the tendency to draw sharp distinc-
tions between wartime and peacetime. That the Leninist
political tradition involves a radically different approach is
hardly a secret, yet somehow it remains extremely difficult
for Americans to deal with the "spectrum of conflict" as a
true spectrum rather than a series of compartments. One
result of this dif ficu lty is the penalty it exacts in any transit ion
from peace to war in terms of organization, planning, and
general readiness. An important function of psychological-
political warfare for the United States could be to compen-
sate for temporary inadequacies in deployed US forces in
severe crises or the initial stages of war. In general, a com-
pelling case can be made for reviewing and enhancing the
psychological-political component of US war planning and
national-level crisis management operations.
The entire area of strategic war planning is of critical im-portance in this context, since it is the point at which the
military, diplomatic, and psychological-political components
of national strategy most closely converge. Any effort to
enhance and better integrate strategic planning at the national
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N A T I O N A L S T R A T E G Y 3 1
level, as recommended by influential voices in Congress and
elsewhere, needs to focus on the difficult substantive and pro-
cedural issues involved in war planning. More generally
recognized is the need for integrated interagency planning in
crisis situations; but here as well the potential of
psychological-political warfare seems not to have been fully
realized.
The foregoing discussion should not be taken as an im-
plicit commentary on the relative utility of military and non-
military psychological-political measures. Its purpose is only
to highlight the part of this field that is the most neglected
and at the same time the most susceptible to immediate im-
provement. In low-intensity conflict theaters such as Central
America, there is scope for application o f the full range of US
psychological-political capabilities. The strategic importance
of peacetime political warfare and international communica-
tions, with respect to the Third World as well as the Soviet
Union and its empire, can hardly be overestimated. We need
not enter here into the larger question of long-range US
strategy with respect to the Soviet Union. But it seems clear
that the best hopc for an eventual diminution of the Soviet
political-military threat lies in the relentless exposure of the
Soviet population to information and ideas from the West.
The opportunities for short-term gains vis-a-vis the Soviet
empire should not be allowed to distract us from this fun-
damental strategic imperative.
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32 L ORD
N otes
1. See, for example, Paul Linebarger, Psychological Warfare
(Washington, D.C.: Infantry Journal Press, 1948), Leonard Doob,
Public Opinion and Propaganda (New York: Henry Holt and Co.,
1948), Daniel Lerner, ed., Propaganda in War and Crises (New
York: Stewart, 1950), William Daugherty and Morris Janowitz,
eds., A Psychological Warfare Casebook (Baltimore: JohnsHopkins University Press, 1958), W. Phillips Davison, Interna-
tional Political Communication (New York: Praeger, 1965).
2. On the early history of military psychological operations,
see Alfred H. Paddock, Jr., US Army Special Warfare: Its Origins
(Washington, D.C.: National Defense University Press, 1982).
3. See Sig Mickelson, America's Other Voice: The Story of
Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty (New York: Praeger, 1983).4. The originally top secret report of the President's Commit-
tee on International Information Activities, headed by William H.Jackson, is now available in Department of State, Foreign Rela-
tions of the United States, 1952-1954, vol. II, pt. 2 (Washington,
D.C.: USGPO, 1984), pp. 1795-1867.
5. For a recent account see Trevor Barnes, "The Secret Cold
War: The CIA and American Foreign Policy in Europe, 1946-56,
Part I," Historical Journal 24 (1981): 399-415, and "The Secret
Cold War: The CIA and American Foreign Policy in Europe,
1946-56, Part II," Historical Journal 25 (1982): 649-70.
6. See, for example, Richard Immerman, CIA in Guatemala:
The Foreign Policy of lntervention (New York: Columbia Univer-
sity Press, 1982), Kermit Roosevelt, Countercoup: The Struggle for
Control ofl ran (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1979).
7. According to the Jackson Committee report, "The national
information program has suffered from the lack of effective central
direction. In spite of the establishment of the Psychological
Strategy Board, coordination has been lacking and the various
agencies concerned have largely gone their separate ways. Oppor-tunities have been missed to take the offensive in global propa-
ganda campaigns . . . . The headquarters staffs of all agencies
engaged in information work should concentrate more on the con-
ception, planning and coordination of global campaigns and less
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N A T I O N A L S T R A T E G Y 3 3
on detailed control and execution of day-to-day operations"
(Fo r e ig n Re la t io n s , p. 1840). For pertinent remarks on the "confu-
sion regarding the mission" of US information agencies, see ibid.,
pp. 1836-38; also of interest is this remark concerning the military
role: "The contribution of the armed forces to political warfare has
been limited by the lack of definition of the military role by higher
authority, and by an inadequate understanding on the part of
military authorities that they and their commands are full par-
ticipants in the political aspects of the present struggle and must
conduct themselves accordingly. Military commanders and plan-
ners tend to regard the allocation of military resources to currentpolitical operations as an unauthorized diversion from tasks for
which the armed forces are explicitly responsible" (ibid., p. 1860).Eisenhower abolished the Psychological Strategy Board on the
Committee's recommendation, apparently on the grounds that
psychological-political warfare was too closely bound up with US
policy or strategy generally for such an arrangement to work effec-
tively.
8. See the testimony collected in Sen. Henry M. Jackson, T h eN a t i o n a l S e c u r i t y C o u n c i l : J a c k s o n S u b c o m m i t t e e P a p e r s o n
P o l i c y m a k i n g a t t h e P r e s i d e n ti a l L e v e l (New York: Praeger, 1965);
consider particularly the remarks of Nelson Rockefeller,
pp. 167-90. That the Eisenhower NSC system was substantially
misrepresented by contemporary critics has become clear, however,
on the basis of material that has since come to light. See, for exam-
ple, Phillip G. Henderson, "Advice and Decision: The Eisenhower
National Security Council Reappraised," in R. Gordon Hoxie, ed.,
T h e P r e s i d e n c y a n d N a t i o n a l S e c u r i t y P o l i c y (New York: Centerfor the Study of the Presidency, 1984), pp. 153-86. For a recent
overview of the history of the NSC system, see the chapters by
Anna Kasten Nelson and I. M. Destler in Hugh Heclo and Lester
M. Salamon, eds., T h e I l l u s i o n o f P r e s i d e n t i a l G o v e r n m e n t
(Boulder, CO: Westview, 1981), pp. 229-85.
9. Consider, for example, John Franklin Campbell, T h e
F o r e i g n A f f a i r s F u d g e F a c t o r y (New York: Basic Books, 1971),
pp. 147-77.10. A thoughtful discussion of the functioning of public
diplomacy under the Reagan administration is provided by Gifford
D. Malone, "Functioning of Diplomatic Organs," in Richard F.
Staar, ed., P u b l i c D i p l o m a c y : U S A v e r su s U S S R (Stanford:
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3 4 L O R D
Hoover Institution, 1986), pp. 124-41. See also Carnes Lord, "In
Defense of Public Diplomacy," C o m m e n t a r y , April 1984,
pp. 42-50.11. The argument for a more "political" approach to
multilateral diplomacy is cogently summarized by Richard S.
Williamson, "U.S. Multilateral Diplomacy at the United Nations,"
T h e W a s h i n g t o n Q u a r t e r l y , Summer 1986, pp. 5-18. On the Soviet
approach to political action, see, for example, James Atkinson,
T h e P o li ti c s o f St ru g g le : T h e C o m m u n i s t F r o n t a n d P o li ti c a l W a r -
f a r e (Chicago: Henry Regnery, 1966), and Roy Godson, L a b o r in
S o v i e t G l o b a l S t r a t e g y (Washington, D.C.: National Strategy In-formation Center, 1984). On the promotion of democracy as an ob-
jective of US policy, see William A. Douglas, D e v e l o p i n g
D e m o c r a c y (Washington, D.C.: Heldref Publications, 1972).
12. See, for example, James Cable, G u n b o a t D i p l o m a c y :
P o l it ic a l A p p l i c a t i o n s o f L i m i t e d N a v a l F o rc e (New York: Praeger,
1971), and Barry M. Blechman and Stephen S. Kaplan, F o r c e
W i t h o u t W a r : U . S . A r m e d F o r c e s a s a P o l it ic a l I n s t r u m e n t
(Washington, D.C.: The Brookings Institution, 1978).
13. See Richard H. Shultz and Roy Godson, D e z i n f o r m a t s i a :
A c t i v e M e a s u r e s in S o v i e t S t ra t e g y (Washington, D.C.: Pergamon-
Brassey's, 1984). Soviet "active measures" ( a k t i v n y y e m e r o p r i a t i a )
encompass what is here called "political action" as well as "covertpolitical warfare." For a general discussion, see Angelo Codevilla,
"Covert Action and Foreign Policy, II," in Roy Godson, ed., In -
t el li g en c e R e q u i r e m e n t s f o r t h e 1 98 0 's : C o v e r t A c t i o n
(Washington, D.C.: National Strategy Information Center, 1981),
pp. 79-104.14. A recent collection of (generally older) materials on this
subject is available in Ron. D. McLaurin, ed., M i l i t a r y P r o p a g a n -
d a : P s y c h o l o g i c a l W a r f a r e a n d O p e r a t i o n s (New York: Praeger,
1982).
15. A recent discussion of the history of US international
broadcasting is available in James L. Tyson, U. S . In t e rna t iona l
B r o a d c a s t i n g a n d N a t i o n a l S e c u r i t y (New York: National Strategy
Information Center, 1983). For an overview of current US ac-
tivities in this area, see United States Advisory Commission on
Public Diplomacy, 1 9 8 6 R e p o r t (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Advisory
Commission on Public Diplomacy, 1986), and Board for Interna-
tional Broadcasting, 1 9 8 6 A n n u a l R e p o r t (Washington, D.C.:
USGPO, 1986). Recent examples of "public diplomacy" materials
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NA TI ON AL STRA TEG Y 35
produced by US government agencies are Department of Defense,
Soviet Military Power 1986 (Washington, D.C.: USGPO, 1986),
and Department of State and Department of Defense, TheChallenge to Democracy in Central America (Washington, D.C.:
USGPO, 1986).
16. The role of "information" as an instrument of national
strategy comparable to the diplomatic, economic, and military in-
struments was emphasized in an address of then National Security
Adviser William P. Clark to the Center for Strategic and Interna-
tional Studies, Georgetown University, May 21, 1982. Administra-
tion studies of international information policy resulted in apresidential directive on this subject (NSDD 130) in March 1983.
See "Tune Up for Term Two," Chronicle of International Com-munication, July-August 1984, p. 1.
17. For the extremely significant developments that have oc-
curred in the last several years in international television broad-
casting, see United States Advisory Commission on Public
Diplomacy, 1986 Report, pp. 18-21. On the radio modernization
program, see Bernard Gwertzman, "Voice of America Reaches Ac-cords with 5 Countries," New York Times, 26 Dec. 1984, p. 1.
18. After several years of of ten acrimonious political debate,
Radio Marti was funded by Congress and eventually went on the
air in May 1985. For an intelligent discussion of the issue, see
Cuban-American National Foundation, U.S. Radio Broadcasting
to Cuba: Policy Implications (Washington, D.C.: The Cuban-
American National Foundation, Inc., N.D. [1983]); for a recent
assessment, Roger Fontaine, "Radio Marti builds audience, wins
over critics in its 1st year ," Washington Times, 20 May 1986, p. 4D.19. The National Endowment for Democrary was incor-
porated in November 1983. See the remarks of Bill Brock, Frank J.
Fahrenkop f , J r . , Charles T. Manatt, Lane Kirkland and Michael
A. Samuels, "The Democracy Program and the National Endow-
ment for Democracy," Commonsense, December 1983, pp. 83-121.
For a recent assessment, see Joshua Muravchik, "Exporting
Democracy: A Progress Report," The American Spectator,
November 1985, pp. 19-21. Related activities have included a con-ference sponsored by the Department of State in October 1982 on
"Democratization in Communist Countries."
20. The Special Planning Group was established by National
Security Decision Directive (NSDD) 77 in January 1983; it super-
vises four subcommittees, dealing with public affairs, international
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36 LORD
i n f o r m a t i o n , i n t e r n a t i o n a l p o l i t i c a l a c t i v i t i e s , a n d i n t e r n a t i o n a l
b r o a d c a s t i n g . A n u n c l a s s i f ie d te x t o f t h is d i r e c ti v e m a y b e f o u n d i n
S t a a r , Public Diplomacy, p p . 2 9 7 - 9 9 .
2 1. A n O f f i c e o f P u b l ic D i p l o m a c y f o r L a t in A m e r i c a a n d t he
C a r i b b e a n w a s e s t a b l i s h e d i n t h e S t a t e D e p a r t m e n t i n J u l y 1 9 8 3 ,
w i th a n i n te r a g e n c y s ta f f h e a d e d b y A m b a s s a d o r O t t o R e i c h .
2 2. F o r s o m e c r i ti c a l r e v ie w s b y r e c e n t p a r t i c i p a n t s , s ee t h e
r e m a r k s o f A l f r e d H . P a d d o c k , J r ., a n d G i f f o r d D . M a l o n e in
S t a a r , Public Diplomacy, p p . 9 2 - 9 3 , 1 3 5 - 3 9 .
2 3 . S u n T z u , The Art of War, t r a n s . S a m u e l B . G r i f f i t h ( O x -
f o r d : O x f o r d U n i v e r s i ty P r e s s, 1 97 1 ), p p . 7 7 - 7 8 .2 4 . " P u b l i c o p i n i o n w i n s w a r , " G e n e r a l D w i g h t E i s e n h o w e r
t o l d a m e e t i n g o f A m e r i c a n n e w s p a p e r e d i t o r s i n 1 94 4: " I h a v e
a l w a y s c o n s i d e r e d a s q u a s i - s t a f f o f f i c e r s , c o r r e s p o n d e n t s a c -
c r e d i t e d t o m y h e a d q u a r t e r s . " T h a t r e p o r t e r s a c q u i e s c e d i n s u c h
t r e a t m e n t is s c a n d a l o u s f o r a c o n t e m p o r a r y jo u r n a l i s t ; s e e t h e
d i s c u s s i o n i n P h i l i p K n i g h t l y , The First Casualty ( N e w Y o r k : H a r -
c o u r t B r a c e J o v a n o v i c h , 1 9 75 ), p p . 3 1 5 - 1 7 a n d f f .
2 5 . T h e g r o s s a b u s e s i n v o l v e d in m e d i a c o v e r a g e o f th e V i e t-
n a m W a r h a v e b e e n w e l l d o c u m e n t e d . S e e P e t e r B r a e s t r u p , Big
Story ( N e w H a v e n : Y a l e U n i v e r s i ty P r e s s , 1 9 78 ), R o b e r t E l e g a n t ,
How to Lose a War: The Press and Viet Nam ( W a s h i n g t o n , D . C . :
E t h i c s a n d P u b l i c P o l i c y C e n t e r , 1 98 2; o r i g i n a l l y p u b l i s h e d i n En-
counter, A u g u s t 1 9 8 1 ) .
2 6. A n e x c e l l e n t b r i e f a n a l y s is m a y b e f o u n d i n M a r k C r i s p i n
M i l l e r , " H o w T V C o v e r s W a r , " The New Republic, 2 9 N o v e m b e r
1 98 2, p p . 2 6 - 3 3 . A l s o o f c o n s i d e r a b l e i n t e r e s t is J o h n W e i s m a n ,
" W h y T V is M i s si ng t h e P i c t u r e i n C e n t r a l A m e r i c a , " TV Guide, 15S e p t e m b e r 1 9 8 4 , p p . 2 - 1 4 .
2 7 . T h e c o n t r o v e r s y a r i s i n g f r o m t h e e x c l u s i o n o f t h e p r e s s
f r o m t h e U S a c t i o n a g a i n s t G r e n a d a i n O c t o b e r 1 98 2 le d t h e J o i n t
C h i e f s o f S t a f f to i n i t ia t e a r e v ie w o f p o l i c y r e g a r d i n g m e d i a p a r -
t i c ip a t i o n i n c o n t i n g e n c y o p e r a t i o n s , i n t h e f o r m o f a s pe c ia l c o m -
m i s s io n o f m i l i t a r y a n d m e d i a r e p r e s e n ta t iv e s h e a d e d b y G e n .
W i n a n t S i d l e . A l t h o u g h t h i s c o m m i s s i o n r e a c h e d i n f o r m a l a g r e e -
m e n t o n t h e p r i n c i p l e o f p r e s s p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n a l l m i l i t a r y o p e r a -
t io n s t o t h e m a x i m u m d e g r e e c o n s i s te n t w i th o p e r a t i o n a l s e c u r it y ,
t h e D e f e n s e D e p a r t m e n t h a s s in c e i n d i c a t e d s o m e r e s e r v a t i o n s o n
t h is s c o r e , a n d t h e r e is l it tl e e v i d e n c e t h a t a n y s i g n i f ic a n t m o v e m e n t
h a s o c c u r r e d o n t h e m e d i a s id e . A s o n e r e t i r e d a d m i r a l i s r e p o r t e d
t o h a v e s a id , " O p e r a t i o n a l s e c u r i ty is n o t t h e p r o b l e m ; t h e p r o b l e m
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N A T I O N A L S T R A T E G Y 3 7
is that when you write about us, you make us look bad." See Fred
Halloran, "The Pentagon and the Press: The War Goes On," N e w
Y o r k T i m e s , 29 January 1986. Material relating to the Sidle Com-mission is available in William Schneider, et al. , "The Military and
the Media," E s s a y s o n S t ra t e g y a n d D i p l o m a c y 2 (Claremont, CA:
The Keck Center for International Strategic Studies, 1984).
28. Pertinent observations on the role of the State Department
in the current administration's public diplomacy efforts are offered
by Gifford Malone in Staar, P u b l i c D i p l o m a c y , pp. 132-37.
29. Consider the complaints of Fred W. Walker, "Psyop is a
Nasty Term--Too Bad," A i r U n i v e r s i t y R e v i e w 28 (September-October 1977): 71-76, as well as Edward N. Luttwak, "Notes on
Low-Intensity Warfare," in William A. Buckingham, ed., D e f e n s e
P l a n n i n g f o r t h e 1 990 s (Washington, D.C.: National Defense
University Press, 1984), pp. 197-209.
30. See the discussion in Alfred H. Paddock, Jr.,
"Psychological Operations, Special Operations and US Strategy,"
in Frank R. Barnett, B. Hugh Tovar, and Richard H. Shultz, eds.,
S p ec ia l Op er a t io n s in US S t r a teg y (Washington, D.C.: NationalDefense University Press, 1984), pp. 231-51.
31. Of interest in this connection is Robert Jervis, Richard
Ned Lebow, and Janice Gross Stein, P s y c h o l o g y a n d D e t e r r e n c e
(Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1985).
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Comment
PAUL A. SMITH, JR.
LET M E SA Y A T T H E O U TS ET t h a t w e o w e a d e b t o f t h a n k s t o
D r . L o r d f o r h a v i n g c le a r e d s o m e o f t h e p e d a n t i c w e e d s o f
t h e 1 97 0s a n d r i g h t fu l l y f o c u s e d o u r a t t e n t i o n o n p o l i t i c a l
w a r f a r e i n t h e 1 94 0s a n d 1 95 0 s. I t h i n k it w o u l d h a v e b e e n
e v e n b e t t e r if h e h a d f o c u s e d i t o n W o r l d W a r I , a b o u t w h i c hI w i ll s a y s o m e t h i n g i n a m i n u t e . B u t f ir s t le t m e d i s a g r e e o n
s o m e o t h e r p o i n t s .
I d i f f e r w i t h D r . L o r d o n o n e e s s e n ti a l p o i n t , w h i c h i s
w h e t h e r t h e r e is o r is n o t a g o o d t e r m i n E n g l i s h t o d e s i g n a t e
p s y c h o l o g i c a l - p o l i t ic a l o p e r a t i o n s i n t h e b r o a d e s t s e n s e .
Political war s e r v e s t h is p u r p o s e w e l l. I t m e a n s , q u i t e s i m p l y ,
t h e u s e o f w o r d s , i m a g e s , a n d i d e as , a n d a s s o c i a t e d f o r m s o f
a c t i o n , t o i m p o s e o n e ' s w il l o n a n o p p o n e n t . T h e t e r m c a n b er e f i n e d a n d q u a l i f i e d , b u t i t w i l l s e r v e f o r g e n e r a l d i s c u s s i o n
b o t h b y d e c i s i o n m a k e r s a n d b y t h e p ub l ic . L e t us h a v e d o n e
w i t h t h e j a r g o n o f s o c i a l sc i e n c e . P o l i t i c s i s a b o v e a l l t h e a r t
o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n , a n d g o o d c o m m u n i c a t i o n s t a n d s o r fa ll s
o n t h e u se o f p la i n l a n g u a g e , u n d e r s t a n d a b l e b y a ll .
A s e c o n d p o i n t o f d i f f e r e n c e is t h a t p o l i ti c a l w a r is a
m o r e s h a r p l y t a r g e t e d c o n c e p t t h a n t h at a d v a n c e d b y D r .
L o r d : it s h o u l d n o t a p p l y t o al li es a n d i n o f f e n s i v e a c t o r s o nt h e in t e r n a t i o n a l s ta g e . I f c a n n o n a r e t h e f i na l a r g u m e n t o f
k i n g s , p o l i ti c a l w a r is o n e o f t h e f ir s t a r g u m e n t s . B u t b o t h a r e
a c ts o f w a r , a n d w a r is p o w e r a p p l i e d w i t h h o s t i le i n t e n t .
P o l i ti c a l a d v o c a c y a m o n g a ll ie s is a t r a d i t i o n a m o n g
W e s t e r n n a t i o n s , b u t o f a n o t h e r k i nd . P o l it ic a l a d v o c a c y
a m o n g a l l i e s d o e s n o t s e e k t o c o m p e l c o m p l i a n c e b u t r a t h e r
t o e li ci t i t b y t h e s e a r c h f o r m u t u a l l y s a t i s f a c t o r y s o l u t i o n s t o
c o m m o n p r o b l e m s . I t is in t h e t r a d i t io n o f c o m p r o m i s e ,c o o p e r a t i o n , a n d c o m m o n v a l u e s . Public diplo macy - t h a t i s ,
p o l i ti c a l a d v o c a c y t o m a s s a u d i e n c e s in s u p p o r t o f d i p l o m a t i c
n e g o t i a t i o n s - i s a u s e f u l t e r m f o r t h e s e a c t i v i ti e s. P u b l i c
d i p l o m a c y i s n o t p o l i t ic a l w a r , h o w e v e r m u c h it m a y b e u se d
i n c o n j u n c t i o n w i t h i t . P u b l i c a f f a i r s a c t i v i t i e s , a d d r e s s e d b y
38
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N A T I O N A L S T R A T E G Y 39
a government to home audiences, is not political war, unless
of course there is a civil war underway. Promoting soap and
proselytizing the faithless are not political war, nor is part isan
political struggle within the framework of a constitutional
democracy. Such political disputes are not aimed at the
destruction of the enemy's will and capacity to resist: there is
always the presumption, backed by constitutional rights, that
a losing electoral opponent will retain the ability to continue
the struggle. War, particularly involving those nations that
are the United States' opponents today, offers no such com-forting presumptions.
Let us go back another half-century from the 1940s and
1950s Dr. Lord discusses and look at the war of 1914-18. The
Allied powers, more especially the English and the
Americans, were regarded by their opponents as clearly
su per io r- ind ee d, lethally s o - i n their use of the political
weapon. The English propaganda, as Marshal yon Hinden-
burg noted in retrospect, was a new weapon, or rather onethat had never been employed on such a scale and so ruthless-
ly. There are numerous such acknowledgments from German
leaders both during and after the war. The German High
Command was not ignorant of the uses of propaganda, but
they simply did not consider it worth using until too late. The
conclusions of a German crown council at Spa, after a major
Allied offensive accompanied by intensified English and
American propaganda, were that Germany could no longerhope to break the war will of its enemies by military opera-
tions, and should alter its strategy so as to paralyze its
enemies' will by assuming the strategic defensive.
By late 1918, the British were dropping five million
pamphlets a month over the German forces. Wilson had ar-
ticulated his Fourteen Points. This combined strategic and
tactical political warfare reinforced a message of both
despair and hope: that Anglo-American superiority in both
materiel and manpower made further struggle senseless, and
that, on the other hand, the aspirations of the German pcoplc
as well as the subject nations of Austria-Hungary would
receive due recognition in a postwar world. That activity
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40 S~IITH
might have shortened the war by a year and saved close to a
million lives. In early 1918, when Lloyd George restructured
and redirected to serious strategic ends the previously tactical
political warfare capability of Britain, the outcome of the war
was by no means sure. Russia had collapsed; the French
forces were tending toward mutiny; and America was still less
than fully engaged. British and American propaganda may
not have been the all-powerful weapon, as Hindenburg and
some later German leaders thought it to be. But it did con-
tribute significantly toward victory.Finally, let me touch on a dimension that Dr. Lord does
not address directly, though it is there by implication-the
fact that no force structure and no resources can compensate
for poor or confused leadership, political or military. Lloyd
George, in contrast to his predecessor, was a master of the
political art with a profound sense of the spirit of the times
and a sure strategic instinct. His senior associates in the prop-
aganda operation were Britain's two leading press lords,Beaverbrook and Northcliffe, the inventors of the popular
press. They in turn recruited talent like H. G. Wells, who
headed the German unit, and Wickham Steed of the Times,
assisted by the academic Hugh Seton-Watson, who worked
on Central Europe and the Balkans and succeeded in blowing
apart the Aust ro-Hungarian Empire. Faced with the threat o f
disaster af ter Russia collapsed and inspired by strong political
leadership, the Allies struggled through to victory. They lostor cast away the hopes of peace after the war, but that is
another story-which also has much to do with political
warfare.
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N A T I O N A L S T R A T E G Y 41
R I C H A R D G . S T I L W E L L
DR. LORD HAS DEMONSTRATED INSIGHT and thoroughness in
analyzing the complex reasons at the root of the failure of the
United States to exploit the nonintrinsic instruments of na-
tional power (or, worse yet, even to comprehen d the potential
of those instruments for enhancing national security). One
must share his pessimism about the prospects for remedying
these shortcomings. Indeed, in my own estimate the outlook
is even bleaker.To forego the use of certain tools that would facilitate
the pursuit of national objectives is one thing. To fail to
recognize-let alone take measures to counter-psycho-
logical and political warfare waged against our policies with
the intent to undermine them is quite another; here the cost
of inaction is real and heavy. Yet the stark fact is that the
American public, the media, and even the bureaucracy are
generally oblivious to the scope and sophistication of Sovietand Soviet-surrogate campaigns of this genre.
The lamentable situation in South Africa does not today
command center stage in Western consciousness because of
sober calculation or spontaneous concern about the nature ofwhite rule there. Rather, it is the result of a spectacularly suc-
cessful (and still ongoing) psychological warfare campaign,
carefully orchestrated, replete with misinformation, and
aided and abetted by our own gullible media. The Sandinistaregime in Nicaragua has had similar success: thanks almost
exclusively to the eff icacy of its propaganda , there is more ac-
tive support among the Amer ican public for the regime there
than for the freedom fighters our own government backs.
Unless and until we recognize that the integrity of our own
political and decisionmaking base is under threat and under-take systematically to expose and neutralize our adversaries'
efforts, there can be little hope that we will effectively use
psychological and political warfare to further American
foreign policy initiatives.
Although there is no excuse for not doing our best in thisfield, we are very far from that point. How can we begin to
systematically exploit this long-neglected tool of statecraft?
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42 STIL WE LL
To begin with, National Security Decision Directive 130
should be dusted off and made required reading throughou t
the executive and legislative branches. This landmark docu-
ment established international information as a major instru-
ment of national security policy, and the responsibility of no
single agency of the government. It also assigned a number of
specific tasks. It is time for a detailed review and accounting
by the relevant agencies of progress in carrying out these
tasks. Such an accounting can be expected to show that im-
plementation to date is far from satisfactory across the
board.
In this context, I should say that I have one basic
disagreement with Dr. Lord's paper. Perhaps because of his
concern for tightly drawn definitions and compartments, he
assigns psychological operations as such to the military. Cer-
tainly, psychological operations are inherent in the conduct
of military activity at all echelons of command and in all en-
vi ro nmen ts - steady state, crisis, and war. But under any cir-cumstances, the military has limited target audiences and
controls only a minute portion of the totality of channels of
communicat ion available to the nation as a whole. Surely the
business of influencing the beliefs, emotions, and behavior of
foreign peoples and governments is a national undertaking,
employing all m ean s-i ncl udi ng those of the mi lit ary -
that can be marshalled and harnessed to the task.
Without question, the principal reason for the problemsin implementing NSDD 130 was a failure to establish as
an integral element of that document an interagency
mechanism to monitor compliance and, more importantly, to
ensure the orchestration and coordination of the totality of
the US government's international communications and in-
formation capabilities. Such a mechanism is needed, and the
logical way to provide it is to restructure and reenergize the
long-defunct interagency machinery created by NSDD 77 tooversee activities pursued under the rubric of public diplo-
macy. This public diplomacy superstructure was faulty in
design from the beginning. It excluded the CIA from member-
ship and made no provision for input from or interface with
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NA TIO NA L S TRA TEG Y 43
t h e i n t e ll ig e n c e c o m m u n i t y ; it h a d n o f u l l -t im e s ta f f ; i t a r -
b i tr a r i ly c o n s i g n e d p u b l ic a f f a ir s , i n t e r n a t i o n a l i n f o r m a t i o n
( r e a l l y U S I A ) , p o l i t i c a l a c t i o n , a n d r a d i o b r o a d c a s t i n g t o
d i s c r e t e c o m p a r t m e n t s ; a n d i t e s t a b l i s h e d o n l y a d h o c l i n k s
w i t h t h e r e g i o n a l l y o r i e n t e d b u r e a u s o f t h e k e y a g e n c i es .
T h e f u n c t i o n s o f a n e w , p r o p e r l y c o n f i g u r e d , a n d a d e -
q u a t e ly c h a r t e r e d i n te r a g e n c y m e c h a n i s m u n d e r N S C a eg is
w ill b e e x t r a o r d i n a r i ly i m p o r t a n t . I t m u s t s t i m u l a t e a n d l at er
r e v ie w t h e p l a n n i n g n e c e s s a r y t o c o a l e s c e t h e c a p a b i l it ie s o f a
v a r i e t y o f a g e n c i e s ; e n s u r e t h a t t h o s e c a p a b i l i t i e s a r e a p p l i e di n a r e s p o n s i v e , d i s c i p l i n e d , a n d c o o r d i n a t e d m a n n e r ; a n d
b r i n g a b o u t r e d i r e c t io n o f e f f o r t a s n e c e s s a r y t o a c h i e v e m a x -
i m u m e f f e c t. A d m i t t e d l y , t h a t is t h e h a r d p a r t a n d t h e a re a
w h e r e a l l p r e v i o u s e f f o r t s h a v e f o u n d e r e d . B u t w e m u s t t r y
a g a i n , a n d t h i s t i m e w i th g r e a te r d e t e r m i n a t i o n .
I m a y b e n a i v e , b u t I b e li e ve a m a j o r o b s t a c l e i n t h e p a s t
h a s b e e n o u r f o c u s o n m e a n s r a t h e r t h a n e n d s , i n p u t s r a t h e r
t h a n o u t p u t s , h a r d w a r e r a t h e r t h a n s o f t w a r e . T e r m i n o l o g yh a s a ls o c r ea t e d p r o b l e m s b e c a u s e o f v a g u e n e s s o f c o n n o t a -
t i o n o r o v e r l a p . B u t w h a t i s t h e r e al n e e d to d i f f e r e n t i a t e b e -
t w e e n p o l it ic a l a n d p s y c h o l o g i c a l a c t io n s ? T h e m i li ta r y is
w e d d e d t o th e t e r m p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s , b u t t h e n o n -
m i l i t a r y a g e n c i e s c a n u s e a n y d e s c r i p t o r s d e e m e d s u i t a b l e .
P u b l i c a ff a ir s c h a n n e l s h a v e i m m e n s e p o t e n t i a l f o r s h a p i n g
t h e v i e w s o f f o r e i g n a u d i e n c e s .
C o n s i d e r th e f o l lo w i n g a p p r o a c h . T h e N S C d e f in e s a no b j e c ti v e o f s u f fi c ie n t m o m e n t to t a k e p r i o ri ty o v e r m a n y o n -
g o i n g p r o j e c t s i n t h e s e v e r a l d e p a r t m e n t s a n d a g e n c i e s , a n d
p r e s c r i b e s t h a t a l l a v a i la b l e c a p a b i l i t ie s b e b r o u g h t t o b e a r t o
t h e f u l l e x t e n t p e r m i t t e d b y l a w . T h e d e s i g n a t e d o b j e c t i v e
c o u l d b e r a i s i n g t h e d o m e s t i c a n d i n t e r n a t i o n a l c o s t t o t h e
S o v i e ts o f t h e ir r u t h l e s s a g g r e s s i o n in A f g h a n i s t a n , o r t h w a r t -
i n g t h e e f f o r t s o f t h e C o m m u n i s t s i n t h e P h i l i p p i n e s t o
m u s t e r i n t e r n a t i o n a l s u p p o r t , o r r a l l y i n g r e g i o n a l a n d i n t e r -
n a t i o n a l s u p p o r t b e h i n d t h e N i c a r a g u a n f r e e d o m f ig h te r s, o r
n e u t r a l i z i n g t h e S o v i e t a g i t p r o p c a m p a i g n a g a i n s t S D I . T h e
h i g h - l e v e l i n t e r a g e n c y g r o u p t h e n d e v e l o p s s u b - o b j e c t i v e s
a n d o t h e r g u i d a n c e to t r ig g e r p r e p a r a t i o n o f a c t i o n p l a n s ,
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44 STIL WEL L
a s s ig n s r e s p o n s i b i l it y to t h e s e v e ra l a g e n c ie s f o r d e t a i l e d p l a n -
n i n g , a n d e n s u r e s t h a t a ll r e l e v a n t i n te l l ig e n c e is c o n t i n u a l l y
a v a i l a b l e t o t h e p l a n n e r s .
N o n e o f t h i s i s n e w . T h e d i f f e r e n c e i s i n t h e f o l l o w -
t h r o u g h b y t h e i n t e r a g e n c y g r o u p , w h i c h s h o u l d r e v i e w ,
r ev is e , a n d c r o s s - c o o r d i n a t e t h e a c t i o n p l a n s w h e n d r a f t e d .
T h e i n t e r a g e n c y g r o u p ' s w o r k e n ta i l s a t t e n t i o n t o t h e p r i o r i t y
g i v e n v a r i o u s t a r g e t a u d i e n c e s ; t o t h e a p p r o p r i a t e n e s s a n d
c r e d i b il i t y o f t h e m e s s a g e t o b e d i r e c t e d a t t h o s e a u d i e n c e s ; t o
t h e a d e q u a c y o f c h a n n e l s o f d is s e m i n a t io n (w h e t h e r w o r d o fm o u t h , a u d i o v i s u a l , o r p u b l i c a t i o n s , t o n a m e a f e w ) ; t o t h e
d e t e r m i n a t i o n o f r e sp o n s ib i li ty f o r e m p l o y i n g t h es e c h a n n e l s
( a nd f o r c o m p l e m e n t a r y a ct io n s w h e r e n o n a t t r ib u t i o n m i g h t
b e d e si ra b l e) ; a n d t o a r r a n g e m e n t s f o r t h e c o l le c t io n a n d
a n a l y s i s o f f e e d b a c k .
A l l o f t h e a b o v e s til l fa ll s s h o r t o f f u l l i m p l e m e n t a t i o n ; it
is a b e g i n n in g , n o t t h e e n d . T h e p a y o f f c o m e s f r o m t h e h a r d
w o r k o f d e v e lo p in g t he s u b s ta n t i v e o u t p u t , o f p r o g r a m m i n g ,o f a d a p t i n g t o n e w i n te l li g en c e a n d t o a u d i e n c e rc a c t i o n , o f
e m p h a s i z i n g t h e t h e m e s f o u n d s u c c e s s f u l a n d e l i m i n a t i n g
t h o s e f o u n d w a n t i n g . A n d t h e p r o c e s s r e q u i r e s c o n t i n u o u s
m o n i t o r i n g , d e c i s io n s o n r e d i r e c t i o n o f e f f o r t , a n d g e n e r a l
o v e r s i g h t t h a t o n l y a n i n te r a g e n c y g r o u p , p r o p e r l y c h a r t e r e d
a n d e m p o w e r e d , c a n p ro v id e . A c a m p a i g n o f th is m a g n i t u d e
i n v o l v e s a m i x t u r e o f p o l i ti c a l a c t io n , p s y c h o l o g i c a l w a r f a r e ,
e x e r c i s e o f t h e c h a n n e l s n o r m a l l y a v a i l a b l e t o o u r o f f i c i a lr ep r es e n t at i ve s a b r o a d , c o ve r t a c t i on , a n d - w e h o p e - e x -
p a n s i o n , e l a b o r a t io n , a n d i n t e r p r e t a t io n o f t h e m a t i c o u t p u t
b y t h e p r i v a t e s e c t o r . T h a t is t h e w a y i t s h o u l d b e i f t h e n a t i o n
is r ea ll y s e ri o u s a b o u t f u ll y e x p l o i t i n g o u r e n o r m o u s i n t e r n a -
t io n a l c o m m u n i c a t i o n s ca p a b il it ie s in f u r t h e r a n c e o f o u r n a -
t i o n ' s s e c u r i t y p o l i c i e s .
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M ilitary Psychological Operations
AL FR ED H. PADDOCK, JR.
pp S Y C H O L O G I C A L O P E R A T I O N S ( P S Y O P ) m a y b e
d e f in e d b r o a d l y a s t h e p l a n n e d u se o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n s
t o i n f lu e n c e h u m a n a t t i tu d e s a n d b e h a v i o r . I t c o n s i s ts o f
p o l it ic a l , m i l i t a ry , a n d i d e o lo g i c a l a c t i o n s c o n d u c t e d t o
c r e a t e in t a r g e t g r o u p s b e h a v i o r , e m o t i o n s , a n d a t t i t u d e s t h a t
s u p p o r t t h e a t t a i n m e n t o f n a t io n a l o b j e c ti v es . I f u se d p r o p e r -
ly , P S Y O P w il l n o r m a l l y p r e c e d e , a c c o m p a n y , a n d f o ll o w a ll
a p p l i c a t i o n s o f f o r c e . T h i s w i l l b e c a r r i e d o u t u n d e r t h e
b r o a d e r u m b r e l l a o f U S n a t i o n a l p o l i c y , a n d t h e m i l i t a r yc o m p o n e n t o f t h e o v e ra l l p s y c h o lo g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s e f f o r t
s h o u l d b e c o o r d i n a t e d f u ll y a n d c a r e f u l l y w i t h o t h e r a g e n c i e s
o f g o v e r n m e n t .
M o r e s p e c i f i c a l l y , P S Y O P c a n b e u s e d t o d e m o r a l i z e ,
d i s o r i e n t , a n d c o n f u s e h o s t i l c g r o u p s . W h e n h o s t i l e g r o u p s
a re t a rg e t e d , P S Y O P is e m p l o y e d a s a n o f f e n s iv e w e a p o n
t h a t c a n e n h a n c e t h e o v e r a l e f f e c ti v e n e s s o f m i l i ta r y o p e r a -
t i o n s . I t c a n a l s o b e u s e d t o u n i t e , i n f o r m , a n d b o l s t e r t h em o r a l e o f n o n h o s t i l e g r o u p s . W h e n t a rg e t in g n e u t r a l o r
f r i e n d l y g r o u p s , i t i s u s e d t o s u p p o r t m i l i t a r y o b j e c t i v e s b y
d e v e l o p i n g c o o p e r a t i v e a t t i tu d e s a n d b e h a v i o r i n t h e t a r g e t
g r o u p .
An Overview of Ar my PS YO P
T h e l e ve l o f i n t e r e s t in m i l it a r y p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s
d u r i n g t h i s c e n t u r y h a s b e e n e p i s o d i c , r i s i n g a n d f a l l i n g d u r -
i n g a n d a f t e r t h e m a j o r c o n f l i c t s i n w h i c h U S f o r c e s h a v e
b e e n c o m m i t t e d . O v e r t h i s p e r i o d , m o s t o f t h e a c t i v i t y i n
m i l it a ry P S Y O P c e n t e r e d in th e A r m y . T h e f o l l o w i n g b r ie f
45
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4 6 P A D D O C K
h i s to r i c a l p e r s p e c t i v e , t h e r e f o r e , w i ll f o c u s o n t h e A r m y ' s a c -
t i v i t i e s a s i l l u s t r a t i v e o f t h e f o r t u n e s o f m i l i t a r y P S Y O P .
W h i l e g i v i n g p s y c h o l o g i c a l w a r f a r e o n l y t o k e n r e c o g n i -
t i o n i n W o r l d W a r I , t h e A r m y e s t a b l i s h e d t h e P s y c h o l o g i c a l
W a r f a r e S u b - S e c t io n o f G - 2 in t h e W a r D e p a r t m e n t a n d a ls o
t h e P r o p a g a n d a S e c t i on , G - 2 , G e n e r a l H e a d q u a r t e rs ( G H Q ) ,
A m e r i c a n E x p e d i t i o n a r y F o r c e s . M i l i t a r y t a c t i c a l
p s y c h o l o g i c a l w a r f a r e c e n t e r e d o n t h e p r o d u c t i o n o f le a fl et s;
r a d io s d i d n o t e x is t a s a m e a n s o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n a n d
l o u d s p e a k e r s w e r e p r im i t iv e . M i l it ar y p r o p a g a n d a c o n c e n -t ra t e d o n p r o d u c i n g s u r re n d e r a p p e a l s; b a l lo o n s a n d
a i r p l a n e s w e r e t h e p r i m a r y m e t h o d s f o r d i s s e m i n a t i n g
l ea f l e t s .
F r o m 1918 to 1 9 4 1 n o p s y c h o l o g i c a l w a r f a r e o f f i c e ex -
is te d at t h e W a r D e p a r t m e n t . T h e l e s so n s o f e x p e r ie n c e w e re
l os t, a n d b y 1 9 41 o n l y o n e o f f ic e r o n t h e W a r D e p a r t m e n t
s t a f f h a d p s y c h o l o g i c a l w a r f a r e e x p e r ie n c e in t h e p r e v i o u s
w a r .D u r i n g W o r l d W a r I I, m o s t o f t h e A r m y ' s o p e r a t i o n a l
w o r k i n p s y c h o l o g ic a l w a r f a r e t o o k p l a c e at t h e t h e a t e r l ev el ,
w h e r e th e r e s p o n s i b l e o r g a n i z a t i o n w a s n o r m a l l y d e s i g n a t e d a
P s y c h o l o g i c a l W a r f a r e B r a n c h ( P W B ) . T h e la r ge s t o f t h e se ,
t he P W B a t A l li e d F o rc e s H e a d q u a r t e rs ( P W B / A F H Q ) , w a s
a c t i v a t e d i n N o r t h A f r i c a i n N o v e m b e r 1 9 4 2 a t t h e o r d e r o f
G e n e r a l D w i g h t D . E i s e n h o w e r , a n d t h e n e x p a n d e d i n
F e b r u a r y 1 94 4 t o th e P s y c h o l o g i c a l W a r f a r e D i v i s io n ,S u p r e m e H e a d q u a r t e r s , A l l i e d E x p e d i t i o n a r y F o r c e
( P W D / S H A E F ) . P W D / S H A E F d e fi n e d p sy c h o l o g i c a l w a r-
f ar e a s " t h e d i ss e m i n a t io n o f p r o p a g a n d a d e s i g n e d t o u n d e r -
m i n e t h e e n e m y ' s w i l l t o r e s i s t , d e m o r a l i z e h i s f o r c e s a n d
s u s t a i n t h e m o r a l e o f o u r s u p p o r t e r s . "
T h e b a s i c A r m y f i e l d o p e r a t i n g u n i t f o r t a c t i c a l
p s y c h o l o g i c a l w a r f a r e w a s t h e M o b i l e R a d i o B r o a d c a s t i n g
( M R B ) c o m p a n y . T h e e q u i p m e n t f o r t h e s e u n i t s w a s u n l i k e
a n y t h i n g c o n v e n t i o n a l s o ld ie rs h a d s ee n in t h e f i e l d - p u b l i c
a d d r e s s s y s te m s , r a d i o s , m o n i t o r i n g se ts , lo u d s p e a k e r s ,
t y p e w r i t e r s , m o b i l e p r i n t i n g p r e s s e s , a n d l e a f l e t b o m b s .
( R a d i o l a t e r b e c a m e a n e s s e n t i a l l y s t r a t e g i c w e a p o n t h a t h a d
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M I L I T A R Y P S Y O P 4 7
n o p l a c e i n a p u r e l y ta c t ic a l p s y c h o l o g i c a l u n i t . ) M R B u n i t s
w e r e u s u a l l y d i v i d e d b y t h e s e p a r a t e A r m y g r o u p s a n d f i e l d
a r m i e s i n t o s m a l l t e a m s , o f t e n t o w o r k i n d i r e c t s u p p o r t o f
f r o n t l in e c o n v e n t i o n a l c o m b a t u n i ts . F iv e s u c h c o m p a n i e s
e v e n tu a l l y s erv e d u n d e r P W D / S H A E F . A l t h o u g h th e se u n it s
w e r e t h e r e s u l t o f i m p r o v i s a t i o n in 19 43 a n d 1 94 4, t h e d o c -
t ri na l a n d o r g a n i z a t io n a l c o n c e p t s th e y e m b o d i e d r e a p p e a r e d
in t h e p s y c h o l o g ic a l w a r f a re u n i t s f o r m e d d u r i n g t h e K o r e a n
c o n f l i c t .
D u r i n g 1 9 4 5 -4 6 , A r m y p s y c h o l o g i c a l w a r f a r e s t a ff s a n du n i t s d i s s i p a t e d w i t h t h e g e n e r a l d e m o b i l i z a t i o n o f t h e
m i l i t a r y e s t a b l i s h m e n t . D e s p i t e t h e e f f o r t s o f a f e w s e n i o r
c i v i l i a n a n d m i l i t a r y o f f i c i a l s t o r e t a i n a m i l i t a r y P S Y O P
c a p a b i l it y , w h e n t h e N o r t h K o r e a n s a t t a c k e d S o u t h K o r e a i n
J u n e 1950 , t h e T a c ti ca l I n f o r m a t i o n D e t a c h m e n t - - o r g a n i z e d
a t F o r t R i l e y , K a n s a s , in 1 9 4 7 - - w a s th e o n l y o p e r a t i o n a l
p s y c h o l o g ic a l w a r f a r e t r o o p u n i t in t h e U S A r m y . S e n t t o
K o r e a i n t h e f al l o f 1 95 0, th e d e t a c h m e n t w a s r e o r g a n i z e d a st h e 1 st L o u d s p e a k e r a n d L e a f le t ( L & L ) C o m p a n y a n d s e r ve d
a s t h e 8 th A r m y ' s ta c ti ca l p r o p a g a n d a u n i t t h r o u g h o u t t h e
c o n f li c t . T a c t ic a l p r o p a g a n d a , s o m e t i m e s c a ll ed c o m b a t
p r o p a g a n d a , w a s d i r e c t e d a t a sp e c if ic a u d i e n c e in t h e f o r -
w a r d b a t t le a r e a s a n d u s e d in s u p p o r t o f l o c al iz e d o p e r a t i o n s .
M o b i le l o u d s p e a k e r s m o u n t e d o n v e hi cle s a n d a i rc r a ft
b e c a m e a p r i m a r y m e a n s o f c o n d u c t i n g ta c ti c a l p r o p a g a n d a
o p e r a t i o n s in K o r e a .T o c o n d u c t f u l l - s c a l e s t r a t e g i c o p e r a t i o n s , t h e 1 s t R a d i o
B r o a d c a s t i n g a n d L e a f l e t ( R B & L ) G r o u p w a s o r g a n i z e d a t
F o r t R i le y a n d s h i p p e d t o K o r e a in J u l y 1 95 1. T h e 1 st R B & L
G r o u p w a s s p e c if ic a l l y d e s i g n e d to c o n d u c t s t r at e g ic p r o p -
a g a n d a in d ir e c t s u p p o r t o f m i l i ta r y o p e r a t i o n s . S t r a te g i c
p r o p a g a n d a w a s in t e n d e d t o f u r t h e r l o n g - t e r m st ra te g ic a i m s
a n d w a s d ir e c te d a t e n e m y fo r ce s , p o p u l a t i o n s , a n d e n e m y -
o c c u p i e d a r e as . T o a c c o m p l i s h t h e s e t a s k s t h e 1st R B & L
G r o u p h a d t h e e q u i p m e n t a n d c a p a b i l it y t o p r o d u c e
n e w s p a p e r s a n d l e a f l e t s a n d t o a u g m e n t o r r e p l a c e o t h e r
m e a n s o f b ro a d c a s t in g r a d io p r o p a g a n d a . T h e g r o u p s u p e r-
v is e d a r a d i o s t a t io n n e t w o r k k n o w n a s T h e V o i c e o f t h e
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4 8 P A D D O C K
U n i te d N a t io n s a n d o f t e n p r o d u c e d m o r e t h a n 2 0 0 m i ll io n
p r o p a g a n d a l ea f le t s a w e e k t o b e d i s s e m i n a t e d b y a i r c ra f t o r
b y s p e c i a l l y d e s i g n e d a r t i l l e r y s h e l l s . T h e l e a f l e t s e x p r e s s e d
v a r io u s t h e m e s . S o m e , f o r e x a m p l e , o f f e r e d in d u c e m e n t s f o r
e n e m y s o l d i e r s t o s u r r e n d e r ; o t h e r s w e r e i n t e n d e d t o b o l s t e r
t h e m o r a l e o f K o r e a n c iv il ia ns b y p r o c la i m i n g U N s u p p o r t .
A l t h o u g h th e R B & L G r o u p w a s a c o n c e p t a c c e le r a te d to
m e e t t h e r e q u i r e m e n t s o f t h e K o r e a n c o n f l i c t , i t p e r f o r m e d
f u n c t io n s s i m i l ar to t h o s e d e e m e d n e c e s s ar y to t h e c o n d u c t o f
p s y c h o l o g i c a l w a r f a r e i n W o r l d W a r I I. I t s M o b i l e R a d i oB r o a d c a s t i n g (M R B ) C o m p a n y b o r e a d ir ec t a n c es tr a l l i n k ag e
w i t h t h e m o b i l e r a d i o b r o a d c a s t i n g c o m p a n i e s f o r m e d u n d e r
P W D / S H A E F to c o n d u c t p r o p a g a n d a o p e r a t i o n s in N o r t h
A f r i c a a n d t h e E u r o p e a n t h e a t e r d u r i n g 1 9 4 4 - 4 5 . B o t h t h e
s tr at e g ic p r o p a g a n d a c o n c e p t e m b o d i e d in th e R B & L G r o u p
a n d t h e ta c tic a l p r o p a g a n d a i d e a e x p re s s ed b y t h e L & L C o m -
p a n y w e r e t o f i g u r e p r o m i n e n t l y in th e p s y c h o l o g i c a l w a r f a r e
c a p a b i l it y s u b s e q u e n t l y f o r m e d a s p a r t o f t h e P s y c h o l o g i c a lW a r f a r e C e n t e r i n 1 9 5 2 .
A s o r i g in a l ly e s t a b l i s h e d a t F o r t B r a g g , N o r t h C a r o l i n a ,
t h e P s y c h o l o g i c a l W a r f a r e C e n t e r c o n s i s te d o f a P s y c h o -
l og i ca l W a r f a r e S c h o o l , t h e 6 t h R a d i o a n d B r o a d c a s t i n g
G r o u p , a P s y c h o l o g i c a l W a r f a r e B o a r d , a n d t h e 1 0 th S p e c i al
F o r c es G r o u p . T h e m i ss io n o f th is u n p r e c e d e n t e d c e n te r w a s
to c on du ct ind iv idua l tr a in ing and superv ise un i t t r a in ing inPsycho log ica l War fare and Spec ia l Forces opera t ions ; t o
develop and t es t Psycho log ica l W ar fare and Spec ia l Forces
doct r ine , p rocedures , t ac t i cs , and t echn iques ; t o t es t and
ev a l u a t e eq u i p men t emp l o y ed i n Psy ch o l o g i ca l War f a r e
and Spec ia l Forces Opera t ions .
A f t e r a n i n i t i a l b u r s t o f a c t i v i t y f u e l e d b y t h e K o r e a n
c o n f l ic t a n d f e ar s o v e r a p o s s ib l e o u t b r e a k o f w a r in E u r o p e ,
i n t e r e s t i n t h e P s y c h o l o g i c a l W a r f a r e C e n t e r b e g a n t o
d i s s ip a t e . I n 19 56 its t it le w a s c h a n g e d t o t h e S p e c i a l W a r f a r e
C e n t e r , a n d b y t h e e a r l y 1 9 6 0 s t h e A r m y ' s p s y c h o l o g i c a l
o p e r a t i o n s c a p a b i l i t y h a d e r o d e d .
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M I L I T A R Y P S Y O P 4 9
I n d e e d , t h e r e w a s a n i n s u f f ic i e n t b a s e o f P S Y O P - t r a i n e d
o f fi c er s t o c al l u p o n w h e n t h e 6 t h P S Y O P B a t t a l io n w a s ac -t i v a te d i n V i e t n a m i n 1 9 65 . B y 19 67 t h e A r m y ' s P S Y O P
f o r c e s i n V i e t n a m h a d b e e n e x p a n d e d t o a g r o u p ( t h e 4 t h )
w i t h f o u r b a t t a l i o n s , o n e i n e a c h o f t h e f o u r C o r p s T a c t i c a l
Z o n e s ( C T Z ) . T h e g r o u p w a s u n d e r th e c o n t ro l o f t h e C o m -
m a n d e r , U S M i l it ar y A s s is ta n c e C o m m a n d , V i e tn a m ( C O M -
U S M A C V ) , w i th th e J -3 ' s P s y c h o l o g i c a l O p e r a t i o n s D i v is io n
e x e rc is in g d i re c t s t a f f su p e r v i s io n . T h e J o i n t U S P u b l i c A f -
f a ir s O f f i ce ( J U S P A O ) p r o v i d e d U S P S Y O P p o l i cy g u i d a n c en o t o n l y t o t h e c i v i l i a n a g e n c i e s b u t a l s o t h r o u g h C O M -
U S M A C V t o a ll m i l i ta ry P S Y O P e le m e n ts .
I n a d d i t i o n t o p r o v i d i n g t a c ti c a l s u p p o r t t o f ie ld f o r c e
c o m m a n d e r s , th e 4 th P S Y O P G r o u p a ss is te d t h e S o u t h V ie t-
n a m e s e g o v e r n m e n t in its c o m m u n i c a t i o n e ff o r t d o w n t o t h e
h a m l e t l e v e l . T h e g r o u p h e a d q u a r t e r s o p e r a t e d a 5 0 , 0 0 0 - w a t t
r a d i o s t a t i o n a n d h i g h - s p e e d h e a v y p r i n t i n g p re s se s , p u b -
l is h ed a m a g a z i n e f o r V i e t n a m e s e e m p l o y e e s w o r k i n g f o r U Sg o v e r n m e n t a n d c iv il ia n a g e n c ie s , a n d h a d a c a p a b i li t y f o r
r e se a rc h i n g a n d d e v e l o p i n g p r o p a g a n d a m a t er ia l s .
P S Y O P b a t t a l i o n s h a d l i g h t p r i n t i n g p r e s s e s , a r e s e a r c h
a n d p r o p a g a n d a d e v e l o p m e n t c a p ab i l it y , p e r s o n n e l t o w o r k
w i t h t h e U S A i r F o r c e S p e c i a l O p e r a t i o n s u n i t s f o r a e r i a l
l e a f l e t a n d l o u d s p e a k e r m i s s i o n s , a n d g r o u n d l o u d s p e a k e r
a n d a u d i o v i s u a l t e a m s . L o u d s p e a k e r a n d a u d i o v i s u a l t e a m s
o p e r a t e d w i t h U S d i v i si o n s a n d b r i g a d e s o r w i t h p r o v i n c e a d -v is o ry t ea m s . T h e 7 th P S Y O P G r o u p in O k i n a w a p r o v i d e d
v a l u a b l e b a c k u p s u p p o r t i n p r i n t i n g a n d h i g h - a l t i t u d e l e a f l e t
d i s s e m i n a t i o n .
D u r i n g t h e h e i g h t o f U S i n v o l v e m e n t in S o u t h e a s t A s ia ,
t h e A r m y s t a t io n e d P S Y O P u n i t s at F o r t B r ag g , N o r t h
C a r o l i n a , a n d in G e r m a n y , P a n a m a , a n d O k i n a w a as w e ll a st h e 4 th P S Y O P G r o u p in th e R e p u b l i c o f V i e t n am . B y t h e
m i d - 1 9 7 0 s , h o w e v e r , a l l t h a t r e m a i n e d i n t h e a c t i v e c o m p o -n e n t w a s a n u n d e r s t r e n g t h g r o u p a t F o r t B r a g g w i th a n t i -
q u a t e d e q u i p m e n t - a c o n d i t i o n t ha t d i d n o t i m p r o v e
s i g n i f i c a n t l y f o r t e n y e a r s .
T h e m i d -1 9 8 0s sa w a n u p t u r n f o r t h e f o r tu n e s o f P S Y O P .
I n r e s p o n s e t o a p r e s i d e n t i a l d i r e c t i v e , t h e s e c r e t a r y o f
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50 PADDOCK
d e f e n s e l a u n c h e d a m a j o r e v a l u a t i o n o f t h e d e p a r t m e n t ' s
c a p a b il it ie s a n d n e e d s i n t h e a r e a o f p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s .
T h i s e v a l u a t i o n c o n c l u d e d t h a t m i l i ta r y p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a -
t i o n s c a p a b i l i t i e s h a d b e e n a l l o w e d t o a t r o p h y o v e r t h e p a s t
d e c a d e - a c o n c lu s io n r ea c he d by m a n y in t he P S Y O P c o m -
m u n i t y w ell b e f o r e t h is t i m e , b u t n o t b y s e n i o r p o l i c y m a k e r s .
A c r o s s t h e b o a r d d e f ic i e n ci e s h a d d e v e l o p e d in p o l i c y
g u i d a n c e , r o l e s a n d m i s s i o n s , d o c t r i n e , o r g a n i z a t i o n , f o r c e
s t r u c t u r e , o p e r a t i o n a l c o n c e p t s , p l a n n i n g , p r o g r a m m i n g ,
t r a i n i n g , l o g is ti c s, in t e l li g e n c e s u p p o r t , r e a d i n e s s , p e r s o n n e lp r o g ra m s , a n d - m o s t i m p o r t a n t - a t t it ud e , u n d e r s c o ri n g t he
n e e d f o r e d u c a t i o n a n d h e i g h t e n e d a w a r e n e s s a t a ll le ve ls o f
m i l i t a r y a n d c i v i l i a n o r g a n i z a t i o n .
T h e v e h i c le th a t t h e s e c r e t a r y o f d e f e n s e e l e c te d to u s e a s
a f r a m e w o r k f o r t h e re b u i ld i n g o f m i l it a ry P S Y O P
c a pa b il it ie s w a s d e v e l o p m e n t o f a D O D P S Y O P m a s t e r p la n .
A p p r o v e d b y t h e s e c r e ta r y in m i d -1 9 8 5 , t h e p l a n i s t o s e r v e a s
a c o m p r e h e n s i v e f r a m e w o r k f o r th e p h a se d , f u n d a m e n t a lr e v it a l iz a ti o n a n d i m p r o v e m e n t o f th e d e p a r t m e n t ' s
c a p a b il it ie s t o e m p l o y p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s e f fe c ti v e ly ,
w o r l d w i d e , i n s u p p o r t o f n a t i o n a l o b j e c t i v e s i n p e a c e a n d
c r i s i s a nd a t a l l l e ve l s o f c on f l i c t .
The Essential Themes of Revitalization
A n y p l a n f o r r e v i t a l i z i n g P S Y O P m u s t a d d r e s s t w o
b r o a d r e q u i r e m e n t s : h o w t o d e v e l o p t h e c a p a b il i t y f o r w a r
a n d h o w t o p r e p a r e f o r c o n t in g e n c i e s s h o r t o f w a r . T h e r e-
q u i r e m e n t t o p re p a r e fo r w a r - a n d t h e t ra n s it io n f r o m p e ac e
t o c o n f l i c t - m u s t r e m a i n o u r f i r s t r e s p o n s i b i l i t y , b u t t h ec h a ll en g e f or t h e D e p a r t m e n t o f D e f e n s e t o c o n t r i b u t e t o o u r
n a t i o n ' s p e a c e t i m e " w a r o f i d e a s " w i t h t h e S o v i e t U n i o n i s
g r o w i n g i n i m p o r t a n c e . T h e m a s t e r p l a n a d d r e s s e s t h e s e t w o
r e q u i r e m e n t s .
U n d e r n e a t h t h is u m b r e l l a , t h e p l a n s p e ci fi es a n u m b e r o fr em e d ia l a c t i o n s - - o v e r t w o h u n d r e d , in f a c t - t o b e im p l e-
m e n t e d o v e r s e v e r a l y e a r s . T h e s e e m b o d y s e v e r a l e s s e n t i a l
t h e m e s .
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MI L I T A R Y P SY O P 51
T h e f ir st is t h e n e e d t o d e v e l o p c o m p r e h e n s i v e j o i n t d o c -
t r i n e f o r t h e f o r m u l a t i o n , d i r e c t i o n , c o o r d i n a t i o n , a n d c o n -d u c t o f P S Y O P i n p e a c e , c r is is , a n d w a r . I n e f f e c t , t h i s
s h o u l d p r o v i d e t h e f o u n d a t i o n f o r t h e re v i ta l iz a t io n e f f o r t .
A m o n g o t h e r t h i n g s , t h e d o c t r in e s h o u l d e n u n c i a t e th e f u n c -
t i o n o f P S Y O P a s a f o r c e m u l t i p l i e r i n a ll t y p e s o f m i l it a r y ac -
t i v i t y , e s t a b l i s h t h e c o n c e p t u a l f r a m e w o r k f o r p l a n n i n g a n d
i m p l e m e n t a t i o n , a n d d e l i n e a t e r o l e s a n d r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s o f
t h e s e v er al c o m p o n e n t s . T h e j o i n t s t a f f a n d t h e s e rv ic es a r e
c u r r e n tl y h a m m e r i n g o u t a d r a f t o f th is m u c h - n e e d e d a n dl o n g - o v e r d u e d o c t r in e .
T h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f d o c t r i n e m u s t b e p ar a ll e le d b y m a -
j o r i m p r o v e m e n t s in P S Y O P p l a n n i n g - a n o t h e r e ss en ti a l
t h e m e . T h e r e is i n s u f f ic i e n t h u m a n t a l e n t d e v o t e d t o f ul l -
t im e , m e a n i n g f u l , s u s t a i n e d P S Y O P p l a n n i n g at a p p r o p r i a t e
s t a f f le v el s, a l t h o u g h w e ' v e s e en s o m e e v i d e n c e o f p r o g r e s s o n
t h is m a j o r d e f i c i en c y . C r e a t i o n o f a p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s
d i r e c t o r a t e , t h e f i r s t s u c h o f f i c e t o e x i s t i n t h e O f f i c e o f t h eS e c r e t a r y o f D e f e n s e ( O S D ) i n o v e r t w e n t y y e a r s , is a n i n d i c a -
t i o n o f t h e s e r io u s n e s s w i th w h i c h t h e s e c r e ta r y is u n d e r t a k i n g
t h is r e v it a li z a ti o n e f f o r t . T h e P S Y O P s t a f f e l e m e n t in t h e O f -
f ic e o f t h e J o i n t C h i e fs o f S t a f f ( O J C S ) h a s b e en u p g r a d e d
f r o m a b r a n c h t o a d iv i s io n a n d s t r e n g t h e n e d w i t h t w o a d d i -
t i o n a l s t a f f o f f i ce r s l o t s - n o s m a l l f e at in th e c u r r e n t e n v i r o n -
m e n t . T h e D e p a r t m e n t o f t h e A r m y s t a f f h a s c re a te d a pr o v i-
s i o n a l P S Y O P d i v i s i o n , w h e r e b e f o r e o n l y o n e o f f i c e r w a sd e v o t e d f u l l- t i m e t o t h i s a ct iv i ty . A m o n g t h e u n i f ie d c o m -
m a n d s , U S S O U T H C O M h a s c re a t ed a 2 7 -m a n P S Y O P
d e t a c h m e n t t o a u g m e n t i t s s t a f f c a p a b i l i t y .
M u c h m o r e r e m a i n s t o b e d o n e in th is a re a , h o w e v e r .
P e r h a p s t h e k e y r e q u i r e m e n t i s t h a t s t a f f o f f i c e r s b e t r a i n e d
f o r m a l l y i n t h i s s p e c i a l i z e d a r e a , a n d t h a t p s y c h o l o g i c a l
o p e r a t i o n s b e a n i n t e g r a l p a r t o f t h e o p e r a t i o n a l c o u r s e o f a c -
t io n in a n y p l a n . A f ew i n n o v a t i v e a n d r e s o u r c e f u l s t a f f o f -
f i c e r s c a n m a k e a v a s t d i f f e r e n c e , i f p o s i t i o n e d s o a s t o h a v e
a c c e s s t o a c o m m a n d ' s m a j o r p l a n n i n g a c t i v i t i e s . T h e n e w
J o i n t P S Y O P S t a f f P l a n n i n g C o u r s e b e i n g d e v e l o p e d b y t h e
A r m y s h o u l d g o a l o n g w a y t o w a r d h e l p in g t o p r o v i d e th e
t r a i n e d p e r s o n n e l r e q u i r e d i n a l l s e r v i c e s .
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52 PADDOCK
D e v e l o p m e n t o f a d e q u a t e n u m b e r s o f P S Y O P p l an n e rs
is a n a r e a w h e r e t h e A i r F o r c e , N a v y , a n d M a r i n e C o r p s c a nm a k e a n i m p o r t a n t c o n t r i b u t i o n t o t h e s e c re ta r y o f d e fe n s e ' s
r e v i t a li z a ti o n e f f o r t . T h e c o n d u c t o f p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s
is n o t t h e e x c lu s iv e d o m a i n o f s p e c i a li z ed u n i t s s u c h a s t h o s e
i n th e A r m y . O v e r t h e n e a r t e r m , i t is n o t l ik e ly t h a t t h e o t h e r
s e r v i c e s w i l l o p t t o f i e l d n e w P S Y O P u n i t s . O n t h e o t h e r
h a n d , t h e r e is e v e r y r e a s o n t o e x p e c t t h o s e s e r v ic e s t o d e v e l o p
f u ll y q u a l if e d P S Y O P p l a n n e rs t o m e e t t h ei r o w n n e e d s a n d
t o p r o v i d e t h ei r p r o p o r t i o n a t e s h a re o f p l a n n e r s o n j o i n ts t a f f s .
A m o r e s o p h i s t i c a t e d P S Y O P p l a n n i n g c ap a b il it y w o u l d
a l lo w t h e s e rv i ce s t o m o r e e f f e c ti v e ly u ti li ze " p s y c h o l o g i c a l
a c t i o n s , " t h o s e a c t i o n s c a r r i e d o u t p r i m a r i l y f o r t h e i r
p s y ch o lo g ic a l e f f e c t - s o m e t i m e s c al le d " p r o p a g a n d a o f t h e
d e e d . " T h e s e a ct iv i t ie s d o n o t n o r m a l l y i n v o l v e t h e u s e o f
p r i n t e d o r a u d i o v is u a l m e d i a t o d i s s e m i n a te t h e p r o p a g a n d a
m e s s a g e , b u t a r e a c t i o n s p l a n n e d t o h a v e a p s y c h o l o g i c a l i m -p a c t . E x p l o i t a t i o n o f m i l i ta r y ex e rc is es , d e p l o y m e n t o f
m i l i t a r y f o r c e s , c o n t a c t w i t h f o r e i g n n a t i o n a l s t h r o u g h p o r t
v i si ts a n d c iv ic a c t io n , a n d s p e c if ic t y p e s o f c o m b a t o p e r a -
t i o n s a r e e x a m p l e s o f p s y c h o l o g i c a l a c t i o n s t h a t a r e p o s s ib l e
w i t h p r o p e r l y t r a i n e d P S Y O P p l a n n e r s t o a d v i s e m i l i t a r y
c o m m a n d e r s .
C l o s e l y r e l a t e d i s t h e n e e d t o e d u c a t e o u r o f f i c e r c o r p s
o n p s y c h o lo g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s - a t h ir d th e m e . A s in d i c a t e de a rl ie r, t h e r o o t c a u s e o f t h e a t r o p h y o f o u r m i l i ta r y P S Y O P
c a p a b il it ie s h a s b e e n l ac k o f u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f p s y c h o l o g i c a l
o p e r a t i o n s , t h e i r v a l u e , a n d t h e i r a p p l i c a t i o n . W e h a v e s e e n
s o m e i m p r o v e m e n t i n t h is c ri ti c al a re a a s a r e s u lt o f f r e q u e n t
b r ie f in g s o f s e n io r c o m m a n d e r s a n d s t a f f o f fi ce r s b y P S Y O P
p e r s o n n e l , t h e p r o f e s s io n a l i s m o f P S Y O P u n i t s in c o n t in g e n -
c y p l a n n i n g a n d s u p p o r t o f c o n v e n t i o n a l f o r c e s o n j o i n t
t r a i n i n g e x e rc is e s, a n d t h e s t e a d y i m p r o v e m e n t i n t h e q u a l i t yo f P S Y O P s tu d i es a n d a s s e s sm e n t s in s u p p o r t o f t h e u n i f i e d
c o m m a n d s a n d n a t i o n a l - l e v e l a g e n c i e s ( t h e l a s t a i d e d c o n -
s i d e r a b l y b y t h e i n c r e a s e d h i r i n g o f h i g h - q u a l i t y c i v i l i a n i n -
t e l l i g e n c e a n a l y s t s ) .
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M I L I T A R Y P S Y O P 5 3
Certainly, the PSYOP courses currently being presented
or developed by both the Air Force and the Army will helpaddress the deficiences in this area o f PSYOP awareness and
understanding. The Air Force's new Joint Senior Psycho-
logical Operations Course, conducted four times a year by
their Special Operations School at Hurlburt Field, Florida,
provides selected senior officers and civilians with an
awareness of how psychological operations can support US
national objectives throughout the spectrum o f conflict. This
short course, in particular, shows considerable promise as aneducational tool.
But as was the case before the Vietnam conflict, PSYOP
instruction in our mainstream service school system--where
our future commanders and staff officers are trained-is
limited or nonexistent. Its absence not only makes the
PSYOP community's job more difficult in educating sup-
ported units on the capabilities and limitations of this unique
weapons system but also quite naturally has a negative effectwhen priorities concerning force modern ization are being set.
To address this loss of PSYOP institutional memory, the
under secretary of defense for policy sent letters to comma n-
dants of the senior service and command and staff colleges,
emphasizing the secretary of defense's intention to revitalize
our military PSYOP capabilities and offering a presentation
by OSD during the 1986-87 school year. The presentation
provided an overview of national policy and organization forinternational information and psychological operations, cur-
rent PSYOP capabilities, and the secretary's plan for
revitalizing these capabilities. The intent was to stimulate in-
terest in more extensive treatment o f PSYOP in service school
curricula. To accomplish this, the Army is developing a cur-
riculum package that can be offered to the services. This is
just a st ar t- bu t an important one none the les s-i f under-
standing of PSYOP is to be institutionalized for the longhaul.
The next broad theme encompasses the need to modern-
ize our PSYOP force structure, in terms of both personnel
and equipment. Not surprisingly, a considerable shortfall in
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54 P A D D O C K
P S Y O P f o r c e s e x i s t s . T h e N a v y h a s a r a d i o a n d t e l e v i s i o n
p r o d u c t i o n c a p a b i l i t y in i ts r es e r ve s t h a t is v e r y g o o d , p l u s a
1 0 K W m o b i l e r a d i o t r a n s m i t t e r a s s i g n e d t o i t s T a c t i c a l
D e c e p t i o n G r o u p ( A t l a n t i c ) , w h i c h c a n b e u s e d t o s u p p o r t
p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s a c t iv i ti es . T h e A i r F o r c e h a s a N a -
t i o n a l G u a r d s q u a d r o n o f s p ec ia l l y f i t te d C - 1 3 0 a i rc r a ft f o r
s u p p o r t o f p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s a s w ell a s o t h e r d u t i e s ; i t
a ls o h a s a h a n d f u l o f o f f ic e r s w i t h P S Y O P e x p e rt is e se r v in g
i n k e y p o s i t i o n s i n t h e P e n t a g o n , a m o n g t h e u n i f i e d c o m -
m a n d s , a n d a t th e i r S p e c ia l O p e r a t i o n s S c h o o l a t H u r l b u r tF i e ld , F l o r i d a . T h e M a r i n e C o r p s h a s t w o c iv il a f f a ir s g r o u p s
i n it s r e se r v es w i t h P S Y O P a s a s e c o n d a r y m i s s i o n . O n l y th e
A r m y , h o w e v e r , h a s a c t iv e d u t y f o r ce s d e d i c a t e d s o le ly to
p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s .
T h e 4 t h P s y c h o l o g i ca l O p e r a t i o n s G r o u p a t F o r t B r a g g,
N o r t h C a r o l in a , is w h a t r e m a i n s o f th e A r m y ' s ac ti ve P S Y O P
c a p a b i li ty f o l l o w i n g t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s ' w i t h d r a w a l f r o m V i et -
n a m . T o d a y i t s m i s s i o n s a n d r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s a r e m a n y a n dw o r l d w i d e in n a t u r e . T h e g r o u p p r o v i d e s s u p p o r t t o a ll le ve ls
o f t he D e p a r t m e n t o f D e f en s e, f r o m t h e u n i fi ed c o m m a n d
t h r o u g h t h e d iv i s io n , a n d t o b o t h c o n v e n t i o n a l fo r c es a n d
s p e c i a l o p e r a t i o n s f o r c e s . I n a d d i t i o n i t i s o f t e n c a l l e d u p o n
t o p r o v i d e s u p p o r t d i r e c tl y t o n a t i o n a l - le v e l a g e n ci e s a n d
o r g a n i z a t i o n s . I f a n y o n e m i l it a r y u n i t c a n b e a d j u d g e d a " n a -
t io n a l a s s e t ," s u r e ly th e 4 t h P s y c h o l o g i c a l O p e r a t i o n s G r o u p
f i t s t h e r e q u i r e m e n t .
A c t i v i t ie s a n d W e a k n e s s e s
E s s e n t i a ll y , a m i l i t a r y p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s u n i t e n -
g a g e s in t w o b r o a d c a t e g o r ie s o f a c t iv i ty : r e s e a r c h a n d
a n a l y si s , a n d o p e r a t i o n s . T h e f ir s t a c t iv i ty co n s i s t s o f c o n -
t i n u o u s m o n i t o r i n g a n d a s se s si ng o f t h e p s y c h o l o g i c a l e n -v i r o n m e n t in s p e ci fi c f o re i g n n a t i o n s t o d e t e r m i n e h o w t h e ir
e n v i r o n m e n t a ff ec ts t h e f o r m u l a t i o n a n d e x e c u t i o n o f U S
p o l i c i e s a n d a c t i o n s . T h i s r e s e a r c h a n d a n a l y s i s r e s u l t s i n t h e
p u b l i c a t i o n o f u n i q u e s t u d i es a n d a s s e ss m e n t s . T h e s e s t u d i e s
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MIL ITA R Y PSYO P 55
a n d a s s e s s m e n t s p r o v i d e t h e f o u n d a t i o n f o r e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f
p s y c h o l o g i c a l o b j e c ti v e s t o s u p p o r t U S g o a l s a s t h e y r e l a t e t of o r e i g n n a t i o n s o r g r o u p s . R e s e a r c h a n d a n a l y s i s i s t h e r e f o r e
e s se n ti a l t o th e a c c o m p l i s h m e n t o f th e s e c o n d b r o a d c a t e g o r y
o f a c t i v i t y , n a m e l y , t h e p l a n n i n g a n d e x e c u t i n g o f s p e c i f i c
p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s c a m p a i g n s , w h i c h e m p l o y c o m -
m u n i c a t i o n s m e d i a a n d o t h e r t e c h n i q u e s t o c a u s e s e l e c t e d
f o r e ig n g r o u p s a n d i n d i v id u a l s t o b e h a v e i n w a y s t h a t s u p p o r t
U S n a t i o n a l a n d m i li ta r y o b j e c ti v e s .
T h u s a m i l i ta r y P S Y O P u n i t in p e a c e t im e c o n d u c t sr e s e a r c h a n d a n a l y s i s o f s p e c i f i c g e o g r a p h i c r e g i o n s a n d
t a r g e t a u d i e n c e s , d e v e l o p s P S Y O P p l a n s t o s u p p o r t c o n v e n -
t i o n a l a n d s p e c i a l o p e r a t i o n s u n i t s , a n d p a r t i c i p a t e s i n f i e l d
e x e r c i s e s t h a t e m p l o y t h e s e p l a n s . B e c a u s e o f t h e p a u c i t y o f
P S Y O P e x p e r t i s e a t u n i f i e d c o m m a n d s , t h e 4 t h G r o u p a l s o
p r o v i d e s s t a f f a s s i s t a n c e a n d a d v i c e t o t h o s e h e a d q u a r t e r s
a n d t o o t h e r m a j o r c o m m a n d s .
I t s h o u l d b e e m i n e n t l y c l ea r f r o m t h e f o r e g o i n g t h a t o n ea c t i v e d u t y P S Y O P o r g a n i z a t i o n c o n s i s t i n g o f a g r o u p h e a d -
q u a r t e r s , f o u r re g i o n a l l y o r i e n t e d b a t t a l i o n s , a n d a s tr a t e g ic
d i s s e m i n a t i o n c o m p a n y w i t h p r i n t i n g , r a d i o , a n d t e l e v i s i o n
p r o d u c t i o n c a p a b i l i t i e s i s i n s u f f i c i e n t t o s u p p o r t a l l u n i f i e dc o m m a n d r e q u i r e m e n t s i n m i d - o r h i g h - i n t e n s i t y c o n f l i c t .
T h e r es er ve s ar e t h e r ef o r e a v ita l c o m p o n e n t o f t h e " P S Y O P
c o m m u n i t y " : f u l l y 8 0 p e r c e n t o f t h e A r m y ' s P S Y O P
m o b i l i z a t i o n c a p a b i l i t y l i e s i n i t s r e s e r v e c o m p o n e n t ( R C )u n its . S e r vi ng a s t h e A r m y ' s F o r c e s C o m m a n d ( F O R S C O M )
p l an n i n g ag e n t u n d e r th e C A P S T O N E p r o g r a m ( w h ic h l in k s
R C u n i ts w i th t h e u n i ts th e y w o u l d s u p p o r t u p o n m o b i l iz a -
t io n ) , t h e 4 t h G r o u p c o o r d i n a t e s w i th w a r t i m e p l a n n i n g e f -
f o r t s o f R C u n i t s a n d p r o v i d e s t r a i n i n g a s s i s t a n c e .
G e n e r a l l y s p e a k i n g , t h e n , t h e a c t i v e c o m p o n e n t 4 t h
P S Y O P G r o u p a c t s a s a " s t r a t e g i c n u c l e u s " f o r t h e P S Y O P
c o m m u n i t y ; i t p r o v i d e s t h e b u l k o f p e a c e t i m e r e s e a r c h a n da n a ly s is s u p p o r t , r e s p o n d s t o p e a c e t i m e a n d l o w - i n t e n s it y
c o n f l i c t r e q u i r e m e n t s , p r o v i d e s d i r e c t io n a n d g u i d a n c e to t h e
P S Y O P c o m m u n i t y fo r w a r t i m e p l a n n in g a n d p a r ti c i p at io n
i n p e a c e t i m e e x e r c i s e s , a n d p r o v i d e s t h e a c t i v e c o m p o n e n t
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56 PADDOCK
c o m m a n d a n d c o n t r o l n u c l e u s fo r g e n er a l o r p a r t i a l m o b i l iz a -
t i o n o f r e s e r v e c o m p o n e n t f o r c e s . T h e r e s e r v e c o m p o n e n t
p e r f o r m s i t s p l a n n i n g a n d t r a i n i n g r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s u n d e r t h e
C A P S T O N E p r o g r a m a n d p r e pa r es f or g e n er a l o r p ar ti a l
m o b i l iz a t io n in s u p p o r t o f t h e u n i f ie d c o m m a n d s .
P a r ad o x ic a ll y , t h e su c ce ss fu l C A P S T O N E p r o g r a m
u n d e rs c o re s o n e o f t h e P S Y O P c o m m u n i t y ' s m o s t g l a ri ng
w e a k n e s s e s: i ts l im i te d c a p a b il i ty t o r e s p o n d t o p e a c e t i m e a n d
l o w - i n t e n s i t y c o n f l i c t r e q u i r e m e n t s . A s h a s b e e n s t a t e d , f o r
m i d - o r h i g h - i n t e n s i t y c o n f l i c t r e q u i r e m e n t s , e i t h e r p a r t i a l o rg e n e r a l m o b i l i z a t i o n o f t h e r e s e r v e c o m p o n e n t i s r e q u i r e d .
C o n v e r s e l y , t h e a c t i v e c o m p o n e n t m u s t b e r e l i e d u p o n f o r
a l m o s t a ll p e a c e t i m e a n d l o w - i n te n s i ty c o n f li c t r e q u i r e m e n t s .
T h e s e a r e i n c r e a si n g in s c o p e , a n d m a n y o b s e r v e rs s e e t h e m
a s t h e m o r e l ik e ly t h r e a t s t o i n t e r n a t i o n a l s t a b i li ty d u r i n g t h e
1 98 0s. T h e m o s t p r o b a b l e d e m a n d s o n P S Y O P r e so u r ce s in
t hi s e n v i r o n m e n t w il l b e f o r s u p p o r t o f th e D e p a r t m e n t o f
D e f e n s e (D O D ) a n d n o n - D O D a g e n ci e s, s t a f f a s s is t an c e t ou n i f i e d c o m m a n d s , u n s c h e d u l e d s tu d ie s a n d a s s es s m e n ts c o n -
c e r n i n g c r i s i s a r e a s , a n d a d v i s o r y M o b i l e T r a i n i n g T e a m s
( M T T s ) f o r t h e m i l i ta r y f o r ce s o f f r i e n d l y T h i r d W o r l d n a -
t io n s . T h e s e d e m a n d s , i n a d d i t i o n t o t h e v it al t a s k o f c o n t i n u -
i n g to p l a n a n d t ra i n f o r m i d - a n d h i g h - i n t e n s i ty c o n t i n g e n -
c ie s, w i ll s t ra i n t o t h e u t m o s t t h e a c t iv e c o m p o n e n t 4 t h
P S Y O P G r o u p .
T h e A r m y is m a k i n g p r o g r e ss in b r in g i n g th e 4 t h P S Y O PG r o u p u p t o its a u t h o r i z e d s t r e n g t h , a f te r m a n y y e a rs o f
n e g l e c t i n t h i s a r e a . E v e n a t f u l l s t r e n g t h , h o w e v e r , t h i s i s a n
i n a d e q u a t e a c t i v e c o m p o n e n t f o r c e p o s t u r e , p a r t i c u l a r l y i n
v i e w o f i n c r e a s i n g p e a c e t i m e r e q u i r e m e n t s b e i n g p l a c e d o n
t h e 4 th b y th e u n i f ie d c o m m a n d s a n d in s u p p o r t o f vi ta l
n a t i o n a l - l e v e l t a s k i n g s .
R e a l is t ic a ll y , t h e r e s e rv e c o m p o n e n t w il l c o n t i n u e t o p r o -
v i d e t h e b u l k o f o u r P S Y O P c a p a b i l i ty f o r m i d - o r h ig h -i n t en s i t y c o n f l ic t r e q u i r e m e n t s . I n r e s p o n s e t o a P S Y O P
m a s t e r p l a n t a s k i n g , t h e A r m y c o n d u c t e d a m a j o r s t u d y t o
d e t e r m i n e th e n u m b e r o f a d d i t io n a l r es er ve c o m p o n e n t u n i ts
n e e d e d t o m c c t th c s e c o n t i n g e n c y r e q u i r e m e n t s . A p p r o v e d b y
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MILI TAR Y PSYOP 57
t h e c h i e f o f s t a f f i n O c t o b e r 1 98 6, t h e a c t i o n w i l l a d d o v e r
2 , 7 0 0 s p a c e s t o o u r R C m o b i l i z a t i o n c a p a b i l i t y i n t h e 1 9 9 0 s .
I n te r m s o f t h e q u a li ty o f P S Y O P p e r s o n n e l, t h e A r m y ' s
r e ce n t d e v e l o p m e n t o f a P S Y O P m i l it ar y o c c u p a t i o n a l
s p e c ia l ty ( M O S ) f o r e n l i st e d p e r s o n n e l is a w e l c o m e d e v e l o p -
m e n t . I n i t i a l r e p o r t s o f t h e h i g h q u a l i t y o f p e r s o n n e l b e i n g
t r a i n e d u n d e r t h i s n e w s p e c i a l t y a r e e n c o u r a g i n g .
O n t h e o t h e r h a n d , t h e A r m y ' s d e c is io n to r e o r g a n i z e its
o f f i c e r P S Y O P M O S f r o m t h e f o r e i g n a r e a o f f i c e r ( F A O )
s p e c i a l t y t o t h e s p e c i a l o p e r a t i o n s f u n c t i o n a l a r e a i s v e r yd i s t u r b i n g . I f t h is d e c i s i o n s ti c k s, A r m y P S Y O P o f f i c e r s w i ll
r e c e i ve a s pe c ia l sk i ll i de n t i f i e r i n s pe c i a l op e ra t i on s , l um pi n g
t h e m w i t h s p e c i a l f o r c e s a n d c i v i l a f f a i r s . T h e s e t h r e e s k i l l s
l a c k a n y s i g n i f i c a n t c o m m o n a l i t y a n d a r e n o t i n t e r c h a n g e -
a b le ; t h e t ra i n i n g , e d u c a t i o n , a n d e x p e r i e n c e r e q u i r e d f o r t h e
t h r e e a r e d i f f e r e n t f r o m e a c h o t h e r .
T h i s c h a n g e is p o t e n t i a l l y d i s a s t r o u s b e c a u s e it s e p a r a te s
p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s f r o m t h e f o r e i g n a r e a o f f i c e rs p e c i a l t y t h a t p r o v i d e s i t s i n t e l l e c t u a l l i f e b l o o d . T h e c o r e o f
t h e a r e a e x p e r ti se , k n o w l e d g e o f f o r e i g n c u l t u r e s, a n d
a n a l y ti c c a p a b i li ty o f p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s is in t h e F A O
s p e c i al ty . L i k e i n t e ll ig e n c e , t h e s t r e n g t h o f p s y c h o l o g i c a l
ope ra t i ons i s i n i t s pe op l e . Re pe a l o f t h i s de c i s i on i s e s s e n t i a l
i f p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s a r e t o b e r e v i t a l i z e d .
W i t h r e s p e c t t o m o d e r n i z a t i o n o f P S Y O P - i m p r o v e d
e q u i p m e n t , t h e re a r e m a n y e n c o u r a g i n g i ni ti at iv e s u n d e r w a y
in t h e A r m y . T h e 4 th P S Y O P G r o u p ' s n e w m e d i a p r o d u c t i o n
c e n t e r r e p r e s e n t s a q u a n t u m l e a p i n m i l i t a r y P S Y O P c a p a -
b il i ty to o p e r a t e i n a m o d e r n a u d i o v i su a l c o m m u n i c a t i o n s e n -
v i r o n m e n t . A n u m b e r o f o t h e r p r o m i s in g p r o je c t s t o u p g r a d e
a c t iv e a n d r e s e rv e c o m p o n e n t p r i n t , r a d i o , l o u d s p e a k e r , a n d
a u d i o v i s u a l c a p a b i l i t i e s a r e i n v a r i o u s s t a g e s o f p r o g r e s s a n d
m u s t b e f o l lo w e d u p v i g o r o u s l y . S i m i la r ly , t h e A i r F o r c e h a sa l l o c a te d f u n d s t o m o d e r n i z e its N a t i o n a l G u a r d a i r c ra f t
d e d i c at e d t o s u p p o r t o f P S Y O P .
A l l o f t h e s e r v i c e s , h o w e v e r , n e e d t o e s t a b l i s h a f u n d e d
p r o g r a m f o r P S Y O P - r e la t e d r e se a rc h a n d d e v e l o p m e n t . T h e
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58 PADDOCK
A i r F o r c e , f o r e x a m p l e , n e e d s a d e v i c e t h a t c a n r a p i d l y
r e l e a s e l e a f l e t s i n h i g h - a l t i t u d e o p e r a t i o n s . A v i g o r o u s i n -
t er s er v ic e d e v e l o p m e n t a n d a c q u i s it io n p r o g r a m a i m e d a t th e
l ik e ly e n v i r o n m e n t o f t h e 1 9 90 s a n d t a k i n g a d v a n t a g e o f th e
r e a d y a v a i l a b i l i t y o f s t a t e - o f - t h e - a r t e q u i p m e n t i n t h e c o m -
m e r c i a l m a r k e t w o u l d b e a s t e p i n t h e r i g h t d i r e c t i o n .
PSYOP and Special Operations
O n e o f t h e m o r e c o n t ro v e r s ia l t h e m e s o f th e m a s t e r p la n
i s t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n a l s e p a r a t i o n o f p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s
f r o m s p e c ia l o p e r a t i o n s . I n g e n e r a l , th e c u r r e n t s u b o r d i n a -
t io n o f P S Y O P e l e m e n t s t o s pe c ia l o p e r a t i o n s d e t r a c ts f r o m
r e c o g n i t i o n o f t h e o v e r a l l a p p l i c a b i l i t y o f p s y c h o l o g i c a l
o p e r a t i o n s i n t i m e s o f p e a c e , c r i s i s , a n d w a r . T h e m a s t e r
p l a n , t h e r e f o r e , c a l l s f o r t h e s e p a r a t i o n o f p s y c h o l o g i c a l
o p e r a t i o n s f r o m s p e c i a l o p e r a t i o n s t h r o u g h o u t t h e D e f e n s e
D e p a r t m e n t , i n c l u d i n g at d e p a r t m e n t a l le v el a n d a ll h e a d -
q u a r t e r s a n d s t a f f s o f t h e J o i n t C h i e f s o f S t a f f , t h e s e r v i c e s ,
t h e u n i f i e d a n d s p e c i f i e d c o m m a n d s , a n d c o m p o n e n t a n d
s u b o r d i n a t e c o m m a n d s . T h e r e a r e s e v e r a l r e a s o n s f a v o r i n g
s e p a r a t i o n .
P l a n n i n g , p a r t i c u la r l y in t h e u n i f i e d a n d s p e c if ie d c o m -
m a n d s , h a s s u f f e r e d b e c a u s e t h e s i n g l e P S Y O P s t a f f p l a n n e r
is u s u a l l y l o c a t e d i n t h e s p e c ia l o p e r a t i o n s s t a f f e l e m e n t a n d is
o n l y e m p l o y e d p a r t - t im e i n p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s . T h i s
s u b o r d i n a t i o n d e t r a c t s f r o m t h e b r o a d e r r e s p o n s i b i l i t y o f
p l a n n i n g p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s s u p p o r t f o r t h e th e a t e r 's
t o t a l r e q u i r e m e n t s , p a r t i c u l a r l y i n t h o s e m i s s i o n s t h a t l i n k
m i l i t a r y p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s a n d n a t i o n a l o b j e c t i v e s ,
p o l i c y , a n d s t r a t e g y a n d r e q u i r e i n - t h e a t e r i n t e r a g e n c y
c o o p e r a t i o n .
F u r t h e r , t h e s u b o r d i n a t i o n o f p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n su n i t s t o t h e s p e c i a l o p e r a t i o n s f i e l d , i n c l u d i n g i t s c o m m a n d
a n d s t a f f s t r u c t u r e , h a s c o n t r i b u t e d t o m i l it a r y o f f i c e r s ' a n d
s e n i o r c i v i l i a n a n d m i l i t a r y l e a d e r s ' l a c k o f u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f
p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s a n d i t s u s e s a n d c a p a b i l i t i e s . T h i s
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MIL IT A R Y PS YOP 59
a s s o ci a ti o n a n d s u b o r d i n a t i o n c a u se s m a n y t o c o n c l u d e th a t
p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s a r e f o c u s e d p r i m a r i l y in s u p p o r t o f
s p e c i a l o p e r a t i o n s m i s s i o n s .
I n d e e d , P S Y O P d o e s h av e a m i s s io n i n s u p p o r t o f
s p ec ia l o p e r a t i o n s , b o t h in th e u n c o n v e n t i o n a l w a r f a r e e n -
v i r o n m e n t o f h i g h - i n te n s i ty c o n f li c t a n d a l s o in l o w - in t e n s it y
o p e r a t i o n s . H o w e v e r , p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s a ls o h a v e a
m u c h b r o a d e r a p p l i c a t i o n in p e a c e t i m e a n d c ris is , w i th o r
w i t h o u t a c c o m p a n y i n g m i l i ta r y o p e r a t i o n s , a n d a c ro s s t h e
e n t ir e s p e c t r u m o f c o n f l ic t . O n l y 10 p e r c e n t o f t h e A r m y ' s
p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s f o r c e , a c t iv e a n d r e s e rv e , is
d e s i g n a t e d b y c u r r e n t c o n t i n g e n c y p l a n s to s u p p o r t s p e c ia l
o p e r a t i o n s f o r c e s i n w a r t i m e .
I n t h i s c o n n e c t i o n , t h e a r g u m e n t f o r s e p a r a t i o n o f
P S Y O P f r o m s p ec ia l o p e r a t i o n s is i m p l ic i t in t h e A r m y ' s a n d
J o i n t C h i e f s ' a r r a n g e m e n t s f o r w a r t i m e c o m m a n d a n d c o n -
t ro l o f p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s . M o s t o f t h e p s y c h o l o g i c a l
o p e r a t i o n s f o rc e s in w a r t i m e a re a l ig n e d w i th a c h a i n o f c o m -
m a n d in t h e u n i f i e d c o m m a n d s t h a t is t o ta l ly s e p a r a te f r o m
s p e ci al o p e r a t i o n s f o rc e s . P S Y O P u n i ts a r e c o m b a t s u p p o r t
f o r c e s a n d a r e e m p l o y e d a t b o t h s t ra t e g ic a n d t a c t i c a l l ev e ls
f r o m t h e t h e a t e r t o t h e d i v i s io n as a m a t t e r o f r o u t i n e ; s p e c i a l
o p e r a t i o n s f o r c e s ar e e m p l o y e d p r i m a r i l y a s s t ra t e g ic a s s et s,
o n a n e x c e p t i o n a l b a s i s .
C o n t i n u e d s u b o r d i n a t i o n o f p s y c h o l o g ic a l o p e r a t i o n s t o
s p e ci al o p e r a t i o n s c o u l d c a u s e m i li ta r y p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a -
t i o n s f o r c e s t o f o c u s t h e i r v e ry li m i t e d r e s o u r c e s in s u p p o r t o f
s p e c i a l o p e r a t i o n s t o t h e d e t r i m e n t , i n p a r t i c u l a r , o f t h e
r a p i d ly i n c re a s in g p e a c e t i m e ro l e o f m i li ta r y P S Y O P . F o r a ll
o f t h es e r e a so n s , i n cr e as e d u n d e r s t a n d i n g a n d e m p l o y m e n t o f
p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s lie s w i t h m i s s io n s o t h e r t h a n s p e c ia l
o p e r a t i o n s .
T h e r e i s a c e r t a i n i r o n y t o t h i s i s s u e o f P S Y O P a s s o c i a -
t io n w i t h s p e ci al o p e r a t i o n s w h e n o n e c o n s i d e r s th e o r i g i n s o f
t h e A r m y ' s s p e c i a l f o r c e s . W i t h t h e i m p e t u s o f t h e K o r e a n
W a r , t h e h e i g h t e n i n g C o l d W a r t e n s i o n s , a n d t h e p e r si s te n t
p r e ss u re s o f S e c re ta ry o f t h e A r m y F r a n k P a c e , t h e A r m y
m o v e d i n la te 1 95 0 t o c r e a te a n u n p r e c e d e n t e d s t a f f o r g a n i z a -
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60 PADDOCK
t io n in t h e P e n t a g o n - t h e O f f i c e o f t h e C h i e f o f P sy c h o -
l o gi ca l W a r f a r e ( O C P W ) . T h e f ir st h e a d o f th i s o r g a n i z a t i o n
w a s B r ig a d i er G e n e r a l R o b e r t A . M c C l u r e , w h o w a s G e n e r a l
E i s e n h o w e r 's c h i e f o f t h e P s y c h o l o g i c a l W a r f a r e D i v i s io n ,
S u p r e m e H e a d q u a r t e r s , A l l i ed E x p e d i t i o n a r y F o r c e
( P W D / S H A E F ) , a n d th u s e m e r g e d f r o m W o r l d W a r I I a s t h e
A r m y ' s f o r e m o s t e x p e r t i n t h i s n e w f i e l d .
W i t h P a c e 's s u p p o r t , B r i g a d ie r G e n e r a l M c C l u r e c r e a t e d
a s t a f f w i t h r e s p o n s i b i li t i e s f o r b o t h p s y c h o l o g i c a l a n d u n -
c o n v e n t i o n a l w a r f a r e . I t w a s l a r g e ly a s a r e s u lt o f M c C l u r e ' s
s t a tu s a n d f o r e s ig h t t h a t t h e A r m y d e v e l o p e d its f ir st
c a p a b il it y to c o n d u c t u n c o n v e n t i o n a l w a r fa r e . T h e i n c lu s i o n
o f a S p e c i a l O p e r a t i o n s D i v i s i o n i n O C P W a n d M c C l u r e ' s
s e l e c ti o n o f t h e k e y p e r s o n n e l f o r t h a t o f f i c e g a v e o f f i c e r s l ik e
C o l o n e l R us se ll V o l c k m a n n a n d C o l o n e l A a r o n B a n k t h e o p -
p o r t u n i t y t o f o r m p l a n s fo r u n c o n v e n t i o n a l w a r f a r e a n d f o r
c r e a t i o n o f s p e c i a l f o r c e s .
T o p r o v i d e t h e n e c e s s a ry t r a in i n g , m a t e ri a l , a n d d o c -
t r i n a l s u p p o r t f o r b o t h s p e ci al f o rc e s a n d p s y c h o l o g i c a l w a r -
f a r e u n i ts , M c C l u r e w a s a b l e t o se ll t h e A r m y o n a s e p a r a t e
c e n te r a t w h i c h t h e f u n c t i o n s o f t h e " w h o l e f ie ld o f O C P W "
w o u l d b e l o c a t e d . T h e P s y c h o l o g i c a l W a r f a r e C e n t e r , c re a t e d
in 19 52 a t F o r t B r a g g , w a s t h a t c e n t e r - - a n d it w a s t h e r e i n t h e
s a m e y e a r t h a t t h e A r m y c r e a t e d i t s f i r s t f o r m a l u n c o n v e n -
t i o n a l w a r f a r e ( U W ) u n i t , t h e 1 0 t h S p e c i a l F o r c e s G r o u p .
T h i s m a r r ia g e b e t w e e n p s y c h o l o g ic a l a n d u n c o n v e n -
t io n a l w a r f a r e h a d its d e t ra c t o r s , t o b e su r e. M a n y o f t h e U W
a d v o c a t e s w a n t e d a s e p a r a t e e x i s te n c e f o r s p e c i a l f o r c e s .
S o m e p s y c h o l o g i c a l w a r f a r e o f f i c e rs , o n t h e o t h e r h a n d ,
b e l i ev e d t h a t th e b a c k g r o u n d , e d u c a t i o n , tr a i n in g , a n d
e x p e r i e n c e s r e q u i r e d f o r t h e i r f i e l d w e r e i n h e r e n t l y d i f f e r e n t
f r o m t h o s e n e c e s s ar y f o r t h e h a n d l i n g o f s p e ci al o p e r a t i o n s .
C o l o n e l D o n a l d P . H a l l , w i th p s y c h o l o g i c a l w a r f a r e ex -
p e r i e n c e in b o t h W o r l d W a r I I a n d K o r e a , e x p r e s s e d t h e v ie w
t h a t f e w in d i v i d u a l s w o u l d h a v e h a d w i d e e x p e r i e n c e in b o t h
p s y c h o l o g i c a l a n d u n c o n v e n t i o n a l w a r f a r e . H e f e a r e d th a t i f
t h e t w o f ie ld s w e r e c o m b i n e d u n d e r o n e h a n d , o n e o f t h e m
" m a y s u f f e r a s a r e su l t o f p a r t i c u l a r e m p h a s i s g i v e n t o t h e
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M I L I T A R Y P S Y O P 61
f u n c t i o n i n w h i c h t h e c o n t r o l l i n g p e r s o n n e l a r e e s p e c i a l l y i n -
t e r es t e d a n d e x p e r i e n c e d . " T h i s, o f c o u r s e , w a s p a r t o f t h ea n x i e t y s u f f e r e d b y s p e c i a l f o r c e s a d h e r e n t s i n 1 9 5 2 ; a t t h a t
t im e t h e "c o n t r o l l in g p e r s o n n e l ," b o t h a t O C P W a n d a t t h e
P s y c h o l o g i c a l W a r f a r e C e n t e r , w e r e t h o s e w i t h p s y c h o l o g i c a l
w a r f a r e b a c k g r o u n d s .
C o l o n e l H a l l 's f e a r s w e r e p r o p h e t i c , b u t t h e r o l es h a v e
b e e n r e v e r s e d s in c e 1 9 52 . T h e t e n d e n c y i n d e e d h a s b e e n t o
c o m b i n e t h e s e f u n c t i o n s i n a s i n g l e s t a f f e l e m e n t a t e v e r y
h e a d q u a r t e r s l ev el, i n c lu d i n g t h e D e p a r t m e n t o f A r m y , J o i n t
C h i e f s o f S t a f f , a n d t h e u n i f i e d c o m m a n d s . O v e r t h e y e a r s ,
t h e s e s t a f f e l e m e n t s h a v e u s u a l l y b e e n h e a d e d b y s p e c i a l
f o r c e s o f f i c e r s s t r o n g l y o r i e n t e d t o w a r d t h e i r f i e l d o f e x p e r -
t i s e . I n s u c h a n o r g a n i z a t i o n a l e n v i r o n m e n t , e v e n t h e m o s t
c o n s c i e n t i o u s P S Y O P s t a f f o ff ic e r h a s h a d d i f f i c u l t y g i v in g
h i s f u l l a t t e n t i o n t o t h e b r o a d e r r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s o f
p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s r a t h e r t h a n t h o s e o r i e n t e d t o w a r d
s p e c i a l o p e r a t i o n s .
A t F o r t B r a g g , t h e t r e n d h a s b c e n t h e s a m e . T h e
P s y c h o l o g i c a l W a r f a r e C e n t e r e v o l v e d i n t o t h e S p e c ia l W a r -
f a re C e n t e r i n 1 9 56 , t h e n t h e J o h n F . K e n n e d y C e n t e r f o r
M i l it a r y A s s i s t a n c e in 1 9 69 , a n d m o s t r e c e n t l y t h e 1 st S p e c i a l
O p e r a t io n s C o m m a n d . T h r o u g h th e y ea rs , k e y s t a f f e l em e n t s
a t t h e c e n t e r a n d 1 s t S p e c i a l O p e r a t i o n s C o m m a n d h a v e i n -
v a r i a b l y b e e n h e a d e d b y o f f i c e r s w i t h s p e c i a l f o r c e s
b a c k g r o u n d s .
A l l o f th i s a r g u e s f o r a f o r m a l s e p a r a t i o n o f P S Y O P a n d
s p e c i a l o p e r a t i o n s . A s a p r o m i n e n t r e t i r e d A r m y l i e u t e n a n t
g e n e r a l , S a m W i l s o n , n o t e d a t t h e S p e c i a l O p e r a t i o n s C o n -
f e r e n c e h e l d a t t h e N a t i o n a l D e f e n s e U n i v e r s i t y i n M a r c h
1 98 3, p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s i s a p h e n o m e n o n i n it se lf ; it is
s o a l l - p e r v a s i v e t h a t m a r r i a g e w i t h s p e c i a l f o r c e s r e s u l t s i n a
c a se o f m i s t a k e n i d e n t i ty , w h i c h m a k e s it d i f f i c u l t fo r
P S Y O P u n i ts to c a r r y o u t t h e i r d o c t r i n e a n d s u p p o r t o t h e r
f o r c e s .
B e c a u s e o f i t s c o n t r o v e r s i a l n a t u r e , t h e s e p a r a t i o n
d i r e c te d b y th e m a s t e r p l a n h a s b e e n s l ow in i m p l e m e n t a t i o n .
T o b e s u re , s o m e i m p o r t a n t i n it ia l s te p s h a v e b e e n t a k e n . T h e
n e w P S Y O P d i r e c t o r a te in O S D is s e p a r a t e d f r o m s p ec ia l
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62 PADDOCK
o p e r a t i o n s in t e r m s o f p o l ic y re s p o n si b il it ie s . P S Y O P h a s
b e e n r e m o v e d f r o m t h e J o i n t S p e ci al O p e r a t i o n s A g e n c y a n d
is n o w u n d e r t h e J - 3 o n t h e J o i n t S t a ff . A n i m p o r t a n t p r e ce -
d e n t h a s b e e n e s ta b l is h e d o n t h e D e p a r t m e n t o f t h e A r m y
s t a f f by t h e c r e a t io n o f a P S Y O P d i v is io n s e p a r a t e f r o m
s p e c i a l o p e r a t i o n s . A n d t w o u n i f i e d c o m m a n d s -
U S S O U T H C O M a n d U S C E N T C O M - h a v e m a d e t h e
s e p a r a t i o n w i t h i n t h e i r s t a f f s .
B u t f o r t h e l a r g e r p a r t , s e p a r a t i o n h a s n o t y e t t a k e n
p la ce o u t s i de th e P e n t a g o n - a m o n g t h e u ni fi e d c o m m a n d s ,
s u b o r d i n a t e s e r v ic e h e a d q u a r t e r s , o r a t t h e o p e r a t i o n a l l ev el .
T h i s m u s t o c c u r i f t h e m a s t e r p l a n ' s i n t e n t i s t o b e f u l l y a c -
c o m p l i s h e d .
T h e s e p a r a t i o n i s s u e is c l o s e ly r e l a t e d t o t h e f i n a l m a j o r
t h e m e o f t h e m a s t e r p l a n - c r e a t i o n o f a J o i n t P s y ch o lo g ic a l
O p e r a t i o n s C e n t e r . P s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s a r e s u f f ic i e n tl y
i m p o r t a n t t o w a r r a n t t h e c r e a ti o n o f a s e p a r at e c e n te r
d e d i c a t e d to t h e l o n g - t e r m d e v e l o p m e n t a n d n u r t u r i n g o f t his
u n i q u e c a p a b i l i t y . T h e n e w c e n t e r s h o u l d b e c o m e t h e
o r g a n i z a t i o n a l a n d i n t e ll e c tu a l f o n t o f p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a -
t i o n s w i t h i n t h e D e p a r t m e n t o f D e f e n s e .
T h e c e n t e r s h o u l d h a v e a m o n g i t s r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s l o n g -
r a n g e , s t r a te g i c p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s p l a n s ; d o c t r i n e a n d
o p e r a t i o n a l c o n c e p t s ; c o n t i n u i n g e d u c a t i o n a n d t r a in i n g o f
p e r s o n n e l ; r e s e a r c h a n d a n a l y t i c a l s t u d i e s ; a n d d e v e l o p m e n t
o f e q u i p m e n t . I t s h o u l d as sis t t h e O J C S a n d O S D t o d e v e l o p ,p l a n , a n d c o o r d i n a t e t h e D e f e n s e p o r t i o n o f n a t i o n a l
p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s a c t i v it ie s ; a n d it s h o u l d a s s is t t h e
u n i f i e d a n d s p e c i f i e d c o m m a n d s i n t h e i r p l a n n i n g o f
p s y c h o l o g ic a l o p e r a t i o n s
T h e J o i n t P s y c h o l o g i c a l O p e r a t i o n s C e n t e r s h o u l d c o n -
s i s t o f t w o s e p a r a t e b u t m u t u a l l y s u p p o r t i n g e l e m e n t s , o n e
o p e r a t i o n a l a n d t h e o t h e r d e v e l o p m e n t a l , e a c h i n d i s p e n s a b l e
t o t h e o t h e r . T h i s c o n c e p t t h e r e f o r e r e l i e s o n e x i s t i n gp s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s u n i t s a n d p e r s o n n e l s p a ce s t o p r o -
v i de t h e n u c l e u s o f i n it ia l m a n p o w e r r e q u i r e m e n t s , a n i m p o r -
t a n t a n d r e al is ti c f a c t o r i n t h e p r e s e n t r e s o u r c e - c o n s t r a i n e d
e n v i r o n m e n t .
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,rvlILITAR Y PS YOP 63
A t i t s i n c e p t i o n , t h e c e n t e r p r o b a b l y w o u l d h a v e t o b e
u n d e r A r m y m a n a g e m e n t b e c a u s e t h e o t h e r s e r v i c e s w o u l dh a v e li tt le t o c o n t r i b u t e i n m a n p o w e r . H o w e v e r , a s r e p r e s e n -
t a t i o n f r o m t h e o t h e r s e r v i c e s i n c r e a s e s t o m o r e t h a n t o k e n
l e v e l , t h e j o i n t c h a r a c t e r o f t h e c e n t e r s h o u l d b e e m p h a s i z e d
b y m a k i n g i t s c o m m a n d r o t a t i o n a l a m o n g t h e s e r v i c e s .
R e p r e s e n t a t i o n f r o m t h e S t a t e D e p a r t m e n t , C I A , U S I n f o r -
m a t i o n A g e n c y , V o i c e o f A m e r i c a , a n d t h e B o a r d f o r In t er -
n a t i o n a l B r o a d c a s t i n g s h o u l d a l s o b e s o u g h t .
T h e J o i n t P S Y O P C e n t e r w ill e n a b le th e D e p a r t m e n t o fD e f e n s e t o d e v e l o p m o r e e f f ec t iv e l y i ts c a p a b i l it y f o r w a r
a n d , a t th e s a m e t im e , t o i m p r o v e its c o n t r i b u t i o n s t o i n-
t e r a g e n c y p e a c e t i m e a c t i v i t i e s . I n o t h e r w o r d s , t h e c e n t e r
s h o u l d b e c o m e t h e f o c a l p o i n t f o r r e v i t a l i z a t i o n a n d i n s t i t u -
t io n a l i z at io n o f P S Y O P w i t h i n t h e D e p a r t m e n t o f D e f e n s e
a n d a ls o th e b r i d g e f o r in t e g r a t i o n o f o u r m i l i ta r y P S Y O P
r e s o u r c e s w i t h t h o s e o f o t h e r a g e n c i e s .
A Recent Complication
T h e s e , t h e n , a r e th e m a j o r t h e m e s o f t h e s e c re t ar y o f
d e f e n s e ' s m a s t e r p l a n f o r t h e r e v i t a l i z a t i o n o f m i l i t a r y
p s y c h o lo g i ca l o p e r a t i o n s : f o r m u l a t i o n o f c o m p r e h e n s i v e
j o i n t d o c t r i n e , i n d o c t r i n a t i o n o f t h e o f f ic e r c o rp s , i m p r o v e -
m e n t o f s t a f f p l a n n i n g , m o d e r n i z a t i o n o f t h e f o r c e , s ep a r a -t io n o f P S Y O P f r o m s pe c ia l o p e r a t io n s , a n d c r e a t io n o f a
J o i n t P S Y O P C e n t e r .
A v e ry r e ce n t d e v e l o p m e n t t h a t c o u l d c o m p l i c a t e i m -
p l e m e n t a t i o n o f th e P S Y O P m a s t e r p la n , h o w e v e r , is t h e
c o n g r e s s i o n a l l y m a n d a t e d r e o r g a n i z a t i o n o f s p e c i a l o p e r a -
t io n s f o rc es . T a c k e d o n as a n a m e n d m e n t to t h e G o l d w a t e r -
N i c h o l s D e p a r t m e n t o f D e f e n s e R e o r g a n i z a t i o n A c t o f 1 9 8 6
( P u b l i c L a w 9 9 - 4 3 3 ) i n t h e c l o s i n g h o u r s o f t h e l e g i s l a t i v e
s e s si o n in m i d - O c t o b e r , a n d p a s s e d w i t h t h e A c t , w a s as p e c i a l o p e r a t i o n s f o r c e s ( S O F ) r e f o r m p a c k a g e s p o n s o r e d
b y S e n a t o r s W i l l i a m C o h e n ( R - M a i n e ) a n d S a m N u n n
( D - G e o r g ia ) . T h e l aw c re a te s a u n i f i e d S O F c o m m a n d u n d e r
a f o u r - s t a r g e n e r a l o r f l a g o f f i c e r , a n a s s i s t a n t s e c r e t a r y o f
7/28/2019 Political Warfare and Psychological Operations
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6 4 P A D D O C K
d e f e n s e f o r s p e ci a l o p e r a t i o n s a n d l o w - i n t e n s i t y c o n f l i c t , a
b o a r d f o r l o w - i n t e n s i ty c o n f l i c t w i t h i n t h e N a t i o n a l S e c u r i t yC o u n c i l , a n d a d e p u t y a s s is t a n t to t h e p r e s i d e n t f o r n a t i o n a l
s e c u r i ty a f fa i r s f o r l o w - i n t e n s i ty c o n f l i c t. P a r t i c u l a r l y i m p o r -
t a n t , it d i r ec t s th e s e c r e t a ry o f d e f e n s e t o c r e a t e f o r S O F a
m a j o r f o r c e p r o g r a m c a t e g o r y fo r t h e F i v e- Y e a r D e f e n s e
P l a n o f t h e D e p a r t m e n t o f D e fe n s e.
T h e n e w l e g is l a ti o n i n d i c a te s t h a t t h e a c ti v it ie s e m b r a c e d
b y t h e t e r m sp e c i a l o p e ra t i o n s i n c l u d e p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a -
t i o n s , " i n s o f a r a s it re l at e s to s p e c ia l o p e r a t i o n s . " T h e r e is n oq u e s t i o n t h a t p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s s h o u l d a n d w ill h a v e
a n i m p o r t a n t r o le to p l a y in s u p p o r t o f sp e c ia l o p e r a t i o n s a n d
l o w - i n te n s i ty c o n f l ic t . B u t , as t h e D O D P S Y O P m a s t e r p l a n
p o i n t s o u t , p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s a r e s ig n i f i c an t ly b r o a d e r
t h a n s p ec ia l o p e r a t i o n s , a n d , f o r t h a t m a t t e r , l o w - i n t e n s it y
c o n f l i c t ( L I C ) . I n l i g h t o f t h i s , t h e k e y i s s u e t o b e f a c e d i s
w h e t h e r t h e D O D P S Y O P c o m m u n i t y s h o u l d b e i nc o r-
p o r a t e d w i t h i n t h e n e w S O F - L I C o r g a n i z a t i o n o r w h e t h e r i ts h o u l d e s t a b l is h a n i d e n t i t y s e p a r a t e f r o m s p e ci a l o p e r a -
t i o n s - a s d i r e c te d b y t h e s e cr e ta r y o f d e f en s e 's m a s t e r p la n
f o r P S Y O P .
W i t h i n t h e O f f i c e o f th e S e c r e t ar y o f D e f e n s e , t h e
P s y c h o l o g i c a l O p e r a t i o n s D i r e c t o r a t e c re a t e d in J a n u a r y
1 9 8 6 r e p o r t s t o t h e u n d e r s e c r e t a r y o f d e f e n s e f o r p o l i c y
t h r o u g h t h e d e p u t y u n d e r s e c r e t a r y , t h e l a t t e r a n a s s i s t a n t -
s e c r e t a r y - l e v e l o f f i c i a l . I t i s d o u b t f u l t h a t p l a c i n g t h i s o f f i c eu n d e r t h e n e w a s s i s t a n t s e c r e t a r y f o r s p e c i a l o p e r a t i o n s a n d
l o w - i n te n s i ty c o n f l i c t w o u l d g i v e P S Y O P p o l ic y m o r e
" v i si b il it y " a n d " a c c e s s" t h a n t h e p r e s e n t a r r a n g e m e n t . T h e
h i s to r ic a l r e co r d w o u l d s e e m t o i n d i ca t e o t h e r w i s e . A n d t h e
e x t e n s i v e s c o p e o f t h e d e p u t y u n d e r s e c r e t a r y f o r p o l i c y ' s
r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s w o u l d a r g u e f o r l e a v i n g t h e p o l i c y r e s p o n -
s i b i l i t y f o r P S Y O P w h e r e i t c a n b e m o r e b r o a d l y a p p l i e d
a c ro s s t h e co n f li c t s p e c t r u m - a s in t e n d e d b y t h e m a s t e r p l an .I n c lu s i on o f t h e P S Y O P c o m m u n i t y in t h e S pe c ia l
O p e r a t i o n s C o m m a n d c o u l d al so j e o p a r d i zc e s t a b li s h m e n t o f
a s e p a ra t e J o in t P s y c h o l o g ic a l O p e r a t i o n s C e n t e r - t h e
c c n te r p ic c e o f t h e D O D P S Y O P m a s t e r p la n . T h i s a n d t h e
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MI LI TA R Y PS YOP 65
s e p a r a t i o n i s su e a r e m o r e t h a n s i m p l y m a t t e r s o f " tu r f " : w h a t
m u s t b e a d d r e s s e d u l t i m a t e l y i s w h e t h e r t h e i n c l u s i o n o fP S Y O P i n t h e n e w s p ec ia l o p e r a t i o n s a n d l o w - i n t e n s i ty c o n -
f li ct o r g a n i z a t i o n a l f r a m e w o r k s er ve s t h e l o n g - t e r m i n te r e st s
o f t h e U S g o v e r n m e n t an d t h e D e p a r t m e n t o f D e f e n se in th e
c u r r e n t e f f o r t t o r e vi ta l i ze a p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s
c a p a b i l it y t h a t c a n b e e m p l o y e d e ff e c ti v e ly " in s u p p o r t o f n a -
t i o n a l o b j e c t i v e s i n p e a c e a n d c r i s i s a n d a t a l l l e v e l s o f c o n -
f li ct " (a s s t a te d i n t h e D O D P S Y O P m a s t e r p la n ) .
C e r t a in l y , P S Y O P s h o u l d b e ab le to p r o v i d e s u p p o r t tos p e c ia l o p e r a t i o n s a n d l o w - i n t e n s it y c o n f l i c t t h r o u g h a J o i n t
P S Y O P C e n t e r , j u s t a s i t w o u l d p r o v i d e s u p p o r t t o th e o t h e r
u n i f i e d c o m m a n d s . B u t , m o r e i m p o r t a n t , a s e p a r a t e e x is te n ce
w o u l d n o t d e t r ac t f r o m r e c o g n i t io n o f th e b r o a d e r a p -
p l i ca b il it y o f P S Y O P - a l ik e ly e v e n t u a li ty w i t h c o n t i n u e d
s u b o r d i n a t i o n o f p s y c h o lo g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s t o t h e s pe cia l
o p e r a t io n s c h ai n o f c o m m a n d .
A p p r o p r i a t e l y , t h e n e w la w g iv e s t h e s e c r e ta r y o f d e f e n s es u f f i c i e n t l a t i t u d e t o d e t e r m i n e w h i c h f o r c e s s h o u l d b e i n -
c l u d e d i n t h e r e o r g a n i z e d s p ec ia l o p e r a t i o n s s t r u c t u r e . Q u i t e
a f e w i s s u e s w i l l n e e d t o b e r e s o l v e d i n t h e m o n t h s a h e a d a s
t h e d e ta il s o f i m p l e m e n t a t i o n a re d e c i d e d , a m o n g t h e m t h e
q u e s t i o n o f t h e p l a c e m e n t o f P S Y O P . U n t i l g u i d a n c e t o
t h e c o n t r a r y i s r e c e i v e d f r o m t h e s e c r e t a r y , t h e m a s t e r p l a n
r e m a i n s t h e e s s e n t i a l d i r e c t i v e f o r t h e D O D P S Y O P
c o m m u n i t y .M y r e m a r k s h a v e b e e n f o c u s e d o n t h e D O D P S Y O P
m a s t e r p l a n b e c a u s e i t r e p r e s e n t s , a f t e r m a n y y e a r s o f
n e g l e c t , t o p - d o w n c o m m a n d e m p h a s i s o n a d d r e s s i n g l o n g -
r e c o g n i z e d d e f i c i e n c i e s . I t r e s p o n d s t o a p r e s i d e n t i a l d i r e c -
t iv e . I t p r o v i d e s a v i s i o n , a b l u e p r i n t , t o e n h a n c e o u r m i l i ta r y
p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s c a p a b i l i ti e s . B u t v i si o n s a n d
b l u e p r i n t s h a v e t o b e b r o u g h t t o f r u i t i o n b y h a r d w o r k ,
c o o p e r a t i o n , a n d a w a r e n e ss o n t h e p a r t o f s en i o r p e r s o n n e la m o n g a ll s e r v i c e s - a n d b y u n d e r s t a n d i n g a n d s u p p o r t f r o m
o t h e r g o v e r n m e n t a g e n c ie s , C o n g r e s s , a n d t h e p u b l i c .
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Comment
R I C H A R D B R A U ER
AS SOMEONE WHO HAS BEEN INVOLVED in virtually every
aspect of Air Force and joint special operations for the past
ten years, I share with Colonel Paddock the belief that the
PSYOP master plan is correct on the key issue of requiring
the eventual separation of PSYOP from special operations.I'll come back to this later.
As a special operator, I'm a firm believer in capturing
lessons learned from the past and applying them judiciously
to ensure future mission success. Because Colonel Paddock
has dealt in detail with the fascinating (if often frustrating)
cycles of PSYOP history, I will refer to the lessons of the past
only infrequently, and concentrate on the road map to the
future provided by the master plan and our progress alongthat path (or lack thereof) to date.
One central theme and basic premise of my remarks is
that the field of psychological operations should not be the
sole purview of the US Army or any other service (or even the
Department of Defense as a whole). PSYOP in support of
our national objectives must be conducted on an interagency
basis using every available means, including military PSYOP
resources. Moreover, a significant shift is required from thecommon concept of PSYOP as limited to leaflets and
loudspeakers, toward a broader view of the need for sus-
tained, offensive strategic psychological operations that will
respond to the Soviet threat.Now, let me briefly address my comments to the six ma-
jor themes within the master plan that Colonel Paddock has
discussed.
Without question, there is a fundamental need for jointmilitary PSYOP doctrine that will provide the essentialunderpinning for all future PSYOP revitalization and, more
importantly, furnish the individual services further guidance
on which to base their own PSYOP doctrine. Although now
nearly a year behind schedule, there has been definite pro-
66
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MILI TAR Y PSY OP 67
gress toward this goal. I would agree that the publication of
joint PSYOP doctrine is the quintessential requirement forfurther PSYOP revitalization within the Department of
Defense. Yet my practical side warns me that documents such
as these are rarely read and more rarely adhered to.
Something more tangible is required to ensure maximum
realization of the potential of PSYOP. For this reason, I
would assign first priority to the establishment of the Joint
PSYOP Center, to which I will return in a moment.
Colonel Paddock rightly identifies a lack of planning ex-pertise in PSYOP throughout major military staffs. At the
OSD, JCS, and service staff levels, fully half of the two
dozen total personnel assigned PSYOP responsibilities func-
tion on a part- time basis, often with collateral duties in a wide
variety of other areas. On the staffs of the nine unified and
specified commands, SHAPE, COMCENTAG, and the
Combined Forces Command in Korea, there are now a total
of fifteen officers with PSYOP responsibilities, of whichthree are considered part-time. Some progress in realigning
PSYOP personnel with the broader functional areas outside
of special operations has occurred, and the new OSD PSYOP
directorate is a long-awaited and significant step on the
PSYOP revitalization agenda.
The proposed two-week Joint PSYOP Staff Planning
Course for mid-level officers and senior NCOs, currently
under development by the Army, has also been behind
schedule. This course is essential if we are to meet the in-
creased PSYOP staff planner requirements of the master
plan.
I wholeheartedly concur with Colonel Paddock' s view
that PSYOP should not remain the exclusive domain of
specialized units such as those in the Army. For too long,
because of the traditional perception that PSYOP consists
solely of battlefield leaflet and loudspeaker activities, the
Army has been asked to bear the burden of both tactical and
strategic PSYOP for all the services. As a result, the "not-
invented-here" syndrome exists at all staff levels throughout
the sister services. Not that it is necessarily desirable for the
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BRAUER
o t h e r s er vic es t o f ie ld n e w P S Y O P u n i t s - t h e p o i n t is t h a t ,
g i v e n t h e c r e a ti v i ty o f w e l l - tr a i n e d a n d t a l e n t e d s t a f f p l a n n e r sf r o m a l l t h e s e r v i c e s , n o n - P S Y O P r e s o u r c e s c a n o f t e n h e
u s e d i n a m a n n e r d e s i g n e d t o a c h i e v e a s p ec if ic p s y c h o l o g i c a l
e f f e c t .
W i t h in t h e d i sc ip l i n e o f P S Y O P , t h e r e a re m a n y t a l e n t e d
a n d c r e a t i v e s t a f f o f f i c e r s . B u t t h e y c a n o n l y b e e f f e c t i v e i f
t h e y re c e iv e t h e r e q u is i t e m o r a l a n d m a t e r i a l s u p p o r t f r o m
s e n io r s t af f le ve ls . A l l t o o o f t e n , s o u n d P S Y O P p r o p o s a l s b y
o u r y o u n g o f f i c e r s f a l l o n d e a f e a r s .T h i s b r in g s u s t o t h e t h i r d m a j o r t a s k o f t h e m a s t e r
p l a n - e d u c a t i o n . I n g e n e ra l, a s C o l o n e l P a d d o c k n o t e d , t h e
n e w s i s g o o d i n t h i s a r e a , w i t h p r o g r e s s s t a r t i n g a t t h e t r o o p
l e v e l , a s d e m o n s t r a t e d b y t h e A r m y ' s S o v i e t P s y c h o l o g i c a l
A w a r e n e s s P r o g r a m ( S P A P ) , w h i c h is d e s i g n e d t o a ss is t o u r
s o l d i er s i n i d e n t i f y i n g a n d n e u t r a l i z i n g S o v i e t a n d S o v i e t -
s u r r o g a t e P S Y O P a c t i o n s d i r e c t e d a g a i n s t t h e m . I c a n o n l y
r e c o m m e n d t h a t t h e o t h e r s er vic es c o n s id e r a d o p t i n g s im i l arp r o g r a m s t a il o re d t o th e ir n e ed s . F o r t h e N C O a n d m i d - g r a d e
o f f i c e r l e v e l s , t h e P S Y O P c o u r s e s c o n d u c t e d a t t h e A r m y ' s
J o h n F . K e n n e d y S pe c ia l W a r f a r e C e n t e r a n d S c h o o l , a n d a t
t h e A i r F o r c e S p e c i a l O p e r a t i o n s S c h o o l , a re c o n t i n u i n g t o
m e e t t h e in c r ea s in g d e m a n d f o r P S Y O P t r a in i n g in th e j o i n t
c o m m u n i t y .
O f p a r t i c u l a r n o t e i s t h e n e w J o i n t S e n i o r P S Y O P
C o u r s e c o n d u c t e d a t t h e A i r F o r c e S pe c ia l O p e r a t i o n s S c h o o lf o r s e n i o r o f f ic e r s in t h e g r a d e o f c o l o n e l o r a b o v e a n d t h e i r
c iv i li an e q u i v a l e n t s . T h e c o u r s e w a s e s t a b li s h e d i n a c c o r d a n c e
w i t h t h e r e q u i r e m e n t s a n d s c h e d u l e o f t h e m a s t e r p l a n , a n d is
a s i g n i f i c a n t f i r s t s t e p i n e d u c a t i n g o u r s e n i o r l e a d e r s .
H o w e v e r , c o n c u r r e n t P S Y O P e d u c a t io n a l e f fo r t s m u s t b e
p u r s u e d a t o u r i n t e r m e d i a t e a n d s e n i o r s er v ic e s c h o o l s . C o l -
o n e l P a d d o c k a n d h is O S D d i r e c t o ra t e ar e m a k i n g s i g n if ic a n t
s tr id e s in e n c o u r a g i n g t h is le ve l o f P S Y O P e d u c a t i o n , d e s p i t e
t h e r e l u c t a n c e o n t h e p a r t o f s o m e s e n i o r s e r v i c e s c h o o l s t o
e x p a n d t h e i r c u r r i c u l a .
W i t h r e g a r d t o m o d e r n i z a t i o n o f f o r c e s t r u c t u r e a n d
e q u i p m e n t , t h e A r m y h a s o n c e a g a i n t a k e n t h e l e a d a m o n g
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MILI TARY PSYOP 69
t h e s erv ic es . T h e a c ti ve d u t y 4 th P S Y O P G r o u p a n d s e le c te d
A r m y R e s er ve c o m p o n e n t s a re i n t h e p r oc e ss o f a n u n -
p r e c e d e n t e d e q u i p m e n t u p g r a d e t h a t i n c l u d e s a c q u i s i t i o n o f
m o d e r n h e a v y p re s se s c a p a b l e o f h i g h - s p e e d c o l o r p r in t in g ,
p r o g r a m m a b l e c u t t e r s t o s u p p o r t t h e p r e s s e s , c o m p u t e r i z e d
p h o t o - t y p e s e t te r s , a n d a c o m p l e t e u p g r a d e o f l ig h t a n d
m e d i u m m o b i l e p r in t in g p l a n ts f o r s u p p o r t o f t ac t i ca l o p e r a -
t i o n s . A c q u i s i t i o n o f s t a t e - o f - t h e - a r t r a d i o , t e l e v i s io n , a n d
t ac t ic a l c o m m u n i c a t i o n s e q u i p m e n t f o r d i re c t s u p p o r t o f
P S Y O P a c t i v i t i e s i s c u r r e n t l y u n d e r w a y , a s a r e o t h e r e q u i p -m e n t e n h a n c e m e n t s .
C o l o n e l P a d d o c k h a s r e f e r r e d t o t h e 4 t h P S Y O P
G r o u p ' s n e w M e d i a P r o d u c t i o n C e n t e r , w h i c h h as r e c en t l y
b e e n c o m p l e t e d a t a c o s t o f s l i g ht ly o v e r t w o m i l l io n d o l la r s .
T h i s c e n t e r c o n s i s ts o f a f u l l y - e q u i p p e d a u d i o v i s u a l s t u d i o
c a p a b l e o f f i x e d a n d m o b i l e r e c o r d i n g , w i t h v i d e o e f f e c t s
g e n e r a t i o n , a n e d i t i n g a n d d u p l i c a t i n g f a ci li ty , a n d a
p h o t o l a b . A s a l s o m e n t i o n e d , t h e A i r F o r c e h a s a l l o c a t e df u n d s f o r u p g r a d i n g th e V o l a n t S o l o E C - 1 3 0 E a i r b o r n e
b r o a d c a s t p l a t f o r m s . H o w e v e r , i m p r o v e m e n t s p l a n n e d f o r
t h e i m m e d i a t e f u t u r e f a l l u n d e r t h e g e n e r a l c a t e g o r y o f a i r -
f ra m e a n d p o w e r p la n t m o d i f i c a t io n s ; m a n y o f th e P S Y O P
b r o a d c a s t e q u i p m e n t r e q u i r e m e n t s d e s ig n e d t o a d d r e ss c u r-
r e n t d e f ic i e n c ie s a r e p r o g r a m m e d f o r th e o u t - y e a r s a t e x-
t re m e l y lo w p r io r i t y , o r w o r s e y e t, u n f u n d e d . T h o u g h
P S Y O P is n o t a h i g h - c o s t , e q u i p m e n t - i n t e n s i v e d i sc i p li n e , w e
m u s t r e c o g n iz e t h e im p o r t a n c e o f a c q u i r in g a n d m a i n t a i n i n g
s t a t e - o f - t h e - a r t e q u i p m e n t ( m o s t o f w h i c h i s c o m m e r c i a l l y
a v a il ab le ) in s u p p o r t o f th e P S Y O P m i s si o n .
O n t h e p e r s o n n e l s i d e , a s C o l o n e l P a d d o c k h a s a p t l y
p o i n t e d o u t , t h e 4 th P S Y O P G r o u p , e v e n w h e n fu lly m a n n e d ,
w o u l d b e u n d e r s t a f f e d a n d s o r e l y s t r a i n e d t o m e e t t h e c o m -
p e t in g P S Y O P n e e d s o f t h e C I N C s , J C S , a n d O S D . T h i s is
p a r t i c u la r l y tr u e f o r t h e r e s e a r c h a n d a n a l ys is m i s s i o n . T h e 4 t h
G r o u p i s c u r r e n t l y a u t h o r i z e d 3 8 c i v i l i a n a n a l y s t s i n i t s
S t r a t e g i c S t u d i e s D i v i s i o n - - o n l y 3 0 a r e a s s i g n e d - - w h i l e 8 4 i s
t h e n u m b e r t h a t h a s b e e n i d e n t i f i e d a s n e c e s s a r y t o m e e t t h e
C I N C s ' a n n u a l s t u d y r e q u i r e m e n t s . T h e a c q u i s i t i o n o f t h e
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B R A U E R
P S Y O P A u t o m a t e d D a t a S y s te m ( P O A D S ) w i ll e v e n tu a l l y
r e d u c e s t u d y p r o d u c t i o n t im e , b u t c a n n o t h o p e t o s o lv e t h ep r o b l e m .
L e t m e m o v e o n t o t h e f o u r t h a n d m o s t c o n t r o v e r s i a l
t h e m e , t h e o r g a n i z a t io n a l s e p a r a t io n o f P S Y O P a n d s p e cia l
o p e r a t i o n s . I t w a s h o p e d t h a t th e in i t ia l m o v e m e n t o f P S Y O P
r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f r o m t h e J o i n t S p e c i a l O p e r a t i o n s A g e n c y
( J S O A ) t o t h e J C S p r o p e r w o u l d s e n d a sig n al t o t h e C I N C s
t h a t t h e J C S a re f i r m l y b e h i n d t h e in t e n t o f t h e P S Y O P
m a s t e r p l a n t o e f f e c t t h is s e p a r a t i o n . T h e s i g n a l m u s t h a v eb e e n w e a k , h o w e v e r , f o r o n ly tw o o f th e C I N C s h a v e s o fa r
r e s p o n d e d a c c o r d i n g l y . I b e l i e v e s e p a r a t i o n i s e s s e n t i a l a t
e v e r y m a j o r s t a f f o r g a n i z a t i o n i n o r d e r f o r t h e P S Y O P
r e v i ta l iz a t io n p r o c e s s t o c o n t i n u e . A s o m e w h a t m o r e d i f f ic u l t
i ss u e, p a r t i c u l a r ly f o r t h e A r m y , is t h e r e q u i r e m e n t t o
s e p a r a t e P S Y O P f o r c e s f r o m s p e c i a l o p e r a t i o n s c o m m a n d
a u t h o r i t y . T h e r e is n o d o u b t t h a t s e p a r a t i o n s h o u l d a n d m u s t
o c c u r , y e t P S Y O P m u s t h a v e a p l a c e t o g o o n c e i t s e p a r a t e s .T h i s b r i n g s m e t o t h e f i n a l t h e m e , t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f
t h e J o i n t P S Y O P C e n t e r . F o r r e a s o n s o f v is ib il it y a n d p r a c -
t ic a b i li ty , a n d g i v e n t h e l o n g l e a d t i m e s r e q u i r e d t o e s t a b l i s h ,
m a n , a n d e q u i p s u c h a n o r g a n i z a t i o n , t h e J o i n t S t a f f m u s t , a s
I a r g u e d e a r l ie r , g i v e t h e h i g h e s t p r i o r i t y to e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f
t h e c e n t e r . I f i rm l y b e l ie v e t h a t t h i s c e n t e r w i ll b e t h e s e e d c o r n
f r o m w h i c h a n e n h a n c e d n a t io n a l P S Y O P c a p a b i li ty w il l
g r o w . I t is h e r e , h o w e v e r , t h a t I b e g i n to t a k e i s s ue w i th
s ev e ra l o f C o l o n e l P a d d o c k ' s s t a te m e n t s .
I t o t a l l y a g r e e t h a t t h e c e n t e r s h o u l d e v e n t u a l l y h a v e
u n d e r i t s m a n t l e l o n g - r a n g e s t r a t e g i c p l a n n i n g , d o c t r i n e a n d
o p e r a t i o n a l c o n c e p t s , P S Y O P e d u c a t i o n a n d t r a i n i n g , r e -
s e a r c h a n d a n a l y t i c a l s t u d ie s , a n d e v e n d e v e l o p m e n t a n d a c -
q u i s i t i o n o f P S Y O P e q u i p m e n t . H o w e v e r , a s w i th t h e s ep a r a-
t i o n i s s u e , t i m i n g c o n c e r n i n g a s s u m p t i o n o f t h e s e t a s k s i s
c r i t i c a l, a n d t o a t t e m p t t o a c c o m p l i sh to o m u c h t o o s o o n
w i t h s c a r c e r e s o u r c e s w o u l d b e t o p u t t h e e n t i r e c o n c e p t a t
s i g n if ic a n t r is k . I a m o f t h e o p i n i o n t h a t t o b u r d e n t h e c e n t e r
i ni ti a ll y w i t h b o t h d e v e l o p m e n t a l a n d o p e r a t i o n a l t as k s w i ll
r e s u l t i n a f a l s e s t a r t , o r w o r s e y e t , a f a i l u r e .
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M I L I T A R Y P S Y O P 71
I b e l ie v e t h e c e n t e r s h o u l d c o n c e n t r a t e i n i ti a ll y o n a d -
d r e s s i n g P S Y O P s t r a t e g i c p l a n n i n g r e q u i r e m e n t s . T h e 3 8
c i v i l i a n a n a l y s t s i n t h e S t r a t e g i c S t u d i e s D i v i s i o n o f t h e 4 t h
P S Y O P G r o u p w o u l d p r o v i d e a n e x c e l le n t in i t ia l s o u r c e o f
m a n p o w e r w e l l e q u i p p e d f o r t h e t a sk s a t h a n d . T o s eiz e o n
t h e m e a g e r m a n p o w e r s p a c e s c u r r e n t l y a s s i g n e d t o P S Y O P
e d u c a t i o n a n d t ra in i n g in t h e A r m y a n d A i r F o rc e w o u l d
d e t r im e n t a l ly a f f e c t th e P S Y O P e d u c a t i o n a l b as e . S i m i l ar ly ,
i m m e d i a t e a s s u m p t i o n o f o p e r a t i o n a l r es e ar ch a n d d e v e lo p -
m e n t a n d ( es pe cia lly ) a c q u i s it io n f u n c t i o n s w o u l d b o g d o w nt h e c e n t e r i n a m o r a s s o f c o m p l e x p r o c e d u r e s t h a t c o u l d s t u n t
i ts n a t u r a l g r o w t h . O n c e f i rm l y e s t a b l i s h e d , I a g re e t h a t t h e
c e n t e r s h o u l d a s s u m e a ll t h e f u n c t i o n s C o l o n e l P a d d o c k h a s
e n u m e r a t e d . B u t I fe el s t r o n g l y t h a t a n e v o l u t i o n a r y a p -
p r o a c h i s f a r b e t t e r t h a n a r e v o l u t i o n a r y o n e .
I a l so a g r e e t h a t i n t e r a g e n c y r e p r e s e n t a t i o n a t t h e c e n t e r
i s e s s e n t i a l , a n d I w o u l d a d d b o t h t h e D e f e n s e I n t e l l i g e n c e
A g e n c y a n d t h e N a t i o n a l S e c u r i ty A g e n c y to C o l o n e l P a d -d o c k ' s r e c o m m e n d e d lis t. O f e q u a l i m p o r t a n c e is t h e n e e d t o
i n t e g r a t e i n t o th e o r g a n i z a t i o n , a t t h e o u t s e t , p e r s o n n e l f r o m
t h e c l in ic a l a n d b e h a v i o r a l p s y c h o l o g i c a l fi el ds . T h e A i r
F o r c e B i o m e d i c a l S c i e n c e C o r p s m a y b e a l i m i t e d s o u r c e o f
s u c h e x p e r t i s e .
A s t o t h e i n i t i a l d i r e c t i o n o f t h e c e n t e r , i t m i g h t p r o v e
w i se r o v e r t h e l o n g t e r m t o p l a c e i t i ni ti a ll y u n d e r o t h e r t h a n
A r m y m a n a g e m e n t . E x p e r i e nc e h as s h o w n th a t , g i ve n t h e
c h a n c e , t h e o t h e r s e rv ic e s w i ll o p t o u t o f t h e i r P S Y O P t a s k s.
P l a c i n g t h e c e n t e r u n d e r A i r F o r c e o r N a v y m a n a g e m e n t
w o u l d g u a r d a g a in s t t h e p e r c e p t io n th a t P S Y O P r e m a i n s a
s o l e o r p r i m a r y A r m y r e s p o n s i b i l i t y .
I t is e s s e n ti a l t o r e c o g n i z e t h a t t h e f o c u s o f P S Y O P h a s
c h a n g e d f r o m s u p p o r t i n g , o n t h e o n e h a n d , u n c o n v e n t i o n a l
w a r f a r e f o r c e s a t t h e l o w - i n t e n s i t y e n d o f t h e c o n f l i c t s p e c -
t r u m , a n d o n t h e o th e r , th e N A T O c o n v e n t i o n a l b a t t le f ie l d .
N a t i o n a l - l e v e l p o l i c y g u i d a n c e a n d d i re c t i v e s m a n d a t e t h e u s e
o f P S Y O P t h r o u g h o u t t h e f u ll s p e c t r u m o f c o n fl ic t in a n e r a
o f w h a t h a s b e e n c a l l e d " v i o l e n t p e a c e . " W h e t h e r w e
r e c o g n iz e a n d a p p r o v e i t o r n o t , t h e f ie ld o f P S Y O P h a s
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72 ZORTHIAN
s l o w l y b u t i n e x o r a b l y m a t u r e d s i n c e e a r l i e r t i m e s i n t o a
d i sc i pl in e t h a t is b e c o m i n g m o r e j o i n t a n d e v e n i n te r a g e n c y in
e x e c u t i o n , g l o b a l i n s c o p e , a n d s t r a t e g i c i n c h a r a c t e r . W e
s h o u l d e n c o u r a g e a n d t a k e a d v a n t a g e o f t h e ra p i d ly g r o w i n g
i n t e r e s t i n t h e p s y c h o l o g i c a l d i m e n s i o n o f U S n a t i o n a l
s t r a t e g y .
BARR Y Z ORT HI AN
I W O U L D L I K E T O M A K E v a r i o u s o b s e r v a t i o n s t h a t a r e i n-
t e n d e d t o l o o k i n t o th e f u t u r e b a s e d o n t h e p a s t. I f t h e se c o m -
m e n t s s e e m t o r e fl e c t o n l y m y e x p e r i e n c e i n V i e t n a m , p l e a s e
b e a r w i th m e . V i e t n a m w a s o u r l as t m a j o r e f f o r t o f p s y c h o -
l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s u n d e r c o m b a t c o n d i t i o n s , a n d t h e r e m a y
b e s o m e b e n e f i t i n r e fe r r in g b a c k t o i t .I f in d m y s e l f i n g e n e ra l a g r e e m e n t w i t h t h e t h r u s t o f C o l -
o n e l P a d d o c k ' s p a p e r . I ce r ta in l y e n d o r s e th e p o s i t i o n th a t
p s y c h o l o g ic a l o p e r a t i o n s d e s er v e m o r e a t t e n t io n a n d d e s e rv e
a n i n d e p e n d e n t a n d m o r e p r o m i n e n t p o s i t i o n w i t h i n t h e
m i l i t a r y .
L e t m e e m p h a s i z e t w o p o i n t s t h a t I t h i n k a r e e s s e n t i a l .
I ' d s u m t h e m u p i n t w o w o r d s : i n t e g r a t i o n a n d i n -
t e g r i t y - i n t e g r a t i o n o f e f fo r t , in t e g r a t io n o f p e r s o n n e l , ce r-
t a in l y i n t e g r a t i o n o f b a s ic c o n c e p t ; i n t e g ri ty o f m e s s a g e , c o n -
s is te n c y o f t h a t m e s s a g e , r e c o g n i t i o n t h a t t h e m e s s a g e m u s t
b e b a s e d o n r e a li ty . T h e s e t w o p r i n c i p l e s , I t h i n k , a r e b a s ic t o
a n y s u c c e s s f u l e f f o r t i n t h e f ie ld o f P S Y O P .
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M I L I T A R Y P S Y O P 73
W e o b v i o u s l y h a v e a s e m a n t ic p r o b l e m t h a t 's n e v e r b e e n
s o l v e d . W e ' r e n o t a l w a y s i n a g r e e m e n t o n t h e m e a n i n g o ft e r m s s u c h a s p s y w a r , c o m m u n i c a t i o n s , p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a -
t ions , m ed ia re la t ions , po l i t i ca l opera t ions . T h e y c o v e r a v a st
a m o u n t o f g r o u n d . I f w e p u t a sid e c o m b a t p s y c h o lo g ic a l
o p e r a t i o n s a n d l o o k a t t h e r e s t o f i t a s t h e p o l i t i c a l d i m e n -
s i o n - t he c o m m u n i c a t io n s d i m e n s i o n - o f a n a t i o n a l e f f o r t ,
w h e t h e r i n a c o n t e x t o f c o n v e n t i o n a l o r l o w - in t e n si ty c o m b a t
o r e v e n in " v i o l e n t p e a c e t i m e , " th e n p e r h a p s w e c a n a ll g e t
t o g e t h e r a n d b e t a l k i n g a b o u t t h e s a m e t h i n g .I w e l c o m e t h e D O D P S Y O P m a s t e r p la n , b u t I d o h a v e
s o m e t r o u b l e w i t h i t . I d o n o t a r g u e w i t h t h e d i r e c t i o n i t i s
t a k i n g , b u t w o n d e r w h e t h e r i t g o e s f a r e n o u g h . O n e a r e a
w h e r e t h e d o c u m e n t a n d t h e c o n c e p t b e h i n d i t n e e d
s t r e n g t h e n i n g is in th e i r a t t e n t i o n t o i n t e g r a t i o n o f t h e
m i l i t a ry a n d c iv il ia n c o m p o n e n t s o f a n a t i o n a l e f f o r t . T h e
m i l i t a ry d o e s n e e d t o l o o k a t th e m o s t l ik e ly f o r m o f c o m b a t
it is g o i n g t o f a c e. C o n v e n t i o n a l c o m b a t , in th e f o r m o f c a m -p a i g n s w h o s e p r i m a r y g o a l i s t e r r i t o r y , i s p o s s i b l e , b u t I
w o u l d t h i n k l e s s l i k e l y i n t h e w o r l d o f t o d a y t h a n l o w -
i n te n si t y c o m b a t - p o l i t i c a l c o m b a t . A n d in t h a t f r a m e w o r k ,
c iv i l ia n in v o l v e m e n t in t h e c o n d u c t o f m i l i ta r y o p e r a t i o n s a n d
i n t h e i m p l e m e n t a t i o n o f m i l i ta r y a c t io n s is a l ik e l i h o o d . I n
V i e t n a m , t h e J o i n t U S P u b l i c A f f a ir s O f f i ce ( J U S P A O ) w a s
a n i n t e g r a t e d c i v i l ia n - m i li ta r y e f f o r t . Y o u c a n c r it ic i z e t h e
o r g a n i z a t i o n f o r i n a d e q u a c i e s o f v a r i o u s k i n d s ; b u t t h e i n-
t e g r a t i o n o f p e r s o n n e l w a s r e al , w i t h l a y e ri n g o f m i l i t a ry a n d
c iv i l ia n s , e a c h w r it in g p e r f o r m a n c e r a t in g s o n t h e o t h e r , a n d
t h e p r o d u c t a v e ry c o m b i n e d e f f o r t .
T h e f ac t is t h a t w h e n w e a p p r o a c h e d V i e t n a m , n o a r m o f
t h e U S g o v e r n m e n t w a s p re p a r e d f o r a n y t h in g th a t y o u c o u l d
p o s s i b ly d e s c r ib e a s p s y c h o l o g i c a l w a r f a r e . T h e m i l i ta r y w a s
n o t p r e p a r e d f o r i t ; i t h a d p a i d s o m e a t t e n t i o n t o h a r d w a r e
a n d e q u i p m e n t , b u t c e r ta i n ly n o t t o su b s t a n c e . U S I A w a s n o t
p r e p a r e d f o r it . T h e S t a te D e p a r t m e n t c e r t a i n ly w a s n o t
p r e p a r e d f o r i t . W e h a d t o s t a r t f r o m s c r a t c h o n t h e s u b -
s t a n ti v e a sp e c t s o f p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s . T h i s s o r t o f
i n a d e q u a c y s h o u l d c e r t a i n l y b e a v o i d e d i n t h e f u t u r e b y
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74 ZORTHIAN
anticipating and preparing and training for such contingen-
cies, whether nationally or within a DOD center.
Secondly, the master plan seems to give inadequate at-
tention to the training and preparation of military personnel,
not to speak of civilians. PSYOP, I would argue, is as in-
tegral to line command as any other element of the military's
responsibilities. Time must be devoted in mainstream military
training and in the training of other government personnel to
this dimension of conflict. Psychological operations cannot
be compartmentalized and then simply drawn on as aresource. They must be integral to military activity. If I read
our history, particularly our Civil War history, correctly, the
military was very po l it ic al -n ot in a partisan sense, but in the
sense of interaction with civilians and in the sense of a con-
cern with the effect of military actions on civilians from a
political point of view.
Colonel Paddock does not, I think, devote enough atten-
tion to psychological operations as a staff role. If I had tochoose between the implementation of the mission--the run-
ning of loudspeakers and transmission of leaflets and so
o n - a n d the role psychological operators should play in staff
terms, in participating in military decisions, I would take thelatter. The important input of psychological operations per-
sonnel is in the determina tion of military action rathe r than in
the implementation of their own program. The latter is cer-
tainly important, but the former is critical.The world has changed considerably since Vietnam, but
Vietnam taught us one thing: we live in an age of communica-
tions. The isolation of the battlefield no longer exists; com-
munication reaches to the battlefield in all sorts of forms.
There has been considerable criticism of our having the same
person fill the role of press spokesman and director ofpsychological operations. But I think this arrangement
reflects an important principle that has to be recognized inthe future-and that is that you cannot compartmentalize
communication. Communication with the media has to be
consistent with communicat ion to the enemy, to third parties,
to the rest of the world. PSYOP and communicat ion with the
media are part of the same whole.
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MILI TAR Y PSY OP 75
M y f i n a l p o i n t is p r o b a b l y a n o b v i o u s o n e , b u t I 'l l m a k e
i t n e v e rt h e le s s . A l l t h e p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s i n th e w o r l d
a r e n o t g o i n g t o c h a n g e t h e f ac ts , t h e r e a li ty o f o u r a c t i o n s .
T h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t t h in g in th is a re a o f P S Y O P is t o e n s u r e
t h a t o u r a c t i o n s , e i t h e r i n m i l i t a r y o r i n n a t i o n a l t e r m s , a r e
p o s i ti v e . P S Y O P s t a n d i n g b y i ts e lf w i t h o u t a b a s is o f
p o s i t iv e , e f f e c t iv e , a n d s k i ll f u ll y d e v i s e d a n d e x e c u t e d p o l i c y
a n d a c t i o n s s i m p l y w i ll n o t h a v e a n y r e s u lt s . I n t h e p a s t , t o o
o f t e n P S Y O P w a s b l a m e d a n d r e g a r d e d a s i n a d e q u a t e b e -
c a u s e t h e p o l i c y a n d a c t i o n s o n w h i c h i t b a s e d i t s m e s s a g e
w e r e n o t t h e p r o p e r o n e s .
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Political Warfare
ANG EL O M. CODEVILLA
pO L I T I C A L W A R F A R E IS t h e f o r c e fu l p o li t i c a l e x pr es -
s io n o f p o l ic y . W e m u s t a l w a y s d i s t i n g u i s h p o l i c y f r o m
t h e t o o l s b y w h i c h i t i s e x p r e s s e d . T h e f o r c e f u l p o l i t i c a l e x -
p r e s s i o n o f p o l i c y m a k e s s e n s e o n l y t o t h e e x t e n t t h a t t h e
p o l i c y it se l f m a k e s s e n s e . I b e l ie v e t h a t n o A m e r i c a n is n o w in
a p o s i t i o n t o d e s c r i b e h o w t o u s e t h e tools o f p o li t i c a l w a r f a r e
t o e x p r e s s a n d t o f u r t h e r t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s ' p o l it ic a l d e s ig n s i n
t h e w o r l d b e c a u s e f o r m a n y y e a r s o u r p o l i c y m a k e r s h a v e n o t
b e e n c o m p e t e n t a t m a k i n g f o r e ig n p o l i c y a n d m i l i ta r ys t r a t e g y .
P o l i t ic a l w a r f a r e is n o t t h e s u m o f a s e t o f t o o l s
e m p l o y e d w i th a c e r ta i n in t e n si ty . H o u r s o f b r o a d c a s t i n g t o
f o r e i g n a u d i e n c e s , d o l la r s sp e n t to s u p p o r t g r o u p s a b r o a d ,
f o r e ig n c o n t a c t s h i g h ly e n o u g h p l a c e d t o m e r i t t h e l a be l
" a g e n t s o f i n f lu e n c e " a r e n o t f u n g i b l e q u a n ti t i e s ; n o r d o
n u m b e r s i n d i c a t i n g th a t w e d o a l o t , o r o n l y a li tt le , in th e s e
f i e l d s i n d i c a t e t h a t m o r e o r l e s s p o l i t i c a l w a r f a r e i s g o i n g o n .P o l it ic s is t h e m a r s h a l i n g o f h u m a n b e in g s t o s u p p o r t o r o p -
p o s e c a u s e s . Political warfare is the marshaling of human
support, or opposition, in order to achieve victory in war or
in unbloody conflicts as serious as war.
W e c a n o p e r a t e ra d i o s , d i s p e n s e m o n e y , a n d p u l l s tr in g s .
B u t u n le s s w e d o s o in a m a n n e r r e a s o n a b l y c a l c u l a te d t o
s i g n i f i c a n t ly a f f e c t t h e o u t c o m e o f a w a r o r s im i l a r c o n f l i c t
t h a t w e a r e r e a s o n a b l y t r y i n g t o w i n , w e a r e n o t e n g a g i n g inp o li t i c a l w a r f a r e a n y m o r e t h a n s o m e o n e e n g a ge s in m a s o n r y
w h o b u i ld s u n c o n n e c t e d p ile s o f b r ic k s a n d m o r t a r . W i t h o u t
p o l i cy , th e t o o ls o f p o l i c y - b u t e sp e c i al ly s ec re t t o o l s - a r e
w o r s e t h a n u se le ss . T h a t i s b e c a u s e i n c o m p e t e n t p o l i c y m a k e r s
c a n u s e t h e m a s su b s t i t u t e s f o r p o l i c y , a s e v i d e n c e t o t h e m -
77
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78 CODEVILLA
s e l v e s a n d o t h e r s t h a t t h e y a r e d o i n g s o m e t h i n g , a n d t h u s a s
r e a s o n s to f o r es ta l l c o n f r o n t i n g h a r d c h o i ce s . W o r s t o f al l ,
t h e t o o ls o f p o li ti c al w a r f a re c a n n u r t u r e t h e t e m p t a t i o n t h a t
is p e r h a p s m o s t c o m m o n a m o n g i n c o m p e t e n t o f fi ci a l s: to t ry
t o h a v e o n e ' s c a k e w h i le e a t i n g it t o o b y r u n n i n g a " t w o - t r a c k
p o l i c y " - o n e t ra c k p u b l i c , o n e s ec re t.
I n 1 98 1, P r o f e s s o r A d d a B o z e m a n s u g g e s t e d i n a w i d e l y
r e a d p a p e r t h a t s i n ce t h e U n i t e d S ta te s w a s u n m i s t a k a b l y
d e c l i n i n g i n re l a ti v e m i l i t a r y p o w e r , i t h a d b e t t e r p a y a t t e n -
t i o n t o t h e p o l i t i c a l a r t s b y w h i c h m i l i t a r i l y w e a kp o w e r s - m e d i e v a l V e n ic e is t he b es t e x a m p l e - c a n k e ep
s t r o n g e r e n e m i e s d i v i d e d , p e r p l e x e d , a n d a t b a y . t S o m e o f -
f ic ia ls in t h e U S g o v e r n m e n t h a v e m i s t a k e n t h a t w i se c o u n s e l
a s i n d i ca t in g th a t v a r i o u s k i n d s o f p r o p a g a n d a , f u n d i n g o f
f o r e i g n g r o u p s , a n d t h e b l a c k a r t s o f a g e n t s o f i n f l u e n c e c a n
m a k e u p f o r m i l i ta r y i n s u f f i c ie n c y a n d i r r e s o l u t io n a t th e t o p .
N o t h i n g c o u l d b e m o r e m i s le a d i n g t h a n a b e l ie f t h a t p o l i t ic a l
w a r f a r e i s a c h e a p f i x f o r s u c h f u n d a m e n t a l d e f i c i e n c i e s . A tb e s t, t h e t o o l s o f p o l it ic a l w a r f a r e c a n r e f le c t a n d m a g n i f y t h e
e f fe c t o f o t h e r w i s e c o m p e t e n t p o li c y. B u t w h e n t h e t o o l s o f
p o l i t i c a l w a r f a r e a r e u s e d b y t h e i n c o m p e t e n t , t h e y c a u s e
f r ie n d s to b l e e d a n d e n e m i e s t o l a u g h .
Defining Political Warfare
H o w , t h e n , d o e s o n e g o a b o u t m a r s h a l i n g p o l it ic a l s u p -
p o r t a m o n g f o r e i g n er s ? A b o v e a ll, w e m u s t r e m e m b e r th a t
s u c h m a r s h a l i n g m u s t b e t h e o b j e c t i v e o f a ll i n t e r n a t i o n a l a c-
t io n , f r o m t h e d e li ve r y o f p u b l ic s p e e ch e s t o t h e d r o p p i n g o f
b o m b s . N o t h i n g is m o r e m i s le a d i n g t h a n t h e n o t i o n t h a t
p o l i ti cs is o n e a s p e c t o f co n f li c t a m o n g o t h e r s - m i l i t a r y ,
e c o n o m i c , e tc . I n f a c t , p o l i ti c s is n o t o n e part o f c o n f l ic t b u t
t h e o r g a n i z i n g p r i n c i p l e o f t h e whole, t h a t w h i c h m a k e s s e ns eo f a ll o n e d o e s i n a f i g h t , i f i n d e e d t h e r e is a n y s e n s e. S o , t o
b e g i n w i t h , w e c a n n o t c o n f i n e p o l i t i c a l w a r f a r e t o t h e t o o l s
w e a s so c i a te w i t h p o l i t ic a l w a r f a r e . A n y g o v e r n m e n t th a t
m a r s h a l s h u m a n e n er g ie s t h r o u g h t h e t o o ls o f p o l it ic a l w a r -
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POLITICAL WARFARE 79
f a re m u s t a l s o m a k e s u r e t h a t i ts m i l i ta r y a n d e c o n o m i c ac -
t i v i t i e s a r e r e a s o n a b l y c a l c u l a t e d t o a c h i e v e t h e s a m e e n d s i ts e ek s t h r o u g h o b v i o u s l y p o li ti c al t o o l s .
T h e s u p r e m e d e c i s io n in w a r f a r e i s t h e d e s i g n a t i o n o f a n
o b j e c t i v e a s i m p o r t a n t e n o u g h t o k i ll a n d d i e f o r . T h a t a c t is a
q u i n t e s s e n ti a l l y p o l it ic a l o n e . A n y m i l i t a ry o r e c o n o m i c
m e a s u r e s t a k e n p u r s u a n t t o t h a t d e c is io n t h a t a r e n o t
r e a s o n a b l y c a l c u l a t e d t o b r i n g a b o u t v i c t o r y a r e s ig n s e i t h e r
o f p o l it ic a l i n c o m p e t e n c e o r o f a d e a t h w i s h . I n o t h e r w o r d s ,
t h e t o o ls o f p o li ti c al w a r f a r e a r e o n l y p a r ts o f w h a t m u s t b ea n e s s e n t i a l l y p o l i t i c a l , s u c c e s s - o r i e n t e d p l a n t h a t a l s o i n -
v o l v es e v e r y t h i n g e ls e t h e g o v e r n m e n t is d o i n g .
P o l i t i c a l w a r f a r e , t h e n , is t h e f o r c e f u l p o l i t ic a l e x p r e s -
s i o n o f w h a t a n a t i o n i s a b o u t i n a p a r t i c u l a r c o n f l i c t . S u c c e s s
in p o li ti c al w a r f a r e m e a n s t h a t f o r e ig n e r s c o m e t o u n d e r s t a n d
w h a t a p r o t a g o n i s t i s a b o u t i n w a y s t h a t l e a d t h e m t o
a s s o c ia t e th e i r o w n l iv es , f o r t u n e s , a n d h o n o r w i th it . H e n c e ,
t h o u g h p o l it ic a l w a r f a r e m a y m a k e u s e o f d e c e p t i o n f r o mt i m e t o t i m e , i t s t h r u s t m u s t b e t h e v e r y o p p o s i t e o f d e c e p -
t i o n . W h e t h e r i t d o e s s o o v e r t l y o r c o v e r t l y , p o l i ti c a l w a r f a r e
m u s t p r o v i d e t o f o r e i g n e r s t r u e , c o n c r e t e r e a s o n s w h y t h e y
o u g h t t o c o n s i d e r t h e m s e l v e s o n " o u r s i d e ," a n d c o n c r e t e in -
d u c e m e n t s f o r t h e m t o s i g n i f i c a n tl y e n h a n c e o u r s i d e's
c h a n c e s .
P o l i t i c a l w a r f a r e , t h e n , is a b r o a d c o n c e p t in v o l v i n g a c t s
b o t h o v e r a n d c o v e r t . L e t u s c o n s i d e r i n t u r n g r a y a n d b l a c kp r o p a g a n d a , s u p p o r t f o r f o r e ig n g r o u p s , a n d a g e n ts o f in -
f l u e n c e .
Gray Propaganda
T h e U n i t e d S t a te s h a s r i g h tl y c h o s e n t o s p e a k t o t h e
w o r l d n o t j u s t t h r o u g h o f fi c i a l re p r es e n ta t i v e s. T h r o u g h o u tt h e w o r l d , t h e U S I n f o r m a t i o n A g e n c y p r o v i d e s s p e ak e r s a n d
p r o g r a m s t h a t d o n o t n e c es s ar il y r e fl ec t t h e v ie w s o f th e U S
g o v e r n m e n t , s o t h a t f o re ig n e r s w il l u n d e r s t a n d b o t h t h e
b r e a d t h o f r e s p o n s i b l e o p i n i o n i n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s a n d i t s
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8 0 C O D E I ' l L L A
u n i t y o n e s se n ti a l m a t t e r s . S i m i la r ly , t h e V o i c e o f A m e r i c a
a n d R a d i o F r e e E u r o p e / R a d i o L i b e rt y s p e a k , o b v io u s ly ,
t h a n k s t o U S g o v e r n m e n t f un d s , b u t o n b e h a l f o f s o m e t h i n g
b i g g e r t h a n t h e U S g o v e r n m e n t . T h i s s em i o f fi c ia l a m p l if i c a -
t i o n o f t h e v o i c e o f t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s a b r o a d i s c a l l e d g r a y
p r o p a g a n d a .
B u t i n a d d i t i o n t o a m p l i f i c a t i o n , g r a y p r o p a g a n d a h a s
o f f e r e d U S o f f i c i a l s t h e p l e a s u r e s o f i r r e s p o n s i b i l i t y . T h e
c l a s s i c c a s e i s t h e s t i r r i n g b r o a d c a s t s t h a t i n t h e e a r l y 1 9 5 0 s
g a v e E a s t E u r o p e a n s h o p e t h a t i f t h e y r e v ol te d , th e U S w o u l dc o m e t o th e i r a id . T h e U S g o v e r n m e n t n e v er f o r m a l ly c o n -
s id e re d w h e t h e r o r n o t t o c o m m u n i c a t e o ff ic ia l l y t o a n y o n e i n
P o l a n d , H u n g a r y , o r E a s t G e r m a n y t h e m e s sa g e , T h e U n i te d
S t a t e s b e l ie v e s it is i n o u r m u t u a l i n t e r e s t i f y o u r p e o p l e r e v o l t
a g a i n s t t h e S o v i e t U n i o n ; o n c e y o u d o , w e w i l l k e e p t h e
S o v i et s f r o m c r u s h i n g y o u e i th e r b y t h r e a t e n i n g w a r o r b y a c-
t u a l l y s e n d i n g o u r o w n t r o o p s t o i n t e r p o s e t h e m s e l v e s b e -
t w e e n t h e S o v i e t s a n d y o u . H a d t h i s q u e s t i o n b e e n r a i s e d , ar e sp o n s ib l e g o v e r n m e n t e i th e r w o u l d h a v e a p p r o v e d s e n d in g
t h e m e s s a g e a n d t h e n m a d e t h e n e c e s s a ry p l a n s f o r in t e r v e n -
t i o n , o r i t w o u l d n o t h a v e s e n t t h e m e s s a g e . I n m a k i n g i t s
d e c is io n , i t w o u l d p r e s u m a b l y h a v e c o m p a r e d t h e c o st o f i n-
t e rv e n i n g w i th t h e c o st s o f p e r m a n e n t l y c o n c e d i n g E a s t e r n
E u r o p e t o t h e S o v ie t U n i o n , a n d w o u l d h a v e p r e p a r e d i ts e l f
t o m a k e t h e b e s t o f w h a t e v e r a l te r n a t iv e i t c h o s e . B u t t h e U S
g o v e r n m e n t a v o id e d th a t d e m a n d i n g c o n f r o n t a t i o n w i thr e a l i t y a s l o n g a s i t c o u l d . W h e n t h e E a s t G e r m a n , P o l i s h ,
a n d H u n g a r i a n r ev o lt s f o r c e d th e U S g o v e r n m e n t t o c h o o s e ,
t h e o p t i o n o f i n t e r v e n t i o n h a d n o t b e e n s t u d ie d o r p r e p a r e d .
I n o th e r w o r d s , w h e n t h e U S g o v e r n m e n t c o m m u n i c a t e d
t h r o u g h g r ay p r o p a g a n d a - t h a t is , o u ts id e o f a r e s p on s ib le
p o l ic y p r o c e s s - i t d i d n o t ta k e i ts o w n u t t e r a n c e s s e r io u s l y
e n o u g h t o p r e p a r e f o r t h e i r l o g i c a l c o n s e q u e n c e s .
N o w a d a y s t h e r a d i o s d o n o t t el l t h e c o u n t r i e s o f t h eS o v i e t E m p i r e t o r e v o l t . H o w e v e r , t h e y s t i l l d r a w t r u t h f u l
c o m p a r i s o n s b e t w e e n h o w b a d l i f e i s o v e r t h e r e a n d h o w
g o o d i t i s h e r e . B u t i t i s n o t c l e a r t h a t t h e U S g o v e r n m e n t
u n d e r s t a n d s w h a t i t i s d o i n g a n y b e t t e r t h a n i t d i d 3 0 y e a r s
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POLITICAL WAR FAR E 81
a g o . T h e W e s t e r n r a d i o s ' l is te n e rs k n o w e v e n b e t t e r t h a n d o e s
t h e U S g o v e r n m e n t h o w m i se r a b le lif e is u n d e r C o m m u n i s m ,
a n d t h e i r i m a g i n a t i o n a b o u t l i f e i n t h e W e s t i s p r o b a b l y t o o
g e n e r o u s . I t i s n o t c l e a r t h a t t h e U S g o v e r n m e n t h a s a s k e d
i ts e lf w h a t r u b b i n g i n t h is c o m p a r i s o n c a n e n g e n d e r . R e v o l t ?
R e s e n t m e n t o f t h e W e s t f o r g l o a ti n g ? S u r e ly it e n g e n d e r s
s o m e r e s e n t m e n t a g a i n s t b o t h C o m m u n i s t l e a d e r s f o r t h e i rt y r a n n y a n d a g a i n s t t h e W e s t f o r t a l k i n g b u t d o i n g n o t h i n g
a b o u t i t .
N o n e o f th i s is t o a r g u e a g a i n st t h e r e a s o n a b l e p r e s u m p -t i o n t h a t , a l l o t h e r t h i n g s b e i n g e q u a l , i t i s b e t t e r f o r p e o p l e
i n s i d e t h e S o v i e t E m p i r e t o k n o w t h e t r u t h t h a t t h e i r C o m -
m u n i s t r e g i m e s t r y t o h i d e . I n f a c t , c i t i z e n s o f C o m m u n i s t
c o u n t r i e s o f t e n k n o w l ess a b o u t w h a t h a p p e n s i n t h e i r o w n
c o u n t r i e s t h a n d o f o r e i g n e rs . I t is c l e a r ly i n t h e p e r m a n e n t i n -
t e r e st o f t h e U n i t e d S t a te s t h a t s u c h c i t iz e n s b e a s f u l ly i n -
f o r m e d a s p o s s ib l e a b o u t t h e i r o w n c o u n t r i e s . B u t m e r e f a c ts
a r e n o t p o l i ti c a ll y s i gn i fi c a n t. M u c h m o r e i m p o r t a n t t o t h ea u d i e n c e i s , l i t e r a l l y , w h o i s i n a p o s i t i o n t o d o w h a t , t o
w h o m , f o r w h o m , a n d a g a i n s t w h o m ? T h e S o v i e t E m p i r e ' s
s u b j e c t s a r e i n t e r e s t e d i n h o w t h e W e s t f e e l s a b o u t t h e m , i n
w h a t w e a r e a b l e a n d w i ll in g t o d o t h a t w i l l a f f e c t t h e i r l i ve s ,
i n h o w w e s t a n d i n t h e d a i l y st ru g g le s b e t w e e n t h e m s e l v e s a n d
t h e ir m a s t e r s. A b o v e a ll , t h e y w a n t t o k n o w w h a t r o l e , g i v en
o u r m e a n s , w e a r e w i l li n g t o p l a y i n t h a t s tr u g g le .
S i n c e t h e U S g o v e r n m e n t h a s n o t e v e n t ri e d t o r e so l v et h e s e f u n d a m e n t a l p o l i t i c a l q u e s t i o n s w i t h i n i t s e l f , w e c a n
h a r d l y s p e a k t o t h e c a p t i v e p o l i t i e s o f t h e S o v i e t E m p i r e
w i t h o u t d o i n g o u r s e l v e s h a r m . F o r e x a m p l e , o u r g r a y p r o p -
a g a n d a g i v e s t h e i m p r e s s i o n t h a t w e c o n s i d e r t h e p e o p l e s o f
E a s t e r n E u r o p e , c e r t a i n l y , a n d t h o s e o f t h e S o v i e t U n i o n ,
p r o b a b l y , a s o u r f r i e n d s , a n d t h a t w e c o n s i d e r t h e i r g o v e r n -
m e n t s t o b e b o t h i ll e g it im a t e r u le r s a n d e n e m i e s c a u s in g u s t o
s p e n d b i l l i o n s o f d o l l a r s o n a r m a m e n t s . O n t h e o t h e r h a n d ,t h e V o i ce o f A m e r i c a n o l ess t h a n t h e C o m m u n i s t m e d i a
f a i th f u l l y , a n d e v e n e a g e rl y , re p o r t s t h e c o r d i a l i t y o f
m e e t i n g s b e t w e e n o f f ic i a l r e p r e s e n t a ti v e s o f W e s t e r n g o v e r n -
m e n t s a n d C o m m u n i s t g o v e r n m e n t s . A n d b o t h h a v e f a i t h -
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82 C O D E V I L L A
fully reported the Helsinki Final Act of 1975 (which is not a
trea ty submitted to the US Senate) in which the United States
agreed that the Soviet Union's domination of Eastern
Europe, and all Communist regimes therein, is legitimate.
Also, both the radios and the Communist media have
discussed NATO's approac h to any eventual war on the cen-
tral front, which is to try to hold the line at the inter-German
border while wreaking destruction on the Warsaw Pact's sup-
plies and reinforcements in Eastern Europe. This message
may indeed reassure the Soviet leaders that the West does notintend ever, even under the provocation of war, to threaten
Communist rule anywhere. But the targets of our gray prop-
aganda, our friends about whose freedom we sometimes
speak but who are to be the targets o f our bombs and whose
freedom we would not seek in war any more than we do in
peace, can be forgiven for being a bit cynical. In other words,
our gray propaganda toward the Soviet Empire can hardly be
counted as political warfare because there seems to be nopoint to it. This is not a problem created by, or fixable by, the
radios. The problem lies in the political confusion at the heart
of US policy.
There is no problem, however, with Radio Free Europe's
principal activities. These are relaying back into the Soviet
Empire messages from dissidents abroad, reading S a m i z d a t
literature, and broadcasting religious services. These ac-
tivities, however, also should not be thought of as prop-aganda of any kind. Rather, they are attempts, however fee-
ble, to sustain within the Soviet Empire cultural identities and
political groups that the Communist regimes seek to stamp
out.
B l a c k P r o p a g a n d a
In the mid-1970s, the Church and Pike Committees
revealed several instances of American black propaganda.
One of the blacker was clandestinely gathering info rmat ion
about the copious sexual misdeeds of Indonesia's leftist
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POLITICAL WAR FAR E 83
d i c ta t o r , S u k a r n o , a n d t h e n s p r e a d i n g t h e m a b o u t t h e w o r l d
t h r o u g h c h a n n e l s n o t a t t r i b u t a b l e t o t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s . T h eo p e r a t i o n w a s t e ch n i ca l ly c o m p e t e n t . B u t i t c o u l d n o t
p o s s i b l y b e t e r m e d p o l i t i c a l w a r f a r e b e c a u s e , e v e n a s t h e
U n i t e d S t a te s w a s c o n d u c t i n g t h is " b l a c k " a s s a u l t o n S u k a r -
n o , i t w a s d e n y i n g to i ts N A T O a lly , H o l l a n d , t h e r ig h t to
r e f u e l o n A m e r i c a n s o i l a i r c r a f t t h a t m i g h t b e s e n t t o b l o c k
S u k a r n o ' s c o n q u e s t o f D u t c h W e s t B o r n e o . A n a ct o f b la c k
p r o p a g a n d a d o e s n o t m a k e a w a r . A n d i f t h e re is n o w a r , i n -
d e e d , i f w e a r e p u b l ic l y s u p p o r t i n g a f o r e i g n r e g im e ag a i n s tm a j o r c h a l l e n g e s , w h y s h o u l d w e c r e a t e s m a l l c h a l l e n g e s
c l a n d e s t i n e l y ? H e n c e , o u r f i r st l e s s o n is t h a t , t o b e m e a n -
i ng fu l , b la c k p r o p a g a n d a m u s t s u p p o r t , a n d b e s u p p o r t e d b y ,
d e e d s .
I n th e m i d -1 9 8 0 s, s o m e A m e r i c a n s h a v e b e e n d i s m a y e d
a t t h e s u c ce s s o f D r . Y . P . V e l i k h o v , a m e m b e r o f th e S o v i e t
A c a d e m y o f S c ie n c e s, in p a s s i n g h i m s e l f o f f t o t h e w o r l d 's
p r e s s a s a n o b j e c t i v e s c i e n t i f i c o b s e r v e r , w h o j u d g e s t h a td e f e n s e a g a i n s t b a l l i s t i c m i s s i l e s i s i m p o s s i b l e , a n d w h o
c o u n s e l s t h e W e s t t o p u t i ts t r u s t in a r m s c o n t r o l r a t h e r t h a n
i n d e f e n s e s . V e l i k h o v , y o u s ee , is o n e o f t h e l e a d i n g l ig h t s i n
t h e S o v i e t U n i o n ' s d e v e l o p m e n t o f a n t i m i s si le d e v ic e s. S o m e
A m e r i c a n s f e ar th a t a m e r e o v e r t c a m p a i g n b y th e U S g o v e r n -
m e n t to i d e n t i fy V e l i k h o v f o r w h a t h e i s - a n a g e n t o f d is in -
f o r m a t i o n - w o u l d f o u n d e r o n th e s h o al s o f t he m e d ia 's
d i s t r u s t o f w h a t , a f t e r a ll , w o u l d b e a n o b v i o u s l y s e lf - se r v in gl in e o f a r g u m e n t f r o m t h e U n i t e d S t a t es . H e n c e , s o m e
r e a s o n e d , i t w o u l d b e a g o o d i d e a t o h a v e t h e t r u t h a b o u t
V e l i k h o v s p r e a d b y s o u r c e s th a t w o u l d n o t b e d is b e l i e v e d
b e c a u s e o f t h e i r a s so c i a ti o n w i th t h e U S g o v e r n m e n t .
N o w , t h e r e is n o t h i n g i n h e r e n t ly w r o n g w i th s p r e a d i n g
t h e t r u t h b y b l a c k p r o p a g a n d a , a n d , s o l o n g a s t h is is a i m e d
a t f o r e i g n a u d i e n c e s , t h e r e i s n o t h i n g il le g a l a b o u t i t. I n d e e d ,
t h e u n m a s k i n g o f a d i s i n f o r m a t i o n a g en t w o u l d s ee m to b et h e v e ry d e f i n i t i o n o f t h e d e f en s iv e u se o f b l a ck p r o p a g a n d a .
B u t c a l l i n g V e l i k h o v n a m e s , w h e t h e r t o h is f a c e o r b e h i n d h i s
b a c k , i s l i t e r a l l y s e n s e l e s s s o l o n g a s t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s d o e s
n o t i m p e a c h t h e s u b s t a n c e o f h i s m e s s a g e . Y e t t h e U n i t e d
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84 CODE VILLA
States cannot impeach the substance of Velikhov's message
without at the same time impeaching its own record on armscontrol . The United States has told the world that it thinks an
arms control agreement with the Soviet Union is both
desirable and possible and the Soviet leaders are negotiating
in good faith for the same objectives as the Americans. If the
United States were now to say publicly that the Soviet Union
is sending us a master of di sinformation to deceive us into an
arms control agreement that would make it easier for the
Soviets to th reaten war or successfully make war on theUnited States, the nation would have to explain why it has
gone so many miles in this direction before finding out it was
the wrong one.
In other words, to gainsay the Soviet Union's intentions
with regard to arms control is to gainsay the very basis of US
policy. After all, if the Soviet Union's intentions are so bad,
what could negotiations possibly accomplish? All of this is to
say that Dr. Velikhov's gray propaganda works because it isconsonant with Soviet policy, while an American propaganda
effort to jinx Velikhov, whethe r "black" or "white," would be
doomed to failure because it would be dissonant with the rest
of what the United States says and does. Of course, if the
United States were to change its policy toward arms control,
jinxing Velikhov would be easy. But on the other hand, if the
United States were to change its policy toward arms control,
Velikhov would be irrelevant. This is our second lesson.Our third lesson is that black propaganda, like other
measures of political warfare , must actually have a chance of
affecting the outcome of the struggle. In the late 1940s, the
United States made a major commitment to fighting Com-
munism in Western Europe. In addition to the billions of
dollars of Marshall Plan aid and to the hundreds of
thousands of American troops in Europe, there was prop-
aganda-white, gray, and black. It is impossible to tellwhether the black side played a significant role. But it is dif-
ficult to imagine that the Central Intelligence Agency could
possibly have generated enough speeches and articles to even
be noticeable in the flood that arose spontaneously through-
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P O L I T I C A L W A R F A R E 85
out the free, pluralistic societies of Europe in response to an
obvious challenge.Similarly, it is not clear how much black propaganda has
aided the Soviet Union's massive campaigns to stop the
West's neutron bomb, keep Pershing Ils out of Germany,
and keep the West from building an antimissile defense.
Because the Soviet Union's white and gray propaganda have
been enormous, it is enough for us to note that however
many articles have been written or placed directly by Soviet
agents, the Soviet arms control campaigns could not possiblyhave been mounted on the basis of them alone.
Where the sources of influence on public opinion and on
decisionmaking are more restricted, black propaga nda stands
a better chance of being significant. In the Third World, an
article planted in a newspaper or a story simply spread by
word of mouth can cause or calm riots. Thus, Soviet agents
needed to inject only a little incitement into Islamabad in
November 1979, in the form of reports o f America n murdersof Muslims, to cause a mob to burn the US Embassy to the
ground.
However, the channels for black propaganda are impor-
tant not just for what they can contribute to any given cam-
paign, but primarily because each one that is established is
another bunker, another trench taken in enemy territory.
Some of these trenches can be of enormous value.
A g e n t s o f I n fl u en c e
Agents o f influence are allies in the councils of a foreign
power. It is misleading to th ink o f agents of influence as mere
creatures of a foreign power, mercenaries, or robots carryingout orders. Because such people exercise influence-indeed
this is why they are cultivated-their sympathies cannot be
wholly secret. (But the degree to which they coordinate theiractivities with a foreign power is likely to be secret.) So for a
government to maintain or increase the influence of its agents
abroad, it must provide them the "cover" that only a certain
ambiguous kind of success can bring.
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86 CODE VILLA
T h i s i s a s u b t l e b u s i n e s s . E x c e s s i v e e x p l o i t a t i o n o f a n
a g e n t o f in f l u e n c e r is k s id e n t i f y i n g h i m a s a t r a i t o r a n dd e s t r o y i n g e v e r y t h i n g t h a t t h e a g e n t h a s a c c o m p l i s h e d . O n e
o f t h e b e t te r e x a m p l e s is t h e S o v i e t U n i o n ' s " b l o w i n g " o f i ts
N o r w e g i a n a g e n t , A r n e T r e h o l t , b y u s i n g h im t o a c h ie v e a n
o b v i o u s l y o n e - s id e d a g r e e m e n t a b o u t i ts b o r d e r w i th n o r t h -
e rn N o r w a y .
S t i l l , S o v i e t a g e n t s a b r o a d h a v e t h e a d v a n t a g e o f b e i n g
o n t h e s i d e o f a c o u n t r y k n o w n f o r r e w a r d i n g i ts f ri e n d s a n d ,
a b o v e a ll , f o r k i ll in g i ts e n e m i e s . In L e b a n o n , f o r e x a m p l e ,a n y o n e s u s p e c t e d o f A m e r i c a n s y m p a t h i e s c a n b e k i l l e d o r
" d i s a p p e a r e d " l i t e r a l l y w i t h i m p u n i t y , w h i l e t h e f e w k i l l i n g s
o f S o v i e t s y m p a t h i z e r s a re c o p i o u s l y a v e n g e d a n d S o v i e t
h o s t a g e s a r e q u i c k l y r e t u r n e d . S i n c e a g e n t s o f i n f lu e n c e a r e
a l w a y s p o l i t i c a l h o s t a g e s , i t i s e s s e n t i a l t o r e m e m b e r w h a t
C a e s a r s a i d i n h is h is t o r y o f G a u l r e g a r d i n g h o s t a g e s : R o m e
takes h o s t a g e s , b u t d o e s n o t give t h e m . A g o v e r n m e n t p r o -
t e c t s i t s a c t i v e s y m p a t h i z e r s a b r o a d ( i n d e e d , i t a t t r a c t s s u c hs y m p a t h i z e r s ) b y i t s r e p u t a t i o n f o r s u c c e s s a n d t h r o u g h t h e
a w e a n d r e s p e c t i t i n s p i r e s i n p o t e n t i a l o p p o n e n t s .
O u r s e c o n d l e ss o n w i th r e g a r d t o a g e n t s o f i n f l u e n c e is
r e l a te d t o t h e f ir st . A n a g e n t is w o r t h t h e t r o u b l e o f h a v i n g ,
p r o t e c t in g , a n d a d v a n c i n g o n l y t o t h e e x t e n t t h a t o n e h a s
r e a s o n a b l e p l a n s f o r u s i n g h i m t o a c h i e v e s o m e s u c c e s s . F o r
e x a m p l e , i n V i e t n a m i n 1 9 6 3 t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s f a c i l i t a t e d a
s u c ce s sf u l c o u p t o r e m o v e th e D i e m f a m i ly f r o m p o w e r ino r d e r t o p l a c e in p o w e r s o m e g e n e ra l s o v e r w h i c h it h a d m o r e
i n f lu e n c e . T h e U n i t e d S t a te s r e a s o n e d t h a t t h e s e g e n e r a ls
w o u l d b e m o r e a t tr a c ti v e t o t h e V i e tn a m e s e p e o p l e t h a n D i e m
a n d t h a t t h e i r p r e s e n c e w o u l d t h e r e f o r e h e l p w i n th e w a r . B u t
t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s h a d n o p l a n s f o r u s i n g t h e s e a g e n t s t o a c -
t u a l ly a c h i e v e v i c to r y . B y t h e l a te 1 96 0s t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s h a d
la rg e ly r e m a d e t h e g o v e r n m e n t o f S o u t h V i e tn a m in its o w n
i m a g e . B u t s i n c e t h e c o n s o l i d a t i o n o f i n f lu e n c e w a s n o t i n-t e n d e d a s p a r t o f a r e a s o n a b l e p l a n , t h e f u l f i l lm e n t o f w h i c h
w o u l d l e a d t o v i c to r y , i t i n f a ct h e l p e d p a v e t h e w a y to d e f e a t .
A t h i r d l e s s o n h as t o d o w i t h t h e s o u n d n e s s o f t h e p l a n
a n d t h e e x t e n t t o w h i c h th e a g e n t c a n c a r ry it o u t . A r o u n d t h e
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POLITICAL WARFARE 87
w o r l d , A m e r i c a n s r e g u l a r l y c o m e i n t o c o n t a c t w i t h p e r s o n s
a s s o c i a t e d w i t h h o s t i l e r e g i m e s o r p a r t i e s w h o l e a d t h e m t ob e li ev e t h a t t h e y c a n i n cr e as e t h e i n f l u e n c e o f t h e " m o d e r a t e
f a c t i o n " w i t h in t h e ir r e g i m e o r p a r t y . T h e " a g e n t o f i n f lu e n c e
o p e r a t i o n s " t h a t f o l l o w s u c h c o n t a c t s u s u a l l y l a c k
s e r i o u s n e s s . T h e f i r s t m i s s i n g e l e m e n t i s u s u a l l y i n t e l l i g e n c e
a b o u t t h e e x i s t e n c e a n d t h e m a l l e a b i l i t y o f t h e s u p p o s e d
m o d e r a t e f a c t i o n . T h e s e c o n d m i s s i n g e l e m e n t is
c o u n t e r i n t el l ig e n c e v e t t i n g o f th e s u p p o s e d a g e n t , a n d a n y
k n o w l e d g e w h a t s o e v e r a b o u t w h o i n th e h o s t i l e r e g i m e o rp a r t y k n o w s a b o u t t h e o p e r a t i o n . F i n a ll y , t h e " p l a n " u s u a ll y
c o n s is t s o f A m e r i c a n s g i v in g s o m e t h i n g t a n g ib l e i n r e t u r n f o r
t h e m o d e r a t e f a c t i o n ' s g o o d w i l l . T h i s s o r t o f t h i n g is t e r ri b l y
c o m m o n in th e U n i t e d S t a te s , b u t i t s h o u l d n o t b e m i s t a k e n
f o r p o l i c y .
Support of Foreign Groups
W h a t p r o p a g a n d a a n d a g e nt s o f i n f l u e n ce d o i n d i re c tl y ,
i n te r m s o f s t r e n g t h e n i n g o r w e a k e n i n g p a r t i c u la r f a c t i o n s o r
g r o u p s , m a y a l s o b e a t t e m p t e d d i r e c t l y . W e r e a d a b o u t t h i s
a p p r o a c h , a m o n g t h e m o s t a n c i e n t o f a rt s , i n v i r t u a ll y e v e ry
a c c o u n t o f c o n f l ic t s in c e T h u c y d i d e s . T h e l i t e ra t u r e m a k e s it
c l e a r , h o w e v e r , t h a t t h e sine qua non f o r c a u s i n g l a t e n t
f r i e n d s h i p o r o p p o s i t i o n a b r o a d t o m a n i f e s t i ts e lf i n e i th e r
p o l i t ic a l o r p a r a m i l i ta r y a c ti v it y is t h e p r o m i s e o f s u p p o r t a n d
p r o t e c t i o n . A l li es in u n f r i e n d l y o r n e u t r a l t e r r it o r y c a n n o t b e
b o u g h t ( o r i f t h e y a re b o u g h t , t h e y c a n n o t b e m a d e t o s ta y
t h a t w a y ). A n d s e l d o m h as t h e m e r e su p p l y o f a r m s o r
t e c h n i c a l a s s i s t a n c e l e d p e o p l e t o e n g a g e i n h o p e l e s s s t r u g -
g l e s. I n a n u t sh e l l , r e c r u i t i n g a l li e s t o sh a r e i n v i c t o r i e s is e a sy ;
r e c r u i t i n g a lli es t o h e l p b e a r t h e b u r d e n o f d e f e a t o r t o s t a v e i t
o f f f o r a w h i l e is w e l l- n i g h i m p o s s i b l e . T h e k e y is t o c o n v i n c e
t h e t a r g e t g r o u p t h a t t h e y a re j o i n i n g t h e w i n n i n g s i de , a n dt h a t b y d o i n g s o t h e y a n d t h e i r f a m i l i e s w i l l b e b e t t e r o f f .
T h e s e t w o e l em e n t s m u s t b e j o i n e d - - o th e r w i se th e g r o u p s s eet h e ir c o o p e r a t i o n a s m e r e l y a p r ic e to b e p a i d f o r a s e c u re
r e t i r e m e n t i n e x i l e .
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88 CODE VILLA
H e n c e , o u r f ir st l e ss o n m u s t b e t h a t a s o n e c o n s i d e r s ap -
p r o a c h i n g p o t e n t i a l f o r e i g n a l l i e s , o n e s h o u l d r e e x a m i n eo n e ' s o w n p l a n s . I s t h e e n t e r p r i s e f o r w h i c h t h e y a r e b e i n g
r e c r u i t e d r e a s o n a b l y p l a n n e d t o l e a d t o v i c t o r y ? O f t e n ,
h o w e v e r , t h e q u e s t i o n i n g is o b v i a t e d b y t h e f a c t t h a t f o r e ig n
g r o u p s m a k e t h e in i t ia l a p p r o a c h in t h e h o p e o f b r in g i n g a
p o w e r f u l p a t r o n t o b e a r a g a i n s t t h e i r d o m e s t i c e n e m i e s . S u c h
g r o u p s h a v e u s u a l ly a l re a d y c o n c l u d e d t h a t t h e y h a v e n o
c h a n c e o f w i n n i n g w i t h o u t o u t s i d e s u p p o r t , t h u s t h e y h a v e
n o t h i n g t o lo s e b y s e e k in g it . I f th e y g e t w h o l e h e a r t e d s u p -p o r t , t h e y a re b a c k i n t h e g a m e . S o m e m a y b e sa t i sf ie d t h a t i f
t h e y f a i l t o g a i n s u c h s u p p o r t , a t l e a s t t h e y w i l l g a i n f o r
t h e m s e l v e s a c o m f o r t a b l e e x ile . O t h e r s m a y s i m p l y w a n t t o
b o l s t e r t h e i r o w n b a r g a i n i n g p o s i t i o n w i t h t h e i r d o m e s t i c
e n e m i e s , w h i le sti l l o t h e r s m a y b e in l e a g u e w i t h t h o s e w h o m
t h e y d e s c ri b e as t h e ir d o m e s t i c e n e m i e s a n d m a y b e p u l l in g a
" s t i n g " o p e r a t i o n a g a i n s t t h e f o r e i g n " h e l p e r " t h e y s o l i c i t .
T h i s le a d s u s to o u r s e c o n d l e ss o n . C o n d u c t i n g p o l i ti c a l
w a r f a r e b y t r y i n g t o b u i l d u p f o r e i g n g r o u p s r e q u i r e s r e l i a b l e
i n te l li g e n ce a b o u t t h o s e g r o u p s ' m o t i v a t i o n s as w e ll a s a b o u t
t h e i r c a p a c i ti e s . W i t h o u t s u c h in t e ll ig e n c e , s u p p o r t o f f o r e i g n
g r o u p s i s a l e a p in t h e d a r k . W h e n t o t h is e x t er n a l d a r k n e s s
o n e a d d s t h e f a il u re t o a s k i l l u m i n a t i n g q u e s t i o n s a b o u t
w h e r e t h i s s u p p o r t s h o u l d l e a d , h o w o n e s h o u l d k n o w
w h e t h e r t h e o p e r a t i o n is a c tu a l ly g e t ti n g th e r e , a n d h o w t o f ix
i t i f i t s e e m s t o b e g o i n g w r o n g , t h e n o n e i s e n g a g i n g i n
s o m e t h i n g o t h e r t h a n r e sp o n s ib l e p o l i c y m a k i n g .
I n o r d e r t o h a v e p r o p e r i n te l l ig e n c e o n a f o r e i g n g r o u p ' s
p o l it ic a l p e r s o n a l it y , o n e n e e d s n o t o n l y a g e n t s w h o a r e i n
c o n t a c t w i t h t h e g r o u p b u t a l s o t h e k i n d o f k n o w l e d g e
a v a i la b l e o n l y t h r o u g h i n te l l ig e n c e c o l le c t o rs w h o g e t t o k n o w
m e m b e r s o f t h e t a rg e t g r o u p a n d t h ei r c u l t u re w e ll e n o u g h t o
p u t t h e m s e l v e s in th e i r s h o e s . O v e r w h e l m i n g l y b o u n d b y t h en a r r o w c u l t u r e o f U S u p p e r m i d d l e - cl a ss civ il s e r v a n ts , a g e n t s
w ill b e a b le t o u n d e r s t a n d a d e q u a t e l y o n l y g r o u p s w h o s e
m e n t a l i t y is c o m p r e h e n s i b l e in t e r m s o f t h i s v e ry , v e r y n a r -
r o w p e r s p e c ti v e . I n t e ll ig e n c e a b o u t p e o p l e s d r iv e n b y g o d s ,
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l ov e s , h a t e s , a n d n e e d s th a t a r e in c o m p r e h e n s i b l e t o s e c u la r ,
s u b u r b a n A m e r i c a n s w i l l c o n t i n u e t o e l u d e us .
W h e n t h e U S g o v e r n m e n t h a s h a d r eq u is it e k n o w l e d g e
a n d h a s r e m e m b e r e d c o m m o n - s e n s e p r e c e p ts , i t h a s b e e n a b le
t o u s e f o r e i g n g r o u p s t o i ts a d v a n t a g e . W h e n i t h a s h a d i n a d e -
q u a t e k n o w l e d g e a n d h a s n o t f o l l o w e d c o m m o n s e n se , i t h a s
p r e p a r e d d i s a s t er s . I n E u r o p e i n t h e l at e 1 9 4 0s , t h e U n i t e d
S t a t e s r e c o g n i z e d t h a t l a b o r u n i o n s i n v o l v e d i n t r a n s p o r t a -
t io n w o u l d h a ve m u c h t o s a y a b o u t w h e t h e r U S e c o n o m i c
a n d m i l i t a r y a i d w o u l d a c t u a l l y r e v i t a l i z e W e s t e r n E u r o p e
a n d h e l p t o f r u s t ra t e t h e S o v i et U n i o n ' s a t t e m p t t o k e e p th e
W e s t er n A l l i a nc e f r o m f o r m i n g . T h e U n i t e d S t a te s h a d g o o d
i n te l l ig e n c e a b o u t w h o w a s w h o i n t h e s e u n i o n s b e c a u s e i t h a d
i n t e l l i g e n c e c o l l e c t o r s w h o s e e x p e r i e n c e s a l l o w e d t h e m t o
i d e n t i fy w i t h w o r k e r s a n d t h e i r c o n c r e t e c o n c e r n s . P o s s e s s e d
o f g o o d i n t e l l i g e n c e , t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s e n c o u r a g e d a n t i c o m -
m u n i s t u n i o n i s t s t o f ig h t t o w i n c o n t r o l o f d o c k s a n d r a i l r o a d
y a r ds . B o t h t h e f o r e i g n C o m m u n i s t s a n d t h e A m e r i c a n s in -v o l v ed k n e w w h a t it w o u l d t a k e t o w i n a n d f u l ly c o m m i t t e d
t h em s e l v es t o d o i n g w h a t w a s n ec e ss ar y . T h e a m o u n t o f
m o n e y t h a t c h a n g e d h a n d s w a s m i n i sc u le . T h e k e y w a s t h e
a s s u r a n c e t h a t t h r o u g h d i p l o m a t i c m e a n s t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s
w o u l d p r o t e c t t h e s e u n i o n i s t s a g a i n s t e l e m e n t s i n t h e i r o w n
g o v e r n m e n t s w h o w o u l d b r a n d t h e ir a c ti vi ti es as c ri m i n a l . I t
w a s i n t h e U n i t e d S t a te s ' p o w e r t o c a r r y o u t t h is p r o m i s e , a n d
i t d i d .A s a r e su l t o f th i s in i ti a t iv e , C o m m u n i s t u n i o n i s t s w e r e
c o n f i n e d t o t h e ir o w n u n i o n s , w h i l e t h e r i gh ts o f n o n c o m -
m u n i s t l a b o r w e re p r o t e c te d b o t h b y w o r k e r s t h e m s e lv e s a n d
b y t h e p o l ic e , b o t h t o s o m e e x t e n t e n e r g iz e d b y t h e U n i t e d
S t a te s . S i m i la r ly , t h e c o u p t h a t r e a f f i r m e d t h e i n f l u e n c e o f
t h e S h a h o f I r a n a g a i n s t P r i m e M i n i s t e r M o s s a d e g h i n 1 9 5 3
c o u l d o c c u r o n l y b e c a u s e t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s w a s w i l l i n g a n d
a b le t o r e s p o n s ib l y p r o m i s e in s t a n t d i p l o m a t i c r e c o g n i t i o n inc as e o f s uc ce ss , a l o n g w i th h e l p - s u c h a s G r e e ce a n d T u r k e y
h a d r e c e i v e d - i n p u t t in g d o w n a n y r e m a i n i n g re s i st an c e . T h e
c o u p ' s o p p o n e n t s , i n c l u d in g t h e S o v ie t U n i o n , s a w n o p o i n t
i n c h a l l e n g i n g t h i s r e s o l v e .
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T h e t r o u b l e w i t h U S s u p p o r t o f f o r e ig n g r o u p s s i n ce t h e
1 96 0s , h o w e v e r , h a s n o t b e e n a n i n a b i l it y t o f u n n e l m o n e ya n d a r m s . I n S o u t h e a s t A s i a , t h e a r m i n g o f th e H ' m o n g t ri b e
a g a i n s t N o r t h V i e t n a m w a s a m a s t e r p i e c e o f l o g i s t i c s a n d
o r g a n iz a t i o n . T h e H ' m o n g f o u g h t v a l ia n t l y a n d h e ld th e
n o r t h w e s t c o r n e r o f I n d o c h i n a f o r a lm o s t a d e c a d e . B u t t o -
d a y , t h e f e w s u r v i v o r s l iv e i n t h e s t a t e o f M o n t a n a o r i n
w r e t c h e d r e f u g e e c a m p s i n T h a i l a n d b e c a u s e t h e U S g o v e r n -
m e n t d i d n o t t a k e i t s e lf s e r io u s l y i n S o u t h e a s t A s i a .
T h e U S g o v e r n m e n t a ls o p u r s u e d w h a t it t h o u g h t w a sp o l i ti c a l w a r f a r e i n I r a n t h r o u g h o u t t h e 1 96 0s a n d 1 97 0s . T h e
U S g o v e r n m e n t ' s o b j e c t iv e w a s t o m a k e s u r e t h a t t h e S h a h ' s
p r o - W e s t e r n g o v e r n m e n t r e m a i n e d i n o f f ic e . T o t h is e n d , t h e
U n i t e d S t a te s s t r o n g l y e n c o u r a g e d s e c u l ar is t s in t h e S h a h ' s
g o v e r n m e n t to s e c u la ri ze th e c o u n t r y . H o w e v e r , b e c a u s e th e
A m e r i c a n s i nv o l v ed t h o r o u g h l y m i s u n d e r s t o o d t h e s i t u a t io n ,
t h e y e f f e c ti v e ly w a g e d p o l i t ic a l w a r n o t o n b e h a l f o f t h e
S h a h , b u t a g a i n s t h i m . T h e U S f o r e i g n p o l i c y a n d i n t el li g e n c ec la s s , b e i n g r e l i g i o u s l y i ll i te r a t e, d i d n o t r e a li z e t h a t b y m a k -
i n g t h e S h a h a s y m b o l o f s e c u l a r i z a t io n t h e y w e r e h e l p i n g t o
m a k e h i m a f o r e ig n e r i n h is o w n l a n d .
N e v e r t h e l e s s , t h e U S g o v e r n m e n t f i g u r e d c o r r e c t l y t h a t
t h e S h a h ' s o w n p a r t i s a n s i n t h e I r a n i a n A r m y w e r e s o c o h e -
s i v e a n d w e l l a r m e d t h a t t h e y h a d t h e a b i l i t y t o p h y s i c a l l y
d e s t r o y a n y c h al le n g e rs t o t h e S h a h . B u t t h e U S g o v e r n m e n t
d i d n o t t a k e i n to a c c o u n t its o w n r o l e - d i s p a tc h i n g t h e d e p u -ty c o m m a n d e r o f N A T O , G e n e ra l R o b e r t H u y s e r , t o c on -
v i nc e t h e S h a h ' s p a r ti s a n s n o t t o s h o o t , b u t i n s t e a d to b e c o m e
a m o d e r a t i n g f o r c e i n t h e n e w r e v o l u t i o n a r y I s l am i c r e g im e ,
w h i c h p r o m p t l y e xe c u te d m o s t o f t h e m .
A l l o f t h is is t o s a y t h a t t h e U S g o v e r n m e n t , w h i l e a b l e t o
e x e r c is e i n f l u e n c e o n f o r e i g n g r o u p s o n t h e r e ta i l l ev e l, h a s
e x h i b i t e d w h o l e s a le i n c o m p e t e n c e , t h u s t h a t U S p o l i t ic a l w a r -
f a re h as d o n e m o r e h a r m t h a n g o o d .T o d a y ' s d e b a t e in W a s h i n g t o n a b o u t w h a t o u g h t o r
o u g h t n o t t o b e p a i d t o i n fl u e n c e I r a n i a n " m o d e r a t e s " h a s a ll
t h e r e a li s m o f a K a f k a d i a l o g u e . E v e n i f t h e h e a r s a y a b o u t
w h o i s a n d i s n o t a m o d e r a t e w e r e r e l i a b l e , t h e r e i s n o
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POLITICAL WAR FAR E 91
i n t e l l i g e n c e a b o u t w h o , p r e c i s e l y , i s a l l i e d w i t h w h o m a n d
a b o u t w h o is w i l l in g t o d o w h a t to w h o m w i th w h o m . M o s t
i m p o r t a n t , t h e U n i t e d S t a te s is in n o p o s i t i o n t o g i v e a n y c o n -
t e n d e r s f o r p o w e r in I r a n w h a t t h e y n e e d m o s t : s u p p o r t
a g a i n s t th e i r e n e m i e s . O n e c a n i m a g i n e t h a t i f a f e w o f t h o s e
I r a n i a n o f f i c e r s w h o t o o k t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s ' a d v i c e i n 1 9 7 8
a r e sti l l a liv e a n d , s o m e h o w , h a v e n o t d e v e l o p e d h a t r e d f o r
A m e r i c a , t h e ir p r e c o n d i t i o n f o r d e a l in g w i th t h e U n i t e d
S t a t e s a g a i n w o u l d b e i r o n c l a d a s s u r a n c e s t h a t t h e U S
g o v e r n m e n t w o u l d n o t le t t h e m s u f fe r t h e f a te o f t h ei r e x-
e c u t e d f r i e n d s. N o r e a s o n a b l e p e r s o n c o u l d b e li ev e t h a t t h e
U n i t e d S t a t e s is i n a p o s i t i o n t o g i ve su c h a s s u r a n c e s i n I r a n
t o d a y .
T h e s e a r c h f o r t h e e v e r -e lu s iv e " m o d e r a t e f a c t i o n " s e e m s
t o h a v e b e c o m e a s u b s t i tu t e f o r k n o w l e d g e a b o u t , a n d
l e v e r a g e o v e r , f o r e i g n s i t u a t i o n s . I n i t s a c t i o n s r e g a r d i n g
S o u t h A f r ic a in 1985 a n d 1 98 6, C o n g r e s s h a s a p p r o p r i a t e d
t a x p a y e r f u n d s f o r v a r i o u s " a n t i a p a r t h e i d " g r o u p s ; m e a n -
w h ile , p r o p o n e n t s o f th o s e a p p r o p r i a t i o n s , a l o n g w i th m u c h
o f t h e e x ec u tiv e b ra n c h , h a v e ta l k e d m u c h o f m a k i n g c o n t a c t
w i th m o d e r a t e f a c ti o n s o f th e A f r i c a n N a t io n a l C o n g r e s s
( A N C ) , w h i c h is v i rt u a ll y a b r a n c h o f t h e S o u t h A f r i c a n
C o m m u n i s t P a r t y . O f c o u r s e , t h e U n i t e d S t a te s is t h e ta r g e t
o f m u c h " i n fo r m a t i o n " f r o m m e m b e r s o f th e A N C t h a t
p a i n ts t h e m a s m o d e r a t e s , f o r th e s a k e o f w h o s e a d v a n c e m e n t
a n d f r ie n d s h i p A m e r i c a o u g h t to d o a ll s o rt s o f th i n g s . B u t
t h e U n i te d S t a te s h a s n o p r i v at e , c o n f i r m e d k n o w l e d g e a b o u tt h e A N C ' s i n t e r n a l d i s p u t e s , m u c h le ss k n o w l e d g e t h a t s o m e
f a c t i o n s w o u l d p r e f e r w o r k i n g w i t h t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s t o
w o r k i n g w i t h o t h e r f a c t i o n s .
A s f o r l ev e ra g e o n b e h a l f o f t h e m o d e r a t e f a c t i o n in
S o u t h A f r ic a , o r a n y w h e r e els e, n o t h i n g s h o w s th e e m p t i n e s so f U S p o l i c i e s i n t e n d e d t o i n s t a l l m o d e r a t e s b e t t e r t h a n t h e
U n i t e d S t a te s ' to t a l u n w i ll i n g n e s s t o e v e n c o n s i d e r h e l p i n g t h e
m o d e r a t e s t o d o t h e o n e i m m o d e r a t e t h i n g t h a t w o u l d a l lo wt h e m t o p r e v a i l o v e r r a d i c a ls w h o t h r e a t e n t h e i r liv e s: t h a t i s,
t o k i l l t h e r a d i c a l s .
S o , in o r d e r t o p r o m o t e m o d e r a t e s i t d o e s n o t k n o w a n d
c a n n o t h e l p i n th e c r u n c h , t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s is h e l p i n g t o
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92 CODEVILLA
s t re n g t h e n th e A N C a s a w h o l e. T h e U S g o v e r n m e n t d oe s th is
k n o w i n g f u l l w e l l t h a t t h e A N C i s n o t s y n o n y m o u s w i t h
S o u t h A f r i c a ' s b l a c k p o p u l a t i o n . I n d e e d , t h a t p o p u l a t i o n i s
d e e p l y d i v i d e d in t o t r ib e s , a n d t h e l a rg e s t o f t h e s e, t h e Z u l u ,
a r e e n e m i e s o f t h e A N C f o r tr ib a l a s w e ll a s fo r o t h e r r e a s o n s .
W h y n o t , t h e n , s u p p o r t t h e Z u l u s - - e s p e c ia l ly g i v e n t h e o b -
v i o u s m o d e r a t i o n o f t h e ir p o l it ic s ? T h e a n s w e r s e em s to b e
t h a t t h e Z u l u s a r e t o o m o d e r a t e . T h e y h a v e n o k i n s h i p w it h
t h o s e f a s c i n a ti n g f o l k w h o b u r n t h e ir e n e m i e s ' h e a d s w i th
g a s o l i n e - s o a k e d t ir es . T h e s e a re t h e v e r y p e o p l e w i th w h o m
t h e d o m i n a n t c u l tu r e in t h e U S f o r e ig n p o l ic y e s t a b l is h m e n t
w i s h e s t o d e a l . H e n c e t h e e a g e r n e s s o f s o m a n y i n t h e U S
g o v e r n m e n t t o c o n f e r t h e l a be l o f m o d e r a t i o n o n h e a d -
b u r n e r s .
B y s i m i la r l y c o g e n t r e a s o n i n g , t h e U S g o v e r n m e n t s e n t
U S M a r i n e s t o B e i r u t i n 1 98 2 t o s a ve t h e P L O f r o m t h e
d e s t r u c t i o n t h a t I s r a e l a n d P i e r r e G e m a y e l w e r e a b o u t t o
w r e a k o n i t. D e s p i te th e P L O ' s p r a c t ic e o f b o m b i n g s c h o o ls ,
b u s e s , a n d m a r k e t p l a c e s , t h e U n i t e d S t a te s s o u g h t t o s a v e th e
e n t ir e P L O in o r d e r t o e n h a n c e th e i n f lu e n c e o f its m o d e r a t e
f a c t i o n , i n t h e h o p e t h a t i t w o u l d b e a n i n t e r l o c u t o r i n t h e
" M i d - E a s t P e a c e P r o c e s s ." N o t e t h a t b o t h t h e m o d e r a t i o n o f
a n y p a r t ly o f th e P L O a n d t h e M i d - E a s t P e a c e P r o c e s s i ts e lf
a r e p u r e ly c r e at u re s o f th e i m a g i n a t i o n o f t h e U S f o r e ig n
p o l i c y e s t a b l i s h m e n t , w i t h o u t r e f e r e n c e t o r e a l i t y .
N o t s u r p r i s i n g l y , t h e a c t i o n s t a k e n p u r s u a n t t o s u c h
n o n s e n s e p r o v e d d i s a st ro u s . U S M a r in e s w e r e s en t i n t o ap l a c e w h e r e S y r ia a n d v a r i o u s o t h e r e n e m i e s o f t h e U n i t e d
S t at es c o u l d a n d d i d k il l t h e m , w h i le t h e U S g o v e r n m e n t w a s
n e g o t i a t i n g w i t h S y r ia to a c h i e v e w h a t it t h o u g h t w o u l d b e
t h e n e x t s t e p i n t h e p e a c e p r o c e s s - - I s r a e l ' s w i t h d r a w a l f r o m
L e b a n o n . O f c o u r s e , I s ra e l 's w i t h d r a w a l le d o n l y t o t h e ex -
p a n s i o n o f S y r i a n p r e s e n c e a n d t o a n e v e n m o r e b a se le s s
s e a r c h f o r m o d e r a t e f a c t i o n s i n S y r i a a n d I r a n . T h e e f f e c t o f
i n c o m p e t e n t s h o l d i n g p o w e r is s o m e w h a t l ik e th a t o f c h i ld r e n
g e t t in g th e i r h a n d s o n p o w e r t o o ls .
A l l o f th i s h a s a w e l l - k n o w n a n t e c e d e n t , w h i c h is t h e
s e a r c h f o r t h e m o d e r a t e f a c t i o n i n t h e K r e m l i n . T h e U S
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POLITICAL WARF ARE 93
f o r e i g n p o l ic y e st a b l is h m e n t h a s m a n a g e d t o c o n v i n c e i ts e lf
t h a t e v e r y S o v i e t d i c t a t o r s i n c e 1 9 1 7 h a s b e e n a m o d e r a t e i nc o m p a r i s o n w i t h t h o s e w a i t i n g i n t h e w i n g s , a n d t h a t t h e
U n i t e d S t a te s s h o u l d m a k e c o n c e s s io n s t o h i m i n o r d e r to
s t r e n g t h e n h i s d e t e r m i n a t i o n t o m o v e a l o n g t h e r e f o r m i s t
p a t h s h e r e a l l y p r e f e r s . T h u s t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s a n d i t s a l l i e s
p o u r e d b i l l io n s o f d o l l a r s a n d e n t i re i n d u s t r i a l p l a n t s i n t o t h eS o v i e t U n i o n . T h e W e s t h a s a l so a c t e d t o r a i s e t h e p r e s ti g e o f
S o v i e t l e a d e r s b y t r e a t i n g t h e m a n d t h e i r p r o p o s a l s d e f e r e n -
t i a l l y a n d b y n o t o p p o s i n g S o v i e t e x p a n s i o n . I n t h e a b s e n c e
o f k n o w l e d g e a b o u t S o v i e t fa c t i o n s , a s w e ll a s i n t h e a b s e n c e
o f t h e m e a n s a n d o f t h e w i ll t o p r o t e c t o n e S o v ie t f a c ti o n
a g a in s t a n o t h e r , t his b l in d , i m p o t e n t w o o i n g o f " m o d e r a t e s "
i n th e K r e m l i n h a s j u s t if i e d g i v i n g t o a ll f a c t io n s i n th e S o v i e t
U n i o n t h e p l e a s a n t t a s k o f p a r c e l i n g o u t c r e d i t f o r v i c to r ie s .
I w i ll o n l y t o u c h h e r e o n m y a r g u m e n t p u b l i s h e d
e l s e w h e r ez c o n c e r n i n g U S s u p p o r t o f p e r h a p s t h e m o s t v i si bl e
f a c t i o n s i n t h e w o r l d t o d a y , t h e a n t i c o m m u n i s t l i b e r a t i o n
m o v e m e n t s o f A f g h a n i s t a n , A n g o l a , a n d N i c a r ag u a . I n t h es e
c a s e s , t h e U n i t e d S t a t es is n o t p l a g u e d b y l a c k o f i n t e l li g e n c e .
I t k n o w s ju s t a b o u t a ll t h e r e is t o k n o w a b o u t t h e N i c a r a g u a n
a n d A n g o l a n r e s i s t a n c e s , a n d e n o u g h a b o u t t h e o n e i n
A f g h a n i s t a n . A b o v e a l l , t h e U S g o v e r n m e n t h a s r e p e a t e d l y
s t a te d t h e g e o p o l i t ic a l a n d m o r a l i m p o r t a n c e o f t h e s e c au s e s.
Y e t t h e U n i t e d S t a te s s u p p o r t s t h e se m o v e m e n t s t h e w a y a
r o p e s u p p o r t s a h a n g e d m a n .
N o o n e i n t h e U S g o v e r n m e n t s u g g e s t s t h a t c o n c r e t e
p l a n s e x is t f o r d e l i v e r in g s u f f i c i e n t a i d t o t h e s e m o v e m e n t s o r
f o r d o i n g t h e o t h e r t h i n g s ( s u c h a s n a v a l - a ir b l o c k a d e s ) t h a t
w o u l d b e r e q u i r e d t o a c h i e v e v i c t o r y . O n t h e c o n t r a r y , v i r-
t u a l l y a l l " r e s p o n s i b l e " o f f i ci a ls t a c i tl y a c c e p t t h a t w h i l e p r e -
s e n t p o l i c i e s m a y d e l a y a n d c o m p l i c a t e S o v i e t v i c t o r i e s , t h e y
c a n n o t p r e v e n t t h e m . I t i s s i g n i f i c a n t t h a t n o o n e i n t h e
R e a g a n a d m i n i s tr a t io n h a s e ve n p r o p o s e d a n y p l a n f o r b r in g -
i ng v i c to r y t o t h e s e a n t i c o m m u n i s t m o v e m e n t s .
F i n a l ly , n o o n e i n a p o s i t io n o f a u t h o r i t y d e n i e s t h a t
w h e n t h e S o v ie ts f in a ll y f u ll y c o n q u e r A f g h a n i s t a n , A n g o l a ,
a n d N i c a r a g u a b y d e f e a t i n g f o r c e s m o b i l i z e d b y t h e h o p e o f
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94 CODEVILLA
American support, they will have achieved far more than if
they had simply beaten unorganized resistance forces. The
Soviets will end up holding these countries far more firmly
than would have been the case without US intervention and,
of course, will have taught the world a lesson that, from their
standpoint, will be far more valuable than if they had beaten
unarmed locals alone rather than the United States as well.
Thus, by supporting anticommunist resistance movements
half-heartedly, the United States may indeed be waging
political warfare-but on whose behalf?
Commitment and Competence
The tools of political warfare fell into disrepute in the
United States during the 1960s and 1970s because the US
government used them without answering for itself, and for
the American people, basic questions about what it was do-
ing. Indeed, it used these tools not only just to achieve ends
abroad but also to forestall pressure for resolving internal
American disputes. These tools also fell into disrepute
because of the sheer incompetence of those who handledthem.
The war in Vietnam is the most undeniable instance.
While committing over two million men and perhaps a hun-
dred billion dollars to Vietnam over a decade, the dominant
faction of the US foreign policy class never dared to call it awar. After all, calling it so while many of its members and
their children were openly giving "aid and comfort to the
enemy" would have unequivocally branded many of its own
as traitors. But the opposing factions within the US govern-
ment did not behave with equal restraint. Curiously, the fac-tion that believed this country was on the wrong side of the
Vietnam War and who worked for the victory of the Com-
munist side did call the war by its name. This faction also didnot hesitate to call other Americans the moral equivalents of
Nazis. Yet, out o f solidarity with this very faction, the faction
that thought the United States was on the right side resisted
making the political commitment to victory and did not call
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POLITICAL WAR FAR E 95
the war by its name. It continued to describe its domestic op-
ponents as honorable men.Thus, those Americans who ran the US involvement in
Vietnam committed their fellow citizens' lives and treasure to
the war while remaining agnostic enough about the ends for
which the war was being fought to remain on goods terms
with their opponents. No manual of politics or administra-
tion o f which I am aware advises commitmen t to using means
while one remains agnostic about the ends.
The tools o f political warfare employed in Vietnam were
used, for the most part, in ways that should have brought
credit upon those who used them. Let us look at how two of
these efforts were vitiated by the intellectual and moral
weaknesses at the top of the US government. The war in Laos
by the H'mong was for an indisputably just cause, was waged
competently, and had solid effect. In short, it was something
to be proud of, something that a US government committed
to victory should have been trumpeting to the Western world.
(After all, the North Vietnamese and the Soviets were pain-
fully aware of it.) But it was kept a secret from the American
people and from much of the US government because the
highest authorities had not mustered the moral self-
conf idence to argue that the Communis t side and all who
stood with it deserved to be defeated. They tried to pretend
that there really was not a war, or only a little one, and that
Laos and Cambodia were not involved.
Thus the pro-war faction of the US government was un-
willing to use the war in Laos as a badge of honor, because
doing so required arguing in ways that it did not understand
or because it wished to avoid a direct confrontation with the
pro-Communist faction in the US establishment. Thus, the
latter faction was able to argue, effectively and correctly, that
the US government had done wrong by waging a "secret war"
in Laos. The argument over the war in Laos was confined to
its secrecy. Alas, the American people were deprived of the
benefit of the full argument.
The Phoenix program involved finding and killing
members of North Vietnam's clandestine leadership in the
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96 CODE VILLA
South. Killing enemy leaders is the ultimate measure of war.
The pro-Communist faction in the United States made thisprogram public, and argued that it was murder and that the
US government had hidden it from the beginning because it
had a bad conscience about it. The second part of the charge
was true, of course, but the first was not. If it is just to pursue
an objective seriously enough to kill for it, the key ques-
tion-both from the standpoint of ethics and of military
operations-is whom to kill? There is no ethical or opera-
tional argument at all to be made for the proposit ion tha t it isbetter to kill enemy soldiers walking along a country road
than to kill enemy leaders in their beds. Afte r all, the leaders,
not the soldiers, are presumably the principal carriers of the
purpose that one aims to defeat by war, and the deaths of a
few leaders will end a war sooner than the deaths of many
soldiers.
It is significant that no senior official of the United
States had the intellectual and moral wherewithal to poundthis thought home on television. Of course, to have done so
would have engendered the question, Why not, then, try to
end the war by really going after the leadership of Nor th Viet-
nam? But the pro-US faction in the US government had con-
vinced itself that it wanted to avoid doing this, or even
discussing it, at all costs. One of the lesser costs was the
discrediting-by-default of perhaps the most efficacious and
morally justifiable tool of political warfare.We have an echo of this nonsense in the protests o f some
at reports that the Afgha n Mujahedeen are using US-supplied
weapons and information to assassinate high Soviet officials
in Afghanistan. One might ask whom else the Mujahedeen
should be killing.
The most important example of the US government's
debilitating failure to confront difficult issues concerns the
Soviet Union. The US government's explanation for thevariety of actions it has taken with regard to the Soviet Union
over the years amounts to "a judicious combination of
cooperation and competition." However, one might say the
same with regard to US actions toward Japan. But the United
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POLITICAL WARF ARE 97
S t a t e s is n o t s p e n d i n g b i ll io n s to c o u n t e r J a p a n ' s m i l i ta r y
m i g h t ; a n d J a p a n is n o t s p o n s o r i n g te r r o r i s m , o r tr y i n g t ot a k e o v e r t h e M i d d l e E a s t , o r a r m i n g e x p a n s i o n i s t c l i e n t -
s t a t e s i n o u r h e m i s p h e r e . I n f a c t , t h e a p p l i c a t i o n o f s u c h
n o n d e s c r i p t i v e t e r m s t o t h e S o v i e t U n i o n c o v e r s a n i n d e f e n s i-
b l e a t t e m p t t o t r e a t i t b o t h a s w h a t i t is a n d a s w h a t w e w o u l d
w i s h i t t o b e .
T h e U S g o v e r n m e n t h as n e v e r o f fi c i a l ly c o n f r o n t e d t h e
q u e s t io n s , D o w e w a n t t h e S o v i e t U n i o n r ic h e r or p o o r e r ? D o
w e w a n t i t s r e g i m e e s t e e m e d o r d e s p i s e d b y t h e p e o p l e i tr u l e s? D o w e w a n t t o s e e t h e r e g i m e at p e a c e w i t h i t s el f o r
r i v e n b y b l o o d y i n t e r n e c i n e c o n f l i c t ? D o w e w a n t i t t o h a v e
r e la t io n s w i th t h e r e st o f t h e w o r l d t h a t a r e p le n t i f u l a n d g o o d
o r f e w a n d b a d ? N o t h a v i n g c o n f r o n t e d th o s e q u e s t io n s
d i re c t l y , th e U S g o v e r n m e n t h a s c a l c u la t e d n e i th e r th e c o s t
a n d b e n e f i t s o n e i t h e r s i d e n o r t h e s t a n d a r d s b y w h i c h t o
j u d g e w h e t h e r e it h er o f t h e a p p r o a c h e s , o n c e c h o s e n , s h o u l d
b e j u d g e d a s f a il in g o r s u c c e e d in g . N o t h a v i n g t h o u g h tt h r o u g h t h e s e ve ra l c h o i ce s a n d t h e i r i m p l i c a t i o n s , t h e U n i t e d
S t a te s h a s p r o c e e d e d m i n d le s s ly .
T h e p o l i c y o f " c o n t a i n m e n t , " f i rs t c o n c e i v e d i n 1 9 47 as a
b a t t l e p l a n i n p o l it i ca l w a r , is a c t u a ll y t h e b e s t p o s s i b l e e x a m -
p l e o f m i n d l e s s n e s s . T h e p o l i c y s e e m e d to c a ll f o r t r e a t i n g t h e
S o v i e t U n i o n a n d i ts sa te ll it es as p a r i a h s a m o n g t h e n a t i o n s ,
e n f o r c i n g s o m e t h i n g li ke a t r a d e b o y c o t t , a n d c o n v e y i n g t o
t h e p e o p le s o f th e S o v ie t E m p i r e t h e m e s s ag e t h a t C o m m u n i s tg o v e r n m e n t s a r e n o t l e g i t i m a t e . U n t i l 1 95 6 t h i s p o l i c y w a sl a r g e l y f o l l o w e d , a n d i t d i d h e l p t o k e e p t h e S o v i e t U n i o n
p o o r , b a c k w a r d , a n d o u t o f t h e m a i n s t r e a m o f i n te r n a t io n a l
l if e. B u t s i n ce t h e n , a n d e s p e c ia l ly s in c e t h e S o v i e t U n i o n
b u i l t i n t e r c o n t i n e n t a l m i s si le s , t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s h a s h e l p e d t o
f e e d , f i n a n c e , l e g i ti m i z e , i n d u s t r ia l i z e , a n d t e c h n o l o g i z e t h eS o v i e t U n i o n . A l l t h e w h i l e , t h o u g h , t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s h a s
c o n t i n u e d t o w h i s t le in t h e d a r k t h a t i t w o u l d r e si st th e e x p a n -
s i on o f S o v i et in f l u en c e a n d t h a t t h i s " c o n t a i n m e n t " w o u l d
u l t im a t e l y d o o m C o m m u n i s m .
Q u i t e i ro n i ca l ly , t h e U S g o v e r n m e n t h a s e x p l a i n e d t h e
t r a n s f e r o f W e s t e r n r e s o u r ce s a n d t e c h n o l o g y t o t h e S o v i e t
U n i o n , a s w e ll a s t h e v a r io u s o n g o i n g n e g o t i a t i o n s o n a r m s
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98 CODEVILLA
c o n t r o l a n d h u m a n r ig h ts , as p a r t a n d p a rc e l o f c o n t a i n m e n t .
E n r i c h i n g t h e S o v i e t E m p i r e , y o u s ee , w o u l d d e s ta b i li ze i t b ye n m e s h i n g S o v i et o ff ic ia l s in a n e t w o r k o f m u t u a l l y a d v a n -
t a g e o u s r e l a t i o n s w i t h t h e W e s t t h a t t h e y w o u l d v a l u e s o
m u c h t h a t . . . h e r e , a l a s , t h i s t r a i n o f i ll o g ic s t o p s . I n t h e
c o n t e x t o f th i s d o u b l e - t h i n k , in w h i ch th e A r m a n d H a m m e r s
o f t h is w o r l d a r e f r e q u e n t g u e s ts at th e W h i t e H o u s e , t h e li tt le
o p e r a t i o n s t h a t t h e C I A p u l i s h e r e a n d t h e r e t o e m b a r r a s s t h e
S o v i e t U n i o n a r e b e s t u n d e r s t o o d a s p o i n tl e ss , e v e n c h il d is h
" d i r t y t r i c k s . "I n t h e r e a l m o f p o l i t ic a l w a r f a r e , i t is d i f f i c u l t t o s e e t h e
a p p l ic a b i li ty o f t h e m a x i m t h a t a n y t h i n g r e al ly w o r t h d o i n g is
w o r t h d o i n g b a d l y . A b o v e a l l, p o l i t i c a l w a r , l ik e m i l it a r y c o n -
f l i c t i t s e l f , c o m m i t s t h e l i v e s a n d h o n o r o f r e a l l i v e h u m a n
b e i n g s . I t is s im p l y u n j u s t t o r is k s u c h t h i n g s e x c e p t in t h e
c o n t e x t o f r e a s o n a b l e p l a n s f o r s u cc e ss . M o r e o v e r , g i v e n t h e
p o w e r o f re p u t a t io n i n h u m a n a f fa i r s , t o l e n g th e n a re c o r d o f
h a l f - h e a r t e d f a i l u r e s i s t o b u i l d a n e v e r - h i g h e r b a r r i e r t o t h e
s u c c e s s o f f u t u r e p o l i t i c a l o r m i l i t a r y v e n t u r e s .
The Future of Poh'tical Warfare
I f t h e U n i t e d S t a te s w e r e to c h o o s e a serious c o u r s e o f
a c t io n w i t h re g a r d t o t h e S o v i et U n i o n , i t c o u l d b e g i n t o p l a n
t o u s e t h e t o o l s o f p o l i ti c a l w a r f a r e t o p u r s u e i t . B u t u n t i l t h i s
h a p p e n s , t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s w i l l n o t e v e n b e a b l e t o c o n f r o n t
t h e p r o c e d u r a l i s s u e s t h a t s t a n d i n t h e w a y o f e f f e c t i v e
p o l i ti c a l w a r f a r e . A f t e r a ll , p r o c e d u r a l d if f ic u l t ie s a re r o o t e d
in s u b s t a n t i v e d i sa g r e e m e n t s . E v e n s u p p o s i n g th a t a p r e s i d e n t
d e c i d e d t o f ill h is N S C s t a f f w i t h n o n b u r e a u c r a t s a n d t o f u l ly
e m p o w e r t h e m t o c o m m a n d t h e S ta te D e p a r t m e n t , t h e P e n -
t a g o n , t h e C I A , C o m m e r c e , et c ., in h is n a m e , t h a t s t a f f c o u l d
n o t r e so l v e t h e U S g o v e r n m e n t ' s c e n tr i fu g a l f o r c e s w i t h o u t au n i f y i n g p r i n c i p le t h a t t h e y f u ll y u n d e r s t a n d a n d t h a t is i n te r -
n a l l y c o n s i s t e n t .
M e r e p r e s i d e n t ia l a u t h o r i t y w i ll n o t d o , b e c a u s e a s
e v e r y o n e k n o w s , b u r e a u c r a c i e s v e r y s e l d o m s a y " N o " t o
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POLITICAL WAR FAR E 99
presidential directives; they say "Yes," and then interpret
them in their own way. If the president's directives are theleast bit ambiguous, the bureaucracy will expand these am-
biguous spaces into fortified castles. A president, and his
staff, would actually have to know what they want to do well
enough to see through bureaucratic reformulations of direc-
tives. There is simply no substitute for a president demanding
from himself and his subordinates clarity with regard to ob-
jectives and with regard to the concatenation of ends and
means: Will this actually lead to that?The potential usefulness of the tools o f political warfare
is great, and increasing. Although mode rn technology allows
totalitarians to hide better and better more and more o f their
military assets and plans, mod ern technology does allow any
advanced country to listen in on public discourse in any other
country. Hence , some of the most politically importan t infor-
mation is now readily available. Soon it will be possible to
beam, not broadcast, radio and television signals anywhere inthe world. In other words, it will be possible for one people to
take part in another's domestic political discussion. But what
messages do we wish to send? And to what end?
One consequence of the Soviet Empire's much greater in-
volvement in the world is that its representatives are now to
be found everywhere, almost as widespread as Americans.
Like Americans, they can be compromised and embarrassed;
or, if some of them wanted help against their domestic com-
petitors, one might consider working with them. But there is
no reason to hold one's breath. The world is full of political
ferment. There is never a shortage of Iranians, or East Euro-
peans, or Cubans, or Africans, or Asians, or Mexicans who
are looking for help from abroad to improve their lot at
home. But do we want enough to achieve something in their
countries to involve ourselves with them and to make sure
that we prevail?
No doubt, a number of countries important to the
United States-Mexico and Iran are but two examples-are
on the brink of importan t changes. We can be certain that the
Soviet Union's gray and black propaganda, agents of in-
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100 CODEVILLA
fluence, and support for factions will play a role in these
countries' political evolution. There is no reason why theUnited States ought not to use these very same tools in these
countries. But it is almost certain that at and near the top of
the US government there is not sufficient competence to
gather the right intelligence, to make the basic policy choices,
and to employ the necessary resources so that our threats will
not be contemptible, our promises not hollow, our friends
not dead, and our enemies not eating our cake.
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POLITICAL WARFARE 101
Notes
1. A d d a B . B o z e m a n , " C o v e r t A c t i o n a n d F o r e i g n P o l i c y , " i n
R o y G o d s o n , e d ., Intelligence Requirements for the 1980"s: Covert
Action ( W a s h i n g t o n , D C : N a t i o n a l S t r a te g y I n f o r m a t i o n C e n t e r ,1981), pp. 15-78.
2 . A n g e l o C o d e v i l l a , " T h e R e a g a n D o c t r i n e - - ( A s Y e t ) A
D e c l a r a t o r y P o l i c y , " Strategic Review 14, no . 3 (Summer 1986) ,pp. 17-26.
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Comment
DONALD F. B. JAMESON
DR. CODE VIL L A'S P APE R SHOWS , I t h in k , i n t e l l e c tu a l r i g o r
a n d c l a ri ty , a n d I h o p e w h a t h e h a s t o s a y w i ll b e g i v e n t h e
s e r i o u s c o n s i d e r a t i o n i t d e s e r v e s . I w o u l d a g r e e t h a t w e
d e s p e r a t e l y n e e d e f fe c t iv e p o li c y . I d o t h i n k , t h o u g h , t h a t i n
l o o k i n g a t w h a t c a n b e u s e f u l l y d o n e i n p o l it ic a l w a r f a r e w eshould b e a r i n m i n d t h e r e v e rs e o f t h e f a m i l ia r a d a g e : w h a t ' s
w o r t h d o i n g is w o r t h d o i n g b a d ly . S o m e t i m e s , w h e n y o u
d o n ' t h a v e a re al p o l ic y , if y o u m u d d l e t h r o u g h , y o u e n d u p
a h e a d o f t h e g a m e d e s p it e t h e f r u s tr a t io n s a n d b u r e a u c r a t ic
r is ks y o u g o t h r o u g h .
D r . C o d e v i l l a r e fe r s , f o r e x a m p l e , t o th e g l o r i o u s a n d
t ra g ic e p i s o d e o f t h e L a o t i a n t r i b e s m e n . C e r ta i n ly , n o b o d y
m o r e t h a n t h e p e o p l e w h o w e r e d i r e c t l y i n v o l v e d w i t h t h e m
u n d e r s t a n d s t h e t e rr ib l e t r a g e d y o f o u r t u r n i n g o u r b a c k s o n
t h e m . B u t it m u s t b e p a r t o f th e r e c o r d t h a t w h a t t h e y d i d w a s
r a t h e r f u n d a m e n t a l in b r in g i n g a b o u t t h e k i n d o f S o u t h e a s t
A s i a t h a t e x i s t s t o d a y , w h i c h i s b a s i c a l l y a v i g o r o u s a n d f r e e
c o m m u n i t y , in w h i c h t h e p e o p l e w i th t h e m o s t s e ri o us p r o b -
l em s , t h e p e o p l e b e c o m i n g m o r e i n w a r d - l o o k i n g a n d less a b le
t o i n f l u e n c e o t h e r s , a r e th e c o n q u e r i n g V i e t n a m e s e .I 'd a l so l ik e t o m e n t i o n t h a t b a c k i n t h e 1 96 0s, w h e n o u r
p o l ic y to w a r d t h e S o v i et U n i o n w a s c e rt a in l y as a m b i g u o u s asit h as e v e r b e e n , s o m e p o l i t ic a l w a r f a r e e n d e a v o r s o f t h e U S
g o v e r n m e n t , p a r t ic u l a r l y its s p o n s o r s h i p o f a l ar g e c o ll e c t io n
o f o r g a n i z at io n s , m o s t ly i n E u r o p e b u t r a n g i n g a r o u n d t h e
w o r l d , r e a l l y d i d t a k e c e n t e r s t a g e a w a y f r o m t h e
C o m m u n i s t - i n f l u e n c e d in t el li g en ts ia . T h e s e o r g a n i z a t io n s
h a d a lo t o f m o n e y t o s p e n d . B a s ic a l ly , th e w o r d m a k e r s a n d
s p e a k e r s o f t h e w o r l d a r e i n t e re s t e d in b e i n g a b l e to p u b l i s h ,
b e i n g a b le t o g o t o c o n f e r e n c e s , a n d b e i n g a b le t o t a lk . T h a tm o n e y w a s m a d e a v a il ab le t o t h e m s o th a t t h e y d i d n ' t h a v e to
r el y o n t h e W o r l d P e a c e C o u n c i l a n d a ll t h e o t h e r C o m m u n i s t
f r o n t s t o t ra v e l a r o u n d a n d w r i te . T h e y h a d e x c e l le n t
m a g a z i n e s i n a l l t h e m a j o r E u r o p e a n c o u n t r i e s . A n d I t h i n k
a l l t h i s m a d e a m a j o r d i f f e r e n c e .
102
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POLITICAL WA RF AR E 103
I'm not sure anybody in the government ever sat down
and figured out how that program fitted into a larger and
grander policy other than that, simply, it was a good thing to
do. At times, when you can't figure out what it is the top peo-
ple want to do or whether policies are consistent, if you can
figure out something that looks pretty good, and you can get
away with it, my feeling is, go ahead and do it. You need to
bear in mind that there are ways in which you can survive in
ambiguity. I must say, however, that great frustration is in
store for anybody who has had the experience of goingaround Washington trying for one reason or another to ex-
plain what is happening in the politics of anothe r count ry that
is crucial to the United States.
When I think of our historical origins, I am reminded of
Clemenceau at Versailles saying to Woodrow Wilson, when
Wilson seemed to be utterly deaf to the problems of French
security in the future, "Mr. Wilson, you come from a count ry
in which on the north you have a forest, on the south youhave a desert, on the east fish, and on the west fish. This is
not the position of France in Europe ." Unfortuna tely, we are
still unable to take seriously our foreign affairs. When you
look at the political appointments in key positions that any
administration you can think of has made, when you look at
the real considerations that go into the passage of foreign
policy legislation or its implementation in the executive
branch, you can easily come to the conclusion that we stillbelieve there is nothing but fish, forests, and desert out there.
We appear to believe that foreign policy problems can be
resolved by handl ing our domestic politics a little better while
we pretend that we know what we're doing abroad.
In this connection, I am reminded of one of the most
perceptive and intelligent defectors from the Soviet Union,
Alexander Kaznacheyev, a Soviet diplomat-cum-KGB-
cooptee, who defected in 1959. I knew him well. When he
worked with me in the early sixties, Kaznacheyev kept asking,
"You know, where in the United States government is it all
put together, where they coordinate diplomacy, the military,
the trade policies, the propaganda?" And I kept saying,
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104 JAMESON
" A l e x , t h e r e is n o s u c h p l a c e . " A n d h e s a id , "Ah h a , I u n d e r -
s t a n d , i t 's so s e n s it iv e y o u c a n ' t ta l k a b o u t i t . " H e a s k e d m e
t h a t q u e s t i o n f o r t h r e e y e a r s a n d I k e p t a n s w e r i n g t h e s a m e
w a y . F i n a l ly , I p e r s u a d e d h i m t h a t m y a n s w e r w a s t r u e . T h e
n e x t d a y h e w e n t o f f t o s t u d y e c o n o m i c s , a n d n o w h e ' s a
s e n i o r ex e c u ti v e i n a b ig c o m p a n y . T a l k t o h i m a b o u t p o l it ic s !
I t h i n k I w o u l d l i k e t o e n d m y o b s e r v a t i o n s b y p o i n t i n g
o u t t h a t , q u i t e b y c o n t r a s t w i th t h e A m e r i c a n e x p e r ie n c e , t h e
S o v i e t U n i o n h a s s u r v i v e d f r o m i t s i n c e p t i o n o n i t s a b i l i t y t o
m a n i p u l a t e t h e p o l i c i e s o f i t s e n e m i e s . I t s e e m s t o m e w h e nw e l o o k a t t h e S o v i e t c o n t r i b u t i o n s t o c i v i l i z a t i o n , t h o s e
t h in g s t h a t ar e u n i q u e ly S o v i e t - n o t R u s s ia n , n o t f r o m s o m e
o t h e r n a t i o n a l i t y , b u t t h i n g s t h a t t h e S o v i e t s r e al ly e v o l v e d to
t h e p o i n t w h e r e t h e y ca n e x p o r t t h e m t o o t h e r c o u n t r i e s a n d
o t h e r c u l t u re s c a n a d o p t t h e m - a r e t he se t w o t h i ng s : t h e
a b il it y t o m a n i p u l a t e t h e p o l i c ie s o f t h e i r e n e m i e s , a n d t e c h -
n i q u e s f o r m a i n t a i n i n g o r d e r a n d l a b o r d i s c i p l i n e i n c i r -
c u m s t a n c e s o f c o l l a p s i n g li vi ng s ta n d a r d s . T h e s e th i n g s , t h e yd o w e ll . T h e s e c o n d p r in c i p l e , m a i n t a i n i n g o r d e r in p o v e r t y ,
is t h e o n e t h e y h a v e t a u g h t s o w e l l i n t h e T h i r d W o r l d . T h a t ' s
w h a t m a k e s t h e i r s y s t e m s o a t t r a c t i v e t o p e o p l e l i k e t h e
le a de rs o f M o z a m b i q u e , t h e A n g o l a n s , t h e C u b a n s , a n d s o
f o r t h .
I n c o n t r a s t t o a s o u n d , i n t e r n a l l y f o c u s e d c o u n t r y t h a t
w o r k s f a i rl y w e ll n o m a t t e r h o w s t u p i d l y i t c o n d u c t s i ts
f o r e i g n a f f a ir s ( w h i c h is b a s i c a ll y t h e h i s t o r y o f t h e U n i t e dS t at e s) , t h e S o v i e t U n i o n , f r o m t h e v e r y b e g i n n i n g , h a s s u r -
v iv e d b y m e a n s o f f o r e ig n p o l ic y m a n i p u l a t i o n . F o r e i g n
p o l i t i c a l o p e r a t i o n s d i r e c t e d a g a i n s t t h e i r e n e m i e s w e r e t h e
o n e t h i n g t h a t k e p t a c r u d e l y m a n a g e d i n te r n a l s i tu a t i o n f r o m
c o l l a p s i n g . T h e i r w h o l e e x p e r i e n c e i n l i f e i s , i n f a c t , t h e
r e v e r s e o f o u r s . O f c o u r s e , i n t e r n a l p o l i t i c s a l s o i n f l u e n c e st h ei r v ie w o f t h e w o r l d , a n d t h e y s o m e t i m e s g e t t h in g s w r o n g
b e c a u s e t h e y t o o a r e i n s u l a r i n t h e i r o w n w a y . T h e i r o w nf i l t e r s o f i n f o r m a t i o n k e e p t h e l e a d e r s h i p m i s i n f o r m e d ;
n e v e r t h e l e s s , t h e y k n o w t h a t t h e g a m e i s d e a d l y s e r i o u s
b e c a u s e o n l y b y p l a y i n g i t w el l h a v e t h e y s u r v iv e d .
I d o t h i n k t h a t w h e n m e n t i o n i n g t h e S o v ie ts , h o w e v e r , i t
is i m p o r t a n t t o b e a r i n m i n d t h a t t h e r e a r e l i m i t a t io n s to w h a t
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POLITICAL WAR FAR E 105
t h e y c a n d o . D r . C o d e v i l la s ai d t h a t i f w e t u r n t o p e o p l e i n a
c o u n t r y a n d t r y to c u l t i v a te t h e m a s m o d e r a t e s , i t is q u e s -
t i o n a b l e w h a t w e c a n d o f o r th e m . I t h i n k i t is i m p o r t a n t t o
n o t e t h a t t o d a y a r o u n d t h e w o r l d t h e S o v ie t U n i o n a p p e a r s t o
b e r e c o g n i z i n g th e l im i t s o f w h a t i t c a n d o f o r o t h e r p e o p l e . I t
b e h o o v e s u s to w a t c h v e r y c a r e f u l ly w h a t h a p p e n s in M o z a m -
b i q u e i n t h e n e a r f u t u r e . S o f a r a s I c a n s e e , t h e S o v i et s h a v e
n o t d o n e a n y t h i n g t o t r y t o m a i n t a i n t h e F r e l im o r e g im e . I n
s p it e o f o u r o w n e f f o r t s to t r y to m a i n t a i n i t , I t h i n k i t p r o b -
a b l y w i ll c o l la p s e u n l e ss i t c a n g e t a C u b a n m i l i ta r y f o r c e o rits e q u i v a l e n t t o f i g h t t h e i n s u r g e n t s , w h i c h d o e s n ' t s e e m t o b e
h a p p e n i n g . I t h i n k t h e S o v i et s f a c e t h e s a m e d i l e m m a , u p t o a
p o i n t , i n r e g a r d t o N i c a r a g u a a n d p e r h a p s o t h e r p la c es as
w e ll . T h e s e s i t u a t i o n s w i ll c e r t a i n l y o f f e r u s s o m e o p p o r -
t u n it ie s . W h e t h e r , in f a c t , w e ta k e a d v a n t a g e o f t h e m is , o f
c o u r s e , a n o t h e r m a t t e r .
A B R A M N. SHUL S KY
D R . C OD EV IL LA 'S P A P ER R E M I N D S M E o f s o m e t h i n g t h a t
S e n a t o r G o l d w a t e r d i d n ' t a c t u a l l y s a y , b u t m i g h t h a v e s a i d ,
w h i c h is t h a t e x t r e m i s m in th e p u r s u i t o f t h e o r e t i c a l t r u t h is
n o v i c e . I m e a n t h a t a s a c o m p l i m e n t , b e c a u s e i n t h et h e o r e t i c a l s e n s e t h e p a p e r is v e r y u s e f u l a n d g o o d p r e c i se l y
b e c a u s e i t is so e m p h a t i c i n t r y i n g to g e t t o s o m e f u n d a m e n t a l
p o i n ts t h a t a r e o f t e n o v e r l o o k e d . T h e f u n d a m e n t a l p o in t , o f
c o u r s e , i s t h a t a ll t h e s e t e c h n i q u e s o f p s y c h o l o g i c a l w a r f a r e
h a v e t o f it i n t o a s t r a t e g y f o r c o n d u c t i n g t h e o v e r a l l s t ru g g l e ,
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10 6 S H U L S K Y
a n d t h a t s t r a t e g y i t s e lf h a s to b e d i r e c t e d t o w a r d a t t a i n i n g
s o m e d e s i r e d o u t c o m e .
C l e a r l y , o n e n e e d s a p o l i c y ; o n e c a n ' t u s e t h e s e k i n d s o f
t e c h n i q u e s a s a s u b s t i t u t e f o r p o l i c y , a s a w a y o f lo o k i n g a s i f
o n e is d o i n g s o m e t h i n g w h e n o n e d o e s n ' t r e a ll y h a v e a c l e ar
u n d e r s t a n d i n g a n d g r a sp o f t h e g o a l o n e is t r y in g t o a c h i ev e .
B u t o n t h e o t h e r h a n d , i t 's p o l it ic a l ly u n a c c e p t a b l e t o b e s e e n
a s d o i n g n o t h i n g . S o th a t is a v e r y b ig d a n g e r , a n d o n e t h a t is
p e r h a p s e v e n m a g n i f i e d b y t h e f a c t th a t m a n y o f th e s e te c h n i-
q u e s h a v e t o b e s o m e w h a t s e c r e t , s o t h a t t h e p r o b l e m s t h a ta r i s e a r e n ' t a l w a y s l o o k e d a t c a r e f u l l y .
O n e c a n a l s o c o n c l u d e th a t t h e r e h a s t o b e b as ic p o l i c y
c o n s i s t e n c y . O n e c a n ' t h a v e , a s D r . C o d e v i l l a s a y s , a t w o -
t r a c k p o l ic y , o n e t r a c k s e c r e t a n d o n e p u b l ic , w i t h o u t th e r e
b e i n g a re a l s t r a te g y s o m e w h e r e in t h e b a c k g r o u n d r e la t in g
t h e tw o . A n d t h e g o a l h a s to b e s o m e k i n d o f v i c t o ry ,
s o m e t h i n g u n d e r s t o o d a s i m p o r t a n t e n o u g h , u l t i m a t e l y , t o
k i l l f o r , o r t o d i e f o r .T h i s o b s c r v a t i o n a ls o u n d e r l in e s t h e im p o r t a n c e o f t h e
c o n t e x t i n w h i c h th e s e v a r i o u s o p e r a t i o n s o c c u r . F o r i n -
s t a n c e , t h e P S Y O P s u c c es s s t o ri e s o f t h e 1 95 0s, a g a i n s t
M o s s a d e g h i n I r a n a n d A r b e n z i n G u a t e m a l a a n d s o f o r t h ,
a r e s o m e t i m e s p r e s e n t e d a s if t h e s e w e r e t h e a c m e o f t h e
t r a d e c r a f t o f t h e o p e r a t o r s o n t h e g r o u n d . I n o th e r w o r d s ,
t h o se w h o d i d th e b r o a d c a s t i n g i n G u a t e m a l a d i d s u c h a g o o d
j o b t h a t t h e g o v e r n m e n t fe ll . I t h i n k w h a t D r . C o d e v i l l a sa y sis i m p o r t a n t in r e m i n d i n g u s th a t i t m a d e a v e r y b ig d i f f e r e n c e
t h a t t h i s w a s C e n t r a l A m e r i c a in t h e 1 95 0s, a t im e w h e n t h e
m e m o r y o f p r e v i o u s U S i n t e r v e n t i o n s in t h e a r e a w a s s ti l l
r e l a ti v e l y f r e s h , a t im e w h e n t h e U n i t e d S t a te s w a s v e r y
o u t g o i n g i n its a t t e n t i o n t o w o r l d a f f a i r s a n d w i ll in g to u s e
f o r c e in p a r ts o f th e w o r ld m u c h f u r t h e r a w a y t h a n
G u a t e m a l a . I t's n o t s i m p l y a q u e s t io n o f t h e t e c h n i q u e o f a
f e w r a d i o b r o a d c a s t s .
A n o t h e r i m p o r t a n t p o i n t i s t h a t t h e d e c e p t i v e s id e o f t h e
P S Y O P b u s in e s s is r e a l ly in a w a y v e r y s u b o r d i n a t e . P e r h a p s
b e c a u s e i t's f u n a n d i n t e re s t in g a n d s o o n , w e te n d t o th i n k o f
t h e d e c e p t i o n o r d e v i o u s n e s s a s b c in g t h e k e y . I t is h e l p f u l to
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POLITICAL WAR FAR E 107
be reminded that deception is really quite subordinate con-
ceptually to the basic lines of the policy, which can't be that
devious and clever.
By making these very necessary points, then, Dr.
Codevilla provides a good foundation for looking at these
matters. But I think he perhaps ignores some of the messy
realities that have to be dealt with and can perhaps be dealt
with by these kinds of means.
The real nub of the problem is the basic issue of what our
policy toward the Soviet Union is. Any sort of policy of con-tainment-a policy that says we want to prevent the Soviets
from making gains, but don't really have a strategy and a
clear intent to win the struggle in a decisive fashion, either
because we don't think it's possible, or it's too dangerous, or
for whatever r e a s o n - a n y such policy is simply not going to
provide the clarity of purpose necessary to support the kind
of political-psychological warfare that Dr. Codevilla thinks
we should under take. In other words, if we are going to be us-ing these techniques at all, we're already in quite a bind,
precisely because our basic policy toward the Soviet Union is
not that clear.
But suppose one were to look another way at the struggle
between the United States and the Soviet Union. For exam-
pie, take the way suggested in the recent posture s tatement of
the secretary of defense, which talks about competitive
strategies and the problem of seeing the relationship as along-term competition in which one has to be able to compete
as effectively as possible, though there may be no final
resolution of the conflict. Now that doesn't mean there can't
be an answer or can't be a resolution. No regime lasts forever,
simply because of its internal situation; and one can always
expect or hope that there will be changes that will allow for
some resolution of the problem. In fact, the containment
policy itself in its classic formulation, you will remember,
held out precisely such a hope-we contain the Soviets until
the internal pressures bring the moderates to power (though
that was a particularly naive way of looking at it). Even a
system like the Soviet Union that has developed the art of in-
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108 SHULSKY
t e r n a l c o n t r o l t o a h i g h p i t c h is , n e v e r t h e le s s , n o t i m m o r t a l .
S o a t s o m e p o i n t s o m e c h a n g e c o u l d o c c u r t h a t m i g h t b e
u s e f u l. B u t w e h a v e t o s ta y a li ve i n t h e m e a n t i m e , a n d w e
h a v e t o b e a b l e t o d o t h i s in a r e l a ti v e ly e f f e c t iv e m a n n e r .
S o I t h i n k , f r o m t h a t p o i n t o f v ie w , v a r io u s t h in g s t h a t
f r o m D r . C o d e v i l l a 's p e r sp e c t i v e l o o k e i th e r w r o n g o r s il ly
t a k e o n a g r ea te r i m p o r t a n c e - f o r i n st an c e , t h e u n r e s t o r
d i s t r u s t w i t h i n t h e S o v i e t b l o c t h a t H e n r y R o w e n d i s c u s s e s
( se e p . 1 69 ). D i s t ru s t b y t h e S o v i e ts o f t h e i r E a s t E u r o p e a n
a l l i e s , w h i c h c o u l d b e n u r t u r e d b y v a r i o u s m e a n s , i s n ' t ar e s o l u t i o n o f th e p r o b l e m , b u t i t m i g h t a c t a s a fa ir ly s u b s t a n -
t i a l d e t e r r e n t t o t h e S o v i e t s a n d h e n c e m i g h t b e v e r y u s e f u l
w h e n o n e l o o k s a t t h e c o m p e t i t i o n o v e r t h e l o n g r u n . O n t h e
o t h e r h a n d , i t c e r t a i n l y i s n 't t h e w a y t o v i c t o r y . S i m i l a rl y , a n -
t i c o m m u n i s t i n s u r g e n c i e s o f t h e s o r t t h a t h a v e b e e n t a l k e d
a b o u t d o n ' t h u r t e i t h e r .
N o w , t h e r e i s a s e r io u s i ss u e t h a t D r . C o d e v i l l a r a is e s,
a n d it is r e a ll y a m o r a l i ss u e . H e a r g u e s t h a t i t 's n o t o n l y n o tg o o d s t r a te g y b u t a ls o s i m p l y w r o n g t o e n c o u r a g e p e o p l e t o
f ig h t a g a i n s t o v e r w h e l m i n g o d d s w h e n w e o u rs e lv e s ar e n o t
r e a ll y w i ll in g t o b a c k t h e m t o t h e h i l t. I t h i n k t h a t ' s t h e
s e r i o u s i s s u e . I n t h e c a s e o f H u n g a r y , t h a t i s a n i m p o r t a n t
q u e s t i o n , a l t h o u g h I s u s p e c t w h a t t h e g r a y p r o p a g a n d a o f
R a d i o F re e E u r o p e m i g h t o r m i g h t n o t h a ve s a i d - w h i c h is
c o n t r o v e r s i a l - w a s r e a l l y m u c h l e s s i m p o r t a n t f o r u s t h a n
s im p l y t h e g e n e r al s t a t e m e n t o f t h e E i s e n h o w e r a d m i n i s t ra -t i o n a b o u t r o l lb a c k . T h a t s t a t e m e n t c e r t a in l y m u s t h a v e h a d a
b i g g e r i n f l u e n c e i n t h e l o n g r u n .
O n t h e o t h e r h a n d , i f y o u l o o k a t p la c es li ke A f g h a n i s t a n
a n d A n g o l a , I d o n ' t t h i n k i t 's a c c u r a te t o p o r t r a y t h e s e c a se s
s i m p l y a s o u r e g g i n g p e o p l e o n t o f ig h t b at t l e s a n d t h e n n o t
s u p p o r t i n g t h e m in a w a y t h a t t h e y c a n r e a s o n a b l y e x p e c t. I n
b o t h o f t h e se c as es , t h e a n t i c o m m u n i s t i n s u rg e n t s w e re
f i g h t in g t h e ir o w n b a t tl e s b e f o r e o u r i n v o l v e m e n t . A n g o l a i si n a s e n se t h e c l e a r e st c a s e , b e c a u s e f o r t e n y e a r s w e h a d o n
t h e b o o k s a l a w t h a t s a id t h a t o f a ll t h e p e o p l e i n t h e w o r l d ,
y o u , M r . S a v i m b i , ar e t h e o n e p e r s o n w e c a n n o t h e l p t o f i g h t
c o m m u n i s m . T h a t w a s o u r l a w , a n d n e v e rt h el es s h e k e p t g o -
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P O L I T I C A L W A R F A R E 109
i n g, a n d f a ir l y s u c c e s s f u ll y f o r a ll t h a t t i m e . S o a n y t h i n g w e
g i ve h i m , w h i l e i t m a y e n c o u r a g e h i m i n o n e s e n s e t o f i g h tl o n g e r t h a n h e m i g h t o t h e r w i s e h a v e , c a n h a r d l y m a k e u s
m o r a l l y r e s p o n s i b l e f o r t h a t s t ru g g l e . I t 's h is d e c is i o n , a n d w e
a r e n o t t h e o n l y m o r a l a c t o r o n t h e s c e n e .
S o w h i le t h e m o r a l c o n s i d e r a t i o n is i m p o r t a n t a n d
n e c e s s a r y , p a r t o f p o l i ti c s is s i m p l y t h e f a c t t h a t d i f f e r e n t
p e o p l e d o c o m e t o g e t h e r to p u r s u e t h e i r o w n i n t e re s ts , w h i c h
a r e n o t n e c e ss a r il y t h e s a m e b u t a r e s u f f i c i e n t ly c o n g r u e n t
t h a t t h e y c a n c o o p e r a t e f o r a t i m e . I f o u r i n t e r es t s as w e s eet h e m a n d t h e A f g h a n f r e e d o m f ig h t e rs ' i n te r es ts a s t h e y s ee
t h e m a r e c o n g r u e n t f o r n o w , i t m a k e s s e n se f o r us t o s u p p o r t
t h e m , e v e n t h o u g h w e m a y n o t b e w il l in g t o d o e v e r y t h i n g
t h a t t h e y w o u l d l ik e u s to . I n o t f ie r w o r d s , t h e y a r e g o i n g i n t o
i t w i t h t h e i r e y e s o p e n .
T h i s s a m e s o r t o f t h i n g a p p l ie s , I t h i n k , t o t h e d e c e p t i o n
q u e s t i o n . I t ' s v e r y d i f f i c u l t , a s w e ' v e c e r t a i n l y s e e n o n c e
a g a i n , f o r th is c o u n t r y t o t r y to b a s e v e r y m u c h o n d e c e p t i o no r o n d o i n g t h i n g s c o v e r t l y t h a t w e ' r e d e n y i n g o v e r t l y ; a n d i t 's
c e r t a i n l y t r u e , a s D r . C o d e v i l l a s a id , t h a t y o u c a n ' t h a v e t w o
p o l ic ie s . Y o u ' v e g o t t o h a v e o n e p o l i c y , a n d y o u ' v e g o t t o b e
c l e a r w h a t t h a t p o l i c y i s. N e v e r t h e l e s s , i n p r i n c i p l e a t le a s t ,
c e r t a i n l y v a r i o u s k i n d s o f d e c e p t i o n o r s e c r e c y c a n n o t b e
r u l e d o u t .
I c a n ' t r es is t o n e l a st c o m m e n t o n t h e " m o d e r a t e s . " I t is
d i f f i c u l t t o e s c a p e t h e i m p r e s s i o n t h a t w e f o o l e d o u r s e l v e s
a b o u t t h e a va i la b i l i t y o f m o d e r a t e s in I r a n . O n t h e o t h e r
h a n d , I t h i n k i t is t r u e t h a t t h e r e c a n b e c a s es in w h i c h
t h o r o u g h l y e x t r e m e a n d d i s r e p u t a b le p a r t s o f a s o c i e t y c a n b e
a t e a c h o t h e r ' s t h r o a t s . A n d i f t h a t ' s t r u e , i t m a y b e p o s s ib l e
f o r u s t o h e l p o n e o r t h e o t h e r i n w a y s t h a t w il l a l so b e u s e f u l
t o o u r i n t er e s ts . T h e m i s t a k e c o m e s b e c a u s e o f a s o r t o f
m o r a l i s m o f o u r s o c ie t y t h a t l ea d s u s to b e l ie v e t h a t t h e g r o u p
w e d e c i d e t o h e l p f o r w h a t e v e r R e a l p o l i t i k r e a s o n s h a s s u d -
d e n l y b e c o m e m o d e r a t e . I f w e c o n v i n c e o u r se l v es o f t h a t ,
w e ' r e i n b i g t r o u b l e .
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Political Strategies
F or Revolutionary War
RI CH AR D H. SHUL TZ, JR.
T H E P U R P O S E O F T H I S P A P E R is t o a d dr es s t h e q ue s-
t i o n o f w h a t p o l i t ic a l a n d p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s t h e
U n i t e d S t a te s m i g h t p u r s u e a s p a r t o f a p o l i c y t h a t s e ek s t o
e i t he r c o u n t e r o r s u p p o r t m o v e m e n t s e m p l o y i n g re v o lu -
t i o n a r y w a r f a r e s tr a te g ie s . O n e o f th e U n i t e d S t a te s ' f o r e m o s t
s p ec ia li st s a n d f o r m e r p r a c t i t i o n e r s o f c o u n t e r i n s u r g e n c y a n d
p a r a m i l i ta r y o p e r a t i o n s o b s e r v e d a t th e b e g i n n i n g o f t h isd e c a d e t h a t i n t h e 1 98 0s t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s w a s l ik e l y t o r e a c t
t o r e v o l u t i o n a r y w a r f a r e c h a l l e n g e s " m u c h l i k e a c o u n t e r -
p u n c h i n g b o x e r , " f o c u s in g o n " c o m b a t t i n g a r m e d c l a n d e s ti n e
o r g a n i z a t i o n s w h o s e p r i m a r y g o a l is t o i m p o s e t h e ir w i ll i n th e
c o u n t r i e s w h e r e t h e y a r e a t t e m p t i n g t o s ei ze p o w e r . ''~ T h i s
o b s e r v a t i o n w a s m a d e i n 1 9 8 1 , a s t h e R e a g a n a d m i n i s t r a t i o n
e n t e r e d o f f i ce . S i n c e t h a t t i m e , t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n h a s
b r o a d e n e d t h e U S r o l e in r e v o l u t io n a r y w a r f a r e a n d l ow -i n t e n s it y c o n f l ic t . A m e r i c a n p o l i c y i n N i c a r a g u a a n d E1
S a l v a d o r i m p l i e s t h a t t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n v i e w s r e v o l u t i o n a r y
w a r f a r e b o t h a s a t h r e a t a n d a s a n o p p o r t u n i t y . I n o t h e r
w o r d s , d e p e n d i n g o n t h e c o n f l ic t , t h e U n i t e d S t a te s m a y p u r -
s u e a p o l ic y o f s u p p o r t i n g o r c o u n t e r i n g a n i n s u r g e n c y . 2
T h i s p a p e r a d d r e s se s b o t h o f t h e s e p o l i c y i ss u es a n d
i d e n t if ie s t h e c o n t r i b u t i o n p s y c h o l o g i c a l a n d p o l i t ic a l a c t i o n
h a s t o m a k e t o e a c h . H o w e v e r , i t is f ir s t n e c e s s a r y t o d e s c r i b e
r e v o l u t i o n a r y w a r f a r e s t r a t eg y a s it h a s e v o l v e d a n d t o e x -
a m i n e h o w t h o s e p ar ti es a n d m o v e m e n t s w h i c h h a v e fo l l o w e d
t h is c o u r s e o f a c t i o n i n t e g r a t e p s y c h o l o g i c a l a n d p o l i ti c a l
w a r f a r e m e a s u r e s i n t h e i r o v e r a l l a p p r o a c h .
111
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112 S H U L T Z
W i t h t h a t c o m p l e t e d , t h e r e m a i n d e r o f t h e p a p e r a d -
d r e ss e s t h e f o l l o w i n g q u e s t i o n s : O n e , h o w h a s S o v i e t s t r a t e g yd e v e l o p e d o v e r t h e l a s t t w o d e c a d e s b o t h i n p r o m o t i n g i n -
s u r g e n c y a n d i n a ss is ti n g n e w l y e s t a b l i sh e d M a r x i s t - L e n i n i s t
r e g i m e s t o c o n s o l i d a t e p o w e r a n d d e f e a t i n s u r g e n t t h r e a t s ?
A n d h o w m u c h i m p o r t a n c e d o t h e S o v ie ts p la c e o n p o li ti ca l
a n d p s y c h o l o g i c a l m e a s u r e s a s p a r t o f t hi s st ra t e g y ? T w o ,
w h a t h a s t h e U S e x p e r i e n c e b e e n i n r e v o l u t i o n a r y w a r f a r e ?
A n d w h a t l es so n s h a s t h e U n i t e d S ta te s l e a r n e d f r o m p r i o r i n -
v o l v e m e n t , a n d a r e t h e s e r e f l e c t e d i n c u r r e n t p o l i c y a n ds tr a te g y ? T h r e e , w h a t k i n d o f p o l ic y a n d s t ra t e g y m i g h t th e
U n i t e d S ta te s d e v e l o p to r e s p o n d t o r e v o l u t i o n a r y w a r f a r e
c h a l le n g e s ? A n d h o w d o p s y c h o l o g i c a l a n d p o l it ic a l w a r f a r e
m e a s u r e s f i t i n t o t h e s e r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s ?
R e v o l u t i o n a r y W a r f a r e :
The P o s t - W o r l d W a r H E x pe r ie n ce
T h e A m e r i c a n n a t i o n a l s e c u ri ty c o m m u n i t y h a s f re -
q u e n t l y m i s u n d e r s t o o d t h e c o n c e p t o f r e v o l u t io n a r y w a r f a r e ,
o f t e n e q u a t i n g i t w i t h i r r e g u l a r m i l it a r y t a ct ic s , w h i c h m a y b e
p a r t o f r e v o l u ti o n a r y w a r f a r e b u t a r e n o t s y n o n y m o u s w i th
i t . C o n s e q u e n t l y , g u e r r i l l a w a r f a r e a n d r e v o l u t i o n a r y w a r -
f a re , i n a p p r o p r i a t e l y , a r e u s e d i n t e r c h a n g e a b l y in t h e le x i c o n
o f A m e r i c a n n a t i o n a l s e c u ri ty . T h i s u s a g e r e v ea ls t h e d e g r e eo f m i s u n d e r s t a n d i n g .
G u e r r i l l a t a c t i c s h a v e b e e n e m p l o y e d t h r o u g h o u t
h i s t o r y ; t h e i r r o o t s l ie i n a n c i e n t t im e s . R o b e r t A s p r e y ' s t w o -
v o l u m e s t u d y o f W a r i n t h e S h a d o w s : T h e G u e r r i l l a i n
H i s t o r y d e s c r ib e s t h i s i n g r e a t d e t a i l . 3 F o r e x a m p l e , g u e r r i l la s
h i n d e r e d A l e x a n d e r t h e G r e a t i n h i s t w o - y e a r c a m p a i g n i n
P e r s i a . S i m i l a rl y , g u e r r il la s p l a g u e d b o t h H a n n i b a l d u r i n g h i s
e p ic m a r c h f r o m S p a i n t o N o r t h e r n I ta ly a n d t h c R o m a n a r -m y i n its p a c i f i c a t i o n o f S p a i n . I n e a c h o f t h e s e i n s t a n c e s , i r-
r e g u l a r a n d p r e d o m i n a n t l y i n d i g e n o u s f o r c e s c a r r i e d o u t
p a r a m i l it a r y o p e r a t i o n s i n e n e m y - h e l d o r h o s t i le te r r i to r y .
T h e s e w e r e n o t a m i r r o r i m a g e o f r e v o l u t i o n a r y w a r f a r e .
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REVOLUTIONARY WAR 113
The military history of the United States is dotted with
involvement in guerrilla conflicts. American soldiers executedguerrilla actions during the War of Independence as well as
the Civil War. Throughout most of the nineteenth century,
the US Army conducted counterguerrilla actions against
various Indian tribes. At the turn of the century, it faced
guerrilla challenges in the Philippines and in Mexico. In theSecond World War, guerrilla forces organized in the Philip-
pines provided MacArthur with invaluable assistance in his
retaking of the islands. Similarly, during 1943 the OSStrained and organized the Kachins of northern Burma into
guerrilla units, and American officers led them in operationsagainst the Japanese. After the war, American advisers
assisted the Greek army in defeating a Communist guerrilla
movement. Finally, during the Korean War, special opera-
tions forces were employed and gained a permanent status
within the American military. None of these experiences was
synonymous with revolutionary warfare.Why is guerrilla warfare, or the related concepts of
jungle, irregular, partisan, and unconventional warfare, not
the equivalent of revolutionary warfare? The answer lies out-
side of the military tactics employed.
The Parameters of Revolutionary Warfare Revolu-tionary warfare employs ancient military tactics in conjunc-
tion with political and psychological techniques in order toacquire political power as a prelude to transforming the socialstructure. The objective is to impose a new regime on thesociety through a strategy of protracted conflict. Herein liesthe difference between revolutionary warfare and otherforms of irregular or guerrilla combat. Revolutionary war-fare strategists combine unconventional military tactics withpolitical and psychological operations in order to establish a
competing political and ideological structure. This form ofprotracted conflict is principally a post-World War II
phenomenon, the roots of which can be traced to the strategydeveloped by the Chinese Communists during the 1930s.
The French were among the first in the West to grasp themeaning of revolutionary warfare and to articulate a counter-
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114 SHUL TZ
s tr a te g y . M a n y o f t h e F r e n c h o r ig i n a to r s o f t h e c o n c e p t
s e r v e d i n I n d o c h i n a , w h e r e , B e r n a r d F a l l n o t e s , " t h e y l e a rn e dt h e ir M a o T s e - t u n g t h e h a r d w a y . ''4 F r e n c h m i l i t a ry a n a l y s t
C o l o n e l G e o r g es B o n n e t a d v a n c e d t h e f o l lo w i n g e q u a t i o n t o
e x p l a in r e v o l u t i o n a r y w a r f a r e :
R W = G + Pwhere R W stands for revolutionary war,
G stands for guerrilla tactics, andP stan ds for political and psychologicalactivities
B o n n e t a n d o t h e r F r e n c h o f f ic e rs c o n c l u d e d t h a t i n
r e v o l u t i o n a r y w a r f a r e t h e m i l i t a r y t a c t i c s o f t h e g u e r r i l l a a r e
s e c o n d a r y t o t h e c e n t r a l s t ra t e g ic o b j e c t i v e s t h a t a r e to b e
a c h i e v e d t h r o u g h p o l i ti c a l a n d p s y c h o l o g i c a l m e a n s . T h e
p r i n c i p a l g o a l is to d e s t r o y t h e l e g i t im a c y o f t h e t a r g e t
g o v e r n m e n t t h r o u g h t h e e s ta b l is h m e n t o f a c o u n t e r - id e o l o g y
a n d c o u n t e r - i n s t i t u t i o n s . T h u s , f o r t h e s e F r e n c h o f f i c er s , it
w a s t h e o b j ec t iv e s s o u g h t , a n d t h e c e n t r a l i m p o r t a n c e p la c e do n p o l it ic a l w a r f a r e a n d p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s in a c h i ev -
i n g t h e m , t h a t d i f f e r e n t i a t e d r e v o l u t i o n a r y w a r f a r e f r o m
o t h e r f o r m s o f i rr e g u la r c o m b a t . 5 T h i s c o n c e p t w a s f i rs t
s y s t em a t i c a ll y e s p o u s e d b y M a o T s e - t u n g . H i s t h e o r e t ic a l
f r a m e w o r k , i n t u r n , h a s b e e n a d o p t e d b y m a n y o t h e r s .
A l t h o u g h t h e r e a r e i m p o r t a n t d i f f e r e n ce s a m o n g t h e se p r ac t i -
t io n e r s , t h e b r o a d a s s u m p t i o n s o f th e C h i n e s e a p p r o a c h h a v e
b e en a d o p t e d b y p a r t ie s a n d m o v e m e n t s t h r o u g h o u t t h eT h i r d W o r l d .
The Principles of Revolutionary Warfare D r a w i n g o n
b o t h t h e o r e t i c a l s t a t e m e n t s a n d p r a c t i c a l a p p l i c a t i o n s , o n e
c a n i d e n t i f y f i v e b a s i c t e n e t s t h a t u n d e r l i e t h e s t r a t e g y o f
r e v o l u t i o n a r y w a r f a r e . A l t h o u g h d i f f e r e n c e s e x i s t a m o n g
t h e o r i s t s a n d p r a c t i t i o n e r s , t h e g e n e r a l i z a t i o n s d e s c r i b e d
b e l o w d e m o n s t r a t e t h a t p o l i t ic a l a n d p s y c h o l o g i c a l m e a s u r e s
lie a t t h e c e n t e r o f t h e s t r at e g y .
T h e f i r s t o f t h e s e p r i n c i p l e s i s t h e primacy of propa-ganda and pofitical action. U n l i k e c o n v e n t i o n a l c o n f l i c t ,
r e v o l u t i o n a r y w a r f a r e d o e s n o t f o c u s u n t i l i t s f i n a l s t a g e s o n
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REVO LUTIO NARY WAR 115
c l i m a c t i c m i l it a r y e n g a g e m e n t s . I ts p r i m a r y t a r g e t s l ie w i t h i n
t h e f a b r i c o f s o c i e t y . B e c a u s e o f th e i ni ti al s h a r p i m b a l a n c e i nt h e c o r r e l a t i o n o f f o r c e s , t h i s p o l i t i c a l f o c u s i s e s s e n t i a l i f t h e
i n s u r g e n ts a re t o a d v a n c e t o a p o i n t w h e r e t h e y m a y s e r io u s ly
c h a l l e n g e st a te p o w e r . I n l ig h t o f t h is r e q u i r e m e n t , t h e p a r t y
c o n c e n t r a t e s o n t h e f o r m a t i o n a n d p r o p a g a t i o n o f a c o m -
p e t i n g o r c o u n t e r i d e o l o g y , n o t s e e k i n g t o r e d re s s p a r t i c u l a r
p r o b l e m s , b u t i n s t e a d c h a l l e n g i n g t h e r e g i m e ' s b a s i c
l e g i ti m a c y a n d r i g h t to g o v e r n . T h e o b j e c t i v e is t o p o l i ti c iz e
t h e c o n f l i c t a n d e s ta b l is h a c o m p e t i n g v al u e s t r u c tu r e .I d e o l o g y c o n t a i n s g u i d a n c e a n d j u s t i f i c a t i o n f o r r e v o l u -
t i o n a r y w a r . I t is a v e h i c le u s e d t o b u i l d s u p p o r t a n d m o b i l i z e
e l em e n t s o f th e p o p u l a t i o n . I d e o l o g y m u s t p r o m o t e a c a u se
t h a t is p l a u s i b l e , c o m p e l l i n g , a n d a p p e a r s t o b e f u l fi ll a b le .
A l t h o u g h t h e l ea d e rs h ip o f m o v e m e n t s e m p l o y i n g t h i s
s t r a t e g y h a v e o n t h e w h o l e b e e n b a s e d o n a v a r i a t i o n o f
M a r x i s m - L e n i n i s m , t h e i d eo l o g y t h e y h a v e f o r m u l a t e d h a s
b l e n d e d t h e " i de a l is ti c" e l e m e n ts o f C o m m u n i s m w i th a t t en -t i o n t o t h e r e s o l u t i o n o f i n d i g e n o u s e c o n o m i c , s o ci al , a n d
p o l i t i c a l i n e q u a l i t i e s . I t w i l l e m p h a s i z e n a t i o n a l i s m , d e p l o r e
e x i st in g c i r c u m s t a n c e s , a n d h o l d u p a l o ca l ly a tt r a c t iv e a l te r -
n a t iv e . I n c o m m u n i c a t i n g t h is i d e o lo g y , t h e i n s u r g e n ts a n d
t h o s e w h o s u p p o r t t h e m w i l l f o c u s t h e i r p r o p a g a n d a a n d
p o l i t i c a l a c t i o n t a c t i c s o n t a r g e t s a t h o m e a s w e l l a s t h o s e i n
t h e r e g i o n a l a n d i n t e r n a t i o n a l a r e n a s .
A n e x a m i n a t i o n o f s u cc e ss fu l i n s u rg e n t m o v e m e n t s w il ld e m o n s t r a t e t h a t m a n y o f t h e r e f o rm s a r t ic u l a t e d i n th e
m o v e m e n t s ' i d e o lo g y a re n o t i m p l e m e n t e d a ft e r p o w e r is
a c h i e v e d . T h e c u r r e n t s i t u a t i o n i n N i c a r a g u a is o n l y th e m o s t
r e c e n t e x a m p l e o f t h is p a t t e r n . P r o p e r l y a r t i c u l a t e d , t h e
f a i l u r e o f , f o r e x a m p l e , t h e C u b a n a n d N i c a r a g u a n r e v o l u -
t i o n s t o c a r r y o u t t h e s e c h a n g e s c o u l d s e r v e a s a p o w e r f u l
p o l i t i c a l m e s s a g e i n o t h e r L a t i n A m e r i c a n s o c i e t i e s f a c i n g
r e v o l u t i o n a r y w a r f a r e . O f c o u r s e , p o i n t i n g o u t p r o m i s e s n o tf u lf i l le d c a n n o t s t a n d a l o n e . I t m u s t b e p a r t o f a c o m p r e h e n -
s iv e a n d i n t e g r a t e d p o l i t ic a l - m i l i ta r y s t r a t e g y .
A s e c o n d g e n e r a l e l e m e n t o f r e v o l u t i o n a r y w a r f a r e
s t r a t e g y i s mass mobilization. T h r o u g h t h i s m e a s u r e , i n -
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116 SHUL TZ
su r g en t s a t t e m p t t o a l t e r t h e p o l i t ica l a s we l l a s m i l i t a r y
b a l a n c e o f f o r c e s . I n l i g h t o f i t s i m p o r t a n c e , s u c c e s s f u lr e v o l u t i o n a r y m o v e m e n t s h a v e e m p l o y e d a h o st o f p r o g r a m s
a n d t e c h n i q u e s to a c c o m p l i s h t hi s. F o r e x a m p l e , w i t h in th e
p a r t y s t r u c t u r e ( f r o m t h e t o p t o t h e l o c a l l ev e l) , o n e o f i ts m a -
j o r c o m m i t t e e s h a s r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r m o b i l i z a t i o n . I t i s
s t a f f e d b y c a d r e s k i ll e d i n tw o a c t iv i ti e s: th e i n d o c t r i n a t i o n o f
p a r t y p e r s o n n e l , a n d t h e p r o d u c t i o n a n d d i s t ri b u t io n o f p r o -
p a g a n d a m a t e r i a l s a n d d e v e l o p m e n t o f o t h e r p o l i t i c a l a c t i o n
p r o g r a m s . C a d r e in c l u d e c o r r e s p o n d e n t s , t r a n s l a to r s ,w r i t e r s , p a i n t e r s , p r i n t e r s , a c t o r s , d r a m a t i s t s , m u s i c i a n s , a n d
b r o a d c a s t e r s . P r o p a g a n d a is c o n v e y e d t h r o u g h a v a r i e ty o f
t e c h ni q u e s, m o s t i m p o r t a n t l y f a c e -t o -f a c e o r w o r d - o f - m o u t h
c o n t a c t , T h e o b j e c t i v e s a r e t h r e e f o l d : t o a t t r a c t e l e m e n t s o f
t h e p o p u l a c e , t o a t t a c k t h e e n e m y t h r o u g h p s y c h o l o g i c a l w a r -
f a r e , a n d t o u t i l i z e i n d o c t r i n a t i o n m e a s u r e s t o m a i n t a i n
a l l e g i a n c e . T h i s p r o c e s s i s a n o n g o i n g o n e .
A r e l a t e d a s p e c t o f t h i s p r o c e s s i s m a s s o r g a n i z a t i o n a lw o r k . P r o f e s s i o n a l c a d r e a t a l l g e o g r a p h i c a l a n d s o c i e t a l
l ev e l s a r e r e sp o n s i b l e f o r p r o se l y t i z i n g , r ec r u i t i n g , an d
m o b i l i z i n g t a r g e t a u d i e n c e s th a t i n c l u d e y o u t h s , s t u d e n t s , i n -
t e l l e c t u a l s , p e a s a n t s , w o r k e r s , w o m e n , a n d s o o n . T h ee s t a b l i s h m e n t o f m a s s o r g a n i z a t i o n s a l l o w s t h e i n s u r g e n t
l e a d e r s h i p t o i n s t i t u t i o n a l i z e s u p p o r t g a i n e d t h r o u g h p r o p -
a g a n d a , e x p a n d t h e s o u r c e o f p o l i t i c a l c a d r e a n d g u e r r i l l a s ,
a n d n e u tr a li ze s u p p o r t f o r g o v e r n m e n t p r o g ra m s .W h i l e r e v o l u t i o n a r y w a r f a r e t h e o r i s t s a n d p r a c t i t i o n e r ss t r e s s t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f w h a t m i g h t b e t e r m e d p o s i t i v e
p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s , t h e y a l s o e m p l o y n e g a t i v e i n c e n -
t iv e s . F o r e x a m p l e , i f a s i g n if i c a n t p a r t o f t h e p o p u l a t i o n t h a tm a y b e i n c li n e d t o b a c k t h e g o v e r n m e n t c a n b e k e p t n e u t r a l ,
t h i s i s a v i c t o r y f o r t h e i n s u r g e n c y . T o a c c o m p l i s h t h i s ,v a r i o u s n e g a t i v e i n c e n t i v e s m a y b e e m p l o y e d . T h e s e r a n g e
f r o m t h r e a t s a n d i n t i m i d a t i o n t o t h e u s e o f t e r r o r i s m . I s t h i s
p a r t o f t h e p s y c h o l o g i c a l w e a p o n r y e m p l o y e d b y i n s u r g e n t s
i n a p r o t r a c t e d r e v o l u t i o n a r y w a r ? T h e a n s w e r is a n u n e -
q u i v o c a l y e s .I n m a n y w a y s , t h e f ir st t w o e l e m e n t s d is c u s se d a b o v e a r e
a s p e c t s o f t h e t h i r d element--the establishment of the
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R E V O L U T I O N A R Y W A R 117
p o l i t i c a l - m i l i t a r y i n f r a s t r u c t u r e . T h e c l as si c s t a t e m e n t o n t h i s
c a n b e f o u n d i n L e n in ' s 1 90 2 p a m p h l e t , W h a t Is t o B e D o n e ?T h e a d a p t a t i o n o f L e n i n to t h e s t ra t eg y o f r e v o l u t i o n a r y w a r -
f a r e r e s u l t e d i n a n e x p a n s i o n i n t h e s i ze o f t h e o v e r a l l r e v o l u -
t i o n a r y o r g a n i z a t i o n o r p o l i t ic a l - m i l i ta r y i n f r a s t r u c t u r e . T h i s
is e s p e c ia l ly t r u e o f t h e h i e r a r c h y o f m a s s o r g a n i z a t i o n s c o n -
t r o ll e d b y th e v a n g u a r d p a r t y . T h e s e i n c l u d e p o p u l a r a s so c ia -
t io n s ( l a b o r, w o m e n , f a r m e r s , y o u t h ) , s p e c ia l i n te r e st g r o u p s
( j o u r n a l i s t s , m i n o r i t i e s , t e a c h e r s , v e t e r a n s , a r t i s t s ) , a n d
p o l i t i c a l p a r t i e s . T h e y b e c o m e p a r t o f a p o l i t i c a l i n f r a s t r u c -t u r e o r p a r a l l e l h i e r a r c h y c o n t r o l l e d b y t h e v a n g u a r d p a r t y
t h a t s er ve s a s a s h a d o w g o v e r n m e n t . I n t h e r e g io n a l a n d in -
t e r n a t i o n a l a r e n a s, t h is s h a d o w g o v e r n m e n t s ee k s t o b e c o m e
a r e c o g n i z e d a n d l e g i t im a t e a lt e r n a t iv e t o t h e e x i st in g r e g im e .
I n m a n y w a y s , t h i s a c t i v i t y a t t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l l e v e l i s a m i r -
r o r i m a g e o f t h e p o l i ti c a l- p s y c h o l o g ic a l w a r f a r e c a m p a i g n
c a r r i e d o u t i n t e r n a l l y .
T h e f i n al t w o e l e m e n t s o r g e n e r a l t e n e t s o f th i s p r o -t r a c t e d s t r a t e g y i n c l u d e m i l i ta r y a n d p a r a m i l i ta r y t a ct ic s a n d
a c q u i s i t i o n o f o u t s i d e a s s i st a n ce . T h e i m p o r t a n c e o f t h e la t t er
is o f t e n d o w n p l a y e d b y b o t h t h e o r e t i c ia n s a n d p r a c t i t i o n e r s.
I n r e al it y , th e q u e s t i o n o f w h e t h e r f o r e ig n s u p p o r t c o n s t i t u t es
a d e c is iv e f a c t o r h a s b e e n a m o s t c o n t r o v e r s i a l i ss u e . T h o s e
w h o h a v e u s e d t h is s t ra t e g y r e je c t t h e p r o p o s i t i o n . H o w e v e r ,
a r e v i ew o f t h e la s t t w e n t y y e a r s s u g g e s ts t h e o p p o s i t e . W h i l e
i n d i g e n o u s f a c to r s r e m a i n i m p o r t a n t c a u se s o f i n t e rn a l w a r ,i n m a n y i n s t a n c e s i t s g r o w t h a n d e x a c e r b a t i o n s t e m d i r e c t l y
f r o m t h e a c t iv e i n v o l v e m e n t o f e x te r n a l p o w e r s . C e r t a in l y ,
t h e S a n d i n is t a v ic to r y ow e s m u c h t o C u b a n a n d S o v ie t
p o l i ti c a l a n d p a r a m i l i t a r y a s s is t a n ce . T h e s a m e w a s t r u e f o r
t h e M P L A i n A n g o l a d u r i n g t h e m i d - 1 9 7 0 s . T h e g r o w t h o f
o t h e r i n s u rg e n t m o v e m e n t s in C e n t r a l A m e r i c a , S o u t h e r n
A f r i c a , a n d t h e M i d d l e E a s t c a n a l s o b e a t t r i b u t e d i n s i g n i f i -
c a n t p a r t t o e x t e r n a l a i d . 6A s s i s t a n c e c a n b e d i v i d e d i n t o t w o g e n e r a l c a t e g o r i e s .
P r o p a g a n d a o r p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s a n d p o l i ti c al w a r f a r e
c a m p a i g n s b y o u t s id e p o w e r s c an a n d o f t e n d o p l a y a n i m p o r -
t a n t r o le i n b o t h l eg i ti m i zi n g t h e r e v o l u t i o n a r y i n s u r g e n c y
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118 SHULTZ
i n t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l a r e n a a n d d i s c r e d i t i n g a n d i s o l a t i n g t h e
g o v e r n m e n t u n d e r a t ta c k . P a r a m i l i ta r y a id , o n t h e o t h e r
h a n d , c o n t r i b u t e s t o t h e e f f ec t iv e n e ss o f th e i n s u rg e n t s " o n
t h e g r o u n d . " I n th e W e s t , i n s u f fi c ie n t a t t e n t i o n h a s b e e n p a i d
t o t h e f o r m e r . T h e e x t e n t t o w h i c h t h e S o v i e t U n i o n a n d i t s
a lli es a n d s u r r o g a t e s e m p l o y p o l i ti c a l a n d p s y c h o l o g i c a l
m e a s u r e s to p r o m o t e t h e c a u se o f i n s u r g e n t m o v e m e n t s i n th e
i n t e r n a t i o n a l a r e n a h a s g e n e r a ll y b e e n o v e r l o o k e d ; t h e f o c u s
h a s b e e n , r a t h e r , o n a r m s t r a n s f e r s a n d o t h e r f o r m s o f
l o g i s t i c a l s u p p o r t . T h i s i s s u r p r i s i n g i n l i g h t o f t h e S o v i e t s '
i d e o l o g i c a l c o m m i t m e n t a s w e l l a s t h e e x t e n s i v e o r g a n i z a -
t i o n a l a n d f i n a n c i a l r e s o u r c e s t h e y d e v o t e t o t h e u s e o f
p o l it ic a l a n d p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s a s i n s t ru m e n t s f o r
p o l i c y . 7 I t is t o t h e s e i s s u e s t h a t w e n o w t u r n .
The Soviet Bloc and Revolutionary Warfare
S u p p o r t f o r n a t i o n a l li b er a ti o n m o v e m e n t s o r r ev o lu -
t i o n a r y w a r f a r e h a s b e e n a b a s i c e l e m e n t o f S o v i e t f o r e i g n
p o l i c y s i n c e t h e v e r y e a r l y d a y s o f C P S U r u l e , a l t h o u g h
t h e o r e t i c a l p r e c e p t s a n d t h e p r i o r i ti e s o f p o l i c y h a v e n o t
a l w a y s b e e n i n h a r m o n y . B e g i n n i n g i n t h e e a rl y 1 9 7 0s ,
h o w e v e r , S o v i e t p o l ic y s h if t e d , a n d b y th e e n d o f t h e d e c a d e
M o s c o w w a s in t h e m i d s t o f a n u n p r e c e d e n t e d i n v o l v e m e n t in
T h i r d W o r l d c o n fl ic ts . T h i s i n v o lv e m e n t in c l u d e d th e p r o m o -
t i o n o f i n s u r g e n c i e s a n d t e r r o r i s t v i o l en c e . W h i l e it is u n c l e a r
p r ec is e ly w h e n t h e U S S R d e c i d e d to u n d e r t a k e t h is c h a n g e i np o l i c y , i t w a s s e t f o r t h o f f i c i a l l y i n B r e z h n e v ' s r e p o r t t o t h e
2 4 t h C o n g r e s s o f t h e C P S U i n 1 9 71 . H i s p l e d g e to " g i v e
u n d e v i a t i n g s u p p o r t t o t h e p e o p l e ' s s t r u g g l e f o r d e m o c r a c y ,
n a t i o n a l l ib e r a t i o n a n d s o c ia l is m " g a v e a u t h o r i t a t i v e e n d o r s e -
m e n t t o a p o l i c y a l r e a d y b e i n g i m p l e m e n t e d in t h e f ie ld , s T h i s
w a s r e a f f i rm e d b y B r e z h n e v a t t h e 2 5 th a n d 2 6 t h C o n g r e s s es .
H o w e v e r , a t t h e 2 6 t h C o n g r e s s , h e l d i n F e b r u a r y 1 9 8 1 , w h i l em a i n t a in i n g t h e S o v ie t c o m m i t m e n t t o t h e r e v o l u t i o n a r y w a r-
f a r e p r o c e s s , B r e z h n e v w a s m o r e c a u t i o u s i n h i s a d d r e ss . 9
W h a t w a s t h e r e a s o n f o r t h i s s h i f t? I n p a r t , i t m a y b e ex -
p l a in e d b y w h a t w e m i g h t te r m t h e " b u r d e n o f e m p i r e ." D u r -
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REVO LUT IONA RY WAR 119
i n g th e 1 970 s, t h e U S S R a n d its su r r o g a t e s w e r e e m p l o y i n g
p o l i t i c a l a n d p a r a m i l i t a r y m e a n s t o a s s i s t i n s u r g e n tm o v e m e n t s a n d r a d i ca l f ac t io n s . B y th e e n d o f t h e d e c a d e
e i g h t o f t h e s e h a d s u c c e ss f u ll y s e iz e d p o w e r . S u c c e ss m a y b e
a t t r i b u t e d t o m a n y f a c t o r s, b u t S o v i e t a s s is t an c e c e r ta i n l y
p l a y e d an i m p o r t a n t r o le . H o w e v e r , a b y - p r o d u c t o f t h e se
d e v e l o p m e n t s w a s a n e w r e q u i r e m e n t f o r S o v i e t b l o c a i d , i n -
v o l v i n g s e cu r i ty a s si st a n c e a n d a d v i s o r y s u p p o r t t o h e l p n e w -
ly e s t ab l i sh e d M a r x i s t -L e n i n i s t r e g i m e s c o n s o l i d a t e p o w e r . A
n u m b e r o f t h e se r e g im e s h a v e p r o v e n t o b e v u l n e r a b l e to i n -d i g e n o u s i n s u r g e n t t h r e a t s . B y t h e e a r l y 1 9 80 s, a t le a s t f o u r
m a j o r g u e r ri ll a m o v e m e n t s o p p o s e d t o t o ta l i ta r i a n r u le
e m e r g e d , c h a l l e n g i n g t h e s e S o v i e t - b a c k e d s t a te s .
R e c o g n i z i n g t h e s e v u ln e r a b i li ti e s , t h e U S S R h a s p r o v i d -
e d v a r i o u s m e a n s t o s u s t ai n i ts a ll ie s i n p o w e r . O n e o f t h e s e
m e a n s i s t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f a n i n t e r n a l s e c u r i t y i n f r a s t r u c -
t u r e t h a t c a n q u e l l i n d i g e n o u s o p p o s i t i o n , m o b i l i z e t h e
p o p u l a t i o n , a n d i n su l a te t h e o p p o s i t io n l e ad e r s h ip c a d r e . A d -d i t i o n a l l y , t o p r o t e c t a g a i n s t r e s i s t a n c e m o v e m e n t s e m p l o y -
i n g i n s u r g e n t s t r a t e g i e s , t h e S o v i e t b l o c p r o v i d e s c o u n t e r i n -
s u r g e n c y m i li ta r y a n d p a r a m i l it a r y a d v i c e a n d s u p p o r t .
I n e f f e c t , b y t h e 1 98 0s, S o v i e t p o l i c y t o w a r d T h i r d
W o r l d c o n f l i c t h a d a c q u i r e d a d o u b l e f o c u s . O n t h e o n e
h a n d , i t s e e k s t o a s s i s t c e r t a i n r e v o l u t i o n a r y i n s u r g e n t f a c -
t io n s to g a i n p o w e r t h r o u g h p r o t r a c t e d w a r . O n t h e o t h e r
h a n d , M o s c o w p r o v i d e s m i li ta r y a n d s e c u ri ty s u p p o r t t o e n -
s u r e t h a t t h o s e w h o s u c c e s s f u l l y s e i z e p o w e r m a i n t a i n c o n -
t ro l . I n p u r su i t o f t h e f o r m e r , t h e K r e m l i n e m p l o y s a c o m p l e x
a n d i n t e g r a t e d p o l i t i ca l - m i l it a r y s t ra t e g y , e n c o m p a s s i n g b o t h
p o l i t i c a l m e a s u r e s ( f o r e i g n p r o p a g a n d a , i n t e r n a t i o n a l f r o n t
o r g a n i z a t i o n s , p o l i t i c a l a c t i v i t i e s w i t h i n i n t e r n a t i o n a l a n d
r e g i o n a l o r g a n i z a t i o n s ) a n d p a r a m i l i t a r y a c t i v i t i e s ( a r m s a n d
l o g i st ic a l s u p p o r t , p o l i t i c a l - m i l i t a r y t r a i n i n g , a d v i s o r ya s s is t an c e , d e p l o y m e n t o f f o r c e s ). I n t e r m s o f s u p p o r t f o r in -
s u r g e n t m o v e m e n t s , b o t h e l e m e n t s o f S o v i e t s t r a t e g y a r e i m -
p o r t a n t . H o w e v e r , f o r p r e s e n t p u r p o s e s w e w i ll f o c u s o n t h e
p o l i t i c a l m e a s u r e s .
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120 SHUL TZ
A m a j o r e l e m e n t o f S o v ie t s u p p o r t f o r m o v e m e n t s
f o l lo w i n g a s t r a t e g y o f r e v o l u t i o n a r y w a r f a r e is to u s e
p o l i ti ca l a n d p s y c h o l o g ic a l o p e r a t i o n s ( P S Y O P ) t o c h a m p i o n
t h e c a u s e a n d o b j e c ti v e s o f t h e i n s u r g e n t s i n th e i n t e r n a t i o n a l
a r e n a . A b r i ef c o m m e n t o n t h es e m e a s u r e s a n d t h e e x t en t t o
w h i c h th e y a r e e m p l o y e d b y t h e U S S R a n d i ts s u rr o g a t e s w i ll
d e m o n s t r a t e t h e im p o r t a n c e o f P S Y O P w i th in M o s c o w ' s
o v e r a l l s t r a t e g y f o r a s s i s t i n g r e v o l u t i o n a r y i n s u r g e n t
m o v e m e n t s . 1o
T h e p o l i t ic a l c o m p o n e n t o f S o v i e t s tr a te g y c o n s t i t u te s a n
a r r a y o f o v e r t a n d c o v e r t t e c h n i q u e s . H e r e , w e a r e c o n c e r n e d
w i t h t h e f o r m e r ( r e a l i z i n g t h e y a r e s u p p o r t e d b y c o v e r t
t e ch n i q u es ) . F o r e ig n p r o p a g a n d a is a m a j o r t o o l e m p l o y e d b y
M o s c o w t o p r o m o t e i n s u rg e n t m o v e m e n t s i n t h e in t e r na -
t io n a l a r e n a . E s c a l a t i o n i n p r o p a g a n d a c o v e r a g e o f a n in -
s u r g e n t m o v e m e n t o f t e n i n d ic a te s it h a s b e c o m e a m o r e c o n -
s e q u e n t i a l p o l i c y is s u e f o r M o s c o w . I t a ls o t r ig g e r s t h e i n i ti a -
t io n o f a b r o a d e r p o l it ic a l w a r f a r e c a m p a i g n in w h i c h o t h e r
i n s t ru m e n t s a re b r o u g h t i n t o p l a y .
A s e c o n d m a j o r t e c h n i q u e f o r p r o m o t i n g t h e c au s e o f in -
s u r g e n t m o v e m e n t s i s u s e o f S o v i e t - d i r e c t e d i n t e r n a t i o n a l
f r o n t o r g a n i z a ti o n s . T h e i r te c h n i q u e s in c l u d e p r o p a g a n d a
a n d i n t e r n a t i o n a l c o n f e r e n c e d i p l o m a c y . T h e l a t te r is t h e
m o r e p o l i t i c a l a c t i o n - o r i e n t e d o f t h e t w o a n d c a n t a k e a
n u m b e r o f f o r m s . F o r e x a m p l e , it is n o t u n u s u a l to f i n d a n i n -
t e r n a t i o n a l c o n f e r e n c e , i n v o l v i n g t h e U n i t e d N a t i o n s o r ar e la t e d r e g i o n a l o r g a n i z a t i o n , w h i c h o n e o f th e S o v i e t f ro n t s
e i th e r p a r t ic i p a t e s in o r c o s p o n s o r s . T h e p u r p o s e o f th i s a n d
r e la t e d t e c h n i q u e s is t o r e a c h a m u c h l ar g e r a u d i e n c e t h a n t h e
S o v i e ts c o u l d h o p e t o i n f l u e n c e o n t h e i r o w n .
F i n a l ly , s i n c e t h e e a r ly 1 9 70 s, M o s c o w h a s c a r r i e d o u t
p o l it ic a l a c t i o n c a m p a i g n s i n t h e U n i t e d N a t i o n s a n d o t h e r
r e g i o n a l o r g a n i z a t i o n s o n b e h a l f o f c e r ta i n i n s u r g e n t
m o v e m e n t s ( e .g ., P L O , S W A P O , M P L A , A N C ) . W i th t h ee n c o u r a g e m e n t a n d d i re c t in v o l v e m e n t o f t h e U S S R a n d its
s u r r o g a t e s , t h e i n c r e a s i n g l y m i l i t a n t A f r o - A s i a n b l o c h a s
t a k e n t h e i n i t i a t i v e i n t h e U N t o s u p p o r t a n d a s s i s t s u c h
m o v e m e n t s . O n e i m p o r t a n t re su l t , a m o n g m a n y , h a s b e e n th e
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REV OLU TIO NAR Y WAR 121
g r a n ti n g o f p e r m a n e n t o b s e r ve r s ta tu s i n t h e U N t o S W A P O
( t h e S o u t h - W e s t A f r i c a n P e o p l e ' s O r g a n i z a t i o n ) a n d t h e
P L O . I n s u m , t h e S o v ie ts a p p r o a c h t h e U N a n d o t h e r in t er -n a t i o n a l o r g a n i z a t i o n s a s a r e n a s f o r c o n d u c t i n g
p s y c h o l o g ic a l a n d p o l it ic a l w a r f a re . B e t w e e n t h e U S S R a n d
i ts s u r ro g a t e s , M o s c o w m a i n t a i n s a l a r g e p r e s e n c e i n t h e U N
to h e lp ca r ry o u t t h ese ac t i v i t i e s .
T h e W e s t h a s la r g el y i g n o r e d th e i m p o r t a n c e t h a t t h eS o v i e t s p l a c e o n t h e u s e o f m u l t i p l e p o l i t i c a l w a r f a r e
m e a s u r e s to p r o m o t e t h e l e g it im a c y o f i n s u r g e n t m o v e m e n t s
i n t e r n a t i o n a l l y . T h i s is s u r p ri s in g g i v e n t h e f a c t t h a t f e w i n -s u r ge n c ie s h a v e b e e n u n a f f e c t e d b y t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l e n v i r o n -
m e n t . S i n c e t h e y a r e a l m o s t a l w a y s w e a k e r t h a n t h e i n -c u m b e n t s , o n e w a y t o o f f s e t t h is d i s a d v a n t a g e a n d a l lo w t h e
i n s u r g e n c y t o e x p a n d i s b y a c q u i r in g v a r io u s f o r m s o f i n te r -
n a t i o n a l a s s i s t a n c e . T h i s a s s i s t a n c e i s i m p o r t a n t d u r i n g e a c h
s t a g e o f i n s u r g e n t d e v e l o p m e n t . D u r i n g t h e i n i t i a l p e r i o d ,
w h e n r e c r u i t m e n t a n d c a d r e c e l l e x p a n s i o n l a y s t h e f o u n d a -
t i o n f o r t h e p o l it i c a l -m i l it a r y i n f r a s t r u c t u r e , i n t e r n a t i o n a lp o l i t ic a l s u p p o r t c a n b e r e p l a y e d i n t e r n a l l y t o a d v e r t i s e a n d
p o p u l a r iz e t h e m o v e m e n t . T h is s u p p o r t m a y a l so e n c o u r a g eu n c o m m i t t e d n a t i o n s t o b a c k t h e in s u r g e n c y . S u c h a ss is ta n c e
a ls o m a y b e d i r e c t e d a t i s o la t in g th e i n c u m b e n t r e g im e . F i n a l -l y , p o l i t i c a l s u p p o r t m a y l e a d t o o t h e r f o r m s o f m i l i t a r y
a s s is ta n c e f r o m o u t s i d e p o w e r s . T h i s m i l it a r y a i d w i l l b e o f
p a r t ic u l a r i m p o r t a n c e o n c e t h e i n s u r g e n t s i n cr e a s e th e s ca le
a n d i n t e n s i t y o f t h e i r a c t i v it ie s .S o v i e t s u p p o r t a l s o t a k e s t h e f o r m o f p o l i t i c a l a n dm i l i t a r y t r a i n i n g o f i n s u r g e n t c a d r e . W h i l e s i g n i f i c a n t a t t e n -
t i o n h a s b e e n p a i d t o t h e m i l it a r y t r a i n i n g , i t is a ls o i m p o r t a n t
t o r e c o g n i z e t h a t t h e S o v i e t b l o c p r o v i d e s p o l i ti c a l t r a i n i n g .F o r e x a m p l e , a n i n te r v i e w w i t h a f o r m e r S o v i e t o f f ic i a l w h o
w a s o n t h e f a cu l ty o f P a t ri c e L u m u m b a U n i v e rs it y a n d , m o r ei m p o r t a n t l y , t h e C P S U h i g h e r p a r t y s c h o o l p r o v i d e d a d e -
t a i l e d d e s c r i p t i o n o f t h e k i n d o f t r a i n i n g s e n i o r p a r t y c a d r e
f r o m r e v o l u t i o n a r y in s u r g e n t m o v e m e n t s r e c e iv e d . T h i s
t r a i n i n g t o o k p l a c e p r i n c i p a l l y a t t h e h i g h e r p a r t y s c h o o l ,
w h e r e a n e n t i r e c o u r s e o f s t u d y i s p r o v i d e d o n h o w t o p l a nf o r a n d s e iz e p o w e r t h r o u g h i ll e g al m e a n s . P o l i t i c a l a n dp s y c h o l o g i c a l w a r f a r e t r a i n i n g is p a r t o f t h a t p r o c e s s , t i
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122 SHUL TZ
The US Experience In Revolutionary Warfare
T h e A m e r i c a n e x p e r i e n c e w i t h r e v o l u t i o n a r y w a r f a r e h a s
n o t b e e n a v e r y s u c c e s s f u l o n e . F r o m 19 61 t o 1 97 2, th e U n i t e d
S t a te s w a s i n v o l v e d in a p r o t r a c t e d i n s u r g e n t c o n f l ic t t h a t
e v o l v e d d u r i n g t h e p e r i o d i n t o t h e a d v a n c e d s t a g e s o f t h i s
f o r m o f w a r fa r e . A n u m b e r o f b o o k s h a v e b e e n w r i t te n o n
t h e V i e t n a m W a r a s it r e la te s t o t h e U S a t t e m p t t o d e v e l o p a n
e f f e c ti v e c o u n t e r i n s u r g e n c y st ra te g y .1 2 M o s t o f t h e s e s t u d i e s
c o n c l u d e th a t , f o r a n u m b e r o f r e a s o n s , th e U n i t e d S t a te s w a s
u n a b l e t o i m p l e m e n t th i s p o li cy . T h i s w a s t r u e w h e n t h e w a r
w a s p r o t r a c t e d a n d l o w l e v e l a s w e l l a s w h e n i t e s c a l a t e d .
D u r i n g t h e i n it ia l y e ar s, d i f f e r e n t c o u n t e r i n s u r g e n c y p l a n s
w e r e c o n t e m p l a t e d . H o w e v e r , t h e y w e re n o t e a si ly a d o p t e d
b y th e U S m i l i ta r y e s t a b l is h m e n t , w h i c h a p p r o a c h e d t h e c o n -
f li ct i n a f u n d a m e n t a l l y d i f f e r e n t w a y .
A s t h e w a r i n t e n s i f i e d d u r i n g 1 96 4 a n d 1 96 5 a n d t h e
e n e m y e m p l o y e d b o t h r e v o l u t i o n a r y w a r f a re a n d c o n v e n -
t i o n a l t a c t i c s , t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s a d o p t e d f o r i t s o w n f o r c e s a
c o n v e n t i o n a l " a t t r i t io n " s tr a te g y ; c o u n t e r i n s u r g e n c y a n d
p a c i f i c a t i o n b e c a m e t h e p r i m a r y r e s p o n s i b i l i t y o f t h e S o u t h
V i e t n a m e s e . T h e r e i s n o q u e s t i o n t h a t a s t h e e n e m y in c r ea s -
i n g ly e m p l o y e d c o n v e n t i o n a l t ac ti cs , t h e U n i t e d S t at es a n d its
S o u t h V i e t n a m e s e a lly r e q u i r e d m o r e a n d d i v e rs if ie d m i l it a ry
c a p a b i li ti e s . N e v e r t h e l e s s , th i s d i d n o t n e g a t e t h e n e e d f o r t h e
p o l it ic a l , s o c ia l, e c o n o m i c , d e v e l o p m e n t a l , a n d p s y c h o l o g i c a l
a s p ec ts o f c o u n t e r i n s u r g e n c y .
A l m o s t w i t h o u t e x c e p t io n , t h e l i te r a tu r e a n d m a n u a l s o n
c o u n t e r i n s u r g e n c y st ra t e g y s tr es s t h e i m p o r t a n t c o n t r i b u t i o n
o f p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s . O n e r e c e n t a s se s s m e n t , f o r
e x a m p l e , a s s er ts , " p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s a re a b s o l u t e l y
e s se n ti al i n i n s u r g e n c y a n d c o u n t e r i n s u r g e n c y w h e r e s u c ce ss
d e p e n d s o n t h e s u p p o r t o f t h e p o p u l a t i o n . . , to d e fe a t t h e
i n s u r g e n t , th e g o v e r n m e n t m u s t r e t a in , g a i n o r w i n b a c k t h e
s u p p o r t o f its p e o p l e . " T h e s t u d y g o e s o n t o n o t e , " t h is u s u a l-
l y i n c l u d e s p r o t e c t i n g t h e p e o p l e f r o m t h e i n s u r g e n t s ,
p r o v i d i n g e s s e n ti al g o v e r n m e n t s er vic e s, i m p l e m e n t i n g re -
q u i r e d g o v e r n m e n t r e f o r m s , a n d n e u t r a li z in g th e in s u r g e n c y .
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R E V O L U T I O N A R Y W A R 123
P S Y O P is r e q u i r e d f o r e a c h o f t h e s e f u n c t i o n s b e c a u s e th e
g o v e r n m e n t m u s t c o n v i n c e t h e c it iz e n s t h a t i t c a n p r o v i d e am o r e d e s i r a b l e a l t e r n a t i v e . " 1 3
P S Y O P a n d U S P o l i cy in V ie tn a m H o w e f fe c t i v e ly d i d
t h e U n i t e d S t a te s e m p l o y p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s i n V i e t-
n a m ? I t w o u l d a p p e a r t h a t i ts r e c o r d p a r a ll el s th e e x p e r i e n c ew i t h c o u n t e r i n s u r g e n c y . A n u m b e r o f f a c t o r s u n d e r c u t t h e
U S e f f o r t . F i rs t o f a ll , th e p e r s o n n e l a ss i g n e d a n d t h e a m o u n t
o f f u n d s a p p r o p r ia t e d f o r P S Y O P , w h e n c o m p a r e d to th e
o v e r a l l w a r e f f o r t , w e r e n o t v e r y s u b s t a n t i a l . T h e J o i n t U S
P u b l ic A f f a ir s O f f i ce ( J U S P A O ) e m p l o y e d 2 50 A m e r i c a n s
a n d 6 0 0 V i e t n a m e s e in its v a r i o u s d i v i s io n s . A t i ts p e a k , t h e
t o ta l U S p e r s o n n e l c o m m i t m e n t t o P S Y O P in V i e tn a m w a s
1 ,2 00 A m e r i c a n s a n d 7 50 V i e tn a m e s e . T h e a n n u a l b u d g e t o f
J U S P A O w a s $ 12 m i l li o n . 14 W h e n c o n t r a s t e d w i t h t h e
d e p l o y m e n t o f o v e r h a l f a m i l l i o n A m e r i c a n s a n d a n a n n u a l
b u d g e t in t h e b i l li o n s, th e a s se ts d e v o t e d t o P S Y O P c a n o n l y
b e s e e n a s e x c e p t i o n a l l y m o d e s t .
B e y o n d p e r s o n n e l a n d b u d g e t a r y i ss ue s, a n u m b e r o f
o t h e r f a c t o r s c o n t r i b u t e d t o t h e U S i n a b i l i t y t o e m p l o y
p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s a s e f f e c ti v e l y a s i t m i g h t h a v e i nV i e t n a m . T o b e g i n w i t h , t h e A m e r i c a n r e s p o n s e t o r e v o l u -
t i o n a r y w a r f a r e t o o k p l a c e w i t h i n t h e c o n t e x t o f o u r t r a d i -
t io n a l o r c o n v e n t i o n a l a p p r o a c h t o w a r . T h e e m p h a s i s w a s
n o t p l a c e d o n t h e p o l it ic a l a n d p s y c h o l o g i c a l d i m e n s i o n s o f
t h is f o r m o f c o n f l ic t , b u t o n f i re p o w e r a n d t e c h n o l o g y . I f t h e
s o c i a l a n d p o l i t i c a l a s p e c t s o f r e v o l u t i o n a r y w a r f a r e a r e d e -
e m p h a s i z e d , t h e n t h e c o n t r i b u t i o n o f P S Y O P is l ik e w is e
d o w n g r a d e d .
P S Y O P in V i e tn a m w a s a n a n c i ll ar y e le m e n t o f p o l i c y
a n d s t r a te g y , a n d a s t h e U S m i li ta r y e f f o r t g re w ,
p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s b e c a m e e v e n l e s s a t t r a c t i v e t o
m i l i ta r y p e r s o n n e l . L i k e s p e ci al w a r f a r e , P S Y O P w a s n o t
c a r e e r - e n h a n c i n g a n d t h e r e w a s i n s u f f i c i e n t e m p h a s i s p l a c e d
o n it i n th e A r m y s c h o o l s . O n e s t u d y s u m s u p t h is a t t i t u d e i n
t h e f o l l o w i n g w a y : " P s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s w a s n o t a r o u t e
t o p r o m o t i o n i n t h e m i l i t a ry . . . . B e c a u se in f a n t r y a n d
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124 SHUL TZ
a r ti ll er y c o m b a t r e q u i r e m e n t s in V i e t n a m w e r e s o h e a v y , o f -
r ic er s f r o m o t h e r b r a n c h e s o f t h e A r m y w e r e p u t in
J U S P A O - a r m o r , c h e m i ca l , a n d t h e l ik e. I n ex p l i ca b ly , t h e
N a v y p r o v i d e d a d i s p r o p o r t i o n a t e p e r c e n ta g e o f s u b m a r i n e
o f f i c er s , p r o b a b l y b e c a u s e o f t e m p o r a r y o v e r a g e s in t h is
c a t e g o r y w i t h i n t h e N a v y . " 1 5
A s e c o n d f a c t o r c o n t r i b u t i n g t o o u r l ess t h a n s a t i s f a c t o r y
p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s e f f o r t i n V i e t n a m w a s t h e g o v e r n -
m e n t o f V i e t n a m ( G V N ) . G u n t h e r L e w y n o te s t h a t its p e r-
f o r m a n c e " r e m a i n e d t h e a c hi l l es h e el o f t h e a ll i ed e f f o r t . . .
p r o g r e s s i n b u i l d i n g a v i a b l e p o l i ti c a l c o m m u n i t y w a s p a i n f u l -
ly s lo w , a n d i t w a s n o t f a r r e a c h i n g e n o u g h to c r e a t e t h e s e n s e
o f p u r p o s e n e c e s sa r y f o r s u c c e ss f ul d e f e n se a g a i n st t h e c o m -
m u n i s t e n e m y . '16 T h i s p o o r p e r f o r m a n c e h a d a d e b i l i ta t in g
e f fe c t o n t h e o v e ra l l P S Y O P e f fo r t . P r o p a g a n d a a n d p o l i t ic a l
a c t io n s u p p o r t s a n d p r o m o t e s a n i n d i g e n o u s g o v e r n m e n t ' s
r e f o r m a n d d e v e l o p m e n t ef f o rt s ; it c a n n o t s e rv e a s a
s u b s t i t u t e f o r t h e s e e f f o r t s . N e i t h e r c a n i t m a k e a b a d p o l i c y
a c c e p t a b l e .
A d d i t i o n a l l y , t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s s o u g h t to s u b s t i tu t e i ts
o w n p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s p r o g r a m f o r t h a t o f i t s V i et -
n a m e s e a l l y . H a r r y L a t i m e r n o t e s t h a t a s t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s
l o st p a t ie n c e w i t h th e V i e tn a m e s e , it "b e g a n t o c o m m u n i c a t e
w i th t h e V i e t n a m e s e p e o p l e in t h e n a m e o f t h e V i e t n am e s e
g o v e r n m e n t . " I n e f f ec t , th e U n i t e d S t a t es " t r i ed t o d o t h e j o b
f o r t h e m . " z 7 C a n e f fe c t i v e p o l it ic a l c o m m u n i c a t i o n s b e c o n -
d u c t e d b y a t h i r d p a r t y o n b e h a l f o f t h e h o s t g o v e r n m e n t ?
T h e A m e r i c a n s b e l i ev e d i t c o u l d . H o w e v e r , t h is m e a n t
s u b s t i tu t i n g o t h e r c h a n n e l s f o r t h e f a c e -t o -f a c e a p p r o a c h t h e
e n e m y re lie d o n . W e d e p e n d e d o n l ea fl et s a n d v a r i o u s o t h e r
p u b l i c a t i o n s a s w e l l a s r a d i o a n d t e l e v i s i o n b r o a d c a s t s . T h e
o u t p u t w a s i m p r e s s iv e , b u t i ts e ff e c t iv e n e s s u n c e r t a i n .
F o r e x a m p l e , i n 1 9 6 7 t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s d r o p p e d f i v e
b i l l i o n l e a f l e t s i n V i e t n a m . I n 1 9 6 9 t h e d i s t r i b u t i o n o f
m a g a z i n e s , n e w s p a p e r s , p o s te r s , a n d p a m p h l e t s t o ta l e d 24
m i l l io n c o pi es . A f o u r - s t a t io n r a d i o n e t w o r k w a s c r e a te d w i th
c o v e r a g e o f 9 5 p e r c e n t o f t h e p o p u l a t i o n a r o u n d t h e c l o c k .
L i k e w i s e , a f o u r - t r a n s m i t t e r te l e v is i o n n e t w o r k w a s e s ta b -
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REV OLU TIO NAR Y WAR 125
l i sh e d , w i t h s ix h o u r s o f d a i l y p r o g r a m m i n g a t i ts p e a k . ~8
W h i le th e se m e d i a e ff o rt s c a n c o m p l e m e n t o ra l c o m m u n i c a -
t i o n s b y t h e h o s t g o v e r n m e n t w i t h i t p o p u l a c e , t h e y c a n n o t
s u b s t i t u t e f o r i t .
F i n a l l y , t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s l a c k e d a n a t i o n a l - l e v e l
o r g a n i z a t i o n f o r P S Y O P , a n d i t s e f f o r t i n - c o u n t r y w a s
f ra g m e n t e d .~ 9 T h e f o r m e r p a r t i c u l a r ly h u r t o u r e f f o r ts i n a na r e n a w h e r e w e c o u ld h a v e p la y e d a m a j o r r o l e - a d d r e s s i n g
t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l c o m m u n i t y o n i ss ue s r e l a te d t o t h e V i e t n a m
W a r . C o n t r a s t t h i s t o t h e S o v i e t e f f o r t t o p r o m o t e i n t e r n a -
t i o n a l l y t h e c a u s e a n d l e g i t i m a c y o f r e v o l u t i o n a r y i n s u r g e n t
m o v e m e n t s . 2° In - c o u n t r y f r a g m e n t a t i o n o n l y d e e p e n e d t h ep r o b l e m s r e s u l t i n g f r o m t h e l a c k o f e m p h a s i s o n P S Y O P
w i t h i n o v e r a l l U S s t r a t e g y .
F o l l o w i n g th e U S w i t h d r a w a l f r o m V i e t n a m i n 1 973, t h e
w i l l a n d c o m m i t m e n t , h e n c e p o l i c y , s t r a t e g y , o r g a n i z a t i o n ,
a n d c a p a b i l it i e s, f o r r e s p o n d i n g t o p e r c e i v e d l o w - i n t e n s i t y
t h r e a t s w e r e g r e a t l y r e d u c e d i n A m e r i c a n p o l i c y . S u c c e s s i v e
a d m i n i s t ra t io n s i n th e p e r i o d b e t w e e n t h e 1 9 7 3 A m e r i c a n
w i t h d r a w a l f r o m V i e t n a m a n d t h e 1 9 8 1 i n a u g u r a t i o n o f
P r e s i d e n t R e a g a n p a i d l i t t l e a t t e n t i o n t o r e v o l u t i o n a r y i n -
s u r g e n c y a n d h o w i t m i g h t a f f e c t U S i n t e r e s t s i n t h e T h i r dW o r l d . T h i s n e g l e c t r e s u l t e d i n d r a s t i c c u t s i n s p e c i a l o p e r a -
t i o n s a n d l o w - i n t e n s i t y c o n f l i c t c a p a b i l i t i e s , i n c l u d i n g
P S Y O P . B y 1 9 7 5 o v e r a ll s p e n d i n g h a d d e c l i n e d t o a p p r o x -
i m a t e l y $ 1 0 0 m i l l i o n . T h e R e a g a n a d m i n i s t r a t i o n , i n h e r i t i n g
t h e s e r e d u c e d c a p a b i l i t i e s , s o u g h t t o r e v i t a l i z e t h e m .H o w e v e r , c r i t i c i s m e x i s t s o v e r h o w m u c h o f t h e S p e c i a l
O p e r a t i o n s F o r c e s ( S O F ) r e v i t a l i z a t i o n i s d e v o t e d t o l o w -
i n te n s i ty c o n f l ic t a n d r e v o l u t i o n a r y w a r f a r e c h a l le n g e s . C o n -
g r e s s h a s b een q u i t e c r i t i c a l an d in 1 9 8 6 to o k l eg i s l a t i v e s t ep s
t o r e m e d y t h e s i t u a t i o n . 2~
I n s p it e o f w h a t s o m e b e li e v e t o b e c o n t i n u i n g s h o r t f a l ls
i n d o c t r i n e a n d c a p a b i l i t i e s , t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s h a s r e c e n t l y
b e c o m e e n g a g e d i n se v e ra l r e v o l u t i o n a r y w a r s , s o m e t i m e s a s
a s u p p o r t e r o f i n s u r g e n t s a n d o t h e r t i m e s s e e k i n g t o a s si st
f r ie n d l y g o v e r n m e n t s u n d e r s i eg e . H a v e w e l e a rn e d f r o m
V i e t n a m , a n d d o c u r r e n t e f f o r t s r e f l e c t a b e t t e r u n d e r -
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126 SHUL TZ
standing of the unconventional environment? A brief com-
ment on US policy in El Salvador and Nicaragua suggest that
we have not learned as much as we might have.
El Salvador Since the defeat of the "final offensive"
(modelled on the strategy that brought the Sandinistas to
power) of the Salvadoran guerrillas in 1981, the insurgents
have reverted to protracted revolutionary warfare. This
allows the FMLN to avoid large-scale losses of men and
equipment and, in those areas where the government
presence is limited or nonexistent, to deepen its roots th rough
psychological operations and political mobilization. Since
1981, the Salvadoran military has undergone a marked
transformation from an institution that was racked by dis-
unity and lack of professionalism to one that is now capable
of providing a defensive shield to permit the government to
carry out reform in parts of El Salvador. Among the impor-
tant changes were the following: reorientation from a defen-
sive to a more offensive perspective, emphasis on small units
and longer operations, improvements in military education to
enhance professionalism and eliminate many of the abuses o f
the past, and integration of the military into the national
reconstruction plan.
It has been argued that US support of this effor t avoided
the Vietnam pitfall of Americanizing the armed forces of the
host country. However, there also is evidence that US securi-
ty assistance has tended to conventionalize the Salvadoran
military. In many ways this repeats the security assistance
pattern we have established in many parts of the Third
World. If a country is facing conventional security problems,
this approach is appropriate. However, revolut ionary in-
surgency results in a number o f unconventional problems for
a host country.
In El Salvador, the Salvadoran army holds the urban
areas, lines of communications, and parts of the countryside,
while some six to seven thousand guerrillas control more
remote rural areas. The insurgents' return to protracted war
and small unit actions makes it difficult to conduct sustained
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R E V O L U T I O N A R Y W A R 127
m i l i ta r y o p e r a t i o n s a g a i n s t t h e m . W h i l e a s s a u l t s o n g u e r r i l l a
a r e as h a v e o c c u r r e d , e m p h a s i s o n l a rg e r a ir m o b i l e e f f o r t s
h a v e o f t e n t e l e g r a p h e d t h e o p e r a t i o n s . W h a t t h i s s u g g e st s is
t h a t o u r s e c u r it y a s s is t an c e is o v e r e m p h a s i z i n g c o n v e n t i o n a l
c a p a b il it ie s t h a t a r e in a p p r o p r i a t e f o r c o u n t e r i n s u r g e n c y , a n d
t h a t w e m a y b e r e t u r n in g t o t h e f i re p o w e r t e c h n o l o g y em -
p h a s i s d i s c u s s e d a b o v e i n t h e V i e t n a m c o n t e x t .
H a v e o t h e r a s p e c ts o f a c o u n t e r in s u r g e n c y - f o c u s e d
s e c u r i t y a s s i s t a n c e p r o g r a m b e e n r e f l e c t e d i n t h e r e o r i e n t e d
S a l v a d o r a n a r m y ? P r e l i m i n a r y e v i d e n c e s u g g e s ts t h a t c i vic
a c t i o n , r u r a l d e v e l o p m e n t , i n te l li g e n c e, p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a -
t io n s , a n d r e l a te d f a c t o r s r e q u i r e m o r e a t t e n t i o n . T h e
S a l v a d o r a n a r m y h a s r ec e iv e d P S Y O P e d u c a t i o n , a n d i n c er -
t a i n a r e a s i t is b e i n g e m p l o y e d s u c c e s s f u l ly i n a P S Y O P r o l e .
H o w e v e r , P S Y O P w i ll o n l y b e s u c c e ss f u l i n a la r g e r se n s e i f
u n d e r t a k e n b y a n i n t e g r a t e d c i v i l i a n - m i l i t a r y o r g a n i z a t i o n
t h a t s u p p o r t s a n d p r o m o t e s a n a t io n a l - le v e l c o u n t e r i n s u r g e n -
c y p l a n .
N i c a r a g u a W h i l e t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s h a s m a d e p r o g r e s s
in a ss is ti ng a r e f o r m - m i n d e d S a l v a d o r a n g o v e r n m e n t to b e g i n
t o c o u n t e r e f fe c t iv e l y t h e r e v o l u t i o n a r y i n s u r g e n c y it f a c es ,
t h e s i t u a t io n i n N i c a r a g u a h a s n o t a d v a n c e d n e a r ly s o fa r .
T h i s r e si st a n c e o r i n s u r g e n t m o v e m e n t is o n e o f a t le a st f o u r
s u c h m o v e m e n t s t h a t h a v e e m e r g e d o v e r t h e l as t d e c a d e t o
o p p o s e t h e r ul e o f S o v i e t -b a c k e d C o m m u n i s t re g im e s . U n d e rt h e R e a g a n a d m i n i s t ra t i o n , s u p p o r t f o r a n t i c o m m u n i s t in -
s u r g e n t m o v e m e n t s c h a ll e n g in g th e s e re g im e s h a s b e c o m e a n
e s t a b li s h e d p a r t o f U S f o r e i g n p o li c y . H o w e v e r , w h i le t h e a d -
m i n i s t r a t io n h a s a g e n e r a l p o l ic y , m a n y h a v e a s k e d w h e t h e r it
a ls o h a s a u n i f i e d s t r a te g y t o a ss is t t h e s e m o v e m e n t s in
d e v e l o p i n g p o l i t ic a l a n d m i l i ta r y s t r u c t u r e s t o a c h ie v e
l eg i ti m a c y a n d m o b i l iz e s u p p o r t a m o n g e l e m e n t s o f t h e
p o p u l a t i o n .C u r r e n t l y , t h e U n i t e d S ta te s d o e s n o t p o s se s s t h e m e a n s
w i t h w h i c h t o d e v e l o p s u c h a s t r at e g y . T h e r e is n o c o r e o f e x -
p e r ts w h o c o u l d d e v e l o p a n i n t e g r a te d d o c t r in e a n d s t r a te g y
a n d c o r r e s p o n d i n g a s s i s ta n c e p r o g r a m s t h a t w o u l d p r o v i d e
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128 SHULTZ
t h e a p p r o p r i a t e p o l it ic a l a n d m i l i ta r y t r a in i n g a n d a d v i ce . A s
m a t t e r s s t a n d , t h e re s i st a n c e i n N i c a r a g u a h a s y e t t o d e v e l o p
a s tr a t e g y a n d e s t a b li s h th e p o l i t ic a l a n d p s y c h o l o g i c a l m e a n s
t o m o b i l iz e t h e p o p u l a t i o n t o s u p p o r t it o n a la r g e r sc ale . A d -
d i t i o n a l l y , i n t h e r e g i o n a l a n d i n t e r n a t i o n a l a r e n a s i t c o n -
t i n u e s t o l a c k l e g i ti m a c y a n d c r e d i b il it y .
Psychological Operations and Revolutionary
Warfare: Redefining US Policy and Strategy
I t c a n b e a r g u e d t h a t t h e R e a g a n a d m i n i s t r a t i o n , i n c o n -
j u n c t i o n w i t h t h e l e g i s l a t i v e b r a n c h , h a s e s t a b l i s h e d a p o l i c y
t h a t e x p a n d s t h e U S r o l e i n r e v o l u t i o n a r y w a r f a r e i n t h e
T h i r d W o r l d . A l t h o u g h t h e r e ar e b o t h c o n g r e s s i o n a l a n d ex -
e c u t i v e li m i ts o n t h i s p o l i c y , it n e v e r t h e l e s s m a r k s a d e p a r t u r e
f r o m t h e 1 97 0s . I t is n o t d i f f i c u l t t o o u t l i n e t h e p a r a m e t e r s o f
t h is n e w c o u r se ; h o w e v e r , i ts i m p l e m e n t a t i o n a n d t h ed e v e l o p m e n t o f a p p r o p r i a t e d o c t r i n e , s t r a t eg y , a n d
c a p a b i l i t i e s h a s , a s n o t e d p r e v i o u s l y , b e e n q u i t e d i f f i c u l t .
T h i s is p a r t i c u l a r l y t r u e w i t h r e s p e c t t o p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a -
t i o n s a n d p o l i t i c a l w a r f a r e .
W h a t i s t h e n e w U S p o l i c y ? O n a s e l e c t i v e b a s i s , t h e
U n i t e d S t a te s is c u r r e n t l y a s si st in g f r ie n d l y g o v e r n m e n t s
t h r e a t e n e d b y r e v o l u t i o n a r y i n su r g e n t m o v e m e n t s a s w e ll as
s u p p o r t in g r e v o l u t i o n a r y in s u r g e n t m o v e m e n t s th a t a r ec h a l l e n g i n g e it h e r p r o - S o v i e t M a r x i s t- L e n i n i s t r e g i m e s o r
S o v i e t o r S o v i e t s u r r o g a t e o c c u p a t i o n . E l S a l v a d o r i s a n e x -
a m p l e o f t h e f o r m e r ; a n d i n P e r u , G u a t e m a l a , a n d e l s ew h e r e
in L a t i n A m e r i c a , t h e U n i t e d S t a te s l i k ew i se s e e ks t o p r o v i d e
s e c u r i t y as s is ta n c e t o g o v e r n m e n t s th r e a t e n e d b y s i m i la r g u e r-
r il la i n s u r g e n c i e s . I n t h e y e a r s a h e a d , t h e s a m e is l ik e ly to b e
t h e c a s e in t h e P h i l i p p i n e s . O v e r t h e l a st f e w y e a r s , e x e c u t iv e
a n d l e g is l a ti v e i n i ti a t iv e s h a v e a l s o r e s u l t e d i n U S a s s i s t a n c et o in s u r g e n t m o v e m e n t s in N i c a ra g u a , A n g o l a , A f g h a n i s t a n ,
a n d C a m b o d i a .
W h a t f o l l o w s is a p r o p o s e d f r a m e w o r k t h a t o u t li n e s
p o l i c y o p t i o n s f o r t h e U n i t e d S t a te s w i t h r es p e c t to r e v o l u -
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REV OLU TIO NAR Y WAR 129
t i o n a r y w a r f a r e in th e T h i r d W o r l d . P a r t ic u l a r a t t e n t io n g o es
t o t h e c o n t r i b u t i o n o f p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s , b u t w i t h int h e c o n t e x t o f b r o a d e r p o l i c y o p t i o n s . T h r e e s p e c i f i c
s c e n a r i o s c a n b e i d e n t i f i e d :
1. U S a s si st a n ce a n d a d v i s o r y s u p p o r t to h o s t g o v e r n -
m e n t s t h r e a t e d b y r e v o l u t i o n a r y i n s u r g e n t
m o v e m e n t s .
2 . D i r e c t U S a c t i o n a g a i n s t r a d i c a l o r i n s u r g e n t f a c -
t i o n s i n w h i c h s u p p o r t t o a h o s t g o v e r n m e n t i s n o t
i n v o l v e d .3 . U S s u p p o r t f o r n o n c o m m u n i s t i ns u rg e n t m o v e m e n t s
c h a l l e n g i n g M a r x i s t - L e n i n i s t r e g i m e s i n t h e T h i r d
W o r l d t h a t a r e s u p p o r t e d b y th e S o v ie t b l oc .
I f p o li ti c a l a n d p s y c h o l o g i c a l w a r f a r e p l a y s a n i m p o r t a n t
r o l e i n r e v o l u t i o n a r y i n s u r g e n c y , t h e s a m e c a n b e s a i d f o r
c o u n t e r i n s u r g e n c y s tr a te g y . T h e o b j e c ti v e s o f s u c h a s t r a te g y
i n c l u d e d e n y i n g t h e i n s u r g e n t s a c c e s s t o t h e p o p u l a t i o n ,
e s t a b li s h in g a n d m a i n t a i n i n g g o v e r n m e n t l e g it im a c y , m o b i l iz -i n g t h e p o p u l a t i o n , a n d d e l e g it im i z in g t h e i n s u r g e n t s a n d
t h o se g o v e r n m e n t s th a t s u p p o r t t h e m . T o a c h ie v e t h es e go a ls ,
a n u m b e r o f i n t e r r e l a t e d m e a s u r e s c a n b e u n d e r t a k e n . O n e
r e c e n t s t u d y s u g g e s t s t h e f o l l o w i n g c a t e g o r i e s o f m e a s u r e s : a
n a t io n a l -l e v e l r e f o r m p r o g r a m , d e f e n s e a n d i n s u la t io n o f t h e
p o p u l a t io n , p r o f e s s io n a l iz a t io n o f t h e a r m e d f o rc e s , a n d
c o u n t e r g u e r r i l l a m i l it a r y o p e r a t i o n s . 22 I n t e g r a t e d i n t o a
n a t i o n a l - l e v e l p r o g r a m , e a c h o f t h e s e n o n m i l i t a r y a n dm i l i ta r y m e a s u r e s is e ss e n t ia l in a c o n f l i c t o r w a r d e f i n e d a s a
" b a t t l e f o r m i n d s . "
P s y c h o l o g i c a l a n d p o l it ic a l a c t i o n s a r e u s e d t o p r o m o t e t h is
n a t i o n a l - l e v e l p l a n i n t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l a r e n a a s w e l l a s t o
m o b i l iz e s u p p o r t f o r it f r o m a m o n g e l e m e n t s o f t h e in -
d i g e n o u s p o p u l a t io n . T h e U n i t e d S ta te s a n d t h e h o s t c o u n t r y
n e e d t o d e v e l o p i n t e r n a t i o n a l a n d n a t i o n a l - l e v e l p s y c h o -
l o g ic a l a n d p o l it ic a l p r o g r a m s t h a t a r e u n d e r s t o o d a s i n te g r a le l e m e n t s o f th e o v e r a l l c o u n t e r i n s u r g e n c y p l a n . T h e o v e r a l l
o b j e c t i v e i s t o b u i l d n a t i o n a l a n d i n t e r n a t i o n a l s u p p o r t f o r
t h e p r o g r a m s a n d a c t i v i t i e s o f t h e g o v e r n m e n t u n d e r a t t a c k
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130 SHUL TZ
a n d t o d i s c re d i t t h e i n s u r g e n t s a n d t h e i r st a te p a t r o n s . I n c o n -
j u n c t i o n w i th t h e h o s t c o u n t r y , t h e U n i t e d S t a te s c a n d e v e l o pa c o u n t e r in s u r g e n c y p l an t h a t r e s p o n d s t o t h e i n d i g e n o u s en -
v i r o n m e n t a n d a ls o p r o v i d e s g u i d a n c e f o r a i m i n g c o u n t e r i n -
s u r g e n c y P S Y O P a t t h e f o l lo w i n g t a rg e t a u d i e n c e s :
1. S t at e s a n d g r o u p s in t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l a n d r e g i o n a l
a r e n a s .
2 . S t a te s a n d g r o u p s e i th e r d i re c t ly o r i n d i r e c tl y
a s s i s t i n g t h e i n s u r g e n t m o v e m e n t .
3 . T h e i n d i g e n o u s p o p u l a t i o n .4 . I n s u r g e n t c a d r e a n d s u p p o r t s t ru c t u r e .
H o w c a n t h e U n i t e d S ta te s a n d t h e h o s t g o v e r n m e n t
c o o r d i n a t e t h e i r i n t e r n a t i o n a l a n d n a t io n a l - le v e l c o m m u n i c a -
t io n s a n d i n f o r m a t i o n a c ti v it i es to a d d r e s s e a c h o f t h e s e au -
d i e n c e s ? I t w a s n o t e d a b o v e t h a t w h e n t h e S o v i e t b l o c e x -
p a n d s i ts a s s is t a n c e t o a r e v o l u t i o n a r y i n s u r g e n c y , a n a r r a y o f
p o l it ic a l a n d p s y c h o l o g i c a l i n s t r u m e n t s a r e u s e d to p r o m o t e
t h e c au s e a n d l e g it im a c y o f th a t m o v e m e n t i n t h e in t e r n a -t i o n a l a r e n a . S i m i l a r l y , t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s a n d t h e h o s t
g o v e r n m e n t sh o u l d e m p l o y c o m m u n i c a t io n s , d ip l o m a c y , a n d
p o l i t i c a l a c t i o n o n a b i l a t e r a l a n d m u l t i l a t e r a l b a s i s b o t h t o
g a i n i n t e r n a t i o n a l s u p p o r t a n d t o i s o l a t e t h e i n s u r g e n t s a n d
t h ei r p a t r o n s . T h e S t a te D e p a r t m e n t a n d U S I n f o r m a t i o n
A g e n c y h a v e a m a j o r r o l e t o p l a y i n t h e s e a c t i v i t i e s .
R e v o l u t io n a r y i n s u rg e n t m o v e m e n t s a lm o s t a lw a y s
a s s er t t h a t t h e i r su c c e ss is t h e r e s u l t o f i n d i g e n o u s p r o b l e m sa n d i n e q u al it ie s c a u s e d b y t h e g o v e r n m e n t t h e y se e k to
r e p la c e . W h i le t h is a p p r o a c h o b v i o u s l y c o n t r i b u t e s t o t h e
e m e r g e n c e o f in t e r n a l d i s c o n t e n t , w h i c h i n s u r g e n t c a d r e o f t e n
t a k e a d v a n t a g e o f , o v e r t h e l as t 1 5 y e a r s e x t e r n a l a s s is t a n c e
h a s b e e n c r uc ia l t o t h e e x p a n s io n a n d g r o w t h o f a n u m b e r o f
r e v o l u t i o n a r y m o v e m e n t s in th e T h i r d W o r l d . T h i s d e v e lo p -
m e n t c a n b e e m p l o y e d b o t h n a t io n a l ly a n d i n te r n a t io n a l l y t o
d e m o n s t r a t e t h e d e p e n d e n c y o f i n s u rg e n t s o n e x te r n alp a t r o n s a s w e l l a s t o p o i n t o u t t h e c o s t o f t h i s r e l i a n c e o n c e
t h e y s e iz e p o w e r .
E a r l ie r , I a l l u d e d t o t h e f a i l u r e o n t h e p a r t o f t h e m a n y
c o n t e m p o r a r y p o s t r e v o l u t io n a r y g o v e r n m e n t s , l ik e t h a t i n
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REV OLUT ION ARY WAR 131
N i c a r a g u a , t o i m p l e m e n t t h e p ro m i s e s o f t h e r e v o l u ti o n . F r e -
q u e n t l y , th e s e n e w r e g i m e s b e c o m e s u r r o g a t e s f o r t h e i rp r e r e v o l u t i o n a r y p a t r o n s a n d e s t a b l i s h t o t a l i t a r i a n f o r m s o f
g o v e r n m e n t . T h e y a l so m a y b e c o m e a b a se f r o m w h i c h t h e
S o v i e t b l o c p r o m o t e s i n s t a b i l i t y i n t h e r e g i o n i n w h i c h t h e
n e w r e g i m e i s l o c a t e d . T h e s e r e a l i t i e s c a n b e a m p l i f i e d i n t e r -
n a t i o n a l l y t o i s o l a t e t h o s e p o w e r s s u p p o r t i n g r e v o l u t i o n a r y
i n s u r g e n t m o v e m e n t s a n d t o p o r t r a y t h e e n d r e s u l t o f t h e i r
a s s i s t a n c e . T h e s a m e t h e m e s h o u l d b e p r o p a g a t e d r e g i o n a l l y
a n d t o t h e i n d i g e n o u s p o p u l a t i o n b y i t s g o v e r n m e n t .A p r i m e o b j e c ti v e o f h o s t c o u n t r y p s y c h o l o g i c al a n d
p o l i t i c a l a c t i o n i s t o g a i n , p r e s e r v e , a n d s t r e n g t h e n c i v i l i a n
s u p p o r t f o r i t s p r o g r a m s . T h i s i s n o t a f u n c t i o n t h a t t h e
U n i t e d S t a t e s c a n p e r f o r m f o r t h e h o s t g o v e r n m e n t . E v e n i f
w e b e c o m e d i re c t ly i n v o l v e d i n - c o u n t r y , t h is f u n c t i o n c a n n o t
b e c o m e o u r r e s p o n s ib i li ty . T h e U n i t e d S t a te s c a n p r o v i d e a d -
v i c e , t r a i n i n g , a n d t e c h n i c a l s u p p o r t . B u t i t i s t h e i n d i g e n o u s
g o v e r n m e n t ' s r e s p o n s i b i l i t y t o c a r r y o u t f a c e - t o - f a c e m o b i l i -z a t io n a n d r e c r u i t m e n t . M u c h c a n b e le a r n e d f r o m i n su r g e n ts
a b o u t t h e s e a c ti v it ie s , a t l e a st w i t h r e s p e c t t o t h e p o s i ti v e p r o -
g r a m s t h e y e m p l o y .
F i n a l l y , t h e i n s u r g e n t c a d r e a n d s u p p o r t s t r u c t u r e a r e
t a rg e t s f o r p o l it ic a l a n d p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s . T h e
f o l l o w i n g a r e a s a r e e s p e c i a l l y r i p e f o r e x p l o i t a t i o n : t h e
i d e o l o g ic a l a n d p o l i ti c a l s y st e m o f t h e i n s u r g e n t o r g a n i z a t i o n ,
t h e c e n t r a l o r g a n i z a t i o n a l i n f r a s t r u c t u r e , a n d t h e s u p p o r ta p p a r a t u s . B a s e d o n u p - t o - d a t e i n t e ll ig e n c e , a v a r i e t y o f
o p e r a t i o n s c o u l d b e d i r e c t e d a g a i n s t e a c h o f t h e s e t a r g e t s .
T h e s e i n c l u d e d e c e p t i o n , p s y c h o l o g i c a l w a r f a r e , a n d p o l i ti c a l
i n f l u e n c e a c t io n s . I n e a c h o f th e s e a c t iv i ti e s , it is i m p o r t a n t t o
a d h e r e t o t h e m o s t b a s i c p r i n c i p l e o f s t r a t e g y , t h e i d e n t i f i c a -
t i o n o f t h e a p p r o p r i a t e v u l n e r a b i l i t i e s . A m o n g t h e m o r e
a p p a r e n t o f t h e s e a r e th e i d e o l o g i c a l b a s e ( d iv i si o n s a n d c o m -
p e t i t i o n a m o n g l e a d e r s ) , p e r s o n n e l a n d l o g i s t i c a l s o f t s p o t s( d e p e n d e n c e o n a s m a l l g r o u p o f le a d e r s , p e r s o n a l c o r -
r u p t i o n , w e a k s u p p o r t i v e s er v ic e s) , re l ia n c e o n c l a n d e s t i n e
a c t iv i ty th a t i m p o s e s s e r io u s o r g a n i z a t i o n a l p r o b l e m s , a n d
p r o b l e m s o f i n f r a s t r u c t u r e d e f e n s e a n d i n t e r n a l s e c u r i t y .
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132 SHUL TZ
E a c h o f t h e a u d i e n c e s j u s t d i sc u s se d s h o u l d n o t b e a p -
p r o a c h e d s e p a r a t e l y b u t i n t e g r a t e d i n t o a n i n t e r n a t i o n a l a n dn a t i o n a l- l ev e l p o li ti c al a n d p s y c h o l o g i c a l p r o g r a m . T h i s p r o -
g r a m s h o u l d c o m b i n e o b j e c t i v e s , p l a n s , g u i d a n c e , r e -
q u i r e m e n t s , a n d a p p r o a c h e s . A u n i f i e d e f f o r t r e q u ir e s a
u n i f i e d o r g a n i z a t i o n . A v o i d i n g t h e p i t f a l l s o f V i e t n a m , a
s i n g l e a g e n c y a t t h e n a t i o n a l l e v e l s h o u l d h a v e r e s p o n s i b i l i t yf o r c o o r d i n a t i n g a n d i n t e g r a t i n g a l l c i v i l i a n a n d m i l i t a r y
P S Y O P . L i k e w i s e , t h e U S e f f o r t i n s u p p o r t o f t h e h o s t
g o v e r n m e n t s h o u l d b e u n i f i e d .T h u s f a r , I ' v e e x a m i n e d t h e r o l e o f p s y c h o l o g i c a l a n d
p o l i t i c a l o p e r a t i o n s w i t h i n t h e c o n t e x t o f a n i n t e g r a t e d
U S - h o s t c o u n t r y c o u n t e r i n s u r g e n c y s tr a te g y . H o w e v e r , it
m a y n o t a l w a y s b e t h e c a se t h a t U S i n te r e st s a r e th r e a t e n e d b y
r a d i c a l f a c t i o n s e m p l o y i n g a v a r i a t i o n o f r e v o l u t i o n a r y w a r -
f a r e in w h i c h a T h i r d W o r l d a ll y is d i re c t ly c h a l le n g e d . P L O
a n d S h i ' i t e g r o u p s o p e r a t i n g i n t h e M i d d l e E a s t a r e c a s e s i n
p o i n t . I n m a n y r e sp e c ts , t h e y a r e t h e p r a c t it i o n e r s o f a f o r mo f r e v o l u t i o n a r y w a r f a r e . O n e o f t h e i n s t r u m e n t s o f t h i s
s t r a t e g y - t e r r o r i s m - i s f re q u e n t l y d i re c te d a g ain s t t h e
U n i t e d S t a t e s .
A r e t h e s e g r o u p s p o t e n t i a l t a r g e t s f o r U S p s y c h o l o g i c a l
a n d p o l i ti c a l o p e r a t i o n s ? S i m i l a r t o a n y r a d i c a l f a c t i o n , t h e s e
g r o u p s h a v e w e a k n e s s e s t h a t c a n b e t a r g e t e d b o t h
p s y c h o l o g i c a l l y a n d o t h e r w i s e . T h i s is c e r t a i n l y t r u e o f
e l e m e n t s o f th e P L O . T h e i r w e a k n e s s e s i n c l u d e n o v is ib ler e c o r d o f m a j o r s u c c e s s e s , d i s a p p r o v a l o f t h e i r e x t r e m i s m
o u t s i d e t h e M i d d l e E a s t , l a t e n t o p p o s i t io n w i t h i n p a r ts o f t h e
A r a b w o r l d , d e a d l y f a c t i o n a l i n f ig h t i n g , e m e r g i n g y o u n g e r
l e a d e r s w h o m a y b e m o r e v i o l e n t a n d l e s s c o n t r o l l a b l e b y
c u r r e n t P L O l e a d e r s , r e l ia n c e o n i n c r e a s i n g l y c r u e l t a c ti c s
d i r e c t e d a g a i n s t i n n o c e n t t a r g e ts , l e a d e r s w h o o f t e n l iv e e x -
t r a v a g a n t l y , c a d r e t h a t f a c e e i t h e r d e a t h o r i m p r i s o n m e n t
w h e n t h e y c o n d u c t a c t i o n s o u t s i d e t h e M i d d l e E a s t , a n d as e l f - d e l u d i n g t e n d e n c y t o e x a g g e r a t e t h e i r e f f e c t i v e n e s s a n d
t o s e e i n n o c e n t t a r g e t s a s s o l d i e r s .
W h i l e t h e s e r a d i c a l f a c t i o n s a l s o h a v e s t r e n g t h s , t h e i r
w e a k n e s s e s c o u l d b e t a r g e t s f o r p o l i t i c a l a n d p s y c h o l o g i c a l
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R E V O L U T I O N A R Y W A R 133
o p e r a t i o n s . T h e i r v u l n e r a b i l i t i e s a r e s i m i l a r t o t h e o n e s
d i s c u s se d a b o v e . T h e y i n c l u d e t h e r a d i c a l o r i n s u r g e n to r g a n i z a t i o n i ts e lf ( le a d e rs a n d f o l lo w e r s a s w e ll a s s u p p o r t
g r o u p s a n d s t at e p a t r o n s ) , t e n s i o n s a n d c o n f l ic t s w i t h i n t h e s e
f a c ti o n s , d i s i l l u s io n m e n t a m o n g s u p p o r t e l e m e n t s , a n d i n te r -
n a t i o n a l c o n c e r n o v e r g r o w i n g s t a t e - s p o n s o r e d t e r r o r i s m .
P r e v i o u s l y , I n o t e d t h a t i n t h e 1 9 7 0 s a n d 1 9 8 0 s n e w l y
e s t a b l i s h e d p r o - S o v i e t C o m m u n i s t r e g i m e s i n t h e T h i r d
W o r l d h a v e p r o v e d t o b e v u ln e r a b l e t o i n d i g e n o u s i n s u r g e n t
m o v e m e n t s t h a t o p p o s e t h e i r f o r m o f ru l e. I n m a n y r es p e ct s ,a s a r e su l t o f t h e e m e r g e n c e o f t h e se o p p o s i t i o n e l e m e n t s ,
c o n f l i c t in t h e T h i r d W o r l d h a s t a k e n a n e w tu r n . W h e r e a s i n
t h e 1 96 0s a n d 1 97 0s i n s u r g e n t w a r f a r e w a s d i r e c t e d a g a i n s t
c o lo n i a l p o w e r s a n d p r o - W e s t e rn o r n o n c o m m u n i s t g o v e r n -
m e n t s , b y t h e e a r l y 1 9 8 0 s a t l e a s t f o u r m a j o r i n s u r g e n t
m o v e m e n t s c h a l l en g e d S o v i e t- b a ck e d C o m m u n i s t r e g im e s in
d i f f e r e n t re g i o n s o f t h e T h i r d W o r l d .
R e c o g n i z i n g t h e v u l n e r a b i l i t i e s o f t h e s e r e g i m e s , t h eS o v ie t U n i o n h a s p r o v i d e d v a r i o u s m e a n s t o s u s ta i n t h e m i n
p o w e r a g a i n s t a r m e d i n t e r n a l t h r e a t s . T h e g o a l is t o e n s u r e
t h a t r e g i m e s t h a t c o m e to p o w e r t h r o u g h L e n i n i s t m e a n s re -
m a i n i n p o w e r . T h i s m a i n t e n a n c e is a c h i ev e d t h r o u g h t h e
d e v e l o p m e n t o f a n i n te r n a l s e c u ri ty in f r a s t r u c t u r e t h a t c a n
q u e l l in t e r n a l o p p o s i t i o n , m o b i l i z e t h e p o p u l a t i o n , a n d in -
s u l a te t h e l e a d e r s h i p c a d r e . A d d i t i o n a l l y , in o r d e r t o c o u n t e r
t hi s n e w f o r m o f i n te r n a l th r e a t , t h e S o v i e t U n i o n p r o v i d e sm i l i ta r y a n d p a r a m i l i t a r y a d v ic e a n d s u p p o r t .
U n d e r t h e R e a g a n a d m i n i s t r a t i o n , s u p p o r t f o r a n t i -
c o m m u n i s t in s u rg e n t m o v e m e n t s ha s b e c o m e a n e s ta b l i sh e d
p a r t o f U S f o r e ig n p o l ic y . B u t w h i le t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n h a s a
g e n e r a l p o l i cy , m a n y h a v e a s k e d w h e t h e r it a ls o h a s a u n i f i e d
s t r at e g y t o a s s is t th e s e m o v e m e n t s t o d e v e l o p p o l i ti c a l a n dm i l i t a ry s t r u c tu r e s th a t w il l a f f o r d t h e m t h e o p p o r t u n i t y t o
a c h ie v e l e g it im a c y a n d m o b i l i ze s u p p o r t , b o t h a m o n ge l e m e n t s o f t h e i n d i g e n o u s p o p u l a t i o n a n d in t h e r e g io n a l a n d
i n t e r n a t i o n a l a r e n a s . I t a p p e a r s t h a t t h e U n i t e d S t a te s c u r-
r e n t l y d o e s n o t p o s s e s s t h e s e m e a n s .
W h a t r o l e s h o u l d t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s h a v e i n t h e s e c o n -
f l i c t s ? P o l i c y m a k e r s n e e d t o d e v e l o p r e q u i r e m e n t s f o r a s -
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134 SHUL TZ
s is ti n g d e m o c r a t i c a l ly i n c li n e d i n s u r g e n t m o v e m e n t s in a
m o r e s o p h i s t ic a t ed , c o m p r e h e n s i v e , a n d e f f ec t i v e m a n n e r .P s y c h o l o g i c a l a n d p o l i t i c a l o p e r a t i o n s a r e i n t e g r a l e l e m e n t s
o f s u c h a p o l i c y . F o r i n s t a n c e , t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s c o u l d
e m p l o y th e s e m e a s u r e s i n t e r n a t i o n a l l y , r e g i o n a ll y , a n d a t t h e
s ta t e le ve l t o c o n v e y i n f o r m a t i o n o n t h e f o l l o w i n g q u e s t i o n s :
H o w h a v e th e p o li ci es a n d p r o g r a m s o f t h e p o s t r e v o l u t i o n a r y
l e a d e r s h ip i n s p i r e d p o l i t ic a l u n r e s t a n d o p p o s i t i o n ? A r e t h e s e
t r e n d s i n c re a s in g o r d e c r e a s i n g ? H o w h a s S o v i e t b l o c i n t e rn a l
s e c u ri ty , m i li ta r y , a n d o t h e r f o r m s o f a ss is ta n c e c o n t r i b u t e dt o t h e p o s t r e v o l u t i o n a r y le a d e rs h ip ' s c o n s o l i d a t io n o f p o w e r
a n d e s t a b li s h m e n t o f t o t a li ta r ia n f o r m s o f g o v e r n m e n t ?
U S p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s a n d o t h e r i n f o r m a t i o n a c -
t iv i ti e s c o u l d a l s o b e u s e d to p r e s e n t a b a l a n c e d a s s e s s m e n t o f
t h e g r o w t h a n d d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h e r e s i st an c e o r i n s u rg e n t
m o v e m e n t c h a l l e n g in g t h e M a r x is t - L e n in i s t g o v e r n m e n t .
O t h e r a s p e c t s o f U S a s s i s t a n c e s h o u l d b e d i r e c t e d t o w a r d
a id i n g th e i n s u r g e n t m o v e m e n t in m a k i n g t h e t r a n s it io n t o al e g it im a t e p o li ti ca l m o v e m e n t c a p a b le o f m o b i l i z in g s u p p o r t
a m o n g e le m e n ts o f th e p o p u l a t i o n . A s w i th g o v e r n m e n t s
f a c e d w i t h i n s u r g e n t c h a l l e n g e s , r e v o l u t i o n a r y o r r e s i s t a n c e
m o v e m e n t s l i k ew i s e r e q u i re a n i n t e g r a t e d p o l i t ic a l -m i l i ta r y
s tr a te g y . T h e U n i t e d S t a te s c a n p r o v i d e a s si s ta n c e a n d a d v i c e
i n th e d e v e l o p m e n t o f s u c h a p l a n . T h i s i n c l u d e s a d v ic e c o n -
c e r n i n g t h e e m p l o y m e n t o f p s y c h o l o g i c a l a n d p o l it ic a l ac -
t i o n s i n s u p p o r t o f a p o l i t i c a l o r g a n i z a t i o n t h a t s e e k s t ob e c o m e a v i a b l e a l t e r n a t i v e t o t h e e x i s t i n g r e g i m e .
I f t h is o c c u r s , t h e n p s y c h o l o g i c a l a n d p o l i t ic a l o p e r a -
t i o n s c a n b e t a r g e t e d a g a i n s t m a n y o f t h e s a m e a u d i e n c e s
d i s c u s s e d i n t h e p r e v i o u s s e c t i o n s . U S a d v i c e , s u p p o r t , a n d
a s si st an c e c o u l d c o n t r i b u t e t o t h e d e v e l o p m e n t a n d i m -
p l e m e n t a t i o n o f th e s tr at eg i c P S Y O P p l a n th a t s u p p o r t s a ni n t e g r a t e d p o l i t i c a l -m i l it a r y s tr a t e g y .
US versus USSR Effectiveness
I n t h e p o s t - W o r l d W a r I I p e r io d , i n su r g e n t m o v e m e n t s
e m p l o y i n g re v o l u t i o n a r y w a r f a r e s tr at e g ie s h a v e p l a y e d a n
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REVO LUTI ONAR Y WAR 135
i m p o r t a n t p a r t i n t h e p o li ti c s o f t h e T h i r d W o r l d . A c e n t r a l
e l e m e n t in t h e s u c ce ss o f t h es e m o v e m e n t s h a s b e e n t h e u s e o fp o l it ic a l a n d p s y c h o l o g i c a l w a r f a r e b o t h d o m e s t i c a l ly a n d in
t h e in t e r n a t i o n a l a n d r e g i o n a l a r e n a s . T h e S o v i e t U n i o n ,
r e c o g n i z i n g t h e p o t e n t i a l f o r g e o s t r a t e g i c g a i n s i f t h e s e
r e v o l u t i o n a r y i n s u r g e n c i e s c o m e t o p o w e r , h a s a l i g n e d i t s e l f
w i th a n u m b e r o f su c h m o v e m e n t s . T o t h is e n d , i t h a s
d e v e l o p e d a n i n t e g r a t e d p o l i c y t o h e l p i n s u r g e n c i e s c o m e
a b o u t a n d s u c c e e d . A k e y a s p e c t o f t h is p o l ic y h as b e e n t h e
u s e o f p r o p a g a n d a , p s y c h o l o g ic a l o p e r a t i o n s , a n d p o l i ti ca lw a r f a r e t o p r o m o t e t h e c a u s e a n d l e g i ti m a c y o f w h a t t h e
U S S R t e r m s n a t io n a l l ib e r at io n m o v e m e n t s .
T h e U S e x p e r ie n c e w i t h re v o l u t i o n a r y w a r f a re , o n t h e
o t h e r h a n d , h a s n o t b e e n a h a p p y o n e . T h e U n i t e d S t a te s h a s
n o t a lw a y s u n d e r s t o o d i n su r g e n c y a n d c o u n t e r in s u r g e n c y a n d
t h e p l ac e o f p s y c h o l o g ic a l o p e r a t i o n s w i t h in t h e s e f o r m s o f
c o n f l ic t a n d w a r . V i e t n a m is t h e c la s sic e x a m p l e , b u t b y n o
m e a n s t h e o n l y o n e . C a n U S p o l i c y r e s p o n d m o r e e f fe c ti ve lyt o th e s e t h r e a ts a n d o p p o r t u n i t ie s ? T h e R e a g a n a d m i n is t ra -
t i o n h a s p r o d u c e d a d v a n c e s in s o m e a r e a s. B u t a g r e a t d e a l
r e m a i n s t o b e a c c o m p l i s h e d i f t h e U n i te d S t at es i s t o r e s p o n d
e f f ec t iv e l y t o r e v o l u t i o n a r y w a r f a r e t h r e a t s a n d o p p o r t u n i t i e s
i n t h e y e a r s a h e a d .
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136 SHUL TZ
Notes
1. T h e o d o r e S h a c k l e y , The Third Option ( N e w Y o r k :
M c G r a w - H i l l B o o k C o . , 1 9 8 1 ), p . 7 .
2 . R i c h a r d S h u l tz , " C o u n t e r i n g T h i r d W o r l d M a r x i st - L e n i n is tR e g i m e s: P o l i c y O p t io n s f o r t h e U n i t e d S t a te s , " in U r i R a ' a n a n e t
a l . , eds . , Third World Marxist-Leninist Regimes: Strengths,
Vulnerabilities, and U.S. Policy ( N e w Y o r k : P e r g a m o n - B r a s s e y ' s ,1 98 5); S t e p h e n R o s e n f e ld , " T h e G u n s o f J u l y , " Foreign Affairs 64,
n o . 4 ( S p ri n g 1 9 8 6 ), p p . 6 9 8 -7 1 4 ; C h a r l es K r a u t h a m m e r , " M o r a l i t ya n d t h e R e a g a n D o c t r i n e , " The New Republic 19 5, no . 10 (8
Sep t em ber 1986) , pp . 17-25 .
3 . R o b e r t A s p r e y , War in the Shadows: The Guerrilla in
History, 2 vo l s . (New York : Doub leday , 1975) .
4 . S t a te d b y B e r n a r d F a l l in t h e P r e f a c e to R o g e r t T r i n q u i e r ,
Modern Warfare ( N e w Y o r k : D o u b l e d a y , 1 97 5).
5 . C i t ed i n Pe t e r Pa re t , French Revolutionary Warfare from
Indochina to Algeria (New Y ork : P raeg e r , 1964) , p . 16-17 .
6 . S t e p h e n H o s m e r a n d T h o m a s W o l f e , Soviet Policy and
Practice Toward Third World Conflict ( L e x i n g t o n , M A : L e x i n g t o n
B o o k s , 1 9 8 3 ); B r u c e P o r t e r , The USSR in Third World Conflict
( L o n d o n : C a m b r i d g e U n i v e r s it y P r e s s, 1 9 8 5 ); D a n i e l P a p p , Soviet
Perceptions of the Developing World in the 1980s ( L e x i n g t o n , M A :
Le x ing to n Bo oks , 1985).
7 . S e e R i c h a r d S h u lt z a n d R o y G o d s o n , Dezinformatsia: Ac-tive Measures in Soviet Strategy ( N e w Y o r k : P e r g a m o n - B r a s s e y ' s ,
1984).
8 . L eon id Brezhn ev , Report of the CPSU Central Committee
to the 24th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
(Moscow: Novos t i P re s s Agency , 1971) .
9 . L e o n i d B r ez h n e v , " R e p o r t o f th e C P S U C e n t r a l C o m m i t -
tee ," in H31S/Daily Report-Soviet Union, S u p p l e m e n t 1 (2 4
Februa ry 1981) .10. For a m ore ex t ens ive d i scuss ion o f t h is s ee Rich a rd S hu l t z ,
" P o l i t i c a l O r c h e s t r a t i o n : R e c e n t R e g i o n a l P a t t e r n s , " i n U r i
R a ' a n a n , R o b e r t P f a l t z g r a f f , R i c h a r d S h u l t z , E r n s t H a l p e r i n , a n d
Igor Lukes , eds . , Hydra of Carnage ( L e x i n g t o n , M A : L e x i n g t o n
Bo oks , 1985) , chap . 6 .
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REV OLU TIO NAR Y WAR 137
1 1 . O r a l H i s t o r y I n t e r v i e w s w i t h M i c h a e l V o s l e n s k y . T h i s i s
p a r t o f th e O r a l H i s t o r y P r o j e c t o f th e I n t e rn a t io n a l S e c u r it y
S t u d ie s P r o g r a m , F l e tc h e r S c h o o l o f L a w a n d D i p l o m a c y . T h e s u b -j e c t i n v e s t i g a t e d c o n c e r n s s p e c i f i c a l l y S o v i e t d e c i s i o n m a k i n g a s i t
r e l a t e s t o t h e p a n o p l y o f p r o t r a c t e d a n d l o w - i n t e n s i t y o p e r a t i o n s ,
i n c lu d i n g a r m s t r a n s f e r s , t r a in i n g a n d a d v i s o r y s u p p o r t , i n -
t e l l i g e n c e , p s y c h o l o g i c a l w a r f a r e , d i s i n f o r m a t i o n a n d a c t i v e
m e a s u r e s , a n d t h e us e o f s u r r o g a t e f o r c e s . T h e p r i m a r y o b j e c t i v e is
t o d e t e r m i n e , t h r o u g h t h e i n f o r m a t i o n a n d i n s i g h t s p r o v i d e d b y
t h o s e w h o w e r e e i t h e r d i r e c t l y o r i n d i r e c t l y i n v o l v e d , h o w t h e
S o v i e t U n i o n ' s d e c i s io n m a k i n g a n d o p e r a t i o n a l a p p a r a t u s p l an st h e s e a c ti v it ie s , i n te g r a t e s E a s t E u r o p e a n b l o c a n d o t h e r s u r r o g a t e
( C u b a n , N i c a r a g u a n , e t c . ) c a p a b i l i t i e s , a n d i m p l e m e n t s t h e m " i n
t h e f i e l d . " T h e g o a l is t o a s c e r t a i n h o w p o l i c y a n d p r o c e s s p r o c e e d
f r o m t h e " c e n t e r " i n M o s c o w , t h r o u g h t h e E a s t E u r o p e a n b l o c ,
t h r o u g h t h e o t h e r s u r r o g a t e s , a n d a r e i m p l e m e n t e d " o n t h e
g r o u n d . " C l e a r l y , h o w e v e r , t h i s s h a r p l y d e f i n e d t a r g e t c a n n o t b e
a t t a i n e d w i t h o u t a s i m u l t a n e o u s e f f o r t t o s h e d l i g h t u p o n t h e
b r o a d e r p a r a m e t e r s o f p o l i t ic o - m i l it a r y d o c t r i n e a n d s t r a t e g y
w i t h i n w h i c h s p e c i f i c S o v i e t a n d s u r r o g a t e o p e r a t i o n s p l a y t h e i r
r esp ec t iv e ro les .
T o a c c o m p l i s h t h e s e r a t h e r a m b i t i o u s o b j e c t i v e s , t h e I S S P
f a c u l t y d e v e l o p e d a r e se a r c h d e s i g n b a s e d o n r e a s o n a b l y s t r u c t u r e d
in te rv iews w i th in d iv id u a l s p o ssess in g d i rec t o r in d i rec t k n o wled g e
o f d i f f e r e n t a s p e c t s o f t h e U S S R ' s d e c i s i o n m a k i n g p r o c e s s a n d
o p e r a t i o n a l a p p a r a t u s . T h e i n t e r v i e w e e s a r e d i v i d e d i n t o t h e
fo l lo win g two ca teg o r i es : (1 ) fo rmer in t e l l ig en ce , fo re ig n min i s t ry ,
a n d m i l i t a r y o f f i c i a l s , a s w e l l a s m e m b e r s o f t h e i n s t i t u t e s c o n -c e r n e d w i t h i n t e r n a t i o n a l a f f a i r s , f r o m t h e U S S R , E a s t E u r o p e a n
b l o c , N i c a ra g u a , C u b a , a n d A f g h a n i s t a n , w h o h a v e " c o m e i n f r o m
t h e c o l d " ; a n d (2 ) e m i g r e s f r o m t h e U S S R w h o w e r e e n g a g e d i n se n -
s i t iv e wo rk p e r t a in in g to sc i en ce an d t ech n o lo g y , e sp ec ia l ly as i t
r e l a t es to d e fen se ap p l i ca t io n s .
1 2. D o u g l a s B l a u f a r b , The Counterinsurgency Era ( N e w
Yo rk : F ree P ress , 1 9 7 7 ) ; An d rew Krep in ev ich , Th eA rmy and Viet-
nam ( B a l t i m o r e , M D : J o h n s H o p k i n s U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1 98 6);R i c h a r d H u n t a n d R i c h a r d S h u l t z , Lesson From An Unconven-
tional War ( N e w Y o r k : P e r g a m o n - B r a s s e y ' s , 1 98 2); G u e n t e r L e w y ,
America in Vietnam ( N e w Y o r k : O x f o r d U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1 9 7 8 ) ;
R o b e r t K o m e r Bureaucracy at War." Performance in the Vietnam
Conflict ( B o u l d e r , C O : W e s t v i e w P r e s s , 1 98 6).
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138 S H U L T Z
1 3. J o i n t L o w - I n t e n s i t y C o n f l i c t P r o j e c t , V o l u m e 1 -
A n a l y t ic a l R e v i e w o L o w I n te n s it y C o n f l i c t ( F o r t M o n r o e , V a : U S
A r m y T ra i n in g a n d D o c t r i n e C o m m a n d , 1 A u g u s t 1 9 86 ),p p . 1 4 / 2 - 3 .
14. H ar ry D . La t im er , U. S . Pyscho log ica l Op era t ions in V ie t-
n a m ( P r o v i d e n c e , R I : B r o w n U n i v e r s i t y M o n o g r a p h o n N a t i o n a l
Sec ur i ty A ffa i r s , 1973), p . 11 .
15. Ibid. , p . 29.
16 . Lewy, A m e r i c a i n V i e t n a m , p. 93.
17 . La t imer , U. S . Psycho log ica l Opera t ions in V ie tnam, p . 6 .
18. Ib id . , pp . 23-24 .1 9. A l f r e d P a d d o c k , " P s y c h o l o g i c a l O p e r a t io n s : W h a t D i d
W e L e a r n F r o m V i e t n a m , " ( U n p u b l i s h e d M a n u s c r i p t , 1 98 2).
20 . R icha rd Shu l t z , "Po l i t i ca l O rches t r a t i on : Rece n t Reg iona l
P a t t e r n s , " H y d r a o f C a r n a g e , chap . 6 .
21 . Th i s l eg i s l a t i on dea l s w i th US Spec i a l Ope ra t ions Forces ;
t he b i l l t ha t pas sed was a compromise ve r s ion o f Sena t e B i l l 1224
and House B i l l 1011 . The l eg i s l a t i on e s t ab l i shes a Un i f i ed Com-
m a n d , A s s i s t a n t S e c r e t a r y o f D e f e n s e f o r S p e c i a l O p e r a t i o n s a n d
L o w I n t e n s it y C o n f l i c t, a D e p u t y A s s i st a n t t o th e P r e s i d e n t f o r N a -
t i o n a l S e c u r i t y A f f a i r s f o r L o w I n t e n s i t y C o n f l i c t , a n d a L o w I n -
t e n s i t y C o n f l i c t B o a r d a t t h e N S C .
22. W i l liam Olsen , L o w I n t e n s i t y C o n f l i c t a n d t h e P r i n c i p l e s
a n d S t ra t e gi e s o f W a r (Car l i s le Bar racks , PA: S t ra teg ic S tudies In-
s t i t u t e , Army War Co l l ege , 1986) , pp . 49 -80 .
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Comment
JOS EPH D. DOUGLASS, JR.
THERE ARE REALLY THREE TOPICS that Dr. Shultz focuses
on: What is revolut ionary warfare? How are we doing at it?
What is wrong? This goes right to the heart o f the matter . His
definition of revolutionary war, which includes the combineduse of military, political, and psychological techniques to
change the social struc ture, I like very much. There is one ad-
dition I would make, and that is to underscore that this is a
long-term proposition. Too often when a situation like thisarises, we think of it as a recent phenomenon, ignoring the
fact that there may be twenty, thirty, or forty years of effort
by the Soviets in establishing the base underlying the revolu-
tionary warfare that is going on today.The five principles of revolutionary warfare Dr. Shultz
spells out are a good encapsulation of what is contained in
any fundamental text of Marxism-Leninism. He also
recognizes the recent change that has come about in the use
of insurgencies and terrorism to force revolution. Because
revolutions have not been as spontaneous as they would haveliked, the Soviets have been led to adopt more forceful
measures to speed on the historical process. In looking atthese changes, Dr. Shultz says that they arc unmistakable
beginning in the 1970s, and then raises the question of when
they originally occurred. I would say that one has to go back
to the period immediately following Stalin's death, when
there was a recognition of the need to modernize the tactics
and strategy of the Communis t movement with respect to the
Third World. The specific use of terrorism in this regard is
present certainly by 1955, and I think you could probably tieit down to the July 1955 meeting of the Central Commit tee of
the CPSU.
The use of insurgencies and terrorism grew under
Khrushchev and was recognized in this country, at least by
the White House, by 1961, when the Kennedy adminis tration
139
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1 4 0 D O U G L A S S
b e g a n a c ti v el y t o a d d r e s s h o w t o m e e t th e s e c h a ll e n g e s. I n-
d e e d , t h i s w a s o n e o f t h e t o p i c s d i s c u s s e d i n t h e K e n n e d y -
K h r u s h c h e v m e e t i n g , w i t h K e n n e d y c o m p l a i n i n g a b o u t
S o v i e t a c ti v it ie s a n d K h r u s h c h e v r e s p o n d i n g t h a t t h is w a s a
f u n c t i o n o f c o n d i t i o n s i n t h e T h i r d W o r l d , t h a t t h e S o v ie t
U n i o n w a s n o t i n s ti g a t in g u p r i s i n g s . A n d o f c o u r s e t h a t 's t h e
g e n e r a l l i ne th a t h a s c o m e f r o m t h e S o v i et s e v e r s in c e .
H a s t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s l e a r n e d m u c h ? I n l o o k i n g a t o u r
e x p e r i e n c e n o t o n l y in V i e t n a m b u t a ls o i n N i c a r a g u a a n d E1
S a l v a d o r , D r . S h u l t z c o n c l u d e s t h a t w e h a v e n o t l e a r n e d asm u c h a s w e m i g h t h a v e , w h i c h is , I w o u l d s ay , t h e u n d e r s t a t e -
m e n t o f t h e y e ar . T h i s b e l ie f c a m e h o m e t o m e v e r y c le a rl y i n
a j o i n t S t a t e -D e f e n s e D e p a r t m e n t r e p o r t o f 1 98 4 o n t h e p r o b -
l em s in C e n t r a l A m e r i c a . R e a d i n g t h r o u g h t h a t r e p o r t , o n e
g o t t h e i m p r e s s i o n th a t t h e w h o l e p r o b l e m w a s F id e l C a s t r o .
T h e S o v ie t U n i o n w a s m e n t i o n e d o n l y a fe w t im e s , a n d t h e n
in c o n n e c t i o n w i th p r o p a g a n d a s u p p o r t . A n d E a s t e r n E u r o p e
w a s m e n t i o n e d o n l y a s a n a d j e c t i v e r e f e r r i n g t o t h e t y p e so f e q u i p m e n t t h a t w e r e b e in g s h i p p e d in t o C e n t r a l A m e r i c a .
I t s tr u c k m e th a t t h a t h a s b e e n o n e o f th e m a i n p r o b l e m s i n
t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n ' s e f f o r t s t o o b t a i n s u p p o r t f o r a i d t o t h e
C o n t r a s .
I n a d d r e s s in g t h e q u e s t i o n o f a i d t o a n t i c o m m u n i s t in -
s u r g e n c i e s i n g e n e r a l , D r . S h u l t z h i t s t h e n a i l o n t h e h e a d
w h e n h e s ay s t h a t s u p p o r t f o r t h e se in s u rg e n c ie s m a y b e o u r
p o l i cy , b u t t h a t t h e r e i s n o r ea l s t r a te g y f o r a d m i n i s t e r i n g th a ts u p p o r t a n d n o m e a n s t o d e v e l o p o n e . W e a re e n g a g e d i n a
w a r , b u t s o m e h o w w e c a n ' t a d m i t t h a t t o o u r s e l v es . T h is g o e s
t o t h e h e a r t o f s o m e o f th e p r o b l e m s r ai se d b y J e a n - F r a n c o i s
R e v e l i n h i s p r o v o c a t i v e b o o k , W h y D e m o c r a c ie s P e r is h .
W h e n y o u l o o k a t i t, t h e r e is v e r y li tt le p e r c e p t i o n o f o r
a p p r e c i a t i o n f o r S o v i e t s t ra t eg y in W a s h i n g t o n , n o t t o s p e a k
o f t h e r es t o f th e c o u n t r y . T h e g e n e r a l a p p r o a c h s e em s t o b e
t o v i e w t h e S o v i e ts as o p p o r t u n i s t s r a t h e r t h a n s tr a te g i st s a n dp l a n n e r s , a n d t o d i s r e g a r d th e r o l e o f id e o l o g y . A c a se in
p o i n t i s t h e j o i n t C I A - F B I r e p o r t p r e p a r e d f o r C o n g r e s s in
t h e m i d - 1 9 8 0 s o n S o v i e t " a c t i v e m e a s u r e s . " T h e r e p o r t
d e b u n k e d t h e i d e a t h a t t h e e n o r m o u s S o v i e t p r o p a g a n d a
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REV OLU TIO NAR Y WAR 141
e f f o r t h a s a n y e f f e c t , o r t h a t t h e r e i s a n y v u l n e r a b i l i t y t o
S o v ie t d i s i n f o r m a t i o n a n d d e c e p t i o n o n t h e p a rt o f t h eA m e r i c a n m e d i a . M o r e o v e r , in s p it e o f C l a ir e S t e rl in g 's e x -
c e l l e n t w o r k i n t h i s a r e a , t h e r e i s s t i l l a w i d e s p r e a d l a c k o f
u n d e r s t a n d i n g o r a c c e p t a n c e o f t h e S o v i e t ro l e in i n t e rn a -
t i o n a l t e r r o r i s m .
C e r t a i n l y , t h e r e h a s b e e n a lo t o f t a l k a b o u t a c t iv e
m e a s u r e s , p r o p a g a n d a , p o l it ic a l w a r f a r e , a n d t h e lik e . B u t I
o f t e n w o n d e r h o w m u c h o f i t r e f le c ts g e n u i n e a p p r e c i a t io n o f
t h e r e a li ti e s a n d h o w m u c h i s j u s t l ip s e rv i ce . F r o m w h a t w e
c a n o b s e r v e , th e r e a r e f u n d a m e n t a l p r o b l e m s o f e s ta b l is h i n g
s t r a te g y a n d c o o r d i n a t i o n i n t h e s e m a t t e r s w i t h i n t h e U S
g o v e r n m e n t ; n o o n e i s r e a ll y i n c h a r g e o r w a n t s t o b e in
c h a r g e . I f t h e r e is a n y p o i n t w h e r e I w o u l d t a k e i ss u e w i t h D r .
S h u l t z , i t is h is c o n c l u s i o n t h a t w e n e e d t o r e d e f i n e U S p o l i c y
a n d s t r a te g y . R a t h e r t h e n r e d e f i n in g , w h a t w e n e e d to b e
t h i n k in g a b o u t is s o m e t h i n g m o r e i n t h e n a t u r e o f r a d ic a ls u r g e r y . B a s ic i n s t i tu t i o n a l c h a n g e s s e e m t o b e n e e d e d i f w e
a r e t o g a i n r e c o g n i t i o n o f t h is t h r e a t a n d d e v e l o p t h e m e a n s
t o c o p e w i t h i t e f f e c t i v e l y .
R O B E R T C. K I N G S T O N
I W I S H T O S TA T E F R O M T H E OU T SE T t h a t I t h i n k D r . S h u l t z
h a s p r o v i d e d a n o u t s t a n d i n g p a p e r . I a g r e e w i t h m o s t o f w h a t
h e s a y s, a n d i n s t e a d o f o v e r a n a l y z i n g it , I w o u l d i n s t e a d l ik e
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142 KINGSTON
t o p r e s e n t s o m e o f m y t h o u g h t s o n U S p s y c h o l o g i c al o p e r a -
t i o n s , o u r c u r r e n t c a p a b i li ti e s , a n d w h a t I c o n s i d e r t o b e s o m e
o f t h e d e f i c i e n c i e s i n o u r c a p a b i l i t i e s .
O n e o f D r . S h u l t z ' s m o r e i m p o r t a n t p o i n t s i s t h a t
p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s a r e a b s o l u t e l y e s s e n ti a l i n t h e c o n -
d u c t o f i n s u r g e n c y a n d c o u n t e r i n s u r g e n c y o p e r a t io n s . I 'd l ik e
t o e m p h a s i z e a n d r e i n f o r c e t h a t b y s t a ti n g t h a t I b e li ev e
P S Y O P c o u l d b e t h e e ss e nc e a n d t h e c o re o f i n s u rg e n c y a n d
c o u n t e r in s u r g e n c y o p e r a t i o n s . P S Y O P p l a n n i n g a n d o p e ra -
t i o n s s h o u l d b l a n k e t a l l p h a s e s o f p o l i t i c a l - m i l i t a r y o p e r a -t io n s , s ta r ti n g w i t h i n t e r n a t io n a l t e n s i o n a n d g o i n g t h r o u g h
a ll p r e - c o n f l i c t , c o n f l i c t , a n d p o s t - c o n f l i c t p h a s e s . W e ' v e
l e a rn e d t h a t t h e S o v i e ts , th e N o r t h V i e t n a m e s e , a n d o t h e r
C o m m u n i s t a dv e rs a ri es c o m p l e t e ly u n d e r s t a n d a n d a re v e r y
g o o d a t p s y c h o l o g ic a l o p e r a t i o n s . T h e y h a v e u s e d t h e m e f fe c -
t i ve ly a g ai n st u s m a n y t im e s b o t h i n p e a c e a n d w a r d u r i n g m y
y e a r s i n t h e m i l i t a r y .
O f c o u r s e , o n e o f t h e e x a m p l e s t h a t c o m e s t o m i n d i m -m e d i a t e l y is t h e N o r t h V i e t n a m e s e T e t o f f e n s i v e o f 1 96 8, in
w h i c h t h e y t u r n e d a r e s o u n d i n g m i l i ta r y d e f e a t in t o a p o l i t ic a l
v i c t o r y b y t h e a s t u t e u s e o f p s y c h o l o g i c a l w a r f a r e . N o r d o
o u r o p p o n e n t s h e s it a te t o u s e P S Y O P in p e a c e t im e . I w o u l d
r e f e r t o t h e S o v i e t s ' s u c c e s s f u l c a m p a i g n c o n c e r n i n g t h e
d e p l o y m e n t o f e n h a n c e d r a d i a t io n w e a p o n s i n E u r o p e , a n d
m o r e r e c en t ly , th e G r e e n h a m C o m m o n p r o t es t o rs a g a i n st
n u c l e a r w e a p o n s i n t h e U n i t e d K i n g d o m . I d o n ' t b e l i e v e w ef u l l y u n d e r s t a n d t h e p o t e n t i a l f o r p e a c e t i m e o v e r t
p s y c h o l o g i ca l o p e r a t i o n s .
M a n y p e o p l e in th is c o u n t r y th i n k t h a t P S Y O P e q u a te s
t o t h e " B i g L i e , " s u g g e st iv e o f G o e b b e l s a n d H i t l er , a n d t h a t
w e s h o u l d n o t u s e i t . U S p e a c e t i m e i n f o r m a t i o n p r o g r a m s
c a n n o t b e a n d a r e n o t b a s e d o n h a l f - t r u t h s o r lie s. N o r s h o u l d
t h e y b e i f w e w i s h t o r e t a i n o u r c r e d i b i l i t y w i t h t h o s e w e a r e
t r y i n g t o i n f l u e n c e . B u t t h a t s till l e av e s c o n s i d e r a b l e s c o p e f o rp e a c e t im e p s y c h o lo g i ca l o p e r a t i o n s . T h e c o n d u c t o f P S Y O P
i n p e a c e t i m e i s w h e r e o u r p r a c t i t i o n e r s s h o u l d b e g e t t i n g
t r a i n i n g a n d e d u c a t i o n so th a t w e c an c o n d u c t P S Y O P e ff ec -
t i v e l y i n w a r t i m e .
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REV OLUT ION ARY WAR 143
T o d a y , w e in t h e m i li ta r y h a v e a n i n s u f f i c i e n t b a s e o f
t r a in e d p e r s o n n e l to d r a w u p o n i f w e ar e t o e x p a n d o u rp s y c h o l o g i c a l w a r f a r e c a p a b i li ty . A l l t h e s e rv ic e s o t h e r t h a n
t h e A r m y h a v e a la c k o f k n o w l e d g e a n d o r g a n i z a t i o n t o c o n -
d u c t p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s a d e q u a t e ly . E v e n t h e A r m y
l a c k s s u f f i c i e n t l i n g u i s t s a n d c u l t u r a l a n t h r o p o l o g i s t s t o
s a t i s f y c u r r e n t t a s k i n g s . T h e r e i s a r e l u c t a n c e w i t h i n - a n d
o u t s i d e - t h e m i l i ta r y t o b e i n v ol v ed in th e c o n d u c t o f
p e a c e t i m e p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s . C u r r e n t l y , t h e r e i s n o
p l a c e w i t h i n t h e m i l i t a r y s t r u c t u r e f r o m w h i c h c e n t r a lg u i d a n c e o r t a s k i n g m a y e m a n a t e . W e l a c k j o i n t
p s y c h o l o g ic a l w a r f a r e d o c t r i n e . T h e D e p a r t m e n t o f D e f e n s e
h a s r e c e n t ly t a k e n s te p s t o r e c ti fy s o m e o f t h e s e p r o b l e m s ,
b u t m u c h r e m a i n s to b e a c c o m p l i sh e d . T h e r e a r e d e f ic ie n c ie s
i n P S Y O P d o c t r i n e , o r g a n i z a t i o n , t r a i n i n g , p e r s o n n e l
p o lic ie s , a n d , m o s t im p o r t a n t ly , in a t t i t u d e - w h i c h m e a n s w e
h a v e t o s t a r t a n e d u c a t i o n a l p r o g r a m .
G e n e r a l D i c k S ti l w el l, w h e n h e w a s d e p u t y u n d e rs e c r e t a r y o f d e f e n s e f o r p o l i c y , i n i t i a t e d t h e r e v i t a l i z a t i o n e f -
f o r ts i n D e f e n s e . H e e s t a b li s h e d t h e r e q u i r e m e n t f o r c r e a ti n g
a s t r u c t u r e f o r p o l ic y d e v e l o p m e n t a n d c iv il ia n o v e r s ig h t a t
b o t h t h e D O D a n d N S C l e v e l s . T h e J C S h a s e s t a b l i s h e d a
p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s d i v i s i o n , a n d t h e A r m y h a s t a k e n
s t e p s t o d o s o a s w e l l . T h u s f a r , t h e A r m y h a s s h o u l d e r e d
r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r m o s t o p e r a t i o n a l P S Y O P a c t i v i t i e s w i t h i n
D O D . I b e li ev e i t is i n c u m b e n t u p o n t h e o t h e r s e rv ic e s t oe s t a b l i s h a m o d e s t c a p a b i l i t y i n o r d e r t o s a t i s f y t h e i r o w n
o p e r a t i o n a l r e q u i r e m e n t s a n d t o t r a i n t h e i r p s y c h o l o g i c a l
o p e r a t o r s a n d p l a n n e r s to p r o v i d e th e i r s h a re o f f u ll y
q u a l i f i e d p e r s o n n e l t o t h e J o i n t S t a f f . M o r e o v e r , i f w e a re
r e al ly s er i o u s a b o u t r e b u i l d i n g o u r P S Y O P c a p a b il it ie s , I
t h i n k t h e r e is a n e e d f o r a c e n t r a l j o i n t a g e n c y , s o m e t h i n g
m o r e t h a n e x is ts t o d a y , t o a s si st th e J C S i n re f i n i n g j o i n t d o c -
t r i n e , r e e d u c a t i n g t h e o f f i c e r c o r p s i n t h e v a l u e o f P S Y O P ,i n t eg r a t in g w i t h o t h e r a g en c ie s o f t h e g o v e r n m e n t , a n d a
m y r i a d o f o t h e r t a s k s . W e m u s t g e t o n w i t h o u r a t t e m p t t o
r e v i t a l i z e P S Y O P , a n d t h e e m p h a s i s , a s a l w a y s , m u s t c o m e
f r o m t h e h i g h e s t l e v e l s .
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Political Strategies in Coercive
Diplomacy and L imited War
A L V I N H . B E R N S T E I N
L E T U S B E G I N B Y A C K N O W L E D G I N G t h e b r e a d t h
o f t h is s u b j e c t a n d n o t i n g t h a t t h e p h r a s e s p s y c h o l o g i c a l
o p e r a t i o n s a n d p o l i t i c a l w a r f a r e d e s c ri b e o p e r a t i o n s , w h e t h e r
t a c t i c a l o r s t r a t e g i c , o n t h e b a t t l e f i e l d o r i n t h e t h e a t e r , i n
p e a c e t i m e o r i n w a r , d i r e c t e d p r i m a r i l y a t o u r a d v e r s a r y ' s
m i n d r a t h e r t h a n h is b o d y ~ - t h o u g h o f c o u rs e th e t w o a re
n o t m u t u a l l y e x c l u s i v e . T h i s p a p e r e x a m i n e s p s y c h o l o g i c a l
w a r f a r e a s re l a te d o n l y t o c o e r c iv e d i p l o m a c y a n d l i m i t e d
( b u t n o t r e v o l u t i o n a r y ) w a r . C o e r c i v e d i p l o m a c y u se s t h e
t h r e a t o f f o r c e to i n f l u e n c e t h e t h i n k i n g a n d b e h a v i o r o f a n
a d v e r s a r y . I t is t h e r e f o r e i n it s e lf a f o r m , p e r h a p s t h e m o s t ef -
f e ct iv e f o r m , o f p o l i t ic a l - p s y c h o lo g i c a l w a r f a r e . L i m i t e d w a r
u s e s f o r c e f o r e s s e n t i a l l y s i m i l a r p u r p o s e s a n d s h o u l d a l s o b e
s e e n as a p r e e m i n e n t l y p o l i t ic a l a n d p s y c h o l o g i c a l in s t r u -
m e n t . C l a u s e w i t z sp e c if ic a ll y d i s t i n g u i s h e d l i m i t e d w a r f r o m
j u s t p l a i n w a r b y o b s e r v i n g th a t t h e f o r m e r is w a g e d n o t i n
o r d e r t o d i s a r m a n e n e m y o r o c c u p y his c o u n t r y b u t " i n o r d e r
t o m a k e t h e e n e m y i n s e c u r e , t o i m p r e s s o u r g r e a t e r s t r e n g t h
u p o n h i m , a n d t o g iv e h i m d o u b t s a b o u t h is f u t u r e . ''2
I n h is b o o k o n t h e R o m a n E m p i r e , 3 E d w a r d L u t t w a k
a n a l y z e s a l i m i t e d m i l i t a r y o p e r a t i o n f o r i ts l ik e l y
p s y c h o l o g i c a l e f fe c t . H e l o o k s a t t h e s ie ge o f M a s a d a i n
7 0 -7 3 A . D . f r o m t h e R o m a n v i ew p o i n t . L u t t w a k s h o w s h o w
t h e R o m a n s , w h e n f a c e d w i th th e r e si st an c e o f a f ew h u n d r e d
J e w s o n a m o u n t a i n i n t h e J u d a e a n d e s er t, e s c h e w e d t h e i r
t w o m o s t o b v i o u s a l t e r n a t i v e s . T h e y d i d n o t b l o c k a d e t h e
r eb e ls b y p o s t i n g a p r o p o r t i o n a t e n u m b e r o f l e g i o n n a ir e s t o
w a i t u n ti l t h e J e w s r a n o u t o f s u p p l ie s , n o r d i d t h e y s t o r m t h e
~" 145
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146 BERNSTEIN
m o u n t a i n f o r tr e s s, a s th e y m i g h t h a v e d o n e i f t h e y w e r e
p r e p a r e d t o t a k e s o m e c as u a lt ie s . I n s t e a d , a t a t im e w h e n
t h e ir a r m y h a d a t o t a l o f o n l y t w e n t y - n i n e le g i on s to g a r r i s o n
t h e i r e n o r m o u s e m p i r e , t h e R o m a n s s en t an e n t i re le g i o n t o
b e si eg e M a s a d a . G r a d u a l l y , t h e t r o o p s r e d u c e d t h e f o r tr e s s
b y a n e x t r a o r d i n a r y e n g i n e e r i n g f e a t th a t i n c l u d e d th e c o n -
s t r u c t i o n o f a m a s s i v e r a m p r e a c h i n g t h e f u l l h e i g h t o f t h e
m o u n t a i n . T h a t o p e r a t i o n t i e d u p t h e l e g i o n n a i r e s f o r t h r e e
y e a r s .
A n i n e f f i c ie n t u s e o f m a n p o w e r a n d r e s o u rc e s ? N o , s ay s
L u t t w a k , b e c a u s e o f th e p s y c h o l o g i c a l i m p a c t t h a t t h e a c t io n
m u s t h a v e h a d o n t h e o t h e r E a s t e r n p r o v i n c e s . I t w o u l d p r o v e
c o s t - e f f e c ti v e i n t h e l o n g r u n . H e r e , a s i n m a n y s u c c e s s fu l
p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s , i t m a y b e i m p o s s i b le t o p r o v e t h e
n e g a ti v e , b u t c o m m o n s e n s e i n d i c at e s t h e d e t e r r e n t e f f e c t
t h a t M a s a d a m u s t h a v e h a d o n t h o s e b y s ta n d e r s w h o m i g h t
o t h e rw i s e h a v e b e e n te m p t e d t o r e v ol t. T h e R o m a n s h a d
d e m o n s t r a t e d t h a t t h e y w o u l d p u r s u e r e b e l l i o n a n y w h e r e ,e v e n t o m o u n t a i n t o p s i n r e m o t e d e s e r t s , t o d e s t r o y i t s l a s t
v e s t i g e s . T o e n s u r e t h a t t h e l e s s o n w a s w e l l p u b l i c i z e d a n d
r e m e m b e r e d , t h e R o m a n s i ns ta ll ed J o s e p h u s in R o m e (a s
t h e y h a d t h e G r e e k a u t h o r P o l y b i u s a l m o s t t h r e e c e n t u r i e s
e a r l i e r f o r a s i m i l a r p u r p o s e ) . J o s e p h u s w r o t e a d e t a i l e d a c -
c o u n t o f th e s ie g e, w h i c h w a s t h e n p u b l i s h e d in G r e e k , t h e
l a n g u a g e o f th e R o m a n E a s t : a n i ce b i t o f f ir st c e n t u r y m e d i a
m a n i p u l a t i o n .W h e n w e e x a m i n e c o er c iv e d i p l o m a c y a n d l im i t e d
m i li t a ry a c t io n s a s f o r m s o f p s y c h o l o g i c a l w a r f a r e , w e s h o u l d
b e a r i n m i n d w h a t t h e R o m a n s i n st in c ti v el y u n d e r s t o o d : t h e
e f fe c ti v en e s s o f a n y p s y c h o l o g ic a l o p e r a t i o n d e p e n d s o n o u r
e n e m y ' s p e r c e p t i o n o f w h a t w i l l h a p p e n t o h i m i f h e f a i l s t o
d o a s w e w i s h . T h i s p e r c e p t i o n i s d e t e r m i n e d a t l ea s t i n p a r tb y h o w w e h a v e a l r e a d y b e h a v e d i n s i m i l a r s i t u a t i o n s .
E s t i m a t i n g a c c u r a t e l y t h e l i k e ly p s y c h o l o g i c a l e f f e c t s o f a n y
o f o u r f u t u r e d e p l o y m e n t s o r l im i t e d o p e r a t i o n s r e q u ir e s
r e l e a r n i n g w h a t V i e t n a m a n d B e i r u t h a v e d r i v e n u s t o t r y t o
f o r g e t . D i p l o m a c y c o e rc e s a n d l i m i t ed m i l it a r y o p e r a t i o n s
s u c c e e d l a r g e l y b e c a u s e o u r e a r l i e r a c t i o n s h a v e e a r n e d u s a
r e p u t a t i o n f o r f o l l o w i n g t h r o u g h a n d f o r u s i n g fo r c e p r o m p t -
ly a n d e f f e ct i v e ly . W h e n s u c h a c t i o n s f a il , t h e f a i l u r e c a n n o t
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COERCIVE DI PL OM AC Y AN D LIMITED WAR 147
b e s e l f - c o n t a i n e d . I t m a k e s s u c c e s s in t h e f u t u r e m o r e d i f-
f i c u l t , n o m a t t e r w h a t w e say t o o u r e n e m i e s i n o u r l e a f l e t s o ro v e r o u r r a d i o s .
O u r e x p e r i e n ce w i th c o e r c iv e d i p l o m a c y a n d l im i t ed w a r
i n t h e la s t t w e n t y - f i v e y e a r s c o n t a i n s s o m e c o n s p i c u o u s
f a il u re s , s o t h a t t o d a y w e m a y e x p e c t o u r e n e m i e s t o c o n t i n u e
t o t es t o u r r e s o l v e as t h e y d i d i n L e b a n o n i n 1 9 83 . T h e h i g h -
w a t e r m a r k in o u r u s e o f c o e r c i v e d i p l o m a c y c a m e in t h e
C u b a n m i s s il e c r is is , w h e n w e s e n t a c o n v i n c i n g s i g n al t o t h e
S o v i e t U n i o n b y j u d i c i o u s l y d e p l o y i n g m i l i t a ry a s s e ts w i t h o u th a v in g t o u s e t h e m . T h e p l o y w o r k e d m a i n l y b e c a u s e t h e
U n i t e d S t a te s w a s n o t y e t k n o w n f o r m a k i n g t h r e a t s it d i d n o t
c a r r y o u t a n d b e c a u s e t h e r ea l i ti es o f m i l i t a ry p o w e r i n t h e
c o n f r o n t a t i o n w e r e o v e r w h e l m i n g l y in o u r f av o r . C a l l in g o u r
b l u f f c o u l d h a v e s p e ll e d d i s a s t e r f o r o u r a d v e r s a r i e s , a n d t h e
A m e r i c a n t r o o p s i n F l o r id a s t o o d r e a d y t o s h o w w h e r e o b -
d u r a c y w o u l d l e a d .
I n V i e t n a m , b e t w e e n 1 96 5 a n d 1 96 8, w e u s e d b o t h a ira n d g r o u n d f o r ce s fo r p s y c h o lo g i c a l p u r p o s e s , n o t s o m u c h
t o e f f e c t a d e ci s iv e o u t c o m e o n t h e b a t t l e f i e l d a s t o p e r s u a d e
H a n o i o f o u r d e t e r m i n a t i o n t o p r ev a i l . I t d i d n o t w o r k
b e c a u s e , i n r e a l it y , t h e N o r t h V i e t n a m e s e w e r e m o r e d e t er -
m i n e d t h a n w e , a n d b e c a u s e it w a s c le a r t h a t w e d i d n o t i n-
t e n d t o t h r e a t e n in a s e r i o u s w a y H a n o i ' s e x i st e n ce . 4 J u s t a s
o u r s u c c e s s o v e r S o v i e t m i s s i l e s i n C u b a g a v e u s a n e x a g -
g e r a t e d s e n se o f t h e e f f e c t i v e n e s s o f c r is is m a n a g e m e n t , 5 s oo u r f a i lu r e in V i e t n a m u n d u l y h u r t o u r c o n f i d e n c e in w h a t
f o r c e c o u l d a c c o m p l i s h , a n d o u r e n e m i e s w e r e a b l e t o r e a d
o u r m o o d .
S i n c e t h e n , w e h a v e u s e d o u r a r m e d f o r c e s t o in t i m i d a t e ,
b u t o f t e n w e h a v e d o n e s o r e lu c t a n t ly , w i t h o u t c o n v i c t io n ,
h e n c e , m o r e o f t e n t h a n n o t , w i t h o u t c r e d ib i li ty . O u r a g o n i z -
i n g o v e r t h e h o s t a g e s i n I r a n r e v e a l e d h o w t h e s e i z i n g o f a
g r o u p o f A m e r i c a n s c o u l d b r i n g A m e r i c a n f o r e i g n p o li c y t o ag r i n d i n g h a l t . I n a s t r o k e , i t c r e a t e d a c a n c e r t h a t h a s s i n c e
s p r e a d t h r o u g h o u t t h e M i d d l e E a s t . T h a t , t o o , w a s a
p s y c h o l o g ic a l o p e r a t i o n , b u t t h e w r o n g k i n d . T h e s u b s e q u e n t
f i a s c o a t D e s e r t O n e a n d t h e 1 98 3 d i s a s t e r a t t h e M a r i n e h e a d -
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148 BERNSTEIN
q u a r t e rs i n B e ir u t c o n f i r m e d t h e m e s s a g e o f V i e t n a m f o r
m a n y , f u r t h e r d i m i n i s h in g o u r c o n f i d e n c e in c o e r c i v ed i p l o m a c y a n d t h e u s e f u ln e s s o f f o r c e a s a n i n s t r u m e n t o f
p o l i cy . O u r e n e m i e s , w h o r e g u la r ly c o n t e m p l a t e u s in g u n o r -
t h o d o x f o r m s o f v i o le n c e a g a i n st u s, c o u l d h a r d l y h a v e m i s se d
t h e p o i n t .
I f t h e y h a d a n y d o u b t s , w e h a v e g o n e s o m e w a y t o w a r d
r e m o v i n g t h e m w i th t h e p u b l i c a t io n o f t h e W e i n b e r g e r D o c -
t ri n e . ~ T h a t d o c t r i n e , w h i c h r e f le c ts t h e v ie w s o f m a n y s e n i o r
m i l i t a r y o f f i c e r s c o n c e r n i n g t h e c o n s t r a i n i n g e f f e c t s o fd o m e s t i c p u b l i c o p i n i o n o n t h e e m p l o y m e n t o f f o rc e b y t h e
U S g o v e r n m e n t in th e a f t e r m a t h o f V i e t n a m , a r g u a b l y ra is es
t h e p r e c o n d i t i o n s f o r u se o f f o r c e s o h ig h a s to p u t t h e m o u t
o f re a c h f o r a l m o s t a ll c o n c e i v a b l e s c e n a r i o s .
F o r p r e s e n t p u r p o s e s , i t is w e l l t o r e m i n d o u r s e lv e s th a t
t h e r e a r e i m p o r t a n t d i f f e r e n c e s b e t w e e n r e v o l u t i o n a r y w a r s
s u c h a s V i e t n a m a n d t h e u s e o f f o r c e o r t h e th r e a t o f f o r c e in
o t h e r T h i r d W o r l d s e tt in g s . I f t h e r e is a n y t h i n g t h a t s a p sp u b l i c s u p p o r t f o r f o r e i g n w a r s i n a d e m o c r a c y , i t i s t h e
p r o s p e c t o f p r o t r a c t e d U S i n v o l v e m e n t w i t h n o c le a r c r it e ri a
f o r v i c t o ry o r d e f e a t. T h e s e f e a t u r e s ar e b y n o m e a n s
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c o f a l l T h i r d W o r l d i n t e r v e n t i o n s c e n a r i o s , a s
t h e e x a m p l e s o f G r e n a d a a n d L i b y a ar e s u ff ic i en t t o s h o w .
( O n t h e o t h e r h a n d , t h e M a r i n e p r e s e n c e in B e i r u t c o u l d w e ll
h a v e b e c o m e a d o m e s t i c p o l it ic a l l i ab i li ty o v e r t i m e g i v e n t h e
u n c e r t a i n t y a n d a p p a r e n t f u t i li ty o f i ts m i s s i o n . ) I t is n o t a ta ll c l ea r , t h e n , t h a t p u b l i c o p i n i o n w i ll f a il t o s u p p o r t l im i t e d
a n d p r u d e n t a p p l ic a t io n s o f f o r c e b y th e U n i t e d S t a t es w h e n
s u c h o p e r a t io n s a r e c o m p e t e n t l y c o n d u c t e d a n d s er ve re a d il y
u n d e r s t a n d a b l e p o l i t i c a l p u r p o s e s . H o w e v e r , i t is d i f f i c u l t i f
n o t i m p o s s i b l e t o i n i t i a te a n o p e r a t i o n o f th i s k i n d w i t h a n y
a s s u r a n c e o f p u b l i c s u p p o r t , p a r t i c u l a r l y s i n c e ( a s i n t h e c a s e
o f G r e n a d a ) c o m p l e t e s u rp r i se m a y b e e s s e n ti al to t h e s u c -
c e s sf u l e x e c u t io n o f t h e m i s si o n .T h e r e a r e s e v e r a l r e a s o n s w h y a s a n a t i o n , d e s p i t e al l o u r
p o w e r , w e h a v e i n c r e a s i n g l y f u m b l e d o u r u s e o f m i l i t a r y
f o r c e in l i m i te d o p e r a t i o n s , u n d e r m i n i n g o u r c r e d i b il it y i n t h e
p r o c e s s . S in c e V i e t n a m w e h a v e b e c o m e m o r e i s o l a ti o n is t a n d
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COERCIVE DI PL OMA CY AND LIMITED WAR 149
self-absorbed, not very good at gauging accurately the
perceptions and determination of others. We concentrate on
our own actions rather than the likely reactions of the enemy.
We are more concerned with our image, both in our own eyes
and in the eyes of others, than we are with the realities of
power, a focus that com mon ly exacts a price. We convenient-
ly forget the extent to which the image is determined by the
realities of power. How else explain the interminable jawbon-
ing that hardly ever issues in military action?
We also have a concomitant tendency to engage inwishful thinking, overestimating the impact on the enemy of
the mere appearance of our impressive hardware and the ef-
fect of our threatening rhetoric, while underestimating the
impor tance of having the appropriate resources on the spot to
carry out threats. The Cuban missile crisis seemed to give us
an unwar ran ted conf idence in the power o f gestures, as we
forgot the very real need to use our military assets on occa-
sion to exact a cost that makes our opponents unwilling tocall our hand. What is more, in exercises of coercive
diplomacy our liberalism (in a broad sense of that term) in-
clines us more toward the diplomatic than the coercive, for
we prefer to persuade rather than to compel.
Finally, we worry too much about the negative
diplomatic effects of military operations on friendly or
unaligned regional powers. In fact, recent experience has
shown very little lasting negative fallout when the United
States has used force against a Third World nation, because
othe r states usually have no real alternatives to us. Even when
we used force unsuccessfully (as in Southeast Asia and
Lebanon), the regional powers, while they may have leaned
toward a reluctant neutrality, did not actually fall away from
us in anger or dismay. The conversion of SEATO to ASE AN
does not seem a very severe diplomatic punishment for the
Vietnam debacle.
This doubt or delicacy is natural for a country that in-stinctively prefers being loved to being feared. We must
acknowledge, however, that this cultural proclivity places
severe restrictions on our military's ability to use coercive
diplomacy as an effective psychological weapon.
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1 5 0 B E R N S T E I N
Vietnam and Lebanon notwithstanding, though, i t
would seem that firmness is gradually coming back into
fashion. The United States, if not the West generally, seems
to be regaining some of its former confidence in the limited
application of military force as an effective instrument of na-
tiona l policy. Tha t limited force can be applied effectively to
achieve important psychological and political purposes can
be considered, in retrospect, an impo rta nt lesson of the
Falklands or Malvinas War between Britain and Argentina.
That war saw the British employ a very clever
psychological operati on, which ma y well have been a decisive
element, not so much in their winning the war, but in reduc-
ing the cost of their final victory. We all know how, after the
sinking of the B e l g r a n o on 2 May 1982, the Argentine surface
navy played virtually no active role in the war. There were
good reasons for this. Carlos E. Zartmann, a retired Argen-
tine naval captain, in a revealing article published shortly
after the Argentine surrender, 7 argued that two concurrent
factors kept the fleet in home waters, factors that no other
navy had faced in wartime before: nuclear attack submarines
and electronic surveillance satellites. His view deserves quo ta-
tion in full:
The first [nuclear attack submarines] posed a threat to
the very existence of Argentine naval power, which was very
difficult to accept because the conflict was limited in natureand possession of the islands at stake did not represent an
objective upon which the survival of Argentina depended.
The naval command had to weigh carefully the necessity of
risking the destruction of the nation's small and costly sur-
face fleet. Not to incur any unnecessary risks was a wise
strategic decision . . . The second factor, the United States
intelligence support to Britain, was the most important
United States contribution to the conflict .. . It proved to
be decisive for the naval surface actions because it deprived
the Argentine fleet of any chance of obtaining a tactical sur-
prise over the British. (Admiral Woodward, the British on-
scene commander, was quoted by the press as saying that he
always knew exactly where every Argentine ship was, except
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COERCIVE DIP LOMA CY AN D LIMITED WAR 151
the submarines.) British naval superiority was overwhelm-
ing, but United States support made it so lopsided as to
become crushing. In such a situation one would not expect a
fleet to go out only to be spotted by satellites and
slaughtered by nuclear submarines that had no trouble in be-
ing at the right place at the right time.
Not only Admiral Woodward but also the British media
in general made similar claims at the time regarding the
nature of satellite aid received from the United States.
However, there is reason for not taking these media reports
as gospel. American sources do not corroborate the claim
that the United States provided the kind of "real time"
photographic reconnaissance suggested by the statement of
Admiral Woodward and assumed by Captain Zartmann. In-
deed, a careful reading of the British White Paper on media
relations during the Falklands War suggests precisely the op-
posite. 8 It notes that relaying live satellite photography toBritain directly from the South Atlantic would have required
a slight tilting of an American satellite, but that the British
abandoned the idea of requesting that this be done when in-
formal approaches met a negative American response. The
British nuclear submarines were a real enough danger, but it
appears that they would have had to hunt for Argentine sur-
face ships in the traditional manner rather than have them
located in advance by American satellites.What lessons can be drawn from this history? In war
even more than in life, men are afraid o f the unknown. Third
World military forces have every reason to be afraid of the
military advantages provided a first-class adversary like Bri-
tain or the United States by high technology and by advanced
weapons systems whose operational characteristics they
under stand imperfectly if at all. Just as the British exploited a
traditional fear of the co mp et en ce -a nd (in the case of theirGurk ha contingent) the sa va g er y -o f British troops, so they
exploited an up-to-date fear of the competence of contem-
porary technology. And this psychological operation proved
extraordinarily successful. For the United States, this sug-
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152 BERNSTEIN
g e s ts , a m o n g o t h e r t h in g s , t h a t s y s t e m a t ic t h o u g h t s h o u l d b e
g i v e n to t h e w a y s i n w h i c h t h e e x i s t e n c e a n d c h a r a c t e r is t ic s o f
U S i n t e l l i g e n c e c o l l e c t i o n s y s t e m s c a n b e u t i l i z e d i n a l i m i t e d
c o n t i n g e n c y t o i n d u c e f e ar a n d c a u t i o n in T h i r d W o r l d
m i l i t a r y c o m m a n d e r s a n d p o l i t i c a l l e a d e r s .
G r e n a d a p r o v i d e s a n o t h e r r e c e n t e x a m p l e o f th e u s e f u l
p s y c h o l o g i c a l e f fe c ts o f l i m i te d m i li ta r y a c t io n . O u r o p e r a -
t io n o n t h e i s l a n d in O c t o b e r 1983 p r o v o k e d a l m o s t u n iv e r s a l
c o n d e m n a t i o n a t t h e t im e . B u t i t h a s b e c o m e c le a r s in c e t h a t
v i r tu a l l y a ll t h e i s l a n d e r s , w i t h th e e x c e p t i o n o f t h o s e w h o
h a d ju s t m u r d e r e d t h e B i s h o p c a b i n e t , w e r e d e l i g h t e d b y th e
U S a c t io n , a n d t h a t G r e n a d a ' s G o v e r n o r - G e n e r a l h a d a c tu a l -
ly r e q u e s t e d t h e i n t e r v e n t i o n . T h e m a j o r i t y o f t h o s e w h o f ir st
c o n d e m n e d o u r ac t i on as i l leg al a n d i m m o r a l - m o s t c o n -
s p i c u o u s l y , m a n y o f o u r o w n m e d i a a n d o u r NAT O
a l l i e s - h a v e n o w f a l l e n s i l e n t , t h o u g h v e r y f e w o f t h e c r i t i c s
h a v e h a d t h e g o o d g r a ce t o sa y th e y w e r e w r o n g .
T h e r e s c u e o f G r e n a d a w a s a s u cc e ss p a r t l y b e c a u s e it
w a s o v e r q u i c k l y , a n d p a r t ly b e c a u s e t h e r e w a s n o f o r c e i n th e
a r e a a v a il a b le t o th w a r t u s . O n e o f t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t e ff e c ts
o f t h e a c t i o n h a s b c e n t o u n s e t t l e o t h e r l e f t- w i n g r e v o l u -
t io n a r ie s t h r o u g h o u t t h e C a r ib b e a n a n d t o p u t b a c k i n to t h e ir
c a l c u l a t i o n s t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f a n A m e r i c a n i n t e r v e n t i o n .
T h o u g h C a s t ro s e e m e d g e n u in e l y f o n d o f M a u r ic e B i s h o p
a n d a n n o y e d w i th t h e C o a r d f a c t i o n t h a t m u r d e r e d h i m , h e
w a s h e l p le s s t o a i d a n y M a r x i s t r e g i m e in G r e n a d a , a s h e s a i d
a t t h e t im e . T h e S a n d i n i s ta s in N i c a r a g u a d i d n o t m i ss t h e
l e ss o n . T h e y n o t i c e a b l y ra i se d t h e v o l u m e o f t h e ir c l a im s t h a t
a n y a n a l o g o u s i n v a s i o n o f N i c a r a g u a w o u l d t u r n i n t o
" a n o t h e r V i e t n a m . "
T h e A p r i l 1 98 6 b o m b i n g o f L i b y a s e em s t o b e y et
a n o t h e r i n s ta n c e o f a r e l u c t a n t ly a c k n o w l e d g e d s uc c es s. C o n -
t e m p o r a r y r e a c t i o n s p r e d i c t e d d i s a s t r o u s c o n s e q u e n c e s : " T h e
u s e o f su c h f o r c e is m u c h m o r e l ik e ly t o p r o m o t e a n d e x p a n d
t e r r o r i s m " ( a n e d i t o r i a l i n t h e Nation); " W h a t w e 'v e r e a ll y
d o n e i s w e a k e n t h e m o d e r a t e p r o - A m e r i c a n f a c ti o n s w i t h in
t h e L i b y a n e l i t e " ( a H a r v a r d M i d d l e E a s t s p e c i a l i s t a n d p r o -
f e s so r o f g o v e r n m e n t ) ; " W e c a n e x p e c t Q a d d a f i t o g o a ll o u t in
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COERCIVE DIP LOM ACY AND LIMITED WAR 153
s e e k i n g r e v e n g e . W e h a v e n o t s e e n t h e e n d o f t h i s " ( a h i g h -
r a n k i n g o f f i c i a l i n t h e F B I ) 2 C e r t a i n l y , n o n e o f t h e s e
p r e d i c t e d c o n s e q u e n c e s h a v e m a t e r i a l i z e d .
F i r s t o f a l l , o u r a t t a c k f e l l f a r s h o r t o f m a k i n g Q a d d a f i
t h e " h e r o o f t h e A r a b w o r l d . " R a t h e r , i t s e e m s t o h a v e i n -
c r e a s e d h i s i s o l a t i o n t h e r e . T h e o t h e r A r a b s d i d n o t l i f t a
f i n g e r - b a r e l y e ve n r ai s ed a n e y e b r o w - o n h is b e h al f .
W i t h in t w o w e e k s , S a u d i A r a b i a r e je c t ed a L i b y a n a p p e a l f o r
m o r e f o r e i g n a i d ; t w o o t h e r A r a b c o u n t r i e s , J o r d a n a n d
T u n i s i a , d i d n o t e v e n r u n e d i t o r i a l s o n t h e a c t i o n . E v e n h i sS y r i a n f r ie n d s s o u n d e d le ss t h a n s u p p o r t i v e . N e i t h e r I r a q n o r
T u n i s i a b o t h e r e d t o i s s u e a n y c o m p l a i n t s o n L i b y a ' s b e h a l f ,
w h i le t h e re s p o n s e o f E g y p t , O m a n , a n d t h e U n i t e d A r a b
E m i r a t e s w a s n o t i c e a b l y m i l d . A L i b y a n c a ll f o r a n e m e r g e n -
c y A r a b s u m m i t m e e ti n g r es u lt ed in f o u r c o u n t r i e s - I r a q ,
J o r d a n , S y ri a, an d S a u d i A r a b i a - p u b l i c l y s ta ti ng th a t t h ey
w o u l d b e u n a b l e t o a t t e n d . E v e n th e S o v i e ts , r a t h e r t h a n g i v e
t h e c o l o n e l m o r e g u n s , a s w a s a ls o p r e d i c t e d , h a v e b e e n g iv -i n g h i m a s e r i e s o f l e c t u r e s a b o u t t h e e v i l s o f t e r r o r i s m ; o n e
h i g h - r a n k i n g S o v i e t o ff ic i a l w a s q u o t e d a s s a y in g , " Q a d d a f i i s
a m a d m a n o n t o p o f a p i l e o f g o l d . "
S e c o n d , t h e r a i d m a y e v e n h a v e h u r t Q a d d a f i i n s i d eL i b y a . T h e p r e d i c t e d u p s u r g e o f n a t i o n a l u n i t y b e h i n d t h e
c o l o n e l h a s n o t m a t e r ia l iz e d . I n s t e a d , h i s t e m p o r a r y d i sa p -
p e a r a n c e i n t o t h e d e s e r t , s u b s e q u e n t r e t u r n , a n d b a r e l y
c o h e r e n t b l u s t e r i n g s o n t e l e v i s i o n s u g g e s t n o t o n l y t h a t h ew a s p e r s o n a l l y s h a k e n b u t a l s o t h a t h e m a y a c t u a l l y h a v eb e e n w e a k e n e d p o l it ic a l ly b y t h e a t ta c k . Q a d d a f i h a s
r e t re a t e d i n to B e d o u i n s ec lu s io n b e f o r e a n d m a n a g e d t o s ur -
v i v e - h e h as a n e x c e ll en t b o d y g u a r d t r a i n e d b y th e C u b a n sa n d s u p e r v is e d b y th e E a s t G e r m a n s ~ _ b u t h i s r e c e n t r a m b l -
i n g s h a v e p r o d u c e d w h a t a p p e a r s t o b e a n u n e n t h u s i a s t i cp u b l i c r e a c t i o n .
F i n a l ly , t h e s ix m o n t h s f o l lo w i n g t h e 15 A p r i l b o m b i n g
c e r t a i n l y sa w f a r le ss t e r r o r i s m w i t h a L i b y a n s t a m p o n i t t h a n
t h e s i x m o n t h s p r i o r t o i t . I t w o u l d b e p r e m a t u r e t o c l a i m
c o n c l u s i v e l y t h a t t h e r a i d h a s s a v e d li v es , s i n ce C o l o n e l Q a d -d a f t, t h o u g h d o w n , i s c e r t a in l y n o t y e t o u t . B u t t h o s e w h o
s a i d t h e b o m b i n g w o u l d l e a d t o a n e s c a l a t i n g s p i r a l o f
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154 BERNSTEIN
v i o le n c e h a v e f ew g r o u n d s f o r c l a im i n g t h e y w e r e r ig h t . E v e n
t h e f ea r s o f t h e R e a g a n a d m i n i s t r a t i o n s e e m t o h a v e b e e n a
b i t p e s s i m i s t i c . I t s m o s t r e a l i s t i c e x p e c t a t i o n - a s h o r t - t e r m
w a v e o f r e t a li a to r y t e rr o r i s t a c t i v i t y - d i d n o t o c c u r e it h e r.
T h e r e w e re , h o w e v e r , s e v er al r e a s o n s w h y so m a n y
A m e r ic a n a n d E u r o p e a n c o m m e n t a t o r s p re d ic t ed d ir e c o ns e -
q u e n c e s . T h e L i b y a n b o m b i n g ra id , l ik e o u r G r e n a d a o p e r a -
t i o n , w a s a c a lc u l a te d r is k . T h e c o n v e n t i o n a l w i s d o m s in c e
V i e t n a m h a s b e e n t h a t r i s k - t a k i n g a l m o s t a l w a y s t u r n s o u t
b a d l y . I n a d d i t i o n , t h e E u r o p e a n s s e e m in c r e a s in g l y r e l u c t a n t
t o g i ve t h e R e a g a n a d m i n i s t r a t io n t h e b e n e f i t o f a n y d o u b t .
T h e m a i n r e a s o n f o r th e b a d p re ss in E u r o p e , t h o u g h , w a s t h e
f ea r , c a r e f u ll y c u l t iv a t e d b y Q a d d a f i h i m s e l f , t h a t h e w o u l d
h i t b a c k a t E u r o p e i f a t t a c k e d b y th e U n i t e d S t a te s .
T h e m o s t g r a t i f y i n g e f f e c t o f t h e r a i d w a s t h a t i t i m -
m e d i a te l y m a d e t h e p r e v io u s l y u n c o o p e r a t i v e E u r o p e a n s fe el
m o r e e x p o s e d t o c r it ic i sm c o n c e r n i n g t h e l ax i ty o f th e i r a t-
t i tu d e t o w a r d t e r r o r i s m , a n d i n d e e d m o r e e x p o s e d t o te r-
r o r i s m i ts e lf , n o w t h a t t h e U n i t e d S ta t e s h a d s u d d e n l y m a d e
i t s e l f a le ss a t t r a c t i v e t a r g e t f o r t e r r o r i s t s t a t e s . A c c o r d i n g l y ,
t h e r e f o l l o w e d a f lu r r y o f r e l u c t a n t a n t i te r r o r i s t a c t i v it y b y
t h e E u r o p e a n s . T h e F r e n c h , w h o c o n d e m n e d th e ra id ,
s o m e h o w f o u n d th e m s e l ve s a t t h e T o k y o s u m m i t a p p r o v i n g a
t o u g h a n t i t e rr o r is t c o m m u n i q u 6 o f a k i n d t h e y h a d c o n -
s i s t e n t ly r e j e c t e d a t a ll e a r l ie r t o p - l e v e l m e e t i n g s . 1~ E v e n
I t a l i a n P r i m e M i n i s t e r C r a x i ' s p r o t e s t s w e r e f o l l o w e d b y a
m o v e to t r a n s f e r I ta ly 's o il d e p e n d e n c e f r o m L i b y a t o N i g e ri a
a n d t h e N o r t h S e a , a n d g e n e r a l l y t o d e c r e a s e his c o u n t r y ' s
e c o n o m i c d e p e n d e n c e o n Q a d d a f i 's r e g im e . H e r e , i f
a n y w h e r e , w a s a s u c c e s s fu l p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n .
A l l t h i s i s g o o d f o r u s a n d b a d f o r t h o s e s t a t e s a g a i n s t
w h o m w e m i g h t w i s h to u s e v io l e n ce . S u c h s u cc e ss e s b e g in t h e
a r d u o u s t a sk o f r e h a b i l i ta t in g o u r c o n f i d e n c e in t h e u se o f
l im i t e d m i l i ta r y a c t io n a s a n i n s t r u m e n t o f p o l ic y a n d o u ra d v e r s a r i e s ' r e s p e c t f o r t h e t h r e a t o u r p o w e r i m p l i e s . T h e
b o m b i n g o f L i b y a a t le a st p u t t h e te r r o ri s ts o n w a r n i n g a n d
e n h a n c e d t h e c r e d ib i li ty o f a n y f u t u r e p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a -
t i o n o r d i p l o m a t i c e x er cis e t h a t i n t i m a t e s th a t A m e r i c a n f o r c e
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COERCIVE DIP LOM ACY AND LIMITED WAR 155
m a y b e u s e d . R e p r i sa l w o r k s , p r o v i d e d th e t a rg e t s a r e
j u d i c i o u s l y s e le c te d a n d e s c a la t io n i s - a n d is p e r c e iv e d t o
b e - m o r e d a n g e r o u s f o r o u r e n e m y t h a n fo r u s.
U n f o r t u n a t e l y , h o w e v e r , th e L i b y a n l e s so n h a s h a d o n l y
l i m i t e d e f f e c t s o f a r o n t h e o t h e r m a j o r t e r r o r i s t s ta t e s, S y r ia
a n d I r a n . B e c a u s e w e h a v e ye t t o d e m o n s t r a t e t h a t w e a re
c a p a b l e o f u s i n g r e t a l ia t o r y f o r c e w h e n o u r c i ti z en s a r e t a k e n
h o s t a g e ( r a t h e r t h a n m u r d e r e d o u t r i g h t ) , h o s t a g e - t a k i n g r e -
m a i n s a n a t tr a c t i v e o p t i o n t h a t w i ll c o n t i n u e t o b e u s e d
a g a i n s t u s . I t i s a l s o n o t c l e a r t h a t t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s i s
p r e p a r e d t o u s e f o r c e o p e n l y a n d d i re c tl y a g a i n st S y r i a o r
I r a n i n v ie w o f t h e p o t e n t i a l f o r S o v i e t i n v o l v e m e n t i n s u p -
p o r t o f t h o s e s ta te s , n o t t o m e n t i o n U S h o p e s f o r e v e n t u a l ly
r e p a i ri n g i ts r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h t h e r e g i m e o f t h e m u l l a h s .
I n b r i e f , t h e n , t h e c o r n e r s t o n e o f s u c c e s s i n c o e r c i v e
d i p l o m a c y a n d l i m i t e d c o n f l i c t i s t h e d e m o n s t r a t i o n o f
A m e r i c a ' s w i l l a n d a b i l i t y t o u s e i t s p o w e r e f f e c t i v e l y i n s u p -
p o r t o f i t s i n t e r e s t s a n d t h e l a r g e r i n t e r e s t s o f i n t e r n a t i o n a l
d e c e n c y a n d o r d e r . A t a m o r e o p e r a t i o n a l le v el , m a n y i n-
t e r e s ti n g q u e s t i o n s a r is e c o n c e r n i n g t h e u s e o f t h e m i l it a r y i n -
s t r u m e n t s a v a i la b l e t o t h e U n i t e d S t a te s f o r p r o j e c t i n g it s
p o w e r i n to t h e T h i r d W o r l d . T h e r e is , o f c o u r s e , a l o n g t ra d i -
t io n o f t h e u s e o f n a v a l f o r ce s as a n i n s t r u m e n t o f d i re c t
p o l i t i c a l i n f l u e n c e o r c o m p u l s i o n . ~ 2 N a v a l p o r t v is it s, c o m -
b i n e d e x e rc is e s w i t h a l li ed f l e et s, f i r e p o w e r a n d o t h e r o p e r a -
t io n a l d e m o n s t r a t i o n s , a n d s p e ci al d e p l o y m e n t s a r e all
r o u t i n e t o o l s f o r e s t a b l is h i n g a n A m e r i c a n p r e s e n c e in f o r e i g n
s e a s, a n d f o r s i g n a ll in g A m e r i c a n c o n c e r n o v e r a d v e r s e i n te r -
n a t i o n a l d e v e l o p m e n t s a n d s u p p o r t f o r a l li ed a n d f r i e n d l y
s t a t e s . U n f o r t u n a t e l y , t h e v e r y s i g n i f i c a n t r o l e t h a t s u c h a c -
t i v i t i e s p l a y f o r t h e U S N a v y a n d f o r t h e n a t i o n ' s o v e r a l l
f o r e i g n p o l i c y i s u n d e r a p p r e c i a t e d a n d u n d e r s t u d i e d , a n d i s
n o t s u p p o r t e d b y a s y s te m a t i c b o d y o f d o c t r in e a n d t r a i n i n g .
W h a t is t r u e o f t h e N a v y i s, if a n y t h i n g , m o r e t r u e o f t h e
o t h e r s er vic e s, w h i c h a re u n a c c u s t o m e d to t h i n k i n g o f t h e
a ss e ts a v a il ab l e t o t h e m a s c a p a b l e o f h a v i n g a n i n d e p e n d e n t
a n d m e a s u r a b l e p s y c h o l o g i c a l - p o l it i c a l e f f e c t. I n f a c t ,
h o w e v e r , a i r p o w e r h a s m a n y o f th e s a m e c h a r a c te r is t ic s a s
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1 5 6 B E R N S T E I N
n a v a l p o w e r in t e r m s o f its p re s e n c e , m o b i l i ty , a n d r e a d y
a v a i l a b i l i t y t h r o u g h o u t t h e w o r l d . T h e A i r b o r n e W a r n i n g
a n d C o n t r o l S y s t e m ( A W A C S ) a i r c ra f t h a s i n r e c e n t y e a rs ac -
q u i r e d m u c h o f t h e d i r e c t p o l i ti c a l s i g n i f ic a n c e o f a i r c r a f t c a r -
r ie rs a s a re s u l t o f it s f r e q u e n t u s e t o s i g n a l s u p p o r t f o r T h i r d
W o r l d a ll ie s t h r e a t e n e d b y a p o w e r f u l re g i o n a l e n e m y . T h e
o c c as io n a l e m p l o y m e n t o f c o n v e n t i o n a ll y a r m e d B - 5 2
b o m b e r s i n c o m b i n e d e x er ci se s s e n d s a m e s s a g e a n a l o g o u s t o
t h a t o f a b a t t l e s h i p o f f h o s t i l e s h o r e s .
A p a r t f r o m t h e p s y c h o lo g i c a l i m p a c t o f th e s e m a j o r a ir
a n d n a v a l w e a p o n s s y s t e m s , h o w e v e r , t h e r e i s c o n s i d e r a b l e
s c o p e t o e x p l o i t a w i d e r a n g e o f m i l i t a r y c a p a b il it ie s f o r t h e
p u r p o s e s o f p o l i ti c a l -p s y c h o l o g i c a l w a r f a r e in t h e T h i r d
W o r l d . T h e p s y c h o l o g ic a l d i m e n s i o n o f m i li ta r y h ig h
t e c h n o l o g y w a s m e n t i o n e d e a rl ie r . I t is i m p o r t a n t t o k e e p i n
m i n d t h e i m m e n s e a d v a n t a g e t h e U n i t e d S t a te s e n j o y s i n th is
r e sp e c t w h e n c o m p a r e d w i t h t h e S o v ie t U n i o n . E v e r y e ff o r t
s h o u l d b e m a d e t o i m p r e ss o n T h i r d W o r l d S o v i et c l ie n ts th e
u n r e l i a b i l i t y a n d o b s o l e s c e n c e o f S o v i e t e q u i p m e n t w h e nm a t c h e d a g a in s t A m e r i c a n e q u i p m e n t in t h e h a n d s o f th e U S
m i l i ta r y o r f r i e n d l y s ta t e s s u c h a s I s ra e l . T h e u n w i l li n g n e s s o f
t h e L i b y a n A i r F o r c e t o p r e s e n t e v e n a p r o f o r m a c h a l le n g e t o
U S c a r r ie r - b a se d a i r c ra f t i n th e G u l f o f S i d r a in t h e m o s t r e-
c e n t U S - L i b y a n c o n f r o n t a t i o n is a d i re c t c o n s e q u e n c e n o t o f
j u s t t h e L i b y a n s ' o w n r e c e n t e x p e r i e n c e , b u t o f a n e n t i r e
h i s to r y o f u n e q u a l c o m b a t b e t w e e n A r a b s a n d Is ra el is in v o lv -
i n g l a te - g e n e ra t io n S o v i et a n d A m e r i c a n m i l i ta r y t e c h n o l o g y .N o r i s t h i s a u r a o f W e s t e r n t e c h n o l o g i c a l s u p e r i o r i t y
l i m i t e d t o w e a p o n s ; i t a l s o e x t e n d s t o a r e a s s u c h a s i n -
t el l ig e n ce a n d c o m m a n d a n d c o n t r o l . A s m e n t i o n e d e a rl i er ,
A r g e n t i n e b el ie fs a b o u t t h e n a t u r e o f A m e r i c a n s p a c e re c o n -
n a i s s an c e t e c h n o l o g y a n d p r a c t ic e s a f f e c t e d t h e c o u r s e o f t h e
F a l k l a n d s W a r . T h e U n i t e d S ta te s e n j o y s a n i m m e n s e a d v a n -
t a g e o v e r T h i r d W o r l d c o u n t r i e s i n t h e s o p h i s t i c a t i o n o f i t s
c o m m u n i c a t i o n s a n d o t h e r e l e c tr o n ic te c h n o l o g ie s . T h e n a -t i o n s h o u l d b e a b l e to e x p l o i t t h a t a d v a n t a g e t o c o n s i d e r a b l e
e f f ec t , b o t h p s y c h o l o g i c a l l y a n d o p e r a t i o n a l l y . I n t e r r u p t i o n
o f s e ns it i ve e n e m y c o m m a n d l i nk s , f o r e x a m p l e , c o u l d b e
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COERCIVE DIP LOM ACY AND LIMITED WAR 157
e x p e c te d to h a v e a n u n n e r v i n g e ff ec t o n c o m m a n d e r s p r e p a r-
i n g t o c h a l l e n g e U S m i l i ta r y f o r c es . T a c t i c a l d e c e p t i o n t e c h -
n i q u e s a n d p r o c e d u r e s n e e d t o b e t h o u g h t t h r o u g h i n te r m s o f
t h e i r e f f e c t n o t o n l y o n t h e ir i m m e d i a t e t a rg e t s b u t a l s o o n
t h e en t ir e e n e m y c o m m a n d s t ru c t u re . W a y s n e e d t o b e de -
v i se d to e n s u r e t h a t t h e p o l i t i c a l l e a d e r s h i p o f a T h i r d W o r l d
a d v e r s a r y is f u ll y a n d p a i n f u l l y a w a r e o f t h e p r e c is e m i l i ta r y
c o n s e q u e n c e s li ke ly t o r e s u lt f r o m a d e c i s io n t o e n g a g e o r
p e r s e v e r e i n a c o n f l i c t w i t h t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s .
S o m e f in a l re m a r k s m a y b e i n o r d e r o n t h e u s e o f d ir e c t
c o m m u n i c a t io n s o r p r o p a g a n d a i n T h i r d W o r l d c o n t i ng e n -
c i e s . T h e c r i s e s t h a t w i l l c a l l u s t o e n g a g e i n c o e r c i v e
d i p l o m a c y a n d l im i t e d u s e o f m i l i ta r y f o r c e a re u n l i k e l y t o
p r o v i d e t h e ti m e n e c e s sa r y t o d e v e l o p e la b o r a t e c o m m u n i c a -
t i o n s c h a n n e l s a n d m e s s a g e s . N e v e r t h e l e s s , i t i s w o r t h g i v i n g
s e r i o u s t h o u g h t t o p o s s i b l e r e q u i r e m e n t s f o r c o m m u n i c a t i o n
b o t h w i t h t h e a d v e r s a r y ' s a r m e d f o r c e s a n d w i t h t h e c i v i l i a n
p o p u l a t i o n .
I n a s i t u a t io n w h e r e t h e a p p l i c a t i o n o f f o r c e , i f i t o c c u r s
a t a l l, is l ik e ly t o b e e x t r e m e l y c o n s t r a i n e d a n d s u r g i c a ll y
r e s t r i c t e d t o m i l i t a r y t a r g e t s , t h e r e i s e v e r y r e a s o n t o m a k e
s p e c i a l e f f o r t s t o a s s u r e b o t h m i l i t a r y u n i t s a n d t h e g e n e r a l
p o p u l a t i o n t h a t t h e U n i t e d S t ate s h a s n o i n t e re s t in h a r m i n g
t h e m , t h a t i ts re a l e n e m y is t h e r e g i m e . I n c a se s o f p r o t r a c t e d
U S i n v o l v e m e n t i n a T h i r d W o r l d c o u n t r y , s u c h as t h e
M a r i n e p r e s e n c e in B e i r u t, e f f o r t s s h o u l d b e m a d e t o m a i n -
t a in c o n t i n u o u s c o n t a c t w i t h t h e lo c a l p o p u l a t i o n a n d t o e x-
p l a i n a s c l e a r l y a s p o s s i b l e t h e U S r o l e a n d t h e r e a s o n s
u n d e r l y i n g i t .
T h i s i s n o t t o s a y t h a t i t i s a l w a y s d e s i r a b l e t o r e a s s u r e
p o t e n t i a l a d v e r s a r i e s t h a t o u r i n t e n t i o n s a r e p a c i f i c . T h e
l a n g u a g e o u r p o l i c y m a k e r s u s e w h e n d e a l i n g w i t h t h e t a c t i c s
o f a d v e r sa r ie s i n t h e l o w - i n t e n s i ty c o n f l i c t a r e n a t o o o f t e n
c o n f i n e s t h e o p t i o n s a v a i l a b le t o t h e U n i t e d S t a te s b y i n v o k -i n g th e s e l f- li m i ti n g a n a l o g y o f d o m e s t i c l aw e n f o r c e m e n t .
W e k n o w t h a t d u l y c o n s t i tu t e d g o v e r n m e n t s h a v e d i re c te d th e
a t t a c k s , b u t t r e a t t h e s e a c t s a s s i m p l e l e g a l i n f r a c t i o n s t h a t r e -
q u i r e s t ri ct r u le s o f e v i d e n c e f o r c o n v i c t i o n a n d d e s e r v e o n l y a
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158 BERNSTEIN
s t ri c tl y p r o p o r t i o n a t e r e s p o n s e . T h i s a p p r o a c h is l ik e ly t o
c r ip p l e m a n y i f n o t m o s t p s y c h o lo g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s c o n d u c t e d
a t t h e t a c t i c a l l e v e l .
B e f o r e w e c a n f a s h i o n e f f e c t iv e p s y c h o l o g i c a l s tr a te g i es
f o r t h e v a r io u s c o n t i n g e n c i e s o f s u b c o n v e n t i o n a l c o n f l i c t, w e
m u s t i n e a c h c a s e a s k o u r s e l v e s t h e most b a s ic o f q u e s t i o n s :
A r e w e a t p e a c e o r a r e w e a t w a r ? W h e n A m e r i c a n c i t i z e n s
h a v e b e e n k i l le d a t t h e d i r e c t i o n o f h e a d s o f s t a te , w e s h o u l d
c o n s i d e r a b a n d o n i n g t h e r e s t r i c t i o n s w e h a v e i m p o s e d o n
o u r s e l v e s b y u s i n g t h e m o d e l o f d o m e s t i c l a w e n f o r c e m e n t .
W e s h o u l d a d m i t t h a t a s t a te o f b e l l i g e r en c y e x is ts b e t w e e n u s
a n d t h o s e s t a te s t h a t k il l o u r c i ti z e n s. T h e v e r y b e s t
p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n , w e s h o u l d r e m i n d o u r s e l v e s , i s t h e
r e p u t a t i o n o f a g r e a t p o w e r f o r a c t i n g li ke o n e .
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C O E R C I V E D I P L O M A C Y A N D L I M I T E D W A R 159
Notes
1 . E l l io t t Har r i s , T h e " U n - A m e r i c a n " W e a p o n ( N e w Y o r k ,
1 96 7); s ee a l s o A f r e d H . P a d d o c k , J r . , " U . S . P s y c h o l o g i c a l O p e r a -
t i o n C a p a b i l i t i e s : A n A s s e s s m e n t , " Defense "83 ( D e f e n s e a n d
F o r e i g n A f f a i r s C o n f e r e n c e s , L t d . , W a s h i n g t o n , D C , 1 98 3),
p p . 2 7 2 - 8 6 .
2 . C a r l v o n C la u s e w i t z , O n W a r , e d . M i c h a e l H o w a r d a n dP e t e r P a r e t ( P r i n c e to n : P r i n c e to n U n iv e r s i t y P r e s s , 1 97 6), p . 92 .
3 . E d w a r d N . L u t t w a k , T h e G r a n d S t r a t e g y o f t h e R o m a n
E m p i r e ( B a l t im o r e : T h e J o h n s H o p k in s U n iv e r s i t y P r e s s , 1 97 6),
p p . 3 - 4 .
4 . S e e S t e p h e n P . R o s e n , " V i e t n a m a n d t h e A m e r i c a n T h e o r y
o f L i m i t e d W a r , " I n t e r n a t i o n a l S e c u r i t y (Fal l 1982) , pp. 83-113.
5 . S e e E l i o t C o h e n , " W h y W e S h o u l d S t o p S t u d y i n g t h eC u b a n Mis s i l e C r i s i s , " T h e N a t i o n a l I n t e r e s t (Win te r 1985) ,
p p . 3 - 1 3 .
6 . S e e , f o r e x a m p l e , S e c r e ta r y o f D e f e n s e C a s p a r W .
W e i n b e r g e r , A n n u a l R e p o r t t o t h e C o n g r e s s , F i s c a l Y e a r 1 9 8 7
( W a s h i n g t o n , D C : U S G P O , 1 9 8 6 ) , p p . 7 8 - 8 1 .
7 . " A n O l d - fa s h i o n e d M o d e r n W a r , " P r o c e e d i n g s o f t h e
U n i t e d S ta t e s N a v a l I n s t i t u t e , (February 1983) , p . 87 .
8 . " T h e H a n d l i n g o f P r e s s a n d P u b l i c I n f o r m a t i o n D u r i n g th e
F a l k l a n d s C o n f l i c t , " H o u s e o f C o m m o n s F ir st R e p o r t f r o m th e
D e f e n s e C o m m i t t e e , 1982-83 sess ion , vo l . I , pp . xxv-xxv i .9 . T h e s e q u o t a t i o n s a r e a s s e m b l e d i n T h e N e w R e p u b l i c ,
14 & 21 Ju ly 1986 , pp . 7 -8 .
1 0. S e e S t e v e n D a v id , "S o v i e t I n v o lv e m e n t i n T h i r d W o r ld
C o u p s , " I n t e r n a t i o n a l S e c u r i t y ( S u m m e r 1 9 8 6 ) , p p . 8 - 9 .
1 1. S e e R i c h a r d B e r n s te i n , " T h e T e r r o r: W h y F r a n c e ? W h y
N o w ? " T h e N e w Y o r k T i m e s M a g a z i n e , 1 9 O c to b e r 1 9 8 6 .
1 2. S e e, f o r e x a m p l e , E d w a r d N . L u t t w a k , T h e P o l i ti c a l U s e s
o f S e a P o w e r , S t u d i e s i n I n t e r n a t i o n a l A f f a i r s X X I I I ( B a l t i m o r e :
T h e J o h n s H o p k i n s U n i v e r s i ty P r es s , 1 97 4); J a m e s C a b l e , G u n b o a tDip lomacy , 1919-1979 ( N e w Y o r k : S t . M a r t i n s , 1 98 1).
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Comment
J O S E P H G O L D B E R G
PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE IS THE ATTEMPT to i n f l u e n c e a n
adversary audience's behavior by shaping its thinking.
Leaders of nations, like individuals, often act in terms of
what they believe will provide them the greatest amount ofbenefit. Again, in the same way that individuals may err in
what they understand to be beneficial for themselves, so too
may leaders err in their understanding of what is beneficial
for their nations. Decisions may be in error because leaders
are wrong as to what constitutes their proper objective, or
decisions may be defective because they are based on insuffi-
cient or erroneous information. Whatever may account for
failures, the behavior of adversaries and their decisions areinfluenced by their understanding of reality, and the
manipulation of their perception and interpretation of reality
is the concern of psychological warfare.
As Professor Bernstein has argued, the success of any
psychological operation depends upon the believability of
what is being conveyed. His concern, of course, has been withcoercive diplomacy-the threat of force as an influence on
be ha vi or -w hi ch requires the enemy to believe that force canbe and will be used to accomplish military and political objec-
tives. Successful coercive diplomacy requires the promise of
force with the adversary acting in the desired manner wi thoutits actual use.
Psychological warfare does not depend solely on speech
or the prin ted word. An enemy is as concerned with what he
sees or does not see as with what he can read or hear. Disin-
formation, or the att empt to mislead an adversary by supply-
ing false information, should be distinguished from percep-
tions management. Perceptions mana gement is the attempt to
lead an enemy to certain conclusions by carefully fashioning
what he perceives. For example, the significance of the move-
ment of a carrier fleet or the redeployment of troops is
160
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COERCIVE DI PL OM AC Y AN D LIMITED WAR 161
l e a rn e d t h r o u g h a n al ys is a n d n o t b y p e r c e p t i o n . I f a n a d v e r -
s ar y c o n s tr u e s s u c h m o v e m e n t s as t h r e a t e n i n g a n d t h e th r e a tr e su l ts in a m o d i f i c a t i o n o f t h a t e n e m y ' s b e h a v i o r , t h e n a
p o t e n t ia l ly d a n g e r o u s s i tu a t io n m a y h a v e b e e n d e f u s e d a t a
c o s t s i g n i fi c a n tl y le ss t h a n m i l i t ar y c o n f r o n t a t i o n .
D i s i n f o r m a t i o n c a m p a i g n s , p e r c e p t i o n s m a n a g e m e n t
o p e r a t i o n s , a n d c o e r ci v e d i p l o m a c y c a n b e e f fe c t i v e a s in -
d e p e n d e n t o p e r a t i o n s o r c a n b e u s e d e f fe c t i v e ly t o g e t h e r . F o r
e x a m p l e , P r o f e s s o r B e r n s t e i n h a s c a l l e d o u r a t t e n t i o n t o t h e
A m e r i c a n b o m b i n g r a id o n L i b y a a s a r e s p o n s e t o L i b y a ns t a te - s p o n s o r e d t e r r o r i s m . T h e i m m e d i a t e t a rg e t w a s L i b y a,
t h o u g h m o s t a n t i te r r o r i s t a n a ly s t s w i ll a c k n o w l e d g e t h a t t h e
m e s s a g e th a t t h e U n i t e d S t a te s w o u l d n o t t o l e r a te s u c h s u p -
p o r t f o r t e r r o r i s t a c t i o n s w a s d i r e c t e d a t S y r i a a n d I r a n a s
w e ll . F u r t h e r m o r e , a n t i t e rr o r i s t e x p e r ts d i d n o t e n v i s i o n t h is
r a i d a s e n d i n g t e r r o r i s m f o r e v e r . T h a t o b j e c t iv e w a s
f a b r i c a te d a f t e r t h e f a c t b y cr it ic s o f th e b o m b i n g r a id w h o
h o p e d t o d e m o n s t r a t e t h a t th e r a i d w a s e i th e r f u ti le o rc o u n t e r p r o d u c t i v e .
T h e c le a r i n t e n t i o n w a s t o d e t e r - i f n o t f o r c e e l e m e n t s
w i t h in L i b y a t o r e t h i n k - L i b y a ' s i n v o l v e m e n t i n t e rr o r is t ac -
t iv i ty . I n t h a t r e g a r d , i f t h e r a id h a d e n c o u r a g e d a n t i - Q a d d a f i
f a c t i o n s w i t h i n L i b y a t o r e p l a c e h i m w i t h m o r e m o d e r a t e
l e a d e r s h ip , t h e i n d i r ec t c o n s e q u e n c e s o f t h e r a id w o u l d h a v e
b e e n e v e n m o r e f r u i t f u l . I b e l ie v e t h a t P r o f e s s o r B e r n s t e i n is
c o r r e c t i n s u g g e s t i n g t h a t t e r r o r i s t a c t i v i ty in t h e r e g i o n d i dd i m i n i s h fo l lo w i n g t h e r a i d - c o n t r a r y t o t h e p r e d ic t io n s o f
c r i t i c s - a n d t h a t o t h e r W e s t e r n n a t i o n s h a v e r e c o g n i z e d ,
d e s p i t e t h e d i f f ic u l t y o f d o i n g s o , t h a t t h e r a i d p r o v i d e d s o m e
s i g n i f i c a n t b e n e f i t s .
F o u r m o n t h s a f te r t h e r a id , A m e r i c a n n e w s p a p e rs
r e p o r t e d t h a t Q a d d a f i w a s o n c e a g a in a b o u t to e m b a r k o n
n e w t e r r o r i s t a c ti v it ie s t h a t , i f c a r r i e d o u t , c o u l d r e s u l t in n e w
U S m i l i ta r y r e t a l i a t io n . A Wall Street Journal a r t i c l e ( 2 5A u g u s t 1986) r e p o r t e d , " t h e P e n t a g o n is c o m p l e t i n g p l a n s f o r
a n e w a n d l ar g er b o m b i n g o f L i b y a in c as e t h e P r e s i d e n t
o r d e r s i t . " O f c o u r s e , s u c h c o n t i n g e n c y p l a n s p r o b a b l y d i d
e xis t in s o m e f o r m . O n 2 O c t o b e r 19 86, B o b W o o d w a r d o f
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1~ GOLDBERG
t h e Washington Post r e p o r t e d t h a t t h e a c c o u n t s w e re p a r t o f
a p l a n i n it ia t e d b y th e N a t i o n a l S e c u r i t y P l a n n i n g G r o u p t oe n c o u r a g e i n te r n a l o p p o s i t i o n to Q a d d a f i a n d b r in g a b o u t h is
r e m o v a l . A c c o r d i n g to t h is r e p o r t , t h e i n t e n t i o n o f th e c a m -
p a i g n w a s t o n u r t u r e a n t i - Q a d d a f i e l e m e n t s w i t h i n L i b y a w i t h
h o p e s t h a t h e w o u l d b e o v e r t h r o w n .
D e s p i t e t h e f a c t t h a t Q a d d a f i ' s r e g im e h a s h a r d l y b e e n
h o s p i t a b l e t o A m e r i c a n o b j e c t i v e s a n d p r i n c i p l e s , a n d t h a t
L i b y a h a s n o t b e e n t h e r e c ip i e n t o f p r a is e f r o m t h e p r e ss , t h e
l im i t e d a ir s tr ik e a n d t h e a t t e m p t t o u n d e r m i n e Q a d d a f i ' sd o m e s t i c s u p p o r t r e c e iv e d , o n t h e w h o l e , n e g a t i v e p r e ss
c o v e r a g e . T h e i n t e n t o f th e o p e r a t i o n w a s n o t t o p r o v i d e f a ls e
i n f o r m a t i o n t o t h e A m e r i c a n p u b l ic , h o w e v e r , b u t t o d e ce iv e
t h e L i b y a n s. T h a t d e c e p t i o n d id n o t h a v e t h e o p p o r t u n i t y t o
r e a c h i ts o b j e c t iv e b e c a u s e o f th e W o o d w a r d d i s cl o s u re .
W h a t t h is e p i s o d e d e m o n s t r a t e s is t h e e x t r e m e d i f f ic u l t y t h a t
d e m o c r a c i e s h a v e c a r r y in g o n p s y c h o l o g i c a l w a r f a r e in c o n d i -
t i o n s o f l e s s t h a n d e c l a r e d w a r .W h a t d i s ti n g u i sh e s w a r f a r e in th e p r e s e n t p e r i o d ( a n d
p r o b a b l y t h e f u t u r e ) f r o m i ts p a s t is , as P r o f e s s o r B e r n s t e in
h a s a r g u e d , t h e l i k e l i h o o d t h a t w a r s w i ll b e l i m i t e d , w il l o f t e n
i n v o l v e i r re g u l a r o r g u e r r i ll a f o r c e s , a n d w i ll o f t e n b e l i n k e d
w i t h te r r o r i s m . F o r p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s , t h e s e t r e n d s
p o s e p a r t i c u l a r p r o b l e m s a n d o p p o r t u n i t i e s . N o t t h e le a st o f
t h e p r o b l e m s c o n c e r n s t h e sine qua non o f p s y c h o l o g i c a l
o p e r a t i o n s - i n t e l l i g e n c e c o l le c t i o n a n d a n aly s is .I n t e ll ig e n c e c o l le c t i o n o n i r re g u l a r f o r c e s a n d t e r r o r i s t
g r o u p s - e s p e c i a l l y t e r r o r i s t c e l l s - d e p e n d s o n i n t e l l i g e n c e
s o u r c e s i n t h e f i e ld . S u c h i n f o r m a t i o n is d i f f i c u l t t o a c q u i r e
a n d o f t e n w il l r e q u i re m a n y y e a rs t o d e v e l o p . O n c e e s ta b -
l is h e d , h o w e v e r , t h e c h a r a c t e r o f te r r o ri s t g r o u p s m a k e s t h e m
v e r y s u s c e p t i b l e t o p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s . T e r r o r i s t
g r o u p s , s u c h a s t h e v a r i o u s f a c ti o n s o f th e P L O , h a v e
e s t a b li s h e d th e i r a u t h o r i t y t h r o u g h v i o le n c e . F a t a h ' s c l a im t ob e i n g th e l e a d i n g s e g m e n t o f th e P L O h a s r e st e d o n i ts u se o f
t e r ro r . Y a s si r A r a f a t ' s l e a d e r sh i p p o s i t i o n d e p e n d s o n h i s
d e m o n s t r a t e d l o y al ty to t h e c au s e a s w ell a s i ts m e a n s - t e r -
r o r . T h e P L O , l ik e o t h e r t e rr o r is t g r o u p s , is d i s p o s e d t o w a r d
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COERCIVE DI PLO MAC Y AND LIMITED WAR 163
i n t e r n a l d i v i si o n s o v e r i d e o l o g i c a l p u r i t y , l e a d e r s h i p r i v a l ri e s ,
a n d i ts r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h s u p p o r t i n g s t at e s . A s a c o n s e q u e n c e ,t h e P L O h a s b e e n v u l n e r a b l e to t h e c o n f l i c ts w i t h in t h e A r a b
w o r l d , a n d t h e t e rr o r is t s h a v e d e v o t e d a s m u c h e n e r g y t o i n -
t e r n a l c o m b a t a s t o t h e w a r a g a i n s t I s r a e l .
B e c a u s e o f t h e i n s ta b i l it y o f t h e P L O a n d i ts s u sc e p ti b il i-
t y to m a n i p u l a t i o n b y e x t e r n a l f o r c e s , i t is a li k e ly t a r g e t f o r
p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s . I n a d d i t i o n , t h o s e s ta t e s t h a t c o n -
t i n u e to p r o v i d e a i d to P L O t e r ro r i s t f ac t io n s a r e t h e m s e l v e s
v u l n e r a b l e to m a n i p u l a t i o n in v a r io u s w a y s . A s i n th e c a se o f
t h e F a l k l a n d s W a r , t h e U n i t e d S t a te s h as b e e n i d e n t i f i e d a s a
s u p p l i e r o f i n t el li g en c e i n f o r m a t i o n t o I r a q i n t h e I r a n - I r a q
c o n f l i c t . W h e t h e r t r u e o r n o t i n t h i s p a r t i c u l a r c a s e , d e v e l o p -
m e n t o f a r e p u t a t i o n a s a s u p p l i e r o f c h o i c e in t e l l ig e n c e t o k e y
p l a y e r s i n t h e r e g i o n i s s o m e t h i n g t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s c a n e x -
p l o it p s y c h o l o g i c a l l y i n a v a r i e t y o f w a y s t o a d v a n c e i ts in -
t e re s ts . O f c o u r s e , t h e c a p a b i l it ie s o f t h e U n i t e d S t a t es i n t h isa n d o t h e r m i l it a ry a r e a s a r e w e ll k n o w n . W h a t m u s t b e
d e m o n s t r a t e d i s t h e a b i l i t y a n d w i l l i n g n e s s o f t h e U n i t e d
S t a t e s t o u s e s u c h c a p a b i l i t i e s t o b e s t a d v a n t a g e i n s i t u a t i o n s
w h e r e t h e d i r e c t a p p l i c a t i o n o f f o r c e b y t h is c o u n t r y is s e v e re -
l y c o n s t r a i n e d .
ED WAR D N. L UT TWA K
I T H IN K T H E R E IS A V E R Y C L EA R d i s t i n c t i o n b e t w e e n
p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s i n w a r , e v e n i f l i m i t e d w a r , a n d t h e
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164 L U T T W A K
psychological dimension of the conduct of diplomacy. In
war, a particular discipline regulates psychological opera-
tions, and that is their contribution to the conduct of the
fighting. The psychological element is equivalent to the
logistic element, or engineering support.
Of course, the content and importance of the
psychological element varies greatly according to the s t y l e of
war. If the style is close to pure attrition, when one is just try-
ing to grind down the enemy (treated as a mere array of
targets) by the application of firepower, then one does notmuch care what the other fellow is thinking as he is being
ground down. But if there is a high relat ional-maneuver con-
tent in the conduct of war, then the psychological element
becomes much more important and may even be decisive.
That psychological element can take the form of explicit-
ly PSYOP activity, such as distributing leaflets. But much
more commonly, it is an integral part of the operation as a
whole. When two or three of Rommel's tanks break through
the desert, take up a position on the coastal road, and start
shooting up British transport, and the British, thinking they
are cut off, abandon their forward positions to leg it down
the road to Alexandria, those tanks are not functioning as in-
struments of destruction but rather as very persuasive
leaflets, carrying the message, "You are surrounded; your
best bet is to abandon your ammunition and fuel stocks andbug out."
The greater the content of relational maneuver, the more
the psychological element counts as a dimension of warfare.
Whatever else one does or does not do, there is more scope
for the use of explicitly PSYOP instruments such as radio
broadcasting or leaflets. And, of course, the greater the rela-
tional maneuver content as opposed to attrition, the more the
outcome depends on the a c c u r a c y with which you have the
enemy figured out. In maneuver, even if your game is just a
very simple outflanking move, you'd better know exactly
what the enemy's dispositions are; otherwise, you might drive
right into a prepared killing ground.
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COERCIVE DIP LO MAC Y AN D LIMITED WAR 165
Similarly, insofar as one relies on the psychological ele-
ment, one mustunderstand
the soul of the enemy-and notjust know his order of battle or dispositions. If you want to
induce Russians to surrender, you will have to act differently
than if it is the Germans or the Italians who are your enemy.
The side that practices relational maneuver must first of all
study the enemy he wants to relate to, and the psychological
element depends on a close fit between the specific action and
the specific enemy, whether it's an explicitly psychological
operation one is dealing with or the psychological dimensionof the combat operation as a whole.
So the discipline of PSYOP is the discipline of the con-
duct of warfare in its totality. It's part of the plan and the en-
tire operation; it is a general command responsibility. The
only thing that varies is that attrition-minded commanders
and attrition-oriented forces will tend to neglect the
psychological dimension. (They will, incidentally, also tend
to look down on any explicit PSYOP units or officers theymay have attached to them.) The more maneuver-oriented
will naturally give greater attention to the psychological
dimension. Of course, one cannot simply say that one of
these ways of waging war is good or bad. In some situations,
a straightforward attrition approach is the best way to deal
with the enemy; in others, there is more sc o p e - o r n e e d - f o r
maneuver. If one is in really desperate circumstances and very
weak, only relational maneuver can yield success, and then
one must rely very heavily on the psychological dimension.
As far as diplomacy (which I regard as a completely
separate phenomenon) is concerned, the chain of com man d is
the leadership structure of the nation's foreign policy. Then
the fundamental difference from nation to nation is in the
overall method of statecraft, which is practiced differently
according to culture, traditions, and, to some degree, the di-
recting personalities.
There is what one might call the pragmatic method,
which is generally though not always favored by Anglo-
Saxon culture: one issue at a time, no complications, a firm
focus on the matter at hand, and so on. Then there is the
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166 L UT TW A K
other method that stresses long-range thinking, planning, and
calculation-what one might call the classic method. The
pragmatic style fails, of course, because its practitioner dis-
regards other relevant factors and has a very short -term view.
The strategic style also fails, however, when one sets the
wrong goals; one is then punished by the very discipline with
which those goals are pursued over the long run.
In regard to the psychological element, the contrast be-
tween the two methods is clear. Those who follow the
pragmatic method tend to disregard the essentialpsychological mechanism involved, which is, as Dr. Bernstein
points out, the role of reputation as the equivalent of capital.Think of yourself as a banker who makes money by
guaranteeing deals. Perhaps you can work for your entire
career without anybody ever calling a guarantee . Very profit-
able, yes, but not comfor table because you have to treat every
problem in terms of what it will do to your accumulated
reputa t ion-and not on its own merits.Take the example of the United States and Iran, the last
time around. President Carter saw the problem as one of get-
ting fifty-odd hostages out o f I r a n - as if there were only two
countries in the world, Iran and the United States, no othergoal but regaining the hostages, and no future beyond the
moment when the hostages would come back. Obviously,
what this approach does for capital accumulation is to nullify
past achievement from 1776 to the present. When one is aspragmatic as Jimmy Carter (and he was not so different in
that respect from most other American presidents, only
perhaps more extreme), one ignores that aspect of statecraft.
Following the classic method, on the other hand, you f ocus
on the accumulation of capital no matter what is the issue at
hand.Soviet leaders have been very good at accumulating
capital. When the Soviet embassy in Iran is threatened by a
mob, the Soviet charg6 d'affaires telephones the Iranian
foreign ministry and says that if the mob enters the embassy,
Tehcran will become a smoking ru in -- and the mob stops, asif miraculously. But it is the Mafia families that are the most
professional practitioners of the classical method. Hundreds
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C O E R C I V E D I P L O M A C Y A N D L I M I T E D W A R 1 6 7
of people do their bidding even though each family only has a
very poor mechanism of supervision and control, and of
course has the whole legal system standing against it. Condi-
tions are very unfavorable, but the families overcome that by
relentlessly focusing on their reputation , not short-t erm cost
and benefit: if you steal fifty dollars from a Mafia family, it
will cheerfully spend half a million dollars to find you. Their
game is to accumulate the maximum leverage to obtain real
results with a minimum use of actual force.
Let me give you a specific example in a quasi-combatsituation, which relates to some of the things the British did
in the Falklands. In 1982, when the Israeli army invaded
Lebanon, it had to cross the UNIFIL lines on the Litani
River. One crossing was a very high bridge over a deep
ravine, held by Norwegian UN troops. The Israeli division
command er had absolutely no authority to use force, but he
wanted the bridge and was in a hurry. After the UN com-
mander refused to let him by, the Israeli commander droveright up to the Norwegians on the bridge and gave the order
to rev up the tank engines. The Norwegians--with their
typical Scandinavian attitude about warfare, that it is terrible
and so on-simply scattered.
Another Israeli column came to a bridge that was held by
Gurkhas from Nepal. The Gurkha officer on the bridge told
the Israelis how splendid it was that a war would be fought,
and how delighted the Gurkhas would be to have a chance toparticipate in i t - which would assuredly happen if the Israelis
attempted to drive across the bridge. His men were dug in,
grinning, and eager. The Israelis spent six hours building
another bridge to bypass the position. The Gurkha officer
was using accumulated r ep ut a ti on -as it happens, not that of
a country but of a particular ethnic gr o u p - and obtained real
power over events that will only increase the group's reputa-
tion in the future. The classical method is economical, but it
does require a constant discipline-and the occasional act
that seems irrational if viewed in a one time, one place, one
issue perspective.
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Political Strategies for General War:The Case of E astern E urope
HEN RY S. ROW EN
H U G H S E T O N - W A T S O N , in a p o s t hu m o u s ly p u b -
l i sh ed a r t i c l e i n Encounter, ~ d e s c r i b e s t h e c u l t u r a l
u n i t y i n E u r o p e t h a t h a d e m e r g e d b y t h e e n d o f t h e n i n e -
t e e n t h c e n t u r y d e s p i t e d i v i s i o n s a m o n g t h e c h u r c h e s a n d t h e
r is e o f n a t i o n a l i d e n ti ti es a n d e m o t i o n s . T h i s c o m m u n i t y w a s
r u p t u r e d b y t h e B o l s h e v i k s w h e n t h e y a s s u m e d p o w e r i n
R u s s i a t h r o u g h w h a t a m o u n t e d t o a d e - E u r o p e a n i z a t i o n o f
t h a t c o u n t r y . T h e s h if t to t h e w e s t o f S o v i e t p o w e r d u r i n g t h e
S e c o n d W o r l d W a r s u b j e c te d th e E a s t E u r o p e a n s , a c c o r d in gt o S e t o n - W a t s o n , " to m a n i p u l a t i o n by c o n q u e r o rs w h o m
t h e y d e s p i s e . " H e t e l l s u s t o " s t o p t h i n k i n g o f t h e S o v i e t c o -
l o n ia l e m p i r e as p e r m a n e n t a n d s to p s p e a k in g o f t h e E E C ' s
n e o - C a r o l i n g i a n e m p i r e a s E u r o p e . "
T h e W e s t h a s c o m e to r e g a r d t h e S o v ie t c o l o n i a l e m p i r ei n t h e E a s t , a s a p r a c t i c a l m a t t e r , a s p e r m a n e n t . A t l ea s t t h e r e
i s n o p l a u s i b l e p a t h t h a t i s n o w f o r e s e e n f o r i t s e n d i n g .
M o s c o w s e e s t h e m a i n t e n a n c e o f i t s c o n t r o l o v e r E a s t e r nE u r o p e a s b e i n g o f t h e h i g h e s t i m p o r t a n c e , a n d it h a s th e
m i l i t a r y p o w e r t o e n f o r c e i t . B u t n o n e o f t h i s c h a n g e s t h ef a c t, a s S e t o n - W a t s o n p u t i t , t h a t " t h e d i v i si o n is p e r m a n e n t -
ly u n a c c e p t a b le f o r m o r e t h a n a h u n d r e d m i l l io n E u r o p e a n s . "
T h e m o v e m e n t t o w a r d t h e w e s t o f t h e l i m i t o f S o v i e t
p o l i ti c a l c o n t r o l i n s e r t e d S o v i e t m i l i ta r y p o w e r i n t o t h e h e a r t
o f E u r o p e . T h i s s h i ft p r o v i d e d a d e f e n s iv e g la c is a n d a n o f -
f e n s i v e b a s e a g a i n s t t h e r e s t o f E u r o p e . A n a l y s t s d i v i d e o n" d e f e n s i v e " v e r su s " o f f e n s i v e " i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f S o v ie t i n te n -
t io n s , b u t S o v i e t m i l it a r y d i s p o s it io n s i n C e n t r a l E u r o p e
c l e a r ly se r ve b o t h p u r p o s e s . T h e S o v ie t m i l i t a r y p r e s e n c e
i n a n d o n t h e b o r d e r s o f t h e E a s t E u r o p e a n c o u n t r i e s i s e s -s e nt ia l t o m a i n t e n a n c e o f t h e C o m m u n i s t r e gi m e s. T h i s
169
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170 ROWEN
military power has been used on several occasions for that
purpose and has deterred any conceivable Western interven-
tions in support of these popular revolts. It also poses a
serious threat to Western Europe. The Soviet Union has long
been seen as having a dominant military position in Europe,
one that could only be held in check by an armed Western
Europe, an American military presence, and the threat to re-
spond if necessary to a S ov ie t - and in due course a Warsaw
Pact-conventional attack by use of nuclear weapons.
A crucial part of this strategy, the threat to use nuclear
weapons first, is increasingly perceived as having been over-
taken by the Soviet nuclear buildup. Changes in NATO's
strategy are widely held to be needed. An altered strategy
should address explicitly the importance of the role the East
Europeans would play in a Warsaw Pact attack on Western
Europe, on the deterrent value of their potential defection
from Moscow's ranks in the event of such an attack, and the
contribution of possible defections in defeating such an at-tack were it to occur.
The Degrees of Success in Anticoalition Strategy
In Europe, two alliance systems face each other, one
voluntary, the other coerced. There is strength in collective
security, but there are also potential vulnerabilities-aperception expressed early in recorded history. The goal of
disrupting the opposing alliance was placed well up in the
ranking o f policies by Sun Tzu, the great Chinese strategist. It
is worth reminding ourselves that his counsel for an offensive
strategy against an enemy included the advice "to disrupt his
alliances." Sun Tzu's advice is even more applicable to the
nuclear age than to his own. The Soviets have long followed
and practiced the advice of the Chinese sage. For instance, atStalingrad they found the Romanians and Italians to be weak
links, which they exploited. Later, in 1944, the German 6th
Army was lost through Soviet pressure on the Romanian
forces on its flanks.
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G E N E R A L W A R 1 H
S o v i e t a u t h o r i t i e s c l e ar ly p e r c e iv e th e N A T O a l li a n c e as
v u l n e r a b l e t o p o l i ti c a l, a n d p o t e n t i a l l y m i l i ta r y , f r a g m e n t a -
t i o n . T h e r e is a s u b s t a n t i a l S o v i e t l i te r a t u r e o n " c o a l i t i o n w a r -
f a r e , " w h i c h i s b a s e d o n t h e c o n c e p t t h a t a p r i m a r y s t r a t e g i c
o b j e c t i v e i s t h e d i s m a n t l i n g o f t h e e n e m y ' s c o a l i t i o n w h i l e
h o l d i n g o n e 's o w n t o g e t h e r . I n t h e 1 94 0s a n d 1 95 0s, M o s c o w
u s e d th e C o m m u n i s t p a r t i es o f W e s t e r n E u r o p e t o t ry t o p r e-
v e n t t h e c o n s o l i d a t i o n o f a W e s t e r n a l l ia n c e in w t )i ch b o t h t h e
U n i t e d S t a t e s a n d G e r m a n y w o u l d p l a y c r u c i a l r o l e s . I t h a s
t r i e d t o u n d e r m i n e t h e W e s t e r n w ill t o r e sis t b y p la y i n g u p t h ei d e a t h a t a n y c o n f l i c t w o u l d b e c o m e n u c l e a r a n d i n e v i t a b l y
e s c a la t e to t h e g e n o c i d a l le v el. I t h a s h a r p e d o n t h e t h e m e o f
b a si c d iv e r ge n c e s b e t w e e n E u r o p e a n a n d A m e r i c a n in te r es ts
a n d o f t h e r ec k le s s b e h a v i o r o f t h e U n i t e d S t at es . I t h a s m a d e
p r o m i s e s a n d t h r e a t s ( f o r i n s t a n c e , t o t h e D u t c h ) t h a t t h e r e -
j e c t io n o f N A T O m i ss ile s w il l c a u s e t h e m t o b e s p a r e d i f w a r
c o m e s a n d v i ce v e r s a. I t h a s g i v e n fi n a n c i a l s u p p o r t t o p e a c e
g r o u p s i n t h e W e s t , a n d s o fo r t h .T h i s i s i n p e a c e t i m e . S o v i e t w r i t i n g s a r e a l s o e x p l i c i t o n
h o w t o p r o c e e d in w a r . R e t r o s p e c t i v e S o v i e t a n a l ys e s o f t h e
b a t t le o f S t a l i n g r a d , f o r e x a m p l e , re g u l a r ly p o i n t o u t t h a t t h e
m a i n a x e s o f a t t a c k w e r e s e l e c t e d s o a s t o e x p l o i t t h e r e l a t i v e
w e a k n e s s o f t h e R o m a n i a n a n d I ta l ia n t r o o p s h o l d i n g k e y
p o s i t i o n s o f t h e G e r m a n l in e . T h i s is s e e n as a l e s so n f o r w a r
a g a i n s t N A T O . I t s e e m s h ig h l y l ik e ly t h a t t h e S o v i e t U n i o n ,
t o a c h i e v e t h e g o a l o f th e m i l i ta r y a n d p o l it ic a l d e f e a t o fN A T O , w o u l d s ee k t o f o r c e t h e w i t h d r a w a l o r d e f e a t o f in -
d i v i d u a l m e m b e r s o f t h e W e s t e rn a ll ia n ce .
I n a d d i t io n t o s o u n d L e n i n is t re a s o n s c o n s t a n t ly to p r es s
o n e ' s a d v e r sa r ie s , t h e f a c t t h a t t h e p e o p l e s o f E a s t e r n E u r o p e
a r e p e r m a n e n t l y ir re c o n c i l a b le g iv e s M o s c o w a n a d d e d i n c en -
t iv e t o w e a k e n a n d d o m i n a t e th e r e g io n b e y o n d .
T h e r e i s n o p a r a l l e l i n t h e W e s t , e i t h e r i n d o c t r i n e o r i n
p r a c t i c e , t o t h is S o v i e t s t r a te g y o f p r o m o t i n g d i v is i o n s i n t h e
e n e m y c a m p . T h e W e s t' s a ct iv i t ie s , n o t w i t h s t a n d i n g s o m e
b r a v e " r o l lb a c k " r h e t o r ic a t t h e b e g i n n i n g o f t h e E i s e n h o w e r
a d m i n i s t r a t i o n , h a v e l a r ge l y b e e n l i m i t e d t o r a d i o b r o a d -
c a s t s , h e l p f o r e m i g r e s , c u l t u r a l e x c h a n g e s - - a n d e c o n o m i c
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1 7 2 R O W E N
s u b s i d i e s . W e s t e r n s u b s i d i e s t o t h e E a s t c a n b e v i e w e d a s a
f o r m o f s u b v e r s i o n - b u t i f so , th e y ar e a n e xc e pt io n a ll y
s u b tl e f o r m ; t h e y c a n m o r e p l a u s ib l y b e r e g a r d e d a s p r o p p i n g
u p i n e f fi c ie n t a n d d e t e s t e d re g i m e s . B u t t h e s e e c o n o m i c p r o -
j e ct s d o b r i n g p e o p l e i n t h e E a s t i n t o d a n g e r o u s c o n t a c t w i t h
W e s t e r n e r s , a n d t h e b o o m c r e a t e d i n P o l a n d i n t h e 1 9 7 0 s ,
w i t h th e h e l p o f W e s te r n m o n e y , d i d h e l p to c r ea te c o n d i t io n si n w h i c h S o l i d a ri t y e m e r g e d . B u t i n t h e e n d t h e S o v i et s h a v e
m a n a g e d t o c o n t a i n t h e p r o b l e m s t h a t h a v e b e e n c r e a t e d .
T h e U S p o l i c y o f " d i f f e r e n t ia t i o n " a m o n g t h e E a s t E u r o -
p e a n c o u n t r ie s a n d b e t w e e n th e m a n d t h e S o v i e t U n i o n a ls o
h a s t h e f l a v o r o f a n a n t i c o a l i t i o n s t r a te g y . B u t i t h a s i n v o l v e d
w e a k a c t io n s . I t is o f t e n h a r d t o k n o w w h o i s b e i n g r e w a r d e d
a n d w h o is b e i n g p u n i s h e d , a n d w i t h w h a t m e a n s , u n d e r th is
p o l i c y .
I n s h o r t , t h e W e s t h a s m o r e o r l e s s a c c e p t e d a d o u b l e
s t a n d a r d : w h a t ' s y o u r s is y o u r s a n d w h a t ' s m i n e is n e g o t i a b l e .
W e a c c e p t t h a t t h e S o v i e t U n i o n c a n e n g a g e in o v e r t a n dd i v is iv e t h r e a t s a g a i n s t t h e W e s t , w h i l e w e r e g a r d a n y t h i n g
t h a t s m a c k s o f a c t i o n s s t re s si n g t h e S o v i e t c o a l i t io n a s p r o -
v o c a ti v e. ( A l t h o u g h w h a t i s p r o v o c a t i v e d e p e n d s o n w h e r e
y o u s i t . O u r r a d i o b r o a d c a s t s , f r e e p r e s s , i n e f f e c t a l l o u rd e m o c r a t i c i n s t i t u t i o n s , a r e p r o v o c a t i o n s a s s e e n f r o m
M o s c o w . )
T h e W e s t 's g o v e r n m e n t s h a v e f ai le d t o m a k e a n i m p o r -
t a n t d i s t in c t io n . W e b a c k e d o f f f r o m s u p p o r t o f d is s i d en c e i n
E a s t e r n E u r o p e d u r i n g t h e f i rs t h a l f o f t h e 1 95 0s o n p r a c t i c a l
a n d m o r a l g r o u n d s ; e s p e c i al ly a f t e r 1 95 6, m o s t o f th i s su p -
p o r t w a s se e n t o b e i n e ff e c ti v e a n d d a n g e r o u s . B u t w e a l so
c a m e t o n e g l e c t S u n T z u ' s a d v ic e ev e n w i t h r e g a r d t o o u r o w n
s e c u r i t y .
A s s e s s i n g T h e P r e s e n t S i t u a t i o n
T h e W e s t h a s a c c e p t e d th e s e a sy m m e t r i c g r o u n d r u le s in
l ar g e m e a s u r e o u t o f f e a r o f S o v i e t p o w e r . B u t o f w h a t d o e s
t h i s p o w e r c o n s i s t ? T h e S o v i e t s ' v a s t a r r a y o f n u c l e a rw e a p o n s a n d d e l i v e r y s y s t e m s is i m p r e s s i v e , b u t i t h a s l a rg e l y
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GENERAL WAR IN
just a canceling effect on US and other Western nuclear
forces. At least as important is the formidable alignment of
ground and tactical air and missile forces of the Warsaw
Pact. The numbers are familiar-around 90 divisions in
Eastern Europe and the Western part of the Soviet Union
versus less than half that number in Western Europe, in-
cluding quickly available reinforcements from the United
States. Moreover, the Warsaw Pact forces are seen as being
under central Moscow control, whereas the NATO govern-
ments would each decide in a crisis whether, and how, to par-ticipate in the collective defense.
The principal means of preventing this superior force
from moving into Western Europe has long been the presence
of several thousand US nuclear weapons, a commitment to
use them first if needed, and 300,000 American troops. But
the nuclear commitment, in the view of many serious
analysts, has become ineffective. This view is debatable, but
there can be little doubt that the set of circumstances in whichan American president would use nuclear weapons first has
shrunk greatly. Nor has that shrinkage been offset by an ap-
parently greater willingness of the authorities in France and
Britain to use their nuclear weapons in the defense of Ger-
many or of other parts of Europe. So we have the familiar
qu es ti on - how to assure the security of Europe? The familiar
American answer-build up the Alliance's conventional
strength, a sound policy-meets with a European responsethat this is too costly (meaning that Europe's welfare pro-grams are more important), or that it will weaken the deter-
rent effects of the threat to use nuclear weapons first, or that
it is unnecessary.
The belief in Soviet conventional superiority rests,
however, on the assumption that the members of the WarsawPact would follow Moscow's orders in military operations
against Western Europe. But should they, when there is over-whelming evidence that the East Europeans despise their con-
querors and long to be free? Three reasons are offered why
they will, or might, obey Moscow:
1. Their leaders, true believers or not, are beholden to
Moscow for their positions and even their lives.
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174 ROWEN
2. The fact that Soviet forces are stationed in or on the
borders of their countries gives these leaders little
choice.
3. Moscow has a system to control directly their
military forces.
So perhaps, or probably, or very l ik el y- so judgments by
analysts r u n - t h e East Europeans, or various of them, would
join with Moscow in a war with the West.
This is the point where Western thinking on this subject
has stopped. Western planners take the position that since we
can't count on non-Soviet defections we have to assume that
the full weight of all the members of the Pact would be felt.
Others of a more hopeful persuasion take comfort from the
thought that the Poles or others might not join in, or that
they and other East Europeans might not try very hard or
fight very well. They conclude, therefore, that the military
balance is not in bad shape, and even that NATO might get
away with spending less.There is a curious passivity along this optimism-
pessimism spectrum on the "reliability" of the East Euro-
peans. It is as though we are predicting the weather. We
might agree or disagree on whether raincoats should be worn ,
but we don't expect to influence the weather. Similarly, vir-
tually no one has seen the behavior o f the East Europeans in
East-West crisis or war as a possible object of influence; one
looks in vain through the Western literature on the WarsawPact to find any substantial discussion of what the West
might do to affect the behavior of the East Europeans in cir-
cumstances when our security is at stake.
Much depends, of course, on how important the role of
the East Europeans is in a war with NAT O. If the non-Soviet
forces are useful for Moscow to have on its side but not vital,
then our neglect of the behavior of the East Europeans is
perhaps excusable. But this is an empirical matter.There are two main measures of the importance of the
East Europeans: the weight of their military forces and the
security of the Soviet lines of communication that run for
long distances through their territories.
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GENERAL WAR 1~
If one simply counts units in place today west of the
Soviet Union, in the northe rn tier the non-Soviet forces make
up 50 percent of the ground and air forces (somewhat less if
counts are weighted by modernity of equipment). The non-
Soviet share of military manpower is 70 percent. The total
number of active duty troops in this part of the Pact today is
about equal to the number of NATO troops in the Federal
Republic of Germany alone. This comparison, which does
not count the forces back in the USSR on the one hand and in
the United States, Britain, and France on the other, is perti-nent to an attack designed to catch NATO's forces
unawares -- a classical, Pearl Harbor-like, Sunday morningstrike. Such an attack presumably would feature Spetsnaz
units operating behind the NATO lines and other fast-moving
units trying to get inside and around NATO's unprepared for-
mations. It might work if the signals of attack preparations
were wrongly interpreted or the defender's response was slug-
gish- as they were at Pearl Harbor and in several other sud-den attacks since World War II. So this clearly is a case to
take seriously.
But look at this case from the Soviet perspective. It
necessarily assumes little prior reinforcement from the Soviet
Union; therefore, most of the attacking soldiers would have
to be non-Soviet. Could the Soviets afford to take the chance
of putting Czech, Polish, or GDR units up front where their
collapse or defection would open gaping holes in the front?Could they trust these forces in the second echelon role to ar-
rive on schedule if the Soviet formations in the van get
stalled? Could they leave them unattended in the rear when
they could be a threat to Soviet lines of communication?
The Soviet General Staff doubtless has given a lot of
thought to these questions and to ways of answering
them-perhaps to its satisfaction. The Soviets have followed
the advice of Sun Tzu not only to try to disrupt the enemy's
coalition but also vigorously to try to assure the cohesion of
their own. Their exhortations on this topic and their efforts
toward this end are so vehement as to betray a deep concern
about the problems in their coalition.
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176 ROWEN
They cannot tolerate a principle fundamental to any in-
dependent state, which is that each nation reserves to itself
the decision to go to war. The Soviets have created a com-
mand structure in which the power to take most of the East
European military forces to war resides in Moscow. Although
Romanian President Ceausescu has openly and forcefully re-
jected such an arrangement , the other leaders of the Warsaw
Pact nations, whatever their reservations, have evidently ac-
ceded to the Soviet demand that their forces be put under
direct Soviet command.
The Soviets use a number of tools to try to make such
control effective. These include training and indoctrination
of East Europeans in Soviet military schools (over 1,000 of-
ricers by now have graduated from the Soviet General Staff
military academy), Party membership requirements for ad-
vancement in the military, recruitment of agents, Soviet
theater-level command of coalition forces, and Soviet assign-
ment of officers to each of the defense ministries andthroughout the hierarchy of non-Soviet forces down to the
divisional level. In addit ion, the Soviets are likely to break up
allied units into small parcels and sandwich them among
Soviet units to prevent a critical mass of "friends" collapsing
or defecting and opening a gaping hole in the line of contact
with the enemy.
Would all of this work? The specialists on the region re-
ply that it all depends on national character and attitudes(Poles and Romanians are unreliable, Germans and
Bulgarians are reliable), on the nature of the events
precipitating the crisis (with particular reluctance to get in-
volved in crises originating in the Third World or China), on
prior conditioning (the crisis requires defense against revan-
chist Germans), on which Eastern national units are in con-
tact with which Western ones (Germans should not be al-
lowed to face Germans), and on allowing the East Europeanstoo little time to generate resistance (a proposition not easily
reconciled with the need to whip up enthusiasm). Where is
the evidence that Western thinkers have given thought to how
to make all of this more difficult for Moscow? This apparent
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G E N E R A L W A R 1 7 7
n e g l e c t o f a s t r at e g ic p a r a m e t e r a s i m p o r t a n t a s th e r o l e o f th e
n o n - S o v i e t f o r c e s - e s p e c i a l l y in l i gh t o f t h e o p i n i o n h e l d b y
m a n y s p e c i a l i s t s o n t h e r e g i o n t h a t p o o r p e r f o r m a n c e a n d
d e f e c t i o n s a re l ik e ly u n d e r c e r ta i n c i r c u m s t a n c e s - i s p o w e r -
f u l t e s t i m o n y t o t h e l a c k o f s e r io u s n e s s a b o u t s t r a t e g y a n d t h e
w i d e s p r e a d d e f e a t i s m t h a t e x i s t s i n t h e W e s t .
A f a m i l i a r c o n c l u s i o n f r o m W e s t e r n a n a l y s e s is t h a t i f
P a c t f o r c e s g e t t h e j u m p o n N A T O w i t h li t tle e ff e c ti v e w a r n -
i n g, t h e y w i ll ra p i d l y s u c c e e d i n o c c u p y i n g th e F e d e r a l
R e p u b l i c o f G e r m a n y . B u t i f d e f e c t io n s o r d e la y s w e re t o o c -c u r a m o n g t h e S o v i e t s ' a l l i e s , t h e P a c t a d v a n c e w o u l d l i k e l y
s lo w ; i f t h e r e w e r e w i d e s p r e a d d e f e c t i o n s , t h e P a c t w o u l d
h a v e m o r e d i f f i c u l t y i n a d v a n c i n g ; i f t h e r e w e r e a l s o s e r i o u s
t r o u b l e i n t h e r e a r t h a t d i s r u p t e d a n d d i v e r t e d S o v i e t r e i n -
f o r c e m e n t s , t h e P a c t a t t a c k m i g h t s t a l l o r b e d r i v e n b a c k .
S i m p l e n o n p a r t i c i p a t i o n o r s i g n i f i c a n t d e l a y s i n r e s p o n d i n g
t o o r d e r s b y M o s c o w ' s all ie s w o u l d h a v e a d o u b l e e f fe c t : N o t
o n l y w o u l d t h e S o v i et g e n e ra l s be d e p r i v e d o f n e e d e d c o m b a tf o rc e s , b u t t h e y a ls o w o u l d h a v e t o d i v e r t s o m e o f th e i r o w n
f o r c e s t o w a t c h , s u r r o u n d , a n d d i s a r m t h e d e f e c t o r s a n d t o
g u a r d t h e r o a d a n d r a il lin e s t h r o u g h t h e ir r e a r a re a .
A n i g h t m a r e f o r t h e G e n e r a l S t a f f m u s t b e th e p o s s ib i li ty
o f s e r i o u s t r o u b l e e r u p t i n g in t h e r e a r , e s p e c ia l ly i n P o l a n d ,
w h i le a b a t t le i n t h e W e s t is in th e b a l a n c e . M o s t o f th e m a i n
E a s t - W e s t r a i l l i n e s a n d r o a d r o u t e s r u n t h r o u g h t h a t c o u n -
t ry . T o s u p p o r t t h e ir a t ta c k w i t h re i n f o r c e m e n t s a n d s u p p l i e s,t h e S o v i e ts m u s t r u n 3 00 t r a in s a d a y w e s t a n d a n e q u a l
n u m b e r e a st . I f th e y a r e s e r io u s ly d e la y e d , t h e c a m p a i g n
w o u l d s u f f e r . T h e s e r o u t e s p a s s t h r o u g h m a n y P o l i s h c i t i e s
a n d t o w n s , t h r o u g h l o n g st re t ch e s o f c o u n t r y s id e , a n d o v e r
m a n y b r id g e s . I n a s u d d e n a t t a c k , o n e m o u n t e d w i t h li t t l e a d -
v a n c e m o v e m e n t o f S o v i e t f o rc e s , th e s e ro u t e s w o u l d h a v e t o
b e o p e ra t e d b y P o l i s h w o r k e r s - m a n y o f t h e m m e m b e r s o f
S o l i d a r i t y - a n d g u a r d e d b y P o l i s h t r o o p s . S u p p o s e t h a t , a t
t h a t p o i n t , m a n y P o l e s d e c i d e t h a t t h e y d o n ' t w a n t t o g e t i n t o
a w a r , d o n ' t s u p p o r t M o s c o w , a n d o p p o s e t h e m a s s i v e S o v ie t
i n t r u s i o n i n t o t h e i r t e r r i t o r y . S o v i e t f o r c e s c o u l d , n o d o u b t ,
o c c u p y P o l a n d , r e o p e n t h e lin es o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n , r e p a ir
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178 ROWEN
damage, and guard the routes. But this would take time, and
the war in the West meanwhile might become a disaster forthem. Such a contingency, which is not a prediction of Polish
(or Czechoslovak or East German) revolt in such a case, can-
not be wholly discounted by the General Sta ff in Moscow. In
effect, the General Staf f might have a view of the Polish army
like that of a former SACEUR who used to ask his staff on
which side of the balance Polish forces should be entered.
One might infer that the Soviets would not launch an at-
tack with such uncertainties. Precisely. That is the reason foraddressing the subject. We should want the Soviet General
Staf f to believe, correctly, that the East Europeans would not
come to any such war, or that it is very doubtful that they
would, or that they would take long enough in making up
their minds that a Pact attack would be weak and fail. As a
result, the Soviet military would decide not to attack at all or
might decide to reinforce heavily with Soviet forces in ad-
vance in order to dilute the effect of the East Europeans and
render less likely their defection. But doing this would also
give the West time to reinforce.
Sun Tzu has another salient observation. He says that of
the five fundamenta l factors affecting war, the first is moral
influence. "By moral influence I mean that which causes the
people to be in harmony with their leaders so that they will
accompany them in life and unto death without fear of mor-tal peril. ''2 The Soviet leadership has not always had moral
harmony even with its own people; still less does it have it
with the oppressed peoples of Eastern Europe.
This analysis leads to two central questions. How do we
strengthen deterrence of Soviet attack on Western Europe by
reinforcing in the minds of the Soviet General Staff the no-
tion that any military move against the West would be too
dangerous because of the East European factor? And howmight we minimize the likelihood of East European help to
Moscow in the unlikely event that deterrence fails and an at-
tack occurs?
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G EN ERAL W A R 179
A n En l ig h ten ed Po l i cy o f In f l u en ce
I m p o r t a n t e le m e n t s o f a N A T O s t r a te g y w i t h th i s a i m
a r e in p l a c e . T h e r e is a w i d e r e c o g n i t i o n t h a t t h e E a s t E u r o -
p e a n s p r e s e n t a " r e li ab i li ty " p r o b l e m t o t h e S o v i e t s . W h a t
h a v e b e e n l a c k in g a re W e s t e rn p o l ic y g o a ls a n d p r o g r a m s o f
a c t i o n t o s u p p o r t t h e m .
A n o b v i o u s g o a l is t h a t t h e p e o p l e o f E a s t e r n E u r o p e a c t
i n d e p e n d e n t l y . I f th e y c a n a c t i n t h e i r o w n i n t er e s ts , a l m o s t
n o n e o f t h e m w i l l s u p p o r t t h e S o v i e t U n i o n i n a n y m i l i t a r ya c t i o n a g a i n s t t h e W e s t ; t o h e l p M o s c o w w o u l d b e t o r i s k
d e s t r u c t i o n a n d e x t i ng u i sh a n y h o p e o f f r e e d o m . A l s o , t h e r e
is n o b a s i s f o r c o n f li c t b e t w e e n t h e tw o h a l v e s o f E u r o p e . T h e
F e d e r a l R e p u b l i c o f G e r m a n y h a s r e n o u n c e d c la im s o n
E a s t e r n l a n d s l o s t , a l t h o u g h d i s p l a c e d S i l e s i a n s a n d o t h e r s
p r o b a b l y m a k e i t i m p o s s i b l e t o d i s p e l f e a rs in P o l a n d t h a t
p e r h a p s s o m e d a y G e r m a n y w i ll t ry t o r e co v e r th e s e la n d s .
B u t t h e s e ar e n o l o n g e r c e n tr a l c o n c e r n s . ( O n e m i g h t s a y t h a ta n c i e n t a n i m o s i t i e s h a v e r e c e d e d b e c a u s e o f t h e d i v i s io n o f
E u r o p e ; t h i s i s t h e b e n e f i c i a l a s p e c t o f a n o t h e r w i s e
d e p l o r a b l e s i t u a t i o n . ) A l a rg e m a j o r i t y o f p e o p l e in W e s t e r n
E u r o p e , b u t n o t i n t h e E a s t , c le a rl y f i n d t h e s t a tu s q u o a c-
c e p t a b l e , e v e n i f i t is n o t t h e b e s t o f a ll i m a g i n a b l e w o r l d s ; t h e
p r o b l e m is h o w t o a s su r e t h a t M o s c o w d o e s n o t t ry to c h a n g e
t his s t a t u s q u o i n to s o m e t h i n g m u c h w o r se .
T h i s W e s t e r n o b j e c t i v e o f p r o m o t i n g i n d e p e n d e n t d e c i -s io n s by t h e p e op l e s a n d a r m e d f o rc e s o f E a s te r n E u r o p e i f
t h e S o v i et s t r y t o d r a g t h e m i n t o w a r c a n b e c o n t r a s t e d w i t h
t w o a l t e r n a t i v e p o s i t i o n s : o n e i s t h e c u r r e n t o n e o f p a s s i v i t y ;
t h e o t h e r is r o l l b a c k o r l i b e r a t i o n . T h e f o r m e r l ea v es m u c h t o
c h a n c e ; t h e l a t te r h a s c o n s i s t e n t l y b e e n r e j e c t e d b y t h e W e s t ,
a n d t h e r e is n o d i s p o s i t i o n t o c h a n g e it .
T h e p o i n t o f d e p a r t u r e f o r a W e s t e r n e f f o r t is t h e m o r e
e x p li ci t e x p r e s s io n b y g o v e r n m e n t s a n d p r i v a t e g r o u p s i nW e s t e r n E u r o p e o f t h e s h a r e d v a l u es in h i s to r y , r e l ig i o n , in -
d i v i d u a l li b e rt ie s , a n d a d e s ir e t o a v o i d c o n f l i c t . F o r t h e G e r -
m a n s t h e r e i s t h e u n i q u e i n t e r - G e r m a n r e l a t i o n s h i p ; f o r t h e
F r e n c h , h i s to r ic ti es t o P o l a n d ; f o r t h e U n i t e d S t a t es , P o l i s h
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180 R O W E N
a n d o t h e r e t h n ic g r o u p t ie s. M u c h is d o n e n o w a n d m o r e
s h o u l d b e d o n e t o f o s t e r c u l t u r a l e x c h a n g e s , h e l p f o r e m i g r e
g r o u p s , a n d a n i m p r o v e d e f fo r t a t c o m m u n i c a t i o n s t o th e
E a s t .
O f p a r t i c u l a r r e l e v a n c e i s t h e F e d e r a l R e p u b l i c o f G e r -
m a n y ' s O s t p o l i t i k . I t co n s is ts o f a n a c c o m m o d a t i n g li ne
t o w a r d t h e E a s t o n m a n y m a t t e r s , i t s u p p o r t s a r m s c o n t r o l ,
a n d i t i n v o l v e s su b s i d i e s t o t h e E a s t , e s p e c i a ll y t o t h e G D R .
I n r e tu r n , t h e F e d e r a l R e p u b l i c o b t a in s s o m e e m i g r a t i o n o f
p e o p l e f r o m t h e G D R a s w e l l a s o t h e r b e n e f i t s . I t i s a c c o m -
p a n i e d b y a n u n e n t h u s i a s t i c a t t i t u d e t o w a r d s u c h m a n i f e s ta -
t io n s o f t h e h u m a n s t ru g g l e f o r f r e e d o m a s S o l id a r i t y . T h e r e
a r e o b v i o u s d a n g e r s f o r t h e F e d e r a l R e p u b l i c i n s u c h a l i n e ,
b u t t h e r e a r e a l s o p o t e n t i a l s t r a t e g i c b e n e f i t s , p a r t i c u l a r l y i n
g e t t in g c lo s e r t o t h e p e o p l e o f t h e G D R . T h e S o v i e t l e ad e r -
s h i p e v i d e n t l y b el ie v e s th a t i t s m i l i t a r y p o w e r e n a b l e s i t to
c o n t r o l t h i s p r o c e s s , b u t i t m u s t v i e w O s t p o l i t i k w i th m i x e d
f e e l i n g s a s i t s e e s t h e t w o h a l v e s o f G e r m a n y c o m i n g c l o s e r
t o g e t h e r .
T h e r e i s a c o m m u n i t y o f in t er e st b e t w e e n t h e t w o h a lv e s
o f E u r o p e o n t h e n o n u s e o f f o rc e w i th i n E u r o p e . T h e r e is a
b a sis f o r a n u n d e r s t a n d i n g h e r e th a t E u r o p e s h o u l d n o t a l l ow
i ts e lf t o b e d r a g g e d i n t o a w a r b y o u t s i d e p o w e r s . T h i s id e a
m i g h t b e t h o u g h t t o e n c o u r a g e t h e e x is ti ng t e n d e n c y o f s o m e
W e s t E u r o p e a n s t o a d o p t a n e q u i d i s t a n t , p l a g u e - o n - b o t h -
y o u r - h o u s e s s t a n c e t o w a r d t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s a n d t h e S o v i e t
U n i o n . B u t t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s is n o t g o i n g to t r y to d r a g t h e
W e s t E u r o p e a n s i n t o a w a r ; a n d t h e p e o p l e s o f th e E u r o p e a n
d e m o c r a c ie s ar e m o s t u n l ik e l y t o d e c i d e t o a b a n d o n a n
a l l i a n c e s o c e n t r a l t o t h e i r i n t e r e s t s .
T h e m a i n p o i n t h e r e i s t h a t t h is c o n c e p t is o n l y l a t e n t in
t h e p r e s e n t s i t u a t i o n ; t h e W e s t h a s d o n e t o o l it tl e t o s ig n a l t o
t h e p e o p l e s i n t h e E a s t a r e c o g n i t i o n o f th e c o m m o n i n te r e s t
i n a v e r t i n g a n y c o n f l i c t . T o d a y , t h e e x p e c t a t i o n m u s t b ew i d e s p r e a d a m o n g t h e m t h a t i f w a r c o m e s th e y w i ll i n e v it ab l y
b e a t t a c k e d a n d d e s t r o y e d . T h e r e h a v e b e e n s i gn s r e c e n t l y o f
r e s e n t m e n t o n t h e i r p a r t o f t h e s t a t i o n i n g o f S o v i e t n u c l e a r -
a r m e d m i ss il e s o n t h e i r te r r it o r ie s . F o r i n s t a n c e , P r i m e
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GEN ERA L WAR 181
M i n is t e r S t r o u g a l o f C z e c h o s l o v a k i a p u b l ic l y e x p r e s s e d
u n h a p p i n e s s o n t h e o c c a s i o n o f h i s g o v e r n m e n t " a c c e p t i n g "S o v i e t I N F m i s s i l e s . T h e s e p e o p l e s h a v e n o t b e e n t o l d t h a t i f
t h e y c a n m a n a g e t o s ta y o u t o f a n y M o s c o w - i n d u c e d c on f l i c t
t h e y w o u l d b e s p a r e d g r e a t d e s t r u c t i o n , w h e r e a s , i f t h e y w e r e
t o j o i n i n a w a r t h e y w o u l d s u r e l y s u f f e r g r e a t l y .
T h i s c o u l d b e a p o w e r f u l m e s s a g e . I t i m p l i e s t h a t t h e
g o v e r n m e n t s o f W e s t e rn E u r o p e ( a n d t h e U n i t e d S t a t es a s
w e ll) w o u l d t re a t a s n e u t r a l a n y E a s t E u r o p e a n c o u n t r y o p t -
i n g o u t o f a c o n f l i c t. F u r t h e r , t h e y w o u l d tr e a t i n a s im i la rv e i n g r o u p s w i t h i n a n y c o u n t r y - m i l i t a r y u n i t s , w o r k e r
g r o u p s , a n d o t h e r s - t h a t s ig n a le d t h ei r i n te n t t o s ta n d a l o o f
e v e n if t h e i r le a d e r s w e r e o b e y i n g M o s c o w . T o b e s u r e, t h e
c e r t a in t y o f b e in g s p a r e d a ll d a m a g e c a n n o t b e a s s u r e d t o t h e
E a s t E u r o p e a n s a n d s h o u l d n o t b e p r o m i s e d , b e c a us e So v ie t
f o r ce s a re a l r e a d y o n t h e i r te r r i to r y a n d m o r e w o u l d m o v e in .
( T o t h e S o v i e t s t h e r e a r e n o n e u t r a l s , c e r t a i n l y n o t i n t h i s
r e g io n ; i f y o u a r e n o t f o r t h e m , y o u a r e a g a in s t t h e m . ) I f t h eS o v i et s a t t a c k e d t h e W e s t d e s p i te th e s t a n d i n g a l o o f o f t h e ir
a l l i e s , N A T O f o r c e s w o u l d c e r t a i n l y a t t a c k t h o s e S o v i e t
f o rc e s . A l l t h e W e s t e r n p o w e r s c o u l d r e a s o n a b l y p r o m i s e is
t h e i r b e s t e f f o r t s t o a v o i d n o n h o s t i l e f o r c e s . B u t a c h a n c e o f
s u r v i v a l i s b e t t e r t h a n n e a r c e r t a i n d e v a s t a t i o n . M o r e o v e r ,
d e li ve r i ng o n t h es e p r o m i s e s w o u l d e n a bl e N A T O c o m -
m a n d e r s t o c o n c e n t r a t e t h e ir e f f o r t a g a i n st S o v i e t f o r ce s a n d
w o u l d e n c o u r a g e d e f e c ti o n s f r o m t h e P a c t .T h e r e r e m a i n s t h e m a t t e r o f n u c le a r w e a p o n s . H e r e , t o o ,
t h e S o v i e t s h a v e b e e n a c t i v e a n d t h e W e s t n e g l e c t f u l . T h e
S o v i e t s o f f e r t h r e a t s o f n u c l e a r a t t a c k a n d p r o m i s e s o f
w i t h h o l d i n g a t t a c k t o W e s t e r n n a t i o n s . I n c o n t r a s t , th e W e s t
h a s n o t m a d e e x p l i c i t a p o l i c y t h a t i s s t r o n g l y i n i t s i n t e r e s t ,
w h i c h i s t o p r o m i s e n o t t o u s e n u c l e a r w e a p o n s a g a i n s t a n y
W a r s a w P a c t c o u n t r y th a t s u c c ee d s i n o p t i n g o u t a n d a ls o to
a s s e rt t h a t , i f t h e i r n e u t r a l i t y is v i o l a t e d , N A T O w o u l dr e s tr i ct a n y u s e o f n u c l e a r w e a p o n s t o u s e a g a i n s t S o v i e t
f o r c e s .
T h i s d i s c u s s i o n h a s n o t m a d e m u c h o f a d i s t i n c t i o n b e -
t w e e n t h e v a l u e s a n d i n c e n t i v e s o f t h e l e a d e r s o f E a s t e r n
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182 ROWEN
Europe and the peoples. This assumption is not always
wrong, as the examples of Nagy and Dubcek show, and even
such a tyrant as Ceausescu derives popularity at home from
his anti-Soviet stance. It is safe to say tha t the leaders of these
states, all of whom are in place on Soviet sufferance, would
feel a tension between patriotic sentiments and those o f loyal-
ty, habit, status, and personal vulnerability to the Soviets.
What would they do if faced with a Western offer that com-
bined an olive branch in one hand and a missile in the other
versus a Soviet order backed up by tanks in the neighborhood
(or even Spe t snaz troops in the courtyard)? The tanks being
closer, it is reasonable to expect that most would go along
with the Soviets. But some might not. Perhaps one should ex-
pect most to try to temporize, to find excuses of any kind not
to commit. Of course, delay in responding to Moscow's
demands would provide much of what NATO would need.
Those people who are not in the East European
equivalent of the nomenklatura-the middle managers and
those below, such as in the military, in the worker groups,
and among students-are less directly accessible to Soviet
coercion and are likely to be less responsive to Moscow's
directives. They are more likely to want to stay out and
perhaps better able to do so.
It should be a central Western aim to prevent the Soviet
control system from working. The East Europeans should be
given the option of avoiding war and destruction in the
(unlikely) case that conflict comes. We should encourage
Polish or East German or Czechoslovak commanders, who
receive orders from Moscow to put their troops into the
trucks and drive them West, to consider other possibilities
before acting. And the troops and the workers and everyone
else should also be so encouraged.
Ear ly E f fo r t s a t In f luence
This analysis underscores the importance of Western
communications to all of these people. Although secret
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G E N E R A L W A R 183
d i p l o m a c y w o u l d h a v e a r o l e i n a c r i s i s , t h i s i s n o t a n e n t e r -
p r is e f o r s ec re t d i p l o m a c y o n ly . W h a t m i g h t be c o m -
m u n i c a t e d w o u l d v a r y w i t h c i r c u m s t a n c e s . I n p e a c e t i m e , i t is
t h e s o r t o f m a t e r i a l n o w o f f e r e d , i n c l u d i n g n e w s a n d
d e v e l o p m e n t s c o n c e r n i n g b o t h t h e E a s t a n d t h e W e s t, t h e
t r a n s f o r m a t i o n t a k i n g p l ac e i n C h i n a , c u l t u ra l p r o g r a m s , a n d
e n t e r t a i n m e n t . T o t h e s e m i g h t b e a d d e d a c t iv i ti es t h a t b e a r
o n s h a r e d s e c u r i t y i n t e r e st s a l o n g t h e l in e s a l r e a d y d i s c u s s e d .
T o u n d e r s t a n d t h e p o s s i b il i t y a n d l im i ts o f a f f e c t i n g th e
a t t i tu d e s a n d b e h a v i o r o f th e E a st E u r o p e a n s , a n d t h e r e f o r e
a f f e c t i n g S o v i e t d e c is i o n s , a r e v ie w o f t h e h i s t o r y o f s u c h e f-
f o r t s i s u s e f u l .
A s a l a r m m o u n t e d i n 1 9 46 a n d 1 94 7 a b o u t S o v i e t i n te n -
t io n s , p a r t o f t h e A m e r i c a n s t r a te g y th a t e m e r g e d , w h i c h in -
c l u d e d m a n y o t h e r e l e m e n t s , w a s t h e m o u n t i n g o f a p o l i ti c a l
a c t i o n c a m p a i g n . A c t i v i t i e s u n d e r t a k e n i n E a s t e r n E u r o p e
a n d t h e S o v ie t U n i o n , b o t h c o v e r t a n d o v e r t , i n c l u d e d in f o r -
m a t i o n g a t h e r in g , s u p p o r t f o r p e o p l e t r y i n g t o e s c a p e, h e l pf o r r es is ta n c e g r o u p s , a n d t h e s u p p l y o f i n f o r m a t i o n t o p e o -
p l e i n t h e E a s t b y r a d i o s ( a n d f o r a s h o r t p e r i o d , p a m p h l e t s
c a r r ie d b y b a l lo o n s ) . E a r l y a i m s w e r e a m b i t i o u s ; f o r i n s ta n c e ,
N S C 5 8 / 2 ( D e c e m b e r 1 9 4 9 ) s a i d t h a t t h e s e a i m s w e r e t o
" r e d u c e a n d e v e n t u a l l y t o e l i m i n a t e d o m i n a n t S o v i e t i n -
f l u e n c e i n t h e s a te l li te s t a te s . ''3 A n o v e r t a n d c l a n d e s t i n e " o f -
f e n s iv e " w a s to b e l a u n c h e d to i s o la t e t h e " t r u e " C o m m u n i s t s
i n E a s t e r n E u r o p e . T h i s a p p r o a c h r e s u lt e d f r o m a w i d e s p r e a db e l ie f t h a t t h e S o v i e t r u l e o v e r t h is r e g i o n w a s s h a k y a n d t h a t
o n e w a y o r a n o t h e r i t m i g h t b e r e m o v e d , a l th o u g h a t n o p o i n t
w a s t h e u s e o f W e s t e r n m i l i t a r y f o r c e s s e e n a s t h e m e a n s t o
t h a t d e s i r e d e n d .
A n i m p o r t a n t c o m p o n e n t o f th is p r o g r a m w a s a m a j o r
e f f o r t i n c o m m u n i c a t i o n s , e s p ec ia ll y t h e c r e a t io n o f R a d i oF r e e E u r o p e a n d R a d i o L i b e r a t i o n ( l a t e r R a d i o L i b e r t y ) a s
c o v e r t (o r m o r e a c c u r a t e ly , u n a c k n o w l e d g e d ) o r g a n i z a t io n s
t o b r o a d c a s t t o E a s te r n E u r o p e a n d t h e S o v i et U n i o n , r e sp e c-
t i v e l y . I n 1 9 5 3 , P r e s i d e n t E i s e n h o w e r c r e a t e d t h e U S I n f o r -
m a t i o n A g e n c y ; t h e V o i c e o f A m e r i c a b e c a m e o n e o f i t sp r i o r i t y i n s t r u m e n t s . S i m i l a r b r o a d c a s t a c t iv i ti e s w e r e c a r ri e d
o u t b y t h e B B C , t h e G e r m a n s t a t i o n s , a n d o t h e r s .
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1 84 R 0 W E N
I n t h e e a r l y d a y s o f t h e r a d i o s , i n t h e l a t e 1 9 4 0 s , t h e r e
w a s a w i d e s p r e a d a s s u m p t i o n , o r h o p e , t h a t t h e S o v i e t h o l d
o n E a s te r n E u r o p e w o u l d , o r m i g h t , b e t e m p o r a r y . R F E ,
e s pe c ia ll y, w a s t h e v o i c e o f e m i g re s w h o h o p e d t o r e t u r n s o o n
t o c o u n t r i e s fr e e o f S o v i e t o c c u p a t i o n . T h a t h o p e s lo w l y
r e c e d e d a n d t h e n f ell d r a st ic a l ly a s t h e r e s u l t o f t h e U S f a i lu r e
t o r e s p o n d t o t h e u p r i s in g o f G e r m a n w o r k e r s i n 1953, t o t h e
t r o u b l e s in P o l a n d i n 1 95 6, a n d , m o s t o f a ll , t o t h e g e n e r a l
r e v o lt in H u n g a r y i n t h a t y e a r . T h e f u n c t i o n s o f t h e ra d i o s
b e c a m e th o s e o f p r o v i d i n g n e w s a b o u t t h e W e s t a n d , m o r e
i m p o r t a n t ly , n e w s a b o u t d e v e l o p m e n t s in th e E a s t E u r o p e a n
c o u n t r i e s .
T h e r a d i o s h a v e p l a y e d e s p e c ia l l y i m p o r t a n t r o le s d u r i n g
c ris es . F o r e x a m p l e , R F E w a s a n i m p o r t a n t s o u r c e o f n ew s to
t h e P o l e s d u r i n g t h e P o z n a n u n r e s t in P o l a n d i n 1 9 56 ; i ts
c o v e r a g e w a s t i g h t l y d i s c i p l i n e d a n d d e s i g n e d t o a v o i d e x -
c i ti n g t h e P o l e s . I n th e H u n g a r i a n u p r i s in g , w h i c h o c c u r r e d a
f ew d a y s a ft e r , R F E w a s a k e y s o u r c e o f i n f o r m a t i o n f o r t h e
H u n g a r i a n p e o p l e , a l t h o u g h i t h a d a d i ff ic u l t t a s k in s o r t in g
o u t t h e f a c t s b e c a u s e o f t h e t u r m o i l i n t h a t c o u n t r y . G i v e n
E i s e n h o w e r ' s d e c i s i o n n o t t o i n t e r f e r e i n a n y w a y ( r e c a l l t h a t
t h e s e e v e n t s o c c u r r e d s i m u l t a n e o u s l y w i t h t h e S u e z c ri sis ), i t
c le a rl y w a s n o t t h e f u n c t i o n o f R F E d i re c t ly to i n f l u e n c e
e v e n ts in s id e H u n g a r y . I n t h e in v e s t ig a t i o n s t h a t t o o k p l a ce
a f te r t h e se ev e n ts , th e j u d g m e n t w a s t h a t R F E h a d b e h a v e d in
a d i s c i p li n e d a n d r e s p o n s i b le w a y o n t h e w h o l e , w i th o n l y a
f e w l a p s e s .
T h e r a d io s h a v e c o n t i n u e d t o p l ay a k e y i n f o r m a t i o n a l
r o l e in c ris e s, n o t a b l y i n C z e c h o s l o v a k i a i n 1 9 6 8, in P o l a n d i n
1 9 8 0- 81 , a n d in 1 98 6 i n c o n n e c t i o n w i t h t h e C h e r n o b y l
n u c l e a r p l a n t d i s a s t e r . I t w a s n o d o u b t l a r g e l y b e c a u s e o f
R a d i o F r e e E u r o p e ' s r e p o r t i n g t h a t t h e e m e r g i n g le a d e r s h i p
o f S o l i d a ri ty r ea li ze d t h e n a t i o n w i d e d i m e n s i o n s o f t h e p r o -
t e s t s t h a t w e r e t a k i n g p l a c e . O n C h e r n o b y l , R L ' s U k r a i n i a n
b r o a d c a s ts w e re an i m p o r t a n t s o u r c e o f i n f o r m a t i o n t o t h eU k r a i n i a n p e o p l e a b o u t w h a t h a d h a p p e n e d a n d p r e c a u t i o n s
t o t a k e . T h i s w a s e q u a l l y t r u e o f R F E ' s b r o a d c a s t s ; m a n y
p e o p l e i n E a s t e r n E u r o p e c a l l e d i n t o R F E t o g e t m o r e n e w s
a n d t o e x p r e s s a p p r e c i a t i o n .
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GEN ERA L WAR 185
T h e m i s s i o n o f R F E a n d R L i s t o c o m m u n i c a t e i n f o r m a -
t i o n a n d i d e a s t o t h e p e o p l e s o f E a s t e r n E u r o p e a n d t h e
S o v ie t U n i o n . A l t h o u g h t h e y a ls o p r o v i d e w o r l d n e w s , u n l ik e
t h e V O A a n d o t h e r n a t i o n s ' ra d i o s , t h e i r d i st in c t iv e m i s s io n is
t o b r o a d c a s t n e w s a n d i n f o r m a t i o n b a c k t o t h e se p e o p l e s o n
t h e i r o w n s o c i e t i e s .
A c c o r d i n g t o f o r m a l p o l ic y g u id e l i n es d e v e l o p e d b y t h e
B o a r d f o r I n t e r n a t i o n a l B r o a d c a s t i n g , t h e y a re t o a v o i d p r o -
g r a m m i n g t h a t c o u l d " le g i t im a t e ly b e c o n s t r u e d a s i n f l a m -
m a t o r y o r c o n d u c i v e t o i r r e d e n t i sm , " o r " r e a s o n a b l y c o n -
s t r u e d a s i n c i t e m e n t to r e v o l t " o r p r o v i s i o n o f " s u p p o r t f o r il-
l eg al a n d v i o le n t a c t i o n s ." N o i n f o r m a t i o n o n " h o w t o d e f e c t "
w i ll b e b r o a d c a s t , n o r s h o u l d t h e r e b e a n y " s u g g e s t i o n th a t
m i g h t l e a d a u d i e n c e s t o b e l ie v e t h a t , i n t h e e v e n t o f i n t e r n a -
t i o n a l c r is is o r c iv il d i s o r d e r , t h e W e s t m i g h t i n t e r v e n e
m i l i t a r i l y . "
G i v e n t h e h i s t o r y o f t h e p a s t f o r t y y e a r s , t o g e t h e r w i t h
t h e f ac t t h a t t h e p o l i c y o f t h e r a d i o s m u s t b e h i g h l y se n s it iv et o W e s t E u r o p e a n a s w e ll a s A m e r i c a n o p i n i o n , t h e se p o li c y
r e s tr a i n ts c o u l d h a r d l y b e o t h e r w i s e . B u t d e s p i t e t h e s e c o n -
s t ra i n t s , w h i c h a r e o b s e r v e d r i g o r o u s l y , t h e r e a r e r e g u l a r p r o -
t es ts f r o m t h e E a s t . T h e v e ry o p e r a t i o n o f th e s e ra d i o s a n d o f
t h e o t h e r n a t i o n a l b r o a d c a s t m e d i a i s a c h a l l e n g e t o t h e
d e s ir ed S o v i et m o n o p o l y o n n e w s a n d , t h e r e fo r e , t o S o v ie t
p o w e r .
E v e n w i t h i n t h e s e c o n s t r a i n t s , t h o u g h , m o r e c o u l d b ed o n e t o e x p re s s c o m m o n s e c u r it y i n te r e st s . F o r i n s t a n c e , a
p r o g r a m m i g h t b e d i r e c t e d a t t h e E a s t E u r o p e a n m i l i t a r y .
T h i s w o u l d b e a f a c tu a l a n d p r o f e s s i o n a l ly o r i e n t e d p r o g r a m
o n m i l i t a ry d e v e l o p m e n t s i n th e W e s t a n d i n t h e E a s t ( in -
c l u d i n g th e S o v i e t U n i o n ) . I t s b a s ic p u r p o s e w o u l d b e t o
s t r e n g t h e n t h e l i n k w i t h a n e s p e ci a ll y i m p o r t a n t g r o u p i n t h e
E a s t . I n t h e e v e n t o f a cr is is o r c o n f l i c t , th i s c o m m u n i c a t i o n
l i n k m i g h t b e c o m e o f g r e a t o p e r a t i o n a l i m p o r t a n c e .O u t s id e o f b r o a d c a s t c o m m u n i c a t i o n , b u t s t i ll w i t h i n t h e
r ea lm o f " c o m m u n i c a t i o n s , " o t h e r a c ti o n s n ee d t o b e p u r -
s u e d . F o r e x a m p l e , a u s e f u l s t e p h a s b e e n t h e v i s i t o f
A m e r i c a n o f f i c i a l s t o E a s t E u r o p e a n c a p i t a l s a f t e r t h e
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186 RO WE N
Geneva arms cont rol talks in early 1985 to report on these
talks. The Americans and the West Europeans should meet
regularly with the East Europeans to discuss with them the
status of these negotiations and exchange views. Also,
Western military officers should visit their counterparts and
invite them to visit the West. In addition to the useful sym-
bolism of such exchanges, these officers have much to
discuss. Our military should not be timid about expressing
views on shared security interests; indeed, they should be in-
structed to do so.
Examining a Crisis Scenario
Perhaps no fundamental changes are feasible, or
desirable, in communications policy toward the East in non-
crisis periods or during a crisis confined to the East. This con-
dition would presumably change, however, during a crisis in
which Western security becomes endangered. And if a crisis
were to occur, Moscow would mount a campaign charging
the West with planned or actual aggression, would work to
arouse fears of war in Western Europe, and would try to elicit
among its Warsaw Pact allies active support and ready par-
ticipation in any action.
Consider a likely course of developments if the West
were to detect military movements in the East, which then
grow in scale and increasingly seem oriented toward the
West. The West would feel a powerful impulse to interpret
the evidence as nonthreatening, at the beginning almost cer-
tainly seeing this activity as only exercises or perhaps actions
attributed to a local security problem that requires military
action. As data accumulated about the mobilization in the
Eastern countries and movement of Warsaw Pact forces to
the west, the psychological pressures on NATO governments
to cling to a benign interpretation would grow-in cor-
respondence to the phenomenon of cognitive dissonance.
This psychological phenomenon caused Stalin to reject
mounting evidence of German preparations for attack in
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G E N E R A L W A R 1 8 7
1940, American leaders to do the same vis-a-vis Japanese
military preparat ions in 1940 and 1941, and the Israelis the
same with respect to the Arab attack preparations in 1973.
Western political leaders would be under similar pressures
not to interpret the situation as one of attack, whatever the
reality. At some point, assuming this was a real attack, they
would learn otherwise, perhaps after enemy troops attacked
their territory, as did Stalin, Roosevelt, and Golda Meir.
But until the perception switched, the Western line
toward the peoples of the East would probably be something
like this:
1. Western governments are concerned about the
military preparations in the Warsaw Pact.
2. Western governments have no intention of interfer-
ing in the East.
3. The Warsaw Pact should pull back its forces.
When perceptions tipped to the point of regarding a
Warsaw Pact attack as a serious possibility, then Western
aims, and policies, would become very complicated. On the
one hand, diplomatic efforts to prevent war, which by then
might seem imminent, would be frantic. A component of this
effort to prevent war might be a last-ditch effort to try to
detach the East Europeans from the impending attack. At
some point the West might encourage and actively support
sabotage and active resistance in the East. But the primary
purpose of this stage still would be to deter Soviet attack by
doing what could be done to weaken the ability of the War-saw Pact to act against us.
If a crisis were to occur, some of our messages would
become highly operational. We would want the East Euro-
pean commanders who receive orders from Moscow on the
"Red" telephones to then pick up the "Green" ones and talkto their national bosses, peers, and subordinates before
deciding what to do. Conceptually, we should think o f a third
telephone, a "Blue" one, also on the desks of these com-manders, through which they would exchange views with
their Western counterparts . At that stage we should also be intouch with many other groups such as railroad, electricity,
and telephone workers, among others.
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GENE RAL WAR 189
e v a c u a t i o n t o t h e W e s t , u n l e s s t h e y w e r e p r e p a r e d t o s a cr if ic e
t h e m s e l v e s .
L e s s i m p l a u s i b l e , t h o u g h p e r h a p s o n l y m a r g i n a l l y s o ,
w o u l d b e E a s t e r n l e a d e r s ' d e c l a r a t i o n s o f o p t i n g o u t o f t h e
c o n f l i c t ( t o g e t h e r w i t h a n a p p e a l t o t h e W e s t n o t t o a t t a c k
t h e i r t e r r i t o r y ) w h i l e n o t r e si s ti n g S o v i e t u s e o f t h e i r t e r r i t o r y .
T h i s s t a n c e w o u l d b e h a r d l y l e s s d a n g e r o u s f r o m t h e E a s t
E u r o p e a n p e r s p e c t i v e b e c a u s e i t w o u l d g r a n t t h e S o v i e t s i m -
m e d i a t e a c ce ss to t h e m . B u t i t w o u l d h a v e t h e b e n e f i t o f c a us -
i n g N A T O m i l i t a r y o p e r a t i o n s t o b e d i r e c t e d o n l y a g a i n s t
S o v i e t f o rc e s . T h e r e w o u l d b e c o ll a te r a l d a m a g e f o r m i s i d e n -
t i f i e d t a r g e t s a n d o t h e r e r r o r s a n d s p i l l o v e r e f f e c t s , b u t
d a m a g e t o p e o p l e a n d p r o p e r t y in th e E a s t m i g h t b e m u c h
r e d u c e d . ( H o w m u c h w o u l d d e p e n d o n t h e r e sp o n s iv e n e s s o f
N A T O f o rc e s t o th is E a s t E u r o p e a n p o s t u r e . )
M o s t l i ke ly w o u l d b e t h e s t a n d i n g a s id e o r d e f e c t i o n o f
g r o u p s o f s o ld i er s a n d i n d i v id u a l s , f o o t d r a g g i n g in c o m -
p l ia n c e w i t h o rd e r s , a n d s a b o t a g e . W e s t e r n p la n n e r s s h o u l d
a i m t o m a x i m i z e s u c h a c t s , a n d t h e i r e f f e c t i n t h e a g g r e g a t e
m i g h t b e su b s ta n t i a l. W e s te r n c o m m u n i c a t i o n s , b r o a d c a s t
a n d c o v e r t , c o u l d b e d i r e c te d a t d i s r u p t i n g p i p e li n e s ,
l o gi st ic s , a n d t h e m o v e m e n t o f S o v i e t f o r ce s o n r a il a n d r o a d
l in e s, a s w ell as e n c o u r a g i n g d e f e c t i o n s t h a t m i g h t o p e n u p
g a p s in t h e W a r s a w P a c t f r o n t .
W a r a i m s w o u l d b e a v i t a l f a c t o r . F o r e x a m p l e , t h e
A l l i ed g o a l o f u n c o n d i t i o n a l su r r e n d e r in W o r l d W a r I I d id
n o t f a ci li ta te G e r m a n o r J a p a n e s e d e f e c t i o n s ( a n d w a s a b a n -
d o n e d a t t h e e n d w i t h re sp e c t t o t h e E m p e r o r o f J a p a n ) . T h e
S o v i e t s ' s t r a t e g y w o u l d c e r t a i n l y b e d e s i g n e d t o d i v i d e t h e
W e s t er n a l l ia n ce . T h e y w o u l d a t t e m p t t o d o s o t h r o u g h
t h r e a t s ( e . g ., o f n u c l e a r a t t a c k ) a n d p r o m i s e s ( o f b e i n g l e ft
a l o n e ) d e l i v e r e d s el ec t iv e ly t o d i f f e r e n t c o u n t r i e s . T h e S o v i e t s
w o u l d a ls o e m p l o y th e f u ll p a n o p l y o f t h e ir a c t i v e m e a s u r e s .
W h a t a b o u t th e W e st 's a im s ? D e c l ar e d N A T O p e a c e t im ea i m s a r e t o d e f e n d N A T O t e r r i t o r y a n d n o m o r e . T a c t i c a l
c o u n t e r a t t a c k s a r e p e r m i t t e d , b u t n o t s t r a t e g i c c o u n t e r a t t a c k
i n t o W a r s a w P a c t t e r r it o r y . T h i s a p p r o a c h is a f a r c r y f r o m
C h u r c h i l l 's s ta t e m e n t o n 13 M a y 1 94 0 i n t h e H o u s e o f C o m -
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190 ROWEN
m o n s , " Y o u a s k e d , w h a t i s o u r a i m ? I c a n a n s w e r i n o n e
w o r d : i t i s v i c t o r y , v i c t o r y a t a l l c o s t s , v i c t o r y i n s p i t e o f a l l
t e r ro r , v i c to r y h o w e v e r h a r d a n d l o n g t h e r o a d m a y b e . TMN A T O h a s n o t a d o p t e d a n y t h i n g l i k e s u c h a n a i m ,
d e s p i t e i t s a p p a r e n t u t i l i t y i n d e t e r r i n g a S o v i e t a t t a c k , f o r
s e v e ra l re a s o n s : t h e a i m o f v i c t o r y w o u l d s e e m t o e n t a i l h a v -
i n g m u c h l a r g e r m i l i t a r y fo r c e s ( o r a t le a st g i v i n g t h e N A T O
m i l i t a ry a u th o r i t ie s a p o w e r f u l a r g u m e n t f o r t h e m ) t h a n p e o -
p l e w a n t t o p a y f o r; W e s t G e r m a n y is s e ns it iv e a b o u t b e i n g
a s s o c ia t e d w i th a n y t h i n g t h a t l o o k s " a g g re s si v e" t o w a r d t h e
E a s t , e v e n i f o n l y w i t h t h e p u r p o s e o f d e t e r r i n g a t t a c k o n
it se lf ; t h e W e s t b e l ie v e s ( t h o u g h t h e b e l ie f is n o t w a r r a n t e d b y
t h e e v i d e n c e ) t h a t s u c h a n a i m w o u l d r e s u l t i n a s t e p p e d - u p
a r m s r a c e w i t h t h e W a r s a w P a c t ; t h e W e s t d e s i r e s t o d o
n o t h i n g t h a t w o u l d s u g g e s t a W e s t e r n i n t e r v e n t i o n in E a s t e r n
E u r o p e d u r i n g t h e u p r is i n g s a n d t r o u b l e s t h a t a r e e n d e m i c
t h e re ; a n d p e r h a p s t h e W e s t b e lie v es t h a t s u c h a n a p p a r e n t l y
s t ri d e n t a im w o u l d b e i n c o m p a t i b l e w i th v a r i o u s a im s o f
d i p l o m a c y . ( T h i s re t ic e n c e is n o t , h o w e v e r , m a t c h e d b y
s i m i l a r r e s t r a i n t i n S o v i e t p o l i t i c a l i n d o c t r i n a t i o n a n d p r o p -
a g a n d a . )
I r o n i c a l l y , t h e s a m e l e a d e r s w h o h a v e a d o p t e d t h i s
r e s tr ic t iv e s t a n c e h a v e b a c k e d a p o l i c y o f t h r e a t e n i n g
w h o l e s a l e s l a u g h t e r w i t h n u c l e a r w e a p o n s i n r e t a l i a t i o n t o a n
a t t a c k ; t h is p o l i c y , o f c o u r s e , t h e y n e v e r e x p e c t to s e e c a r r i e d
o u t . T h e N A T O t h r ea t t o u se n u c l e a r w e a p o n s i f c o n v e n -
t i o n a l d e f e n s e f a i l s i s a n a c t i o n b u t n o t a n a i m . A s g e n e r a l l y
p o r t r a y e d b y W e s t e rn g o v e r n m e n t s , a n d b y m u c h o f th e
W e s t e r n l i t e r a t u r e o n n u c l e a r w a r , i t is a t h r e a t t o i n f l ic t l a r g e
a n d i n d i s c r im i n a t e d a m a g e o n t h e S o v ie t U n i o n ; it t h e r e f o r e
a m o u n t s t o a n a c t o f s u i c i d e . T h i s i s n o t a n a i m t o b e t a k e n
s e r i o u s l y .
S o N A T O is n o t i n g o o d s h a p e w i th re s p e c t t o w a r a im s .
I m a g i n e t h e si tu a t i o n o f t h e p l a n n e r s w h o , a t s o m e p o i n t ,
w o u l d p r e s u m a b l y b e d e s p e r a t e l y t r y i n g t o p e r s u a d e E a s t
E u r o p e a n s - f r o m p o li t ic a l a n d m i li ta r y l ea d e rs to w o r k e r s in
k e y f a c i l i t i e s t o s o l d i e r s a n d a i r m e n t o w i d e p u b l i c s - n o t t o
f o l l o w M o s c o w ' s o r d e r s a n d i n s t e a d t o o p t o u t , t o c o m m i t
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GENE RAL WAR 191
sabotage, and to defect to the West. NATO's posit ion implies
that if the East Europeans succeeded in helping to frustrate
Moscow's attack on the West, little would be done for them.
They would not be freed; instead they would be suppressed
and many of them killed. This implication, one can assume,
would be well understood in the East.
Clearly, something would have to be done about
NATO's war aims if the goal of fragmenting the Warsaw Pact
at this stage were to have much of a chance. But why wait?
To change aims after an attack has already occurred would be
late in the process, arguably much too late. It would be far
better to affect Soviet and East European expectations much
earlier so as to prevent the attack.
There is a parallel here from World War II. Only after
the German attack on Poland and the declaration of war by
Britain and France did Britain declare the aim of liberating
the peoples occupied by the Nazis (in a statement by Neville
Chamberlain on 20 September 1939).5 Churchill repeated this
aim after the fall of France and after the fall of Yugoslavia
and Greece. The pertinent analogy here would be the presi-
dent of the United States declaring the aim of liberating
Europe only after its occupation by the Soviets. But such a
declaration would seem to be accompanied by no credible
means of accomplishment and, being voiced too late, would
have no deterrent effect.
These observations are perhaps brought more sharply in-to focus by an early recorded example of ef forts to dislodge
members of an opposing coalition. According to Herodotus,
when the Persian King, Xerxes, invaded Greece in 480 B.C.
with a force that included Greek Ionians whom the Persians
had conquered, the Athenian commander, Themistocles, sent
Athenian ships along the coast to cut inscriptions on the
rocks saying,
Men of Ionia, you do wrong to fight against your own
fathers, and to give your help to enslave Greece. We
beseech you therefore to come over, if possible, to our side.
If you cannot do this, then, we pray you, stand aloof from
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192 ROWEN
t h e c o n q u e s t y o u r s e l v e s . . . . I f n e i th e r o f t h e se t h in g s b e
p o s s i b le , a n d y o u a r e h i n d e r e d b y a f o r c e t o o s t r o n g t ore s is t f ro m ven t u r i ng o n dese r t i on , a t le a s t w h en w e co m e to
b l o w s , f ig h t b a c k w a r d l y , r e m e m b e r i n g t h a t y o u r a r e s p r u n g
f r o m u s , a n d t h a t i t w a s th r o u g h y o u w e f ir s t p r o v o k e d t h e
h a t r e d o f t h e b a r b a r i a n s .
H e r o d o t u s a t t r i b u t e d t o T h e m i s t o c l e s t h e r e a s o n in g t h a t
X e r x e s w o u l d d i s t ru s t t h e I o n ia n s a n d w o u l d n o t a l l o w t h e m
t o p a r t i c i p a t e i n t h e s e a f i g h t s .
T h e b a t t l e o f S a l am i s f o l l o w e d . H e r o d o t u s s a i d o f th e
I o n i a n p e r f o r m a n c e , " a f e w o n l y f o l lo w e d t h e ad v i c e o f
T h e m i s to c l e s , t o f ig h t b a c k w a r d l y ; t h e g re a t e r n u m b e r d i d
f a r o t h e r w i s e . " A y e a r la te r , h o w e v e r , t h e G r e e k f le e t s a il ed
a c r o s s t h e A e g e a n a n d c o n f r o n t e d t h e P e r s i a n s a t M y c a l e .
B e f o r e t h e b a t t l e , t h e G r e e k c o m m a n d e r , L e o t y c h i d e s ,
r e p e a t e d T h e m i s t o c l e s ' p l e a . H e r o d o t u s s a i d ,
W h e n t h e P e r s i a n s . . . t h o u g h t o f t h e a d v i c e w h i c h h a d
been o f f e re d t o t he Ion i ans , t he ir f i r s t a c t w as to d i sa rm t he
S a m i a n s , w h o m t h e y s u s p e c t e d o f c o m p l i c i t y w i t h t h e
e n e m y . . . . A f t e r d i s a r m i n g th e m , th e P e r s i a n s n e x t d is -
p a t c h e d t h e M i l e s i a n s t o g u a r d t h e p a t h s l e a d i n g u p t o t h e
h e ig h ts o f M y c a l e . . . . T h e i r t r u e o b j e c t , h o w e v e r , w a s t o
r e m o v e t h e m t o a d i s t a n c e f r o m t h e c a m p .
I n t h e b a t t l e , " T h e S a m i a n s . . . a l t h o u g h d i s a r m e d . . .
s e e in g f r o m t h e b e g i n n i n g o f th e f ig h t t h a t v i c t o r y [ f o r t h e
P e r s i a n s] w a s d o u b t f u l , d i d a ll t h a t l a y in th e i r p o w e r t o
r e n d e r h e lp to th e G r e e k s . A n d t he o t h e r I o n ia n s l i k e w i s e . . .
r e v o l t e d a n d a t t a c k e d t h e P e r s i a n s . " T h e M i l e si an s , g u a r d i n g
t h e m o u n t a i n p a t h s , " g u i d e d t h e f ly in g P e r s i a n s b y w r o n g
r o a d s w h i c h b r o u g h t t h e m i n to t h e p r e s e n c e o f t h e e n e m y ;
a n d a t la s t t h e y s e t u p o n t h e m w i t h t h e i r o w n h a n d s . ''6T h e a t t e m p t t o p e r s u a d e t h e I o n i a n s t o d e f e c t in 4 8 0 B . C .
f a il e d , w h i le in 4 7 9 B . C . i t s u c c e e d e d . T h e o b v i o u s d i f f e r e n c e
b e t w e e n t h e t w o c a s e s is t h a t i n th e f o r m e r t h e P e r s i a n s w e r e
o n t h e o f f e n s i v e a n d h a d a s u p e r i o r f o r c e ; in th e l a t t e r t h e
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194 RO WE N
be temporizing and fence-straddling-tipping toward resis-
ting Moscow's orders. Conversely, greater confidence in
NATO's potential for defense and counterattack would
create and communicate a sense of possibilities that would
reinforce the likelihood of getting volunteers from the East in
a conflict-and that greater likelihood would help to justify
these favorable expectations. All of these possibilities should
help to make the Soviets more cautious.
But we still must consider the question of the Soviet
response to such a counteradvance in the unlikely event that
it ever had to be carried out. If successful, it could put in
question Party control of the Soviet Union itself. Might the
regime, if so challenged, unleash a nuclear holocaust? We
should not expect this response from Leninists under
stress-people who should never be confused with Hitler in
the bunker. But the main point is that the purpose of this line
of policy would be to keep any conflict from happening. The
likelihood of such a conflict would be reduced if the NATO
authorities weighed seriously the potential payoffs f rom non-
Soviet defections in the Warsaw Pact and drew the ap-
propriate conclusions.
To proceed further along this line of inquiry requires
assuming that, at some point before it was too late, the
Western governments would alter their aims so as to give the
East Europeans a stake in deviating from Moscow's com-
mands. Let us make that assumption.The essential messages would have to be those of hope
and control over one's fate. The element of hope would stem
from the postulated change in NATO's war aims as discussed
above. Similarly, that of control over one's fate would derive
from the conviction that action by individuals and groups of
people could make a difference to themselves personally, to
their families and friends, and to their nation. For those in a
position to defect-for example, pilots, troops at the front,sailors-these themes have most obvious application. For
those less favored, the message would also be that their ac-
tions could make a difference because Soviet victory is not
assured and their contribution (in foot-dragging or sabotage)
would affect the outcome.
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GENERAL WAR 1~
Deciding What to Do Now
One of the crucial questions in all of this is how much to
do now and how much to do later. For reasons discussed
above, the instinct of most politicians and bureaucrats, who
might agree with the actions proposed if an actual attack
should come, is not to rock the boat now. But NATO faces a
crisis of strategy; doing nothing is becoming more dangerous.
One alternative is to massively build up NATO conventional
forces, a hard choice. Another (one that is by no means anadequate substitute for a buildup) is for the NATO govern-
ments to shift their stance toward Eastern Europe in the way
suggested here .
The main changes in Western policy that such a shift
would entail are explicit recognition of the mutual interest of
the West and the East Europeans in avoiding a conflict, a
Western declaration of respect for the neutrality of those
countries that would stay out of any conflict with the West,and an abandonment of NATO's doctrine of doing no more
than restoring the status quo ante in the event of an attack.
Supporting this overall strategy would be continued efforts to
engage the peoples of Eastern Europe in many ways.
None of these changes would alter the fixed conviction
of Western publics and governments that they will not in-
tervene in the recurring eruptions in Eastern Europe. The
(noncrisis) policy guidelines for Radio Free Europe andRadio Liberty would remain unchanged.
Finally, this line of argument by itself is no solution to
the defense of Europe. One simply cannot be confiden t of the
effectiveness of an anticoalition policy aimed at deterring
conflict. But one can say the same about some other elements
of Western strategy, including the assumed political cohesion
of NATO in a crisis and the credibility of our nuclear threat.
We live with a lot of uncertainty.
If such a policy were to be adopted, it would be only a
component of a larger strategy. The main emphasis in that
larger strategy should be on building a stronger nonnuclear
defense, a goal clearly within the technical and economic
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1 ~ R O W E N
c a p a c i t y o f t h e N A T O s t at e s. I t is a l so n e c e s s a r y t o h a v e a
p r o t e c t e d a n d c o n t r o l l a b l e c a p a c i t y t o u s e n u c l e a r w e a p o n sa g a i n st a n i n v a d e r , i f o n l y t o d e t e r h i m f r o m u s i n g t h e s e
w e a p o n s .
T o f o l l o w t h e a d v i c e o f S u n T z u , t o d i s r u p t t h e o p p o -
n e n t ' s a ll ia n c e s is o n l y p r u d e n t , b u t it is n o t e n o u g h .
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G E N E R A L W A R 1 9 7
Notes
1. Hugh Seton-Watson, "What is Europe, Where is Europe?:
From Mystique to Politique," E n c o u n t e r 65, no. 2 (July/August
1985), pp. 9-17.2. Sun Tzu, T h e A r t o f W a r, trans. Samuel B. Griffith (Ox-
ford: Clarendon Press, 1963), p. 64.
3. NSC draft s tatement on US policy toward Soviet SatelliteStates in Eastern Europe. NSC report (25), December 6, 1949. Top
Secret. Declassified September 2, 1981. Sanitized.4. Great Britain, Parliament, P a r l i a m e n t a r y D e b a t e s (Com-
mons), 5th Series 360 (1940).
5. Neville Chamberlain, Vi ta l S p eech es , vol. 5, no. 24 (Octo-
ber 1, 1939), p. 755.
6. Herodotus, H i s t o r i e s VIII 22, IX 96-104.
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Comment
ALEXANDER ALEXIEV
DR. ROWEN'S PAPER deals with a subject I have been in-
terested in for quite some time. It is a subject in which I have
somewhat of a personal interest, since I had the dubious
privilege of serving in an East European army. I really don'thave any disagreements with Dr. Rowen's paper. What I
would like to do is elaborate on some of the points he has
made, and emphasize both the opportunities that are present
and the need for some caution in addressing this overall issue.Let me start by saying that, in spite of the opportunities
Dr. Rowen has documen ted for us, virtually nothing has been
done along these lines. Yet the case for doing something has,
if anything, become stronger. In Western Europe you have atrend toward a growing decoupling of the NATO allies fromthe United States. You now have established West European
parties, like the British Labor Party, arguing for unilateral
disarmament , and the German Social Democratic Party is not
far behind with a de facto renunciation of NATO doctrine.
You also have a situation in which, if the nuclear arms con-trol agreement of which there has been so much talk actually
comes to pass, the Soviet preponderance in conventional
forces will become even more politically important. So the
situation in Western Europe does not look good.
On the other hand, in Eastern Europe you have a trendthat could not encourage the Soviets very much. You have a
growing disillusionment with the Soviet system as such-the
economic system has proved a failure not only to the peoples
of Eastern Europe but to their leaderships as well. You now
have in Eastern Europe what I would call the institutionaliza-tion of dissent. Solidarity, despite the fact that it was sup-
pressed, is not dead; in fact, you have a very active
underground in Poland. And not only in Poland: you have
peace movements in various countries; you have
underground church movements in a number of East Euro-pean countries; you have new ecological dissent movements,
198
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G E N E R A L W A R 199
a n d s o f o r t h . I n o t h e r w o r d s , y o u h a v e f u r t h e r d e c o u p l i n g , a t
l ea st p s y c h o l o g ic a l ly o f t h e E a s t E u r o p e a n s f r o m t h e S o v ie t
U n i o n . T h i s w o u l d s e e m to b e t h e k i n d o f c l i m a t e t h a t m i g h t
b e c o n d u c i v e to p o l ic y e f fo r t s o n o u r p a r t t o g e t t h e E a s t
E u r o p e a n s t o c o l l a b o r a t e w i th u s i f p u s h c a m e to s h o v e .
L e t m e s k e t c h o u t w h a t I t h i n k a r e t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t
e l e m e n t s o f a U S o r W e s t e r n p o l i c y t o e x p l o i t th i s s i t u a t io n .
W e c l e a r ly s h o u l d a t t e m p t t o e x p l o i t t h e s e c l e a v a g es , c e r t a in -
l y b e f o r e a c o n f l i c t b r e a k s o u t b u t a l s o d u r i n g a c o n f l ic t .
S e v e r a l d i f f e r e n t k i n d s o f c l ea v a g e s s h o u l d b e k e p t in m i n d a s
w e d e s i g n o u r p o l i c y .O f c o u r s e , c l e av a g e s a t t h e t o p a r e c r u ci a l. T h e s e a r e t h e
p r o b l e m s t h a t s t em f r o m t h e c o er c iv e n a t u r e o f t h e W a r s a wP a c t a l l i a n c e , w h i c h in f a c t is n o t a re a l a ll i a n c e b u t r a t h e r a
S o v i e t - i m p o s e d s y s t em o f p o li ti c a l c o n f o r m i t y . S o v i e t a i m s i n
a w a r a g a in s t W e s t e r n E u r o p e d o n ' t r ea l l y h a v e a n y t h i n g t o
o f f e r t o th e E a s t E u r o p e a n C o m m u n i s t l ea d er s . T h e s e a r e
s t ri c tl y S o v i e t a i m s , a n d t h a t ' s i m p o r t a n t t o k e e p in m i n d .
T h e n , y o u h a v e c l ea v a g es b e t w e e n t h e r e g i m e s in E a s t e r nE u r o p e a n d t h e p e o p le s o f E a s te r n E u r o p e ; I w o n ' t e l a b o r a te
f u r t h e r o n t h a t . A n d t h e n y o u h a v e c l ea v a ge s w i t h i n t h e E a s t
E u r o p e a n s o ci et ie s t h e m s e l v e s .
A p o l i c y t o e x p l o i t th e s e c l e a v a g e s h a s a p o l i t i c a l d i m e n -
s io n , b u t i t a l so n e e d s s o m e s p e c if ic i n s t r u m e n t a l i t i e s to m a k e
i t e f f e c t i v e . T h e e s s en t ia l m e s s a g e t h a t w e n e e d t o g i v e t o t h e
E a s t E u r o p e a n s is t h a t t h e r e is s o m e t h i n g in it fo r t h e m . I n
o t h e r w o r d s , i f t h e y w a n t t o e n g a g e in th e k i n d s o f b e h a v i o rD r . R o w e n h a s d e s c r i b e d , i t is i n t h e i r o w n i n t e r es t ; c o n v e r s e -
l y , i f t h e y f a i l t o d o s o , t h e y w i ll p a y a v e r y h e a v y p r i c e i n
t e r m s o f t h e d e s t r u c t i o n o f th e i r o w n c o u n t r i e s . W e n e e d to
le t t h e E a s t E u r o p e a n s k n o w t h a t i f t h e y w e r e n o t t o
c o o p e r a t e w i t h t h e W e s t i n p r e v e n t i n g t h e S o v i e t s f r o m p u r -
s u i n g a n a g g r e ss iv e p o li c y , th e y t h e m s e l v e s w o u l d b e m u c h
w o r s e o f f .
I t h i n k t h e E a s t E u r o p e a n s c le a r l y u n d e r s t a n d t h a t . T og iv e o n e e x a m p l e , s o m e s ix m o n t h s a g o a P o l i s h g e n e r a l
w r o t e a n a r t ic l e i n a m i l i ta r y n e w s p a p e r i n w h i c h h e s a id t h a t
in t h e e v e n t o f w a r h e e x p e c t e d a b o u t 3 00 n u c l e a r b o m b s o f a
m e g a t o n e a ch to b e d r o p p e d o n P o l a n d , a d d i n g th a t a o n e
m e g a t o n b o m b w o u l d c o m p l e t e ly d e s t r o y a P o li sh c ity o f h a l f
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200 ALEXIEV
a m i l l i o n p e o p l e . N o w , t h e m e s s a g e t o th e P o l i s h p e o p l e f r o m
t h a t a r ti c le is t h a t t h e r e w i ll b e n o P o l a n d l e ft . W h e t h e r t h is
w a s d o n e o n p u r p o s e o r n o t is a d i f f e r e n t m a t t e r , b u t t h e y
c l ea r ly u n d e r s t a n d w h a t i t w o u l d m e a n t o b e i n v o l v e d in a
g e n e r a l w a r . W h a t w e n e e d t o te ll E a s t e r n E u r o p e i s t h a t t h is
i s n o t n e c e s s a r i l y g o i n g t o b e t h e c a s e .
I n f a ct , I t h i n k w e n e e d t o g o b e y o n d D r . R o w e n ' s l is t o f
t a r g e ts f o r i n f l u e n c e a n d i n c l u d e a r e a s o f t h e S o v i e t U n i o n
t h a t a r e r e a ll y p a r t o f E a s t e r n E u r o p e . T h e B a l ti c s t a te s a re
c e r ta i n ly m u c h m o r e l ik e E a s t e r n E u r o p e t h a n l ik e R u s s i ap r o p e r . I w o u l d g o s o fa r as t o i n c l u d e t h e U k r a i n e . I w o u l d
e v e n g o s o fa r a s t o i n c l u d e S o v i e t f o r c e s in E a s t e r n E u r o p e .
A t t h e R a n d C o r p o r a t i o n , w e h a v e re c e n tl y d o n e a s t u d y o f
t h e r e li ab i li ty o f th e E a s t E u r o p e a n s b a s e d o n i n t e r v ie w s w i th
f o r m e r E a s t E u r o p e a n a n d S o v ie t s e rv i ce m e n . O n e o f o u r
m o s t s u r p r i s i n g f i n d in g s w a s t h a t a c o n s i d e r a b l e n u m b e r o f
S o v i e t s o l d i e r s h a v e t r i e d t o d e f e c t f r o m t h e i r u n i t s i n E a s t
G e r m a n y . W e t a l k e d t o E a s t G e r m a n b o r d e r g u a rd s w h o
c o n f i r m e d t h is t o u s . S o i t 's n o t t h a t t h e S o v i e t a r m y i t s e l f is
t h a t m o n o l i t h i c - a n d t h a t m a y b e a n o t h e r a r e a w e n e e d to
l o o k a t .
W e a l so n e e d t o i n s t i t u te a n u m b e r o f p o li c i es b e y o n d
t h e b as ic m e s s a g e th a t D r . R o w e n d e s c r i b e d . W e n e e d to
d e s ig n p o l ic i e s t h a t w o u l d s e r v e t o c o u n t e r a c t e f f o r t s t h e
S o v i e ts a r e n o w p u r s u i n g t o e n f o r c e c o h e s i o n a n d p r e v e n tu n r e l ia b i l it y . I n th e s t u d y I j u s t m e n t i o n e d , o n e o f o u r f i n d -
i n g s w a s t h a t w h i l e t h e r e i s a g r e a t d e a l o f f r a g i l i t y in t h e E a s t
E u r o p e a n a r m i e s , t h e r e is a l s o n o r e a s o n t o e x p e c t t h a t t h e y
w il l s i m p l y r is e u p a n d c o m e o v e r to o u r s id e w i t h o u t o u r d o -
i n g a n y t h i n g t o e n c o u r a g e i t . M a n y f a c t o r s m i l i t a t e a g a i n s t
t h is , s u c h a s t h e m a s s i v e i n d o c t r i n a t i o n t o w h i c h s o l d i er s in
E a s t e r n E u r o p e a r e s u b j e c t e d , w h i c h w o r k s to s o m e e x te n t .
M a n y o f t h e p e o p l e w e t a lk e d t o w e r e c e r ta i n ly n o f r i e n d s o ft h e r e g im e , b u t w e r e s ti l l c o n v i n c e d t h a t t h e r e w a s a t h r e a t
f r o m t h e W e s t t o th e ir p a r t ic u l a r c o u n t r ie s . T h e y h a d n o i d e a
o f th e r e al b a la n c e o f fo r c e s . T h e y h a d n o i d e a t h a t N A T O
h a s n o o f f e n s i v e c a p a b i l i ti e s .
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G E N E R A L W A R 2 01
Let me give you one example of the Soviets' vulner-
ability. In the early 1960s, the second edition of Marshal
Sokolovskiy's seminal work on Soviet military strategy in-
cluded a minor change. According to the new edition, it was
now possible that a fter the outbreak of war there would be a
short period during which the war would be localized, even if
it were nuclear. The East Europeans-in this particular case
the Czechs, many of whom we interviewed-looked at that
and said, "Look at th i s - w ha t they're trying to tell us is that
they will use us as cannon fodder, then try to make a dealwith the Americans."
This circumstance led to very serious dissatisfaction
within the officer corps in Czechoslovakia beginning in the
mid-sixties, and within two years you had a major problem in
their military, when they started looking at the Warsaw Pact
as something that might not be the best for them. In fact,
anyone familiar with the Prague Spring knows that the
military were in the forefront of the reform movement, atleast partly because of their dissatisfaction with Soviet doc-
trine, which they believed would sacrifice their own men for
Soviet purposes. Messages about this aspect of Soviet doc-
trine would, I think, still find a very receptive audience.
Let me say just a few words about the instrumentalities
of the kind of policy I am discussing. What we need to do
now is convince the Soviets that we're not only talking about
these things but also serious about doing something aboutthem. Unless they're convinced that we are prepared to ex-
ecute certain policies, they're not going to be bothe red much.
Talk is cheap, and they know that the West's talk is
sometimes cheaper than anybody else's.
Dr. Rowen mentioned the crucial role of radio com-
munications-Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty. Not
long ago, a Soviet propagandist gave a lecture in which he ad-
mitted that 60 percent of the Soviet population listens to
Western radio and, what is even more important, that the
number of people below the age of 30 that listen to it is two to
three times higher than the number of those above 30. That
fact has definite implications for us.
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202 ALEXIEV
A n o t h e r i m p o r t a n t t r e n d in E a s t e r n E u r o p e , a s w e ll a s in
t h e W e s t , t h a t o f f e r s g r e a t o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r i n f lu e n c i n g th e s e
p e o p l e is t h e s o - c a ll e d i n f o r m a t i o n r e v o l u t io n . A g a i n , n o t
l o n g a g o t h e r e w a s a se r ie s o f a rt i c le s in a P o l i s h n e w s p a p e r
a u t h o r e d b y t h e m i l i ta r y p ol it ic a l a d m i n i s t r a t i o n ( a n d
t h e r e f o r e f r o m t h e to p ) c a l le d " T h e I n f o r m a t i o n W a r . " P e r -
s o na l c o m p u t e r s a r e a g r ea t w o r r y fo r t h e m - a c c o r d i n g t o
t h e s e a u t h o r s , t h e r e a r e s o m e 1 50 ,0 00 p e r s o n a l c o m p u t e r s in
P o l a n d t h a t t h e g o v e r n m e n t c a n n o t c o n t r o l . M o r e i m p o r t a n t
is t h e i n f l u e n c e o f W e s t e r n T V . T h e y te ll u s t h a t in P o l a n dn o w , w i t h a v e r y s i m p l e a n t e n n a , y o u c a n r e c e iv e t w e l v e
W e s t e rn T V s t a t i o n s - w i th r e c e p t i o n o f a t le as t so m e a s g o o d
a s r e c e p t i o n o f P o l i s h T V , a n d w i t h m o r e a t t r a c t i v e p r o -
g r a m s . B u t t h e y s ay th is is n o t h i n g c o m p a r e d t o w h a t w ill
h a p p e n w h e n t h e y p u t a g e o s t a t i o n a r y s a te ll ite a b o v e
P o l a n d - t h e n t h ey ' l l b e in b ig t r o u b l e . T h is b u s in e s s o f
s a te l l it e T V h a s b e c o m e a s e r io u s c o n c e r n i n a ll o f E a s t e r n
E u r o p e , a n d i t's n o t s o m e t h i n g th e y c an d o m u c h a b o u t .A b o v e a n d b e y o n d t h e s e i n s t r u m e n t a l i t i e s f o r c o m -
m u n i c a t io n , t h e r e a r e s o m e a re a s th a t a r e m u c h m o r e o p e r a -
t i o n a l . I 'd p r e f e r n o t t o d i sc u s s t h e m h e r e , b u t t o g i v e o n e e x -
a m p l e , a s I m e n t i o n e d a t t h e o u t s e t , y o u h a v e in P o l a n d a n
e f f e c t i v e u n d e r g r o u n d t h a t h a s b e e n f u n c t i o n i n g f o r f iv e
y e a rs , a n d t h e r e g im e h a s n o t b e e n a b l e t o d o m u c h a b o u t i t .
A n d i t 's n o t j u s t in P o l a n d - i n L i t h u a n i a y o u h a v e a n
u n d e r g r o u n d c h u r c h o p e r a t i n g n o w f o r c l os e t o t w e n t y y e a r s ,a n d t h e s a m e th i n g h a s h a p p e n e d in C z e c h o s l o v a k i a , in t h e
W e s t e rn U k r a i n e , a n d s o o n . E v e r y b o d y ta lk s a b o u t t h e
v a u n t e d S o v i e t Spetsnaz; b u t r i g h t h e r e i n t h is c o u n t r y w e
h a v e e t h n ic A m e r i c a n s w h o c o u l d b e u s e d in a v a r ie t y o f
c a p a c i t i e s .
B e f o r e I f i n is h , l et m e s o u n d a n o t e o f c a u t i o n . A l l t h e s e
t h i n g s a r e i m p o r t a n t , a n d it is h i g h ti m e w e t o o k a c l o se lo o k
a t t h e m a n d d i d s o m e t h i n g a b o u t t h e m . B u t a t t h e s a m e t i m e ,
w e s h o u l d b e v e r y c a r e f u l n o t t o p r e s e n t th e s e k i n d s of poten-
tiai S o v i e t v u l n e r a b il i t i es a s a p a n a c e a f o r o u r m i l it a r y p r o b -
l e m s w i t h t h e S o v i e t U n i o n , a s i s o f t e n d o n e . S o m e p e o p l e
l o o k a t t h e E a st E u r o p e a n s a n d c o n c l u d e t h a t w e d o n ' t n e e d
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GENERAL WAR 2 ~
t o w o r r y a b o u t t h e m . T h e G e r m a n S o c ia l D e m o c r a t s , a f t e r
t h e i r l a t e s t c o n g r e s s a t E s s e n , e s s e n t i a l l y r e n o u n c e d N A T O
n u c l e a r d o c t r in e , w h i le a t th e s a m e t i m e s a y i n g t h a t t h e r e
w a s n ' t e n o u g h m o n e y f o r c o n v e n t i o n a l d e fe n s e ; a n d s h o r t l y
a f t e r w a r d t h e y c a m e u p w i th a p a p e r a g u i n g t h a t t h e S o v i e t s
a r e n o t t h a t m u c h o f a t h r e a t a n y w a y b e ca u s e a ll t h e E a s t
E u r o p e a n s a r e u n r e li ab l e . S o w e h a v e to b e c o n c e r n e d a b o u t
t h a t . P o l i ti c a l w a r f a r e is o n l y e f f e c t i v e i f y o u h a v e a d e q u a t e
m i l i t a r y p o w e r t o b a c k i t u p .
E DW A R D A T K E S ON
I C AM E T O T H E T HE SIS o f D r . R o w e n ' s p a p e r w i t h s o m e
d e g r e e o f s k ep t i c i sm . D r . R o w e n w a s f o r m e r l y m y b e n e v o l e n t
b o s s o n t h e N a t i o n a l I n te l l i g e n c e C o u n c i l . O n e d a y h e c a l l e d
m e u p t o h is o f f i c e a n d a s k e d m e to b r i n g m y e s t i m a t e o f
S o v i e t g e n e r a l p u r p o s e f o r c e s . W e s a t d o w n a n d h e s a i d ,
" N o w , t a lk t o m e a b o u t t h e r e l ia b i l it y o f E a s t E u r o p e a n
f o r c e s . " 1 b e g a n l e af in g t h r o u g h t h e e s t im a t e , b u t c o u l d f i n d
o n l y o n e s h o r t p a r a g r a p h w i t h p e r h a p s s ix s e n t e n c e s in i t ,
e s se n t i a l ly s a y in g t h a t w e d o n ' t k n o w m u c h a b o u t t h i s s u b -
j e c t . H e t o l d m e th a t I n e e d e d n o f u r t h e r i n s t r u c t io n s b u ts h o u l d c o m e b a c k w h e n I h a d s o m e t h i n g m o r e in t e re s t i n g a n d
i n s tr u c t iv e t o s a y o n t h e m a t t e r .
I s aw D r . R o w e n a b o u t t e n m o n t h s l a te r , a f t e r m u c h
b u r e a u c r a t i c b l o o d h a d b e e n s pi l l e d . W e m u s t h a v e w o r k e d
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204 A TK ES ON
s ix d a y s a w e e k d u r i n g m o s t o f t h a t p e r i o d . I t w a s a n e n o r -
m o u s l y e d u c a t i o n a l e x p e r i e n c e , n o t j u s t f o r m e , b u t f o r th e
e n t ir e i n t e l l ig e n c e c o m m u n i t y . I ' m n o t s u r e t h a t w e a ll c a m e
o u t a w h o l e lo t w i se r , b u t w e c a m e o u t s o m e w h a t m o r e h u m -
b le a b o u t o u r p r e c o n c e p t i o n s a b o u t t h e ro le o f th e E a s t E u r o -
p e a n f o r c es in t h e W a r s a w P a c t . T h e o n e t h in g t h a t p a r -
t ic u l a r l y i m p r e s s e d m e w h e n w e h a d f in i sh e d t h e e x e rc is e w a s
t h a t t h e r e o u g h t t o b e a p o l i c y d o c u m e n t t o m a t c h t h e in -
t e l l i g e n c e e s t i m a t e . I h a v e n e v e r s e e n o n e . T h e c l o s e s t t h i n g
I 'v e s e en to a m a t c h i n g p o l i c y p r o p o s a l is D r . R o w e n ' s p a p e r .
E a r l y o n i n h is p a p e r , D r . R o w e n p o i n t s o u t t h e b a s i c
a s y m m e t r y b e t w e e n E a s t e rn a n d W e s t e r n s tr a t eg ie s r e g ar d in g
t h e p r o m o t i o n o f d iv i s io n s w i t h in t h e o p p o s i n g c a m p . I t h i n k
h e m a k e s a v e r y p e r s u a s i v e c a s e t h a t t h e W e s t h a s m i s s e d a n
o p p o r t u n i t y t o a r m i ts e l f w i th a p o t e n t i a l l y e f f e c t i v e d e v ic e
f o r e n h a n c i n g d e t e r r e n c e a n d i t s o v e r a l l s e c u r i t y p o s t u r e . P a r -
t i c u l a r ly i m p o r t a n t , I t h i n k , is t h e p o i n t t h a t S o v i e t p l a n n e r s
a r e f a r le s s l ik e l y t o a d v o c a t e r e s o r t t o a r m s f o r th e s u b j u g a -t io n o f W e s t e r n E u r o p e in a t i m e o f c ri s is i f t h e s p e c t e r o f t h e
d i s i n te g r a t i o n o f th e i r r e a r a r e a h a n g s o v e r t h e m .
T h r e c a d d i t i o n a l p o i n t s m i g h t b e m a d e t o s t r e n g t h e n h is
c a s e . F i r s t, t h e r e i s s o l i d e v i d e n c e t h a t t h e S o v i e t s a r e a c u t e l y
a w a r e o f a n d s e n si ti v e t o W e s t e r n i n f lu e n c e w i th t h ei r E a s t
E u r o p e a n a ll ie s , m o d e s t a s t h a t i n f l u e n c e h a s b e e n in r e c e n t
y e ar s . J u s t la s t y e a r, G e n e r a l G r i b k o v , d e p u t y c o m m a n d e r
a n d c h i e f o f s t a f f o f th e W a r s a w P a c t , h a d t h i s t o sa y : " F r o mt h e f ir st y e a r s o f it s e x i st e n ce , t h e W a r s a w P a c t h a s b e e n s u b -
j e c t e d t o c o n s t a n t a t t a c k s b y b o u r g e o i s i d e o l o g i s t s s t ri v in g t o
d i s t o r t i ts g e n u i n e g o a l s a n d n a t u r e a n d t o a s c r i b e i n t e n t i o n s
t o it w h i c h a r e i n n o w a y c o m p a t i b l e w i t h t h e s p ir it a n d l e t t e r
o f t h e P a c t . T h e i n t e n t i o n s o f o u r i d e o l o g i c a l a d v e r s a r i e s a r e
c le a r. T h e y w o u l d l ik e t o u n d e r m i n e t h e u n i t y a n d c o h e s i o n
o f t h e W a r s a w P a c t m e m b e r s ta t e s , a n d t o d e s t r o y t h e c o m -
b a t c o m m u n i t y o f t h e f r a t e r n a l c o u n t r i e s a n d t h e i r a r m i e s , in
o r d e r t o w e a k e n t h e c o m b i n e d m i g h t o f th e s o ci a li s t d e f e n s e
p o l i t i c a l a l l i a n c e . "
I t h i n k t h e g e n e r a l p r o t e s t s t o o m u c h . T h e r e h a v e b e e n
f e w s u c h " a t t a c k s . " B u t w h a t e v e r d i d ~ o a c r o s s G e n e r a l
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G E N E R A L W A R 2 0 5
Gribkov's desk apparent ly struck a raw nerve, suggesting very
keen awareness on the Soviets' part of the true nature of their
"alliance": It is an organization run by Russians for the sup-
port of Russian interests, and with the potential for
dangerous developments should the West adopt a strategy of
the sort Dr. Rowen suggests.
Second, I believe Dr. Rowen may have understated the
degree to which the Soviets depend on the forces of the non-
Soviet Warsaw Pact states. The Warsaw Treaty Organization
dates from 1955, but it was not until the beginning of the suc-
ceeding decade that the Soviets began to take their own crea-
tion seriously. The first combined exercise was held in 1961,
in response, John Caravelli .has suggested, to a growing
perception on the Soviets' part that there was a need to in-
crease their defensive (or striking) posture in Eastern Europe
in light of heightened tensions over Berlin and in the Far
East.
The Soviets appear now to have many more military
problems to deal with than they did then. There is
Afghanistan, and the whole matter of the Persian Gulf and
the southern theater of military operations. There is renewed
participation by France in NATO planning. There is thedevelopment by the United States of a far less passive and
defensive tactical doctrine, with its concept of AirLand Bat-
tle; NATO, too, has developed the notion of deep attack
against follow-on forces. There is the qualitative upgrade ofNATO forces underway with the Leopard II and M-1 tanks,
and much other new equipment. There is the addition of
Spain to the all iance -admi tt edl y not much in the way of
ready forces, but a lot of additional terrain for Pact planners
to worry about.
In short, if the Soviets felt a pinch for forces in the
mid-1960s, they are certainly aware of a need for help from
their allies today. Matters are now probably well past thepoint where a Soviet unilatera l attack on the West would be a
feasible option , even if the Soviets were administratively sup-
ported by their allies. The Soviets have become more depen-
dent on the military contribution of their allies, particularly
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2 06 A T K E S O N
those of the northern tier, just as their allies have been show-
ing less basis for Soviet confidence in their reliability. We
should not be surprised to see more Soviet writings now deal-
ing with the notion of protracted conflict.
Third, and finally, I would add a remark to Dr. Rowen's
point that there are really not many reasons that East Euro-
pean states would want to participate in an attack on the
West in the first place. Perhaps the East German regime har-
bors dreams of controlling the Ruhr-it sounds a little far-
fetched, but I suppose anything is possible for the doctrinaire
mind. As a practical matter, however, the East European
peoples have many more issues for dispute among
themselves-and with the Soviet Union-than they do with
the West. After Bonn's acceptance of the Oder-Neisse Line
and adoption of O s t p o l i t i k , there is simply not much left to
inspire East European hatred or fear of the West. On the
other hand, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Romania can all
look back at territories taken from them by the Soviet Union.The Romanians and Bulgarians have the issue of southern
Dobrogea between them; the Romanians and Hungarians
have Transylvania. And I don't want to guess about possible
differences between East German and Polish views of the
ideal order of things in Pomerania and Silesia.
Christopher Donnelly, of the Center for Soviet Studies
in Sandhurst, has pointed out that many of these people hate
each other, and if there is anyone they hate more, it is theRussians. In any event, there is simply not a great deal about
the West to raise the ire of the broad populations of Eastern
Europe. There would have to be some sort of stimulus to
arouse hostility, such as fear of West German military
resurgence. Although there is little practical prospect for in-
vasion of the East by any Western army during the early days
of a NAT O-Warsaw Pact conflict, it is not at all clear that all
East Europeans would necessarily oppose such an invasion,depending, of course, upon the circumstances and the par-
ticular nationalities involved.
So the Soviets are in a bit o f a dilemma. If they cry wolf
very often over the "threat" of Western attack, they may
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Afterword-Twelve Steps toReviving American PSYOP
F R A N K R . B A R N E T T
SO M E M A Y T H I N K I T O D D t ha t a c o n fe re n ce o n s uc h
s e ns i t i ve m a t t e r s a s S ov i e t p r a c t i c e s o f d ive r s ion ,
c a m o u f l a g e , a n d d e c e p t i o n s h o u l d i n v o l v e p e o p l e a n d e n ti ti es
o u t s i d e g o v e r n m e n t . S u r e ly , h o w e v e r , t h e v al id r e a s o n f o r p r i v a t e
s e ct o r c o n c e r n is t h a t o n e m a j o r t a r g e t f o r S o v ie t P S Y W A R is
p u b f i c o p i n i o n . A n t i - t a n k w e a p o n s h u r t s o l d i e r s ; b u t M o s c o w ' s
" P S Y O P b o m b s " d i s o r i e n t M a i n S t r e e t c i v i l i a n s a s w e l l a s
p o l i c y m a k e r s .
T h e K r e m l i n , w h o s e l e a d e r s h a v e s t u d i e d t h e m a n i p u l a t i v e
a r ts o f S u n T z u a n d P a v l o v , r o u t i n e l y a c ts to e n e r v a t e t h e n a -
t i ona l w i ll o f o pp os in g st at e s. By a l t e rna t i ng t he s t r a t e gy o f t e r ro r
w i t h p r o m i s e s o f d e t e n t e , t h e P o l i t b u r o s ee k s t o i n d u c e n e u r o t i c
m o o d - s w i n g s i n n o n c o m m u n i s t elites. W h a t d e m o c r a c y c a n s u s-
t a in a g r a n d d e s i g n i n f o r e i g n p o li c y w h e n it s l e a d e r sh i p g r o u p s
a r e m o v e d f i r s t f r o m a l a r m t o e u p h o r i a , t h e n b a c k t h r o u g h
d e s p o n d e n c y t o f eb r il e h o p e , b y a c y cl e o f S o v i e t- e n g in e e r e d
t h r e a ts a n d t h a w s , i n v a si o n s a n d r e f o r m s , i n su r g e n c ie s a n d
glasnos t , a n d d o u b l e j e o p a r d y d i s a r m a m e n t g a m e s ?
F r o m L e n i n ' s " N e w E c o n o m i c P o l i c y " t h r o u g h
K h r u s h c h e v ' s " P e a c e f u l C o e x i s t e n c e " t o G o r b a c h e v ' s " N e w
T h i n k i n g , " W e s t e r n t h o u g h t h a s b e e n s o e n t r a n c e d b y t h e
c a re s s o f ve lve t s e m a n t i c s i t c ou ld no t d i s c e rn t he unva ry ingc o m p o n e n t s o f S o v i e t s ta t e cr a ft : b l o o d a n d i r o n ; i d e o l o g y ,
g u ile , a n d p r o p a g a n d a ; t h e p r im a c y o f P a r t y , a r m y , a n d
s e c r e t p o l i c e . W h o e v e r i s e v e n s o m e w h a t a w a r e o f S o v i e t a c -
t ive m e a s u re s i n t he f ie ld pe rc e ive s t ha t i n t im e o f s o -c a ll e d
p e a ce , i n si de o u r o w n d e m o c r a c y a n d in o t h e r v u l n e r ab l e
209
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2 1 0 B A R N E T T
s o c i e t i e s ( e . g . , B r i t a i n , M e x i c o , N e w Z e a l a n d , t h e P h i l i p -
p in e s , W e s t G e r m a n y , J a p a n , S o u t h K o r ea ) , id e o lo g ic a l
r a d i a t i o n i s c o n s t a n t l y i n f l i c t i n g c a s u a l t i e s a m o n g c i v i l i a n
o p i n i o n - m a k e r s . S o t h e p r i v a t e s e c t o r m u s t s t u d y S o v i e t
P S Y W A R t o h e l p p r o t e c t i t se l f a n d , s h o u l d i t h a v e t h e
c r e a t i v i t y , t o i n n o v a t e s o m e p o s i t i v e c o u n t e r m e a s u r e s i n t h e
b a t t l e o f i d e a s .
S o m e w o u l d a r g u e t h a t t h e e th ic s o f d e m o c r a c y p r e c lu d e
t o o s t r e n u o u s a c o n c e r n w i th p r o p a g a n d a . P r o p o n e n t s o f th is
s c h o o l h a v e l o n g m a i n t a i n e d t h a t t h e V o ic e o f A m e r i c a
s h o u l d b e a d i s p a s s i o n a t e n e w s s e r v i c e r a t h e r t h a n a n
i d eo l o gi c al c o m b a t a n t a g a i n st C o m m u n i s m . S u c h a n i de a l is
s u p e r f i c i a ll y a t t r a c t iv e . B u t i n a w o r l d w h e r e i n f a l s e h o o d isa g g r e s s i v e l y d i s s e m i n a t e d b y a d v a n c e d t e c h n o l o g y , i s i t n o t
b o t h n e c e s s a r y a n d m o r a l t o p r o p a g a t e t h e t r u t h w i t h e q u a l
v i g o r a n d p e r s i s t e n c e , e v e n t h o u g h s u c h s t r u c t u r e d a c t i v i t y
c o n s ti tu t es a f o r m o f p r o p a g a n d a ?
T h e o r y a s i d e , h i s to r y r ev e a ls t h a t A m e r i c a h a s w a g e d e f -
f e ct iv e p r o p a g a n d a o n c e t h e e n e m y w a s o f f ic i a ll y i d e n t i f i e d .F o r e x a m p l e , t h e s u p e r i o r i t y o f t h e A n g l o - A m e r i c a n p r o p -
a g a n d a c a m p a i g n in W o r l d W a r I w a s a r e su l t p a r t ly o f
W o o d r o w W i ls o n 's c r e a t i o n o f t h e C o m m i t t e e o n P u b l i c I n -
f o r m a t i o n i n A u g u s t o f 1 91 7. I ts c iv i l ia n c h i e f w a s G e o r g e
C r e e l , b u t i t s o t h e r m e m b e r s w e r e t h e s e c r e t a r i e s o f s t a t e ,
w a r , a n d n a v y - a n u n u s u a l m ix o f d i r e c t o rs fo r w h a t w a s t o
b e c o m e th e e q u iv a le n t o f a m i n i s t ry o f p r o p a g a n d a . ' T h a t
" m i n i s t r y " - - b y r e c r u i t i n g e d i t o rs , p r e s s a g e n t s , s c h o l a r s , a n dj o u r n a l i s t s - m a n a g e d A m e r i c a ' s t r a n s i t i o n f r o m a n i s o l a -
t io n i s t , a n t im i l i t a r y d e m o c r a c y t o a m i l i t a n t w a r m a c h i n e t h a t
s u s ta i n e d t h e A E F w i th a d r a f t l aw , L i b e rt y B o n d s , a n d f o o d
r a t i o n i n g .
T h e C r e e l C o m m i t t e e e n g i n e e r e d " v o l u n t a r y " c e n s o r s h ip
o f a ll w a r n e w s . I t f in a n c e d p a t r i o t ic a d s . I t i n f l a m e d p a s s i o na g a i n s t t h e K a is e r b y i n s p ir i n g c a r t o o n s , s p o n s o r i n g w a r e x -
h i b it s a t s t a te f a ir s , p r o d u c i n g p r o - w a r b u t t o n s a n d w i n d o ws ti ck e r s, a n d g e n e r a t i n g r u m o r s . I t c o m m i s s i o n e d s c h o l a r ly
1 . See Mo ck an d La r so n , W o r d s T h a t W o n t h e W a r
(Pr ince ton : Pr inc e ton U niver s ity Press , 1939).
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R E V I V I N G A M E R I C A N P S Y O P 2 1 1
b o o k s , t r a i n e d t e a c h e r s , p r e p a r e d f i l l e r s f o r s c h o o l
n e w s p a p e r s , m a d e f il m s , a n d m a i n t a i n e d a n a t i o n a l ca d r e o f
" F o u r - M i n u t e M e n " w h o a g i ta t e d c iv ic c lu b s w i th o r a t o r y
p r e p a r e d b y t h e c o m m i t t e e . I t w a s c e r ta i n l y e f fe c t iv e ; b u t f o r
m o d e r n t as te s t h e C r ee l C o m m i t t e e (o r C P I ) w a s to o z e a l o u s ,
t o o i n d i f fe r e n t t o t h e n u a n c e s o f t h e f ir st a m e n d m e n t , a n d
t o o p r o n e t o o v e r s t a t e (e v e n f a b ri c a te ) t h e " A t r o c i t i e s o f t h e
H u n . " I n m a n y q u a r t e r s , t h e r e w a s a s ig h o f r e li e f w h e n t h e
C P I w e n t o u t o f b u s in e s s i n J u n e 1 91 9. F o r m o r e t h a n t w e n t y
y e a rs , A m e r i ca ' s p r o p a g a n d a w e a p o n w a s a g a in s h e a t h e d a n dl e f t h a n g i n g o n t h e w a l l .
T h e n , l ar g el y a v o i d i n g t h e e x c es se s o f t h e C P I , d u r i n g
W o r l d W a r II t h e t ea m s o f E l m e r D a v is a n d W i ld B i ll
D o n o v a n , t o g e t h e r w i t h t h e B r i t i s h , p l a y e d a p r o f e s s i o n a l
p r o p a g a n d a g a m e v e rs u s t h e N a zi s. A t t h e w a r 's e n d ,
W a s h i n g t o n a n d N e w Y o r k C i ty w e r e h o m e t o h u n d r e d s o f
a l u m n i o f O W l a n d O S S . T h e p o l i t ic a l c l i m a t e , ch i ll ed b y t h e
R e d A r m y ' s i m p o s i t i o n o f R u s s i an h e g e m o n y o n t h e n a t i o n so f E a s t e rn E u r o p e , h a r d e n e d a g a in s t M o s c o w ' s f u r t h e r a m b i -
t io n s . W i t h h i s c o n s p i c u o u s c r u e lt y , S t a l in w a s a l m o s t a s e f-
f ec ti v e a s H i t le r i n c r e a ti n g a m o r a l c o n s e n s u s t o o p p o s e h i m .
I n c o n s e q u e n c e , t h e o n s e t o f t h e C o l d W a r e n li s t ed th e
e n e r g i e s o f s u c h p r o m i n e n t f i g u r e s a s A l l e n D u l l e s , D a v i d
S a r n o f f , F r a n c is C a r d i n a l S p e l l m a n , a n d L u c i u s C l a y . G o r -
d o n G r a y l e n t h is p a t r i c i a n p r e st ig e t o t h e c h a i r m a n s h i p o f
t h e P s y c h o l o g i c a l S t ra t e g y B o a r d , w h i c h h a d d i r e ct a cc e ss t ot h e p re s i d e n t. T h e l e g e n d a r y C . D . J a c k s o n , p u b l i s h e r o f F o r -
t u n e a n d E i s e n h o w e r ' s t o p w a r t i m e a d v i s e r o n P S Y W A R ,
w a s b u s y s e t t i n g u p R a d i o F r e e E u r o p e a n d R a d i o L i b e r -
t y - i n t h o s e e x h i la r a t in g d ay s ca ll ed R a d i o L i b e r a t io n .
P e r h a p s t h i s w a s t h e g o l d e n e r a f o r A m e r i c a n P S Y O P .
I n t h e p r e s i d e n t i a l c a m p a i g n o f 1 9 5 2 , c a n d i d a t e
E i s e n h o w e r a n d h is fu t u r e s e c r e ta r y o f s ta t e , J o h n F o s t e r
D u l le s , p r o m i s e d t o a b a n d o n t h e p a ss iv e p o l i c y o f c o n t a i n -m e n t i n f a v o r o f a ro l l- b a ck o f th e I r o n C u r t a i n f r o m E a s t e r n
E u r o p e . I n a u d i t o r i u m s in C h i c a g o , D e t ro i t , P i t ts b u r g h , a n d
N e w Y o r k , t e n s o f t h o u s a n d s o f A m e r i c a n s - - w i t h C z e ch ,
H u n g a r i a n , P o l i s h , B a l t i c , a n d U k r a i n i a n o r i g i n s - - c h e e r e d
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212 BARNETT
senators from both parties who spoke in honor of "Captive
Nations Week." Rhetoric was underlined with legislation. In
the Mutual Security Act o f 195 I, a bipart isan vote author ized
$100 million to create-from Iron Curtain exiles of military
a g e - a Legion of Freedom to be attached to NATO for
paramilitary and PSYOP objectives.
The Congress for Cultural Freedom financed hundreds
of Eur opean scholars and journalists who articulated the case
for NATO. Later on, the Asia Foundation supported the
cause of freedom in the Pacific theater. In 1951, the author
worked for the "American Friends of Russian Freedom," a
private committee set up by Eugene Lyons of the Reader's
Digest and a young Wall Street lawyer named William J.
Casey. Its aims were to provide jobs and visas to assist the
defection of Russian troops in Berlin and to drive a prop-
aganda wedge between the Russian people and their Leninist
overlords.
The congenial climate for American PSYOP was• polluted in the seventeen years that followed 1956; not until
President Reagan's Westminister speech was there again
much sunshine. The theme of "liberation" was consigned to
the dustbin by the crushing of the Hungarian Revolution, thewinterizing of the Prague Spring, and the erection of the
Berlin Wall. The brutal mismatch between raw Soviet power
and ineffectual diplomatic protest was plain to see. And how
could commitme nt to the eventual freedom of captive nationssurvive the Bay of Pigs, the Soviet share in the Helsinki Ac-
cords, and the illusions of detente?
We did have a robust PSYOP program during the Viet-
nam War and some heroic practitioners in the field, both
military and civilian. But American PSYOP in Southeast
Asia was tactical and largely limited to the immediate theate r
of conflict, while Communist PSYOP was strategic and
global, as well as diverse, disguised, and emotiona lly strident.The occasional State Department White Paper sent to Euro-
pean capitals-or the earnest foreign service spokesman
dispatched to the American ca m p u s - m e t negation in a rip-
tide of anti-Vietnam hysteria. We were trying to win the
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R E V I V I N G A M E R I C A N P S Y O P 213
hearts and minds of various ethnic groups in Vietnam, Laos,
and Cambodia. Our enemy was aiming to stir the souls and
passions of statesmen, students, editors, and television pro-
ducers throughout Europe and the United States. We sought
defection from guerrilla ranks in the Southeast Asian jungle.
Hanoi--aided by Moscow and its world network of Com-
munist parties and front groups-was intent on severing the
political life-support system for Saigon precar iously sustained
by US public opinion and the Congress.
Why was the PSYOP contest so asymmetrical? One
might assume that a "battle of ideas" should have been won
by a superpower that had more communications consultants,
advertising executives, information and media specialists,
political advisers, public relations professionals, and
psychologists than the total number of infantry soldiers in
Hanoi's army. It would not be sufficient to answer that US
media (and political) elites were divided over war aims, or
even that acknowledged American skill in marketing pro-ducts or enter tainment ideas does not necessarily translate in-
to competence in a serious ideological conflict. The most im-
portant reason for the Hanoi-Moscow "ideo-military" victory
was that American PSYOP in Vietnam had no moral or
political grounding in the deepest levels of White House
policy. Against Hitler, Washington was certain that its cause
was just and America was in the fight to win. In Vietnam, the
feckless objective of stalement through attrition helped todissipate those assets of political elan and rectitude with
which anti-Nazi PSYWAR was intermeshed.
In short, cheerleading in favor of a tie score, for a team
whose opponents are perceived as moral ly equivalent even by
many hometown fans, is an exercise in self-stultification. The
fault sometimes may lie not in our PSYOP but in our policy;
no magic communications can for long make credible a
flawed objective. In Nicaragua, unhappily, we may be on the
verge of re-proving that melancholy thesis o f r e a l p o l i t i k . The
polls indicate that President Reagan has not persuaded a ma-
jority o f the US citizenry to support aid to the Contras. Does
that suggest a failure at public education by the Whi te House
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2 1 4 B A R N E T T
or artful Soviet-Cuban-Sandinista disinformation at work?
Probab ly a little of both. Ano ther explanation, however, lies
in the disparity between the magnitude of the alleged threat
and the insipid prescription.
If the Sandinistas are, in fact, the myrmidons of the
Soviet Empire, and if they harbor the zeal both to grant the
Russians a military base on our doorstep and to export fur-
ther Communist revolution up the ladder of Central America
into Mexico, then why are we entrusting so vital a matter of
our own national security to a smallish band of exiles,
however brave the Contra volunteers may be? The means
don't square with the premise of the peril. Or consider the
message of our uncertain trumpet from the acoustical angle
of the Contras. It is one thing to risk one's life to overthrow
an illegitimate Leninist regime and establish a free Nicaragua;
it is quite another to be asked to die for a remote Washington
game of merely needling Ortega until he cuts of f supplies for
Communist rebels in El Salvador.
Given such a paltry goal, how can American PSYOP
create any "bandwagon" effect for the Contra cause and en-
courage mass defections of those impressed into service by
Managua? Yes, Soviet active measures have spawnedmisleading myths about the issues in Nicaragua; but exposing
those myths will not pave the way to democracy in that coun-
try unless the US objective can command the passion and in-
telligence of honorable men.Granting that even brilliant PSYOP is no substitute for
sound policy, one should not minimize the urgent need to
upgrade American sensitivity to the whole spectrum of non-
military warfare. No treaties to limit this mode o f conflict are
even proposed. No arms control agreement seeks to reduce
Soviet arsenals of propaganda weapons; no verification
would be possible of KGB cutbacks in deployment of subver-
sive agents across borders; no promised dismantling of Com-munist active measures production lines could be enforced.
But on our side, especially if we move into the era of born-
again detente, unilateral self-denial of PSYWAR options will
be fostered by societal ignorance or disapproval.
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REVIVING AMERICAN PSYOP 215
T o o v e r c o m e t h a t i g n o r a n c e a n d r e m o v e th e d i sa p -
p r o v a l , w e n e e d p e r s u a s i v e ( b i p a r t i s a n ) t u t o r i a l s o n t h e
r e a l i t i e s o f U S - S o v i e t c o m p e t i t i o n . W e n e e d c o n s c i o u s n e s s -
r a is i n g a b o u t t h e K r e m l i n 's d i s i n f o r m a t i o n ta c ti cs a n d
P S Y O P g a m b i t s p r ec is e ly b ec a u s e w e m a y b e o n t h e e ve o f a
s e r i e s o f a r m s c o n t r o l a g r e e m e n t s t h a t w i l l r e d u c e n u c l e a r
s t o c k p i le s a n d p e r h a p s e v e n c o n v e n t i o n a l f o r ce s . I f t h e t e rm s
a r e e q u i t a b l e a n d c a n b e v e r if i ed - a n d i f w e r e s p o n d t o v io l a -
t io n s b y M o s c o w w i t h m e a n i n g f u l sa n c t io n s , n o t ju s t " p r o -
t e s t s " - t h e W e s t s h o u l d w e l c o m e t h is p r o c es s . I t is m a n i f e s t l yw o r t h t e s t i n g w h e t h e r glasnost i s a s i m p l e f a c e l i f t o r d e e p
t h e r a p y t h a t w i l l p e r m a n e n t l y a l t er t h e b e h a v i o r o f M o t h e r
R u s s i a . B u t th e d e m o c r a c i e s m u s t u n d e r s t a n d t h a t , e s p e ci al ly
a s s o m e n u c l e a r m i s s i l e s a r e d i s m a n t l e d , p s y c h o l o g i c a l
w e a p o n r y c o u l d b e c o m e e v en m o r e d ec is iv e t h a n in t h e p a s t.
S a t e l l i t e T V c o n n e c t s w i t h t h e e n t i r e g l o b e ; a n d S e c r e t a r y
G o r b a c h e v - a p r o te g e o f A n d r o p o v a n d S u s l o v -- is a v e te r an
o f i d eo l o g ic a l c o m b a t w h o h a s a r m e d h i m s e l f w i th c o m -m u n i c a t i o n s a r ts t h a t a r e e f f ec t iv e l y t r a n s c u l t u r a l .
W e c a n n o t y e t j u d g e w h e t h e r glasnost w i ll l e a d t o s t r u c -
t u r a l a n d i rr e ve r si b le c h a n g e s in t h e L e n i n i s t m o n o p o l y o f
p o w e r o v e r t h e S o v i e t E m p i r e t h a t w o u l d t r u l y e n h a n c e o u r
s e c u r i ty . W h a t is a l m o s t c e r t a i n is t h a t t h e " s p i r i t o f
glasnost," m a d e p a l p a b l e b y m e d i a h y p e , w i l l c r e a t e a m o n g
t h e d e m o c r a c i e s t o o o p t i m i s t i c a n e s t i m a t e o f f u t u r e d e f e n s e
n e e d s. W h i le n e g o t i a t i n g p r u d e n t l y a b o u t " z e r o o p t i o n s , " w em u s t r e c o g n i z e t h a t , i n a c l im a t e o f h o p e f u l c r e d u l i ty , S o v i e t
P S Y O P c a n r e p l a y u p - t o - d a t e v e rs i o n s o f its h is t o r ic a l t h e m e s
o f p e a c e f u l c o e x is t e n ce , r e d e s i g n e d t h is t i m e t o d e n i g r a t e t h e
P e n t a g o n , S D I , U S S p e c ia l F o r ce s , a n d N A T O m o d e r n i z a -
t i o n . T h e p r e s u m e d b e n i g n i n t e n t o f glasnost, f o r e x a m p l e ,
h a s n o t y e t i n h i b i t e d G o r b a c h e v ' s r e g i m e f r o m i n c i t i n g
A f r i c a n s t o b e li ev e t h a t U S d e f e n s e f a c t o ri e s g e n e r a t e d t h e
A I D S v ir us , o r f r o m i n f l a m i n g I n d i a w i th t h e r u m o r t h a tW a s h i n g t o n h a t c h e d t h e p l o t t o a s s a s s i n a t e M r s . G a n d h i .
T h e s e c a n a r d s s e e m s o i r r a t i o n a l a s t o b e s e l f - d e f e a t i n g . B u t ,
o w i n g t o o u r p a ss iv i t y i n re b u t t i n g M o s c o w ' s m y t h - m a k i n g ,
S o v i e t P S Y W A R h a s c r e a t e d a m o n g T h i r d W o r l d s t u d e n t s
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216 BARNETT
a n d p o l it ic i an s a P a v l o v i a n a n t i p a t h y t o a n y t h i n g t h a t c a n b e
l a b el e d a p r o d u c t o f A m e r i c a n i m p e r i a l i sm .
I n a d d i ti o f i, w i t h G o r b a c h e v l e a d in g t h e S o v ie ts , w e f a c e
t h e " m o d e r n i z a t i o n " o f l~he w a r o f i d e a s . J u s t a s t h e h a r d w a r e
o f m i s sil es c a n b e m o d e r n i z e d , s o c a n t h e s o f t w a r e o f
P S Y W A R . s t a li n 's p r irf i i t iv e p r o p a g a n d a b o m b s w e r e a i m e d
a t t h e " w o r k i n g m a s s e s " o f A m e r i c a i n a c r u d e e f f o r t t o
f o m e n t r e v o l u t io n a g a i n s t W a l l S t re e t. T o d a y , n e w S o v ie t
P S Y O P w a r h e a d s a r e p r e c i s io n - g u i d e d a n d i n d e p e n d e n tl y
ta rge te d no t 6n the f i a a s se s bu t on the e l i t e : s c i e n t i s t s ,e d u c a t o r s , l a w y e r s , p h y s i c i a n s , b u s i n e s s m e n , c o n g r e s s m e n .
F r o m b l a t a n t p o l e m i c s i n t h e Daily Worker t o l o w - k e y ,
p l a u s ib l e K G B l o b b y i s t s o n C a p i t o l H i l l, t h e r e is a d i s q u i e t i n g
e v o l u ti o n i n P S Y W A R s o ft w a re . E v e n th e d e p o r t m e n t a n d
e l o c u t i o n c o d e o f t h e S o v ie t ag e n t h a s b e e n m o d e r n i z e d . T h e
S t a l i n i s t r o b o t d r e s s e d a n d t a l k e d l i k e a B u l g a r i a n A 1
C a p o n e ; t h e G o r b a c h e v s a l e sm a n l o o k s a n d b e h a v e s lik e t h e
d e a n o f a l i b e r a l a r t s c o l l e g e .
T h i s m o d e r n i z a t i o n i n P S Y O P h e l p s t o e n s u r e t h a t
S o v i et t w i l ig h t w a r i n t h e T h i r d W o r l d is ef f ec t iv e l y c o o r -
d i n a t e d w i th a n U m b r e ll a o f a c t iv e m e a s u r e s in E u r o p e a n d
t h e U n i t e d S t h t e s . M o s c o w ' s a i m i s t o i n t e r d i c t t h e b a t -
t l e f i e l d - n o t w i t h a i r s t r i k e s b u t w i t h p o l i t i c a l w a r f a r e t h a t
d i s c r e d i t s a n t i c o m m u n i s t r e s i s t a n c e a n d d r i e s u p i t s l o g i s t i c a l
s u p p o r t f r o m n a t u r a l a ll ie s i n th e W e s t e r n d e m o c r a c i e s.G o r ba ch e v 's n e w P S Y O P e xe cu tiv e t e a m - h e a d e d b y
A l e x a n d e r Y a k o v l e v - ar e ra t h e r l i ke c u l tu r a l a n th r o p o l o g i s ts
w h o h a v e d e v e i o p e d s h r e w d i n si gh t s i n t o t h e m o r e s o f th e
A m e r i C a n m e d i a a n d t h e v a n i t i e s o f t h e A m e r i c a n e s t a b l i s h -
m e n t . T h e y a r e a i d e d b y S ov ie t m a r k e t r e s e ar c h a n d o p i n i o n
p o l l i n g ( u n t h i n k a b l e i n S t al in 's e ra ) . W i t h u p - t o - d a t e a n a ly s is
o f o u r s o c ie ta l d e lu s i o n s ; t h e y n o l o n g e r n e e d t o r e ly s o le l y o n
f o r c i n g a l i e n c 6 n c e p t s i n t o o u r s y s t e m . N o w , t h e y t r o l l o u r
m a i n s t r ea m f o r u se fu l b its o f i d i o c y - a n d s im p l y r e p a c k ag e
t h e m . ( F o r e x a m p l e , t h e " n u c l e a r w i n t e r " h o b g o b l i n , s o e x -
p l o i t e d b y p e a c e g r o u p s , w a s n o t i n v e n t e d b y M o s c o w , b u t
r e c y c l e d . )
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REVIVING AMER ICA N PSYOP 217
N o w le t u s s p e n d a m i n u t e o n t h e c e n t r a l it y t o s u c c e s s f u l
P S Y O P o f m o r a l p a s si o n a n d t h e c o n v i c ti o n o f a j u s t c au se .
I n t h e T h i r d W o r l d a n d i n E u r o p e , L e n i n is t a g i ta t o rs a r o u s e
e m o t i o n a l f r e n z y - n o t j u st in te l l e c tu a l d i s s e n t - o v e r s uc h
s h i b b o l e t h s a s n e o - F a s c i s t r e v i v a l i n W e s t G e r m a n y a n d t h e
A m e r i c a n m i l i t a r y - i n d u s t r i a l c o m p l e x . C o m m u n i s t P S Y O P ,
i n s h o r t , d o e s n o t s i m p l y re a c h f o r h e a r t s a n d m i n d s ; i t a c -
t i v a t e s e n v y , f e a r , a n d a n g e r b y s t i r r i n g p r i m a l e m o t i o n s . I n
t h e s u b s o i l o f h a t r e d , S o v i e t a c t i v e m e a s u r e s t a k e e a s y r o o t
a n d g a i n n u t r i e n t s . H o w e a s y i t i s t o b e l i e v e s o m e t h i n gs i n i s t e r a b o u t s o m e o n e w e a l r e a d y h a v e b e e n i n d u c e d t o
d e s p i s e .
B y w a y o f c o n t r as t , C o m m u n i s m ' s m a n i f o l d c rim e s
a g a i n s t h u m a n i t y a r e o f t e n c i t e d b y W a s h i n g t o n i n t o n e s o f
B r i t i s h u n d e r s t a t e m e n t . S u c h m o d e r a t i o n m a y s u i t t h e
p r e f e r e n c e o f t h e f o r e i g n s e r v i c e , b u t i t w i l l n e v e r p r o d u c e
s tr e e t t h e a t e r o u t s i d e S o v i e t e m b a s s i e s . L e s t t h is o b s e r v a t i o n
b e m i s u n d e r s t o o d , l e t m e m a k e c l e a r I d o n o t s u g g e s t t h a tA m e r i c a b o r r o w t h e ta c ti cs o f G o e b b e l s o r S u s lo v . W e s h o u l d
n e v e r m a n u f a c t u r e l i e s , a n d h a t r e d i s s c a r c e l y d e m o c r a c y ' s
e x p o r t p r o d u c t . B u t o n e o f t h e h a l l m a r k s o f W e s t e r n c iv il iz a-
t i o n h a s b e e n t h e c a p a c i ty o f it s p e o p le s f o r m o r a l i n d i g n a t i o n
t o w a r d d i c ta to r s w h o c h o k e h u m a n f r e e d o m a n d s q u a s h
s e l f - d e t e r m i n a t i o n f o r s m a l l n a t i o n s . I t is n e i t h e r u n c i v il iz e d
n o r a n t i d e m o c r a t i c t o m o b i l i z e l e g i t i m a t e r e v u l s i o n a g a i n s t
t y r a n t s g u i l t y o f c o n s p i c u o u s , p r o v a b l e c r u e l t y .
L e t u s a g r e e t o d e t e s t a p a r t h e i d a n d r e v i l e H i t l e r ' s
h o l o c a u s t . B u t w h e r e is t h e e q u i v a l e n t e m o t i o n a l d i s g u st f o r
t h e C o m m u n i s t w a r d e n s w h o s u pe r v i se to d a y ' s h o l o c au s t s in
C a m b o d i a , E t h io p i a , a n d A f g h a n i s t a n ? W h y n e e d w e
s m o t h e r o u t ra g e a b o u t c o n t e m p o r a r y c o n c e n t r a t i o n c a m p s i n
C u b a a n d V i e tn a m ? E f f e c ti v e P S Y O P m u s t a r o u se t h e p a s-
s i o n th a t g e n e r a t e s c o m m i t m e n t . W e a r e e n t it le d to r i g h t e o u sw r a t h .
S o , in t h e P S Y O P c o m b a t w i t h M o s c o w , w e n ee d t o a d d
a l in g u i s t ic b a r b t o o u r i n s i p i d s e m a n t i c s . W e r e f e r t o t h e
P o l i t b u r o g a n g a s "a d v e r sa r ie s " o r " c o m p e t i t o r s . " S u c h t e rm s
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2 1 8 B A R N E T T
are more suitable to the context of the Olympic Games. The
men whose underlings have severed Europe with 1,100
kilometers of barbed wire and mine fields - from the Baltic tothe Adriatic--are not opponents; they are barbarians. And
Red Army troops who drop booby-trapped toys in
Afghanistan as lethal gifts for children are savages and war
criminals.
If we gloss over Communist atrocities, we should not be
surprised that much of the world adopts the posture o f moral
neutrality between Moscow and Washington. We will not
animate many audiences by observing, "East German security
personnel collaborate in assisting the Soviet mission in
Africa." We could, however, put the case more bluntly by
saying, "The reborn Gestapo is alive and well and policing
Moscow's colonies in Africa." This is crude by racquet club
st and ar ds - but it's true and may increase the flow of virtuous
adrenalin. This is not to suggest that the president or
secretary of state should use that language; but senators,editors, professors, lawyers, and labor and business leaders
are not strangers to acerbic slogans.
Our mission, of course, is not to list tiresomely all the
cultural and historical factors that favor Moscow, but ratherto innovate ideas that may help narrow the gap in PSYWAR
capabilities between the Leninist bloc and the open societies.
To do so, we need not emulate the totalitarians. We are not
entirely strangers to intense ideo-political combat in ourcu l tu re - we only need to think of Democrats vs. Republicansin election years. Staying well within the limits of our tradi-
tion and the law, we need not treat the Pol itburo any more in-
decorously than American partisans treat each other during a
presidential campaign. It is not so much the constraint of
ethics that hampers our psychological contest with theSoviets. It is perhaps that most of those Americans with
natural instincts for political warfare are preoccupied with
electing clients to the Senate and White House or negotiating
between mana geme nt and labor. We lack neither aficionados
of politics nor matadors; their priorities are merely centered
more on struggles in Detroit and Iowa than on contests in
Angola or Poland.
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R E V I V IN G A M E R I C A N P S Y O P 219
How will we know when we begin to redress the balance
in the PSYOP arena? There are, to be sure, hundreds of
ways. Let me, as an agent provocateur, list twelve:
1. When the curricula of our sta ff and war col-
leges-plus those of our allies in Europe-include
adequate instruction in ideology, PSYOP, "active
measures," and subversive war. (In the modern
military arts, Lenin and Mao are as relevant as
Clausewitz.)
2. When career foreign service officers and USIA pro-
fessionals are sensitized to the same subject matter
in their own institutes and training programs, since
perhaps 70 percent of the o f f i c i a l PSYOP mission
should be the responsibility of civilian agencies.
3. When DOD contrac ts to a task force of Russian
scholars and East European specialists, together
with clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, and
carefully screened Iron Curtain defectors, to preparesophisticated audio cassettes for clandestine
distribution in time of crisis to diverse national
troops in the Warsaw Pact. The same exper-
t i s e - based on a discriminating knowledge of Polish
history, Hungarian culture, Ukrainian national
pride, etc.-should be available for messages on
black radio and S a r n i z d a t U n d e r g r o u n d V i d e o . (The
substance and uncertain delivery system of armyleaflets need to be upgraded to become state-of-the-
art PSYOP.)
4. When professional US PSYWAR specialists attend
future Helsinki, Geneva, Vienna, and Reykjavik
type conferences to neutralize the current Soviet
PSYOP edge ensured by the presence of Yakovlev
and Arbatov.
5. When, on a NATO-wide basis, as there are now
periodic meetings of foreign and defense ministers,
there will be annual meetings of information and
education ministers to discuss Psychological
Defense, including joint subsidies for the translation
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220 BARNETT
and distribution of relevant books that now are
published--often for very limited readership-in
Spanish or French, German or English, but forwant of small grants to cover translation costs
never see the light of libraries in other languages.
6. When the defunct Institute for Propaganda
An al ys is -s et up in the late 1930s to moni tor Nazi
themes--is reconstituted to study and expose
Soviet PSYWAR gambits.
7. When, in Paris or Rome, European intellectuals
schedule "War Crimes Trials" of the Soviet Em-
pire, charging the Red Army and its Spetsnaz units
with at least forty My Lai-scale massacres in
Afghanistan.
8. When American college st ud ent s- in addition to
building shanty-towns to protest racial apar-
theid- erect Gulag prison huts to protest the abuse
of dissident Soviet writers doomed to drug-inducedpsychosis by the wardens of Soviet clinics. And
when American "physicians for social responsibil-
ity" show social outrage against the Politburo for
this unspeakable perversion of medicine.
9. When more Amer ican schools of journal ism and
communications emulate Boston University and
offer courses on how to safeguard US media
against Soviet disinformation.10. When another dozen or so of our professional
societies form their own in-house committees to
mobilize private sector talent for the PSYOP game.
The American Bar Association and the Interna-
tional Confederation of Reserve Officers have
taken that step. The officers have a committee on
psychological defense with a program focused on
European public opinion. The ABA has a BlueRibbon Committee of Lawyers that has trained
thousands of teachers in Communist propaganda
strategy and that refutes Soviet disinformation
about SDI and Central America.
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REVIVING AM ER IC AN PSYOP 221
11.
12.
W h e n , i f t h e W a r sa w P a c t a s sa u lt s N A T O , t h e U S
A r m y a n d p e r h a p s o u r G e r m a n a n d B r i t i s h a l l i e s c a nq u i c k l y d e p l o y t r a i n e d s p e ci al is ts f o r " d e e p s t ri k e "
c o m m a n d o m i s s i o n s a t h w a r t R e d A r m y s u p p l y l i n e s
in E a s t er n E u r o p e - t h e i r a im b e in g t o i nc ite
s a b o t a g e , d e f e a t i s m , a n d r e v o l t a m o n g P o l e s , C z e c h s ,
H u n g a r i a n s , a n d E a s t G e r m a n s w h o d e s p is e R u s s i an
h e g e m o n y . T h e n e c e s s ar y p r e l u d e t o s u c h a c o n -
t i n g e n c y p l a n c o u l d b e a v a r i e t y o f s u b t l e , " p e a c e -
t im e " P S Y O P t a rg e t e d o n a s e le c te d h a n d f u l o f E a s tE u r o p e a n m i l i t a r y a n d p o l i t i c a l e l i t e s . T h a t j o b w i l l
r e q u i r e f i n e s s e , c u l t u r a l e m p a t h y , a n d l i n g u i s t i c
s k i l l s - t a l e n t s t h a t l ie in A m e r i c a 's m e l t i n g - p o t
s o c i e t y .
F i n a l l y , w e c a n c l a i m s o m e s u c c e s s w h e n A m e r i c a n
P S Y O P - - b o t h p r i v a t e a n d g o v e r n m e n t a l - h a v e
t o g e t h e r c r e a t e d a n " o p i n i o n c l i m a t e " t h a t w i l l p e r -
m i t , e v e n a p p l a u d , t h e r ev e rs a l o f t h e B r e z h n e v D o c -t r in e , w h e t h e r b y d i p l o m a t i c p r e s s u r e , i d e o l o g i c a l
a s sa u lt , a i d t o f r e e d o m f i g h te r s , o r a c o m b i n a t i o n o f
a ll t h e a b o v e . G r e n a d a w a s t o o s m a l l t o b e d e c is iv e .
A f g h a n i s t a n m a y b e t o o c lo se t o t h e U S S R a n d t o oi n v e s t e d w i t h R e d A r m y d i v i s io n s t o a l lo w f o r a c o m -
p l e t e r e v e r s a l . ( O f c o u r s e w e s h o u l d t r y e v e n t h e r e ,
e sp e ci al ly o w i n g t o t h e i m p a c t o f A f g h a n i s t a n ' s
f a t e - - o n e w a y o r t he o t h e r - o n t h e f u tu r e o f I ra n ,P a k i s t a n , a n d t h e P e r s i a n G u l f . )
O t h e r o p p o r t u n i t e s f o r n u l l i f y in g t h e B r e z h n e v
f a l l a c y - - t h a t " t h e ti d e o f t y r a n n y i s i r r e v e r s i b l e " - l i e
in E t h i o p i a , A n g o l a , N i c a r a g u a , M o z a m b i q u e , a n d
L i b y a . A l l th o s e p r i s o n s t at es a r e d i s ta n t f r o m M o t h e r
R u s s i a . A l l h a v e s e a p o r t s v u l n e r a b l e t o b l o c k a d e o rq u a r a n t i n e . N o n e h a v e a r m e d f o rc e s u p t o th e q u a l i t y
o r n u m b e r s o f th o s e in V i e t n a m o r N o r t h K o r e a . I ne v e r y c a s e , t h e r e i s a s u b s t a n t i a l r e s i s t a n c e p o t e n t i a l .
M o r a l l y , e a c h i s a n " o u t l a w " n a t i o n w h o s e l e a d e r s
s p e ci al iz e in e v e r y t h i n g f r o m t e r r o r i s m t o S t a li n 's o l dt e c h n i q u e o f g e n o c i d e th r o u g h f o r c e d s t a rv a t io n
( M e n g i s t u , f o r e x a m p l e ) .
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2 2 2 B A R N E T T
Liberation of even one of those outer islands of the
Gulag Archipelago will not be casualty free. But if we do
liberate one, it may spare us blood and treasure elsewhere in
the Third World, whence lie the oil, cobalt, chrome, and
manganese that underpin the productivity of Europe, Japan,
and the United States. Someplace, we need to put the Soviet
bandwagon of proxy warfare in the ditch. Someplace, we
must prove to wavering Third World leaders-fearful of
Moscow's ju gg er na ut -t ha t the future no more belongs to the
dogma of Brezhnev than it belongs to disproven Marxisteconomics.
Moreover, there is a strategic bonus to be derived from
helping to liberate Angola or Libya, Nicaragua or Ethiopia,
Mozambique or Afghanistan. Even one such success would
send seismic political shockwaves back into Poland, the
Ukraine, Lithuania, and Mongolia. The Politburo and Red
Army marshals would be even more unsure of Warsaw Pact
allies. The liberation of a Third World satellite-plusvigorous PSYOP in both Western and Eastern Europe--
would be another deterrent in another dimension. He who
cannot trust the troops in his unstable coalition is less likely
to put things to the test in the fog of war.
It will not be easy to do any of the above. Distaste for
PSYOP, even in the defensive mode, will make it difficult to
familiarize Western political, diplomatic, and military elites
with this unorthodox dimension of conflict. Some foreignpolicy establishments will see proposals for US initiatives or
counte rattack in the PSYOP arena as provocative. Then too,
predictably, Soviet PSYWAR weaponry will launch preemp-
tive strikes against the blueprint and R&D phases of even pro-
tective NATO measures in this field. For example, training of
Western editors to analyze Moscow's ongoing disinformation
campaigns will be branded as an atavistic urge to refight the
Cold War.
Must we, therefore, abjectly concede that we can do
nothing to prevent the intellectual climate from being
polluted by borrowings from Goebbels and Pavlov, Lenin andMao? The encouraging answer is, no. Over the past fifteen
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REVIVING AME RI CA N PSYOP 223
y e a r s , a g r o w i n g n u m b e r o f s c h o l a rs i n t h e s e c u r i ty f ie ld h a v e
i l lu m i n a t e d t h e l o w e r e n d o f t h e s p e c t r u m o f c o n f l i c t . T h e
s u b j e c t m a t t e r o f I n t e l l ig e n c e is n o w t a u g h t i n a t l e a st 1 00
A m e r i c a n u n i v e r s i t i e s . A d o z e n E u r o p e a n t h i n k - t a n k s h a v e
r e c e n t l y a d d e d t h e t o p i c o f S o v i e t d i s i n f o r m a t i o n t o t h e i r
p o r t f o l i o o f s t u d i e s . M o r e j o u r n a l i s t s a r e w r i t i n g a b o u t t h i s
a r ea w i t h d e p t h a n d s o p h i s t i c a ti o n . I n o u r g o v e r n m e n t , a n e w
D O D d i r e c to r a t e a n d i n t e ra g e n c y c o m m i t te e s a d d r e ss
t h e m s e l v e s to t h is s u b j e c t m a t t e r , w h i l e C o n g r e s s is p r e s s in g
t h e P e n t a g o n t o d e v o t e m o r e f u n d s a n d p e r s o n n e l to l o w -
i n t e n s it y w a r f a r e .
M a n y T h i r d W o r l d n a t i o n s a re n o l o n g e r b e g u i le d b y
M a r x is t e c o n o m i c d o g m a , a n d L e n i n 's t h es e s h a v e b e c o m e
b o r i n g - e s p e c i a l l y t o R u s s ia n s , E a st E u r o p e a n s , a n d t h e
C h i n e se . O n h u m a n r ig h t s i s su es , W e s t e r n d i p l o m a t s (a n d
p r i v a t e g r o u p s o f e m i g r e s a n d c iv il l ib e r ta r ia n s ) h a v e b e c o m e
m o r e r e s o l u t e a n d a d e p t a t d e b a t e ; S o v i e t p r o p a g a n d a n o
l o n g e r p re v a i ls a t h u m a n r ig h t s c o n f e r e n c e s . B o o k s o n S o v i e td i s i n f o r m a t i o n h a v e a p p e a r e d r e c en t ly in G r e e c e , I ta ly , a n d
W e s t G e r m a n y ; r e s e r v e o f f i c e r s i n S c a n d i n a v i a h a v e p u t
C o m m u n i s t P S Y O P o n t h ei r s tu d y a g en d a ; a s e m i n a r o n
P S Y W A R w a s h e l d ea rl ie r th is y e ar in T h e H a g u e ; t h e p r es s
i n L o n d o n is n e w l y a liv e t o t h e s a m e s u b j ec t ; a n d t h e m o s t
a n t i - L e n i n i s t i n t e l l ig e n t s i a i n t h e w o r l d p u b l i s h p r o l i f i c a l ly in
P a r i s .
O b v i o u s l y , a l l t h e s e in i ti a ti v e s m u s t b e m u l t i p l i e d a n d e x-p a n d e d i n to n e w d i m e n s i o n s i f t h e d e m o c r a c i e s a r e to
s a f eg u a r d th e i r p o lic ie s f r o m C o m m u n i s t P S Y O P a n d d is in -
f o r m a t i o n . B u t g o o d p e o p l e a r e i n p l a c e o n t h e f o r t r es s w a ll s
a n d g o o d p r o g r a m s a r e u n d e r w a y . W e a re n o t a l o ne . W h i le
w e n e g o t i a t e s t r e n u o u s l y w i t h M o s c o w f o r e q u i t a b l e r e d u c -
t io n s i n m i l it a ry h a r d w a r e , w e c an i m m u n i z e o u r s o ci al o r d e r
a g a i n s t p o l i t i c a l d i s o r i e n t a t i o n , t h u s a v o i d i n g i n c r e m e n t a l
d e f e a t i n t h e tw i l i g h t z o n e o f P S Y O P b y r e v i v in g t h o s e s ki llsA m e r i c a e m p l o y e d w i th s u c h f i n es se o n b e h a l f o f f r e e d o m
s e v e r a l d e c a d e s a g o .
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The E di tors
F r a n k B a r n e t t is P r e s i d e n t o f t h e N a t i o n a l S t r a te g y I n f o r m a -
t i o n C e n t e r a n d a c iv i li an a id e to S e c r e ta r y o f t h e A r m y J o h n
O . M a r s h . H e is a c o - e d i t o r o f Special Operations in US
Strategy.
C a r n e s L o r d s e rv e d a s D i r e c to r o f I n t e r n a t io n a l C o m m u n i c a -
t io n s a n d I n f o r m a t i o n P o l i c y o n t h e N a t i o n a l S e c u r it y C o u n -c il s t a f f f r o m 1 9 8 1 t o 1 98 4. H e i s c u r r e n t l y a d e f e n s e a n a l y s t
w i t h t h e N a t i o n a l I n s t i t u t e f o r P u b l i c P o l i c y .
Contributors
A l e x a n d e r A l e x i e v i s a S e n i o r S o v i e t A n a l y s t a t t h e R a n d
C o r p o r a t i o n .
M a j o r G e n e r a l E d w a r d A t k e s o n , U S A r m y ( R e t ir ed ) , f o r m e r
N a t i o n a l I n te l li g e n c e O f f i c e r f o r G e n e r a l P u r p o s e F o r c e s , is a
d e f e n s e c o n s u l t a n t .
A l v i n B e r n s te in is C h a i r m a n o f t h e D e p a r t m e n t o f S t ra t e g y a t
t h e N a v a l W a r C o l l e g e .
C o l o n e l R i c h a r d B r a u e r , U S A i r F o r c e , s e r v e d a s a s t a f f o f -
r ic e r f o r p s y c h o l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s f o r t h e J o i n t C h i e f s o f
S t a f f a n d is c u r re n t l y C o m m a n d a n t o f th e A i r F o r c e S p e ci al
O p e r a t i o n s S c h o o l a t H u r l b u r t F i e ld , F l o r i d a .
A n g e l o C o d e v i l l a , f o r m e r s t a f f m e m b e r o f th e S e n a t e S e le ct
C o m m i t t e e o n I n te l li g e n c e, is a S e n i o r F e ll o w a t t h e H o o v e r
I n s t i t u t io n o n W a r , R e v o l u t i o n a n d P e a c e .
225
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2 2 6 C O N T R I B U T O R S
J o s e p h D o u g l a s s , J r . , a f o r m e r i n t e l l i g e n c e a n a l y s t , is a
d e f e n s e c o n s u l t a n t .
J o s e p h G o i d b e r g i s a p o l i t i c a l s c i e n t i s t a n d P r o f e s s o r o f
R e s e a r c h a t t h e N a t i o n a l D e f e n s e U n i v e r s i t y .
F r e d I k le f r o m 1 9 81 t o 1988 w a s U n d e r s e c r e t a r y o f D e f e n s e
f o r P o l i c y . I n t h e 1 97 0s h e w a s D i r e c t o r o f t h e U S A r m s C o n -
t ro l a n d D i s a r m a m e n t A g e n c y . H e is t h e a u t h o r o f " E v e r y
W a r M u s t E n d " a n d " H o w N a t io n s N e g o t ia t e . "
D o n a l d J a m e s o n , a f o r m e r C e n t r a l I n t el li g e n c e A g e n c y o f-
f i c e r, is a c o n s u l t a n t o n i n t e l li g e n c e a n d S o v i e t a f f a i r s .
G e n e r a l R o b e r t K i n g s t o n , U S A r m y ( R e t i r e d ) , f o r m e r
C o m m a n d e r - i n -C h i e f o f th e U S C e n t r a l C o m m a n d , h as h a d
e x t e n s iv e e x p e r i e n c e i n s p e c ia l w a r f a r c .
E d w a r d L u t t w a k i s a d e fe n s e a n a ly s t a n d S e n i o r F e l lo w a t th e
C e n t e r f o r S t r a t e g i c a n d I n t e r n a t i o n a l S t u d i e s .
C o l o n e l A l f r e d P a d d o c k , J r . , U S A r m y , h as c o m m a n d e d t h e
F o u r t h P s y c h o lo g i c a l O p e r a t io n s G r o u p a t F o r t B r a g g ,
N o r t h C a r o l i n a , a n d is t h e f o r m e r D i r e c t o r o f P s y c h o l o g i c a l
O p e r a t i o n s i n t h e O f f i c e o f t h e S e c r e t a r y o f D e f e n s e .
H e n r y R o w e n , a S e n i o r F e l lo w a t t h e H o o v e r I n s t i t u t i o n o n
W a r , R e v o l u t io n a n d P e a c e , w as fo r m e r l y C h a i r m a n o f t h e
N a t i o n a l I n te l li g e n c e C o u n c i l .
A b r a m S h u l s k y , f o r m e r M i n o r i ty S t a f f D i r e c to r o f th e S e n a t e
S e le c t C o m m i t t e e o n I n t e ll i g e n c e , is a S e n i o r F e l l o w a t t h e
N a t i o n a l S t r a te g y I n f o r m a t i o n C e n t e r .
R i c h a r d S h u l t z , J r . , i s a n A s s o c i a t e P r o f e s s o r o f I n t e r n a -
t i o n a l P o li ti c s a t th e F l e t c h e r S c h o o l o f L a w a n d D i p l o m a c y .
H e is a l so a c iv i li a n m e m b e r o f t h e S e c r e t a r y o f D e f e n s e 's
S p ec ia l O p e r a t i o n s P o l ic y A d v i s o r y G r o u p .
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CONTR IB U TOR S 22 7
P a u l S m i th , J r . , f o r m e r e d i t o r o f Problems o f Communism,
i s a t w o r k o n a s t u d y o f p r o p a g a n d a a n d p o l i t i c a l w a r f a r e ,On Political War, t o b e p u b l i s h e d b y t h e N a t i o n a l D e f e n s e
U n i v e r s it y P r e s s .
G e n e r a l R i c h a rd S ti lw e li , U S A r m y ( R e t ir e d ), f o r m e r D e p u t y
U n d e r s e c r e t a r y f o r P o l i c y i n t h e O f f i c e o f t h e S e c r e t a r y o f
D e f e n s e a n d c u r r e n t l y a d e f e n s e c o n s u l t a n t , h a s a n e x t e n s i v e
b a c k g r o u n d i n i n te l li g e n c e a n d s p e c ia l w a r f a r e .
B a r r y Z o r t h i a n , f o r m e r D i r e c t o r o f t h e J o i n t U S P u b l i c A f -
fa irs O f f ic e o f t h e U S M i li ta ry A s sis ta n c e C o m m a n d - V i e t -
n a m , i s c u r r e n t l y w i t h t h e p u b l i c r e l a t i o n s f i r m A l c a l d e ,
O ' B a n n o n , R o u s s el o t a n d W a h l q u is t .
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I ndex
Active measures, 18, 209, 214,
216
Active measures, CIA-FBI report
on, 140--41
Aegean Sea, 192
Afghanistan, 93, 96, 108, 128,
205,217, 218, 220, 221Africa, 215, 218
African National Congress (ANC),
91, 92
Agency for International Develop-
ment, 20
Agent of disinformation, 83Agents of influence, 85-87
AIDS, 215
Air Force. See US Air ForceAir National Guard, 54, 57
Air power and PSYOP, 155-56
Airborne Warning and ControlSystem (AWACS), 156
Aircraft and PSYOP, 46, 47, 48,
49
B-52, 156
C-130, 54
EC-130E Volant Solo, 69Alliances, disruption of, 23,
191-93, 196, 198, 221, 222.
See also Ea~stern Europe, and
the Soviet Union
effect of, 172-78, 199-200,
204-05Soviet efforts, 17, 89, 170-71,
198US and Western efforts, 108,
171-72, 198-99Allied Expeditionary Force, 46Allies, support for. See Foreign
groups, support forAmerican Bar Association, 220American Expeditionary Forces
(AEF), 46, 210
"American Friends of Russian
Freedom," 212
Andropov, Yuri, 215
Angola, 9, 93, 108-09, 117, 128,
221
Anticoalition strategy, 170-72. See
also Alliances, disruption ofApplications of force. See Limited
war
Arafat, Yassir, 162. See also
Palestine Liberation Organ-
ization (PLO)Arbatov, Georgiy, 219
Arbenz, Jacobo, 106
Argentina, 150. See also Wars,
FalklandsArms control, 21, 85, 97, 98, 181,
185-86, 215Army. See US Army
Armies, numbered
German 6th, 170
US 8th, 47
Army, Department of the, 51
Army, secretary of the, 59-60
ASEAN (Association of SoutheastAsian Nations), 149
Asia Foundation, 212
Asprey, Robert, 112
"Atrocities of the Hun," 211
Audiovisual communications, 57,69, 219
Audiovisual teams, 49Austria-Hungary, 39, 40
Balloons, 46, 183Baltic states, 200Bank, Col. Aaron, 60Battlefield PSYOP. See
Psychological operations(PSYOP), battlefield
Bay of Pigs, 15,212
229
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2 3 0 I N D E X
BBC (British Broadcasting Corp.),183
Beaverbrook, William M. Aitken,Baron, 40
Beirut, 92, 147-48. S ee a l s o
Lebanon
B e l g r a n o (Argentine cruiser), 150
Berlin, 205
Berlin Wall, 212"Big Lie," 142
Biomedical Science Corps, USAF,
71Bishop, Maurice, 152
Black propaganda. S e e u n d e r
PropagandaBoard for International Broad-
casting, 63, 185
Bonnet, Col. Georges, 114
Boston University, 220
Bozeman, Adda B., 78
Brezhnev Doctrine, 221Brezhnev, Leonid, 118
Broadcasting. S e e News media;
Radio broadcasting; Televi-
sion
"Burden of empire," 118
Bureaucracy, 21, 26-27, 41. S e e
a lso Government organiza-
tion.
Burma, 113
Byzantine Empire, 4, 5
Cadre, role and training, 116,121, 131
Caesar, 86
Cambodia, 95, 128, 217CAPSTONE program, 55-56
"Captive Nations Week," 212Caravelli, John, 205Carter, James E., 166Casey, William J., 212Castro, Fidel, 140, 152. S ee a l s o
CubaCeausescu, Nicolae, 176, 182
Central America, 21, 106, 220. S e ealso specific country
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA),
14, 15, 27-28, 63, 84
and public diplomacy, 18, 42-43Chamberlain, Neville, 191
China, 113
Church Committee, 82Churchill, Winston, 189-90, 191
Civic action, 19
Civil affairs, 54
Clausewitz, Carl von, 3, 145,219
Clay, Lucius, 211
Clemenceau, Georges, 103Coard faction, 152
Coercive diplomacy, 30, 155. S e e
a lso Limited war
defined, 18, 145, 160
and reputation, 146-48
Cognitive dissonance, 186-87Cohen, William, 63
Cold War, 211
Combined Forces Command,
Korea, 67
COMCENTAG (Commander,
Central Army Group,NATO), 67
Committee on Public Information
(CPI; Creel Committee),
210-11
Communication consistency, 74
Communist atrocities, 217-18,
220Communist parties, 213
China, 113Europe, 14, 171
South Africa, 91Soviet Union (CPSU). S e e
Soviet Union
Communist unions, 89Conferences, 219, 223
Congress for Cultural Freedom,212Congress, US
and Angola, 9committees, 7, 32-33n7, 82
and low-intensity conflict,63-64, 125, 138n21, 223
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INDEX 231
and Nica ragua , 7 , 9
a n d P S Y O P - P O L W A R , 6 - 7 ,
2 8 , 2 1 2and Savimbi , 108
and South Afr i ca , 91
and Vie tnam, 213
Cong resse s, CP SU , 118
C on s o l ida t i on P S Y O P , 19
Conta inment , 97, 98, 107Co nt ras , 140, 213-14. See also
N i c a r a gua
C o o r d i n a t o r o f I n f o r m a t i o n(COl ) , 14
Counte r insurgency s t ra t egy . See
Insurgency-counte r insurgencypolicies
Covert opera t ions , 4 , 14, 18
Craxi , Bet t ino, 154
Cred ib i li ty and repu ta t i on , 142,
146-49, 150-52, 154-56, 160,
163, 16 7, 213Cree l Commi t t ee . See C o m m i t t e e
on P ub l i c I n f o r m a t i on
Cree l , George , 210
Cr i s i s management , 30
C uba , 117 , 217 . Seealso B a y o f
Pigsa nd G r e na da , 152
di s in forma t ion , 214
and Radio Mar t i , 20 , 21
C ub an missile crisis , 14 7, 149
Cul tura l an thropology , 143
Cul tura l inhibi t ions and biases , 5 ,17, 21-23, 142 , 149 , 179 , 214,
215, 222. See also D e m o c r a c y
Czechoslovakia , 14, 202
and los t t e r r i tory, 206
and Soviet missiles, 181
P r a gue S p r ing , 184 , 201 , 21 2
Daily Worker, 216
Davis , Elmer , 211
D ece pt io n, 20, 106-07, 157
"Deep s t r ike ," 205, 221
Defense Inte l l igence Agency, 71
Defense , Depa r tment o f , 19 , 20 ,
36n27, 54, 1 43 . See also
M ili tary servicesP S Y O P e va l ua t i on , 49 , 50
P S Y O P m a s t e r p l a n , 50 - 53, 58 ,
62, 63, 64-66, 73, 74reorgan iza t i on , 63
Defense , Of f i ce o f t he Sec re t a ry of
(OSD), 51, 67
Defense , secre ta ry of , 49, 50, 53,
65
Defense , unde r sec re t a ry fo rpol icy, 53, 64
D e m o c r a c y
a nd P O L W A R , 3 , 4 , 6 , 7 , 10 ,
162
a nd pub l i c d i p l om a c y , 18
p r om ot i ng d e m o c r a t ic i n s ti tu -t ions, 21
p r o t e c t i on o f , 8 - 10
Democracy Versus Dictatorship
( T r o t s ky ) , 9
Deser t O ne , 147
Deterrence , 29, 204Diem fami ly , 86
Diplomacy, 165-66, 182-83. See
also C oe r c ive d i p l om a c yD i s a r m a m e n t , 1 9 8 . See also A r m s
c on t r o lDis informat ion, 83, 85, 104,
160 - 61 , 214 , 215 , 220 , 223D obr oge a , 206Donne l ly , Chr i s tophe r , 206
Donovan, Wi l l Bi l l , 211D ubc e k , A l e ks a nd r , 182
Dulles, Allen, 211Dul les , John Foste r , 211
Eas t European forces , r e l i ab i l i t yo f . See E a s t e r n E u r ope , a ndthe Sovie t Union
Eas t G e rm any , 80 , 180 , 200, 206E a s t e rn E u r o pe , 171 , 172 . See also
W a r s a w P a c t
and the Sovie t Union, 173-78,
180--82, 198-206
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~ 2 I N D E X
and the Wes t , 179-81 ,206
disputed territories, 206
Eco logical dissent mo vem ents, 198Economic subvers ion, 171-72
Educa t ion and t ra in ing , PSYOP-
P O L W A R . See Tra in ing an d
e d u c a t i o n , P S Y O P - P O L W A R
Educa t ion and t ra in ing p rograms ,
US administered, 19, 20, 131Mobi le Tra in ing Teams (M TTs) ,
56
Egypt , 153
Eisenhower, Dwight D., 14, 15,46, 183 , 184 , 211
adm inis tra t ion , 108, 172El Salv ado r, 7, 11 1, 126-27, 128,
214
Encounter, 169
England . See Great Bri ta inEscala t ion , 3
Essen, 203
Ethiopia, 217, 221External a id . See Fore ign g roups ,
su p p o r t f o r
Face- to-face app roac h, 124, 131Fall, Bernard, 114Fatah, 162
Federa l Repub l ic o f Germany . See
West Germany
Florida, 147FM LN (of E1 Salvador) , 126
Fore ign a rea o f f ice r (FAO) , 57Foreign groups, support for ,
87-94, 117 , 133 . See also
Afghan is tan ; Angola ;Insurgency-counter insurgencypolicies; Iran; H'mong;
Nicaragua; Pales t ine Libera-
t ion Organ iza t ion (PLO);Western All iance
Fort Bragg, NC, 14, 48, 49, 54,6 0 , 6 1
Fort Riley, KS, 47
"Four-Minu te Men ," 211
Four teen Po in ts , 39
Fr an ce , 14, 40, 10 3, 191
a n d NAT O, 2 0 5
and revo lu t ionary war fa re ,113-14
and the bombing o f L ibya , 154Frelim o regime, 10 5. See also
M o z a mb iq u e
Gallipoli , 5
Gandhi , Indira , 215
G D R . See E a s t Ge rma n yGemayel , P ierre , 92Ge n e ra l W a r a n d P S YOP . See
Psychological opera t ions
(PSYO P) , and mi l i ta ry p lan-ning
Ge neva arms co ntrol ta lks , 186Ge rma n Hig h Co mma n d , 3 9
G erm any , 49 , 171. See also East
Ge rma n y ; W e s t Ge rm a n y
Glasnost, 215Goldwate r -Nicho ls Depar tmen t o f
Defense Reorgan iza t ion A c t ,1986 (P L 99-433), 63
Go rbachev , M ikhai l, 209, 215 ,21 6
Government o rgan iza t ion , 26-28 ,
42-44, 143. See also Defense ,
Department of ; specif ic
agency or military service
Gra y p ro p a g a n d a . See under P r o -p a g a n d a
Gray , Gordon , 211Great Britain
and PSYOP in the Fa lk landsWar, 150-51
war aims, World War II , 189-90,191
Wor ld War I p ropaganda , 39-40
G ree ce, 14, 89, 11 3, 191Gre e n h a m Co mmo n , 1 4 2
Grenada, 9, 11, 25, 36n27, 148,152, 221
Gribkov, (Soviet) General, 204-05
G uate m ala, 14, 10 6, 128
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INDEX 233
Guerrilla warfare, 112-13, 114.
See also Insurgency-counter-
insurgency policies; Low-intensity conflict;
Revolutionary warfare
Gurkhas, 151, 167
H'mong, 90, 95, 102
Hall, Col. Donald P., 60
Hanoi. See North Vietnam, gov-
ernment of
Hasenfus incident, 4Helsinki Accords, 212Helsinki Final Act, 1975, 82
Herodotus, 191-92
Hindenburg, Marshal Paul von,
39
Hitler, Adolph, 211
Holland, 83Hostages, 86, 147, 155, 166
House Intelligence Committee, 7Human rights, 98
Human rights conferences, 223
Hungary, 80, 108, 184, 212
Hurlburt Field, FL, 53, 54Huyser, Gen. Robert, 90
India, 215
Indian wars, 113
Indochina, 90, 114
Indoctrination, 116
Indonesia, 82, 83
Influence operations, 18"Information War," 202
Instability. See Political warfare
(POLWAR), and national
goals
Institute for Propaganda
Analysis, 220Insurgency, 3. See also Revolu-
tionary warfare
Insurgency-counterinsurgency
policies
Cuba, 117
France, 113-14
Roman Empire, 146
Soviet Union, 117, 118-21, 125,
131, 133, 135, 139, 140
United States, 112, 122-28, 133,
140
Intelligence, 88-89, 162-63,223
reputation, 151-52, 156, 163
International aid and human-
itarian affairs, 20
International communications,
19-20, 20-21, 31, 42.See
also Radio broadcasting;
Television
International Communications
Agency, 19
International Confederation of
Reserve Officers, 220
International educational and
cultural affairs, 19
International information, 17, 19,42
International Information Admin-
istration, State Department,
14
International Military Education
and Training (IMET), 19-20
International organizations, 130
International political action, 17
Ionians, 191-92lran, 14
and the bombing of Libya, 155
Mossadegh, 89, 106
revolutionary Islamic regime,
90-91, 109
US hostage situation, 147, 166
lraq, 153, 163
Iron Curtain, 211
lslamabad, 85Israel, 92, 156, 163, 187
army of, 167
Italy
army of, 170, 171
and tile bombing of Libya, 154
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234 INDEX
Jackson Committee report,
32-33n7
Jackson, C. D., 211Japan, 96-97
Jews, 145-46
John F. Kennedy Center for
Military Assistance, 61
John F. Kennedy Special Warfare
Center and School, 68
Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS),
36n27, 67
Joint Chiefs of Staff, Office of(OJCS), 51, 62
Joint Psychological Operations
Center, 62, 63-65, 67, 70Joint PSYOP doctrine, 51, 67, 143
Joint PSYOP Staff Planning
Course, 51, 67
Joint Senior Psychological Opera-
tions Course, 53, 68
Joint Special Operations Agency(JSOA), 62, 70
Joint US Public Affairs Office
(JUSPAO), 49, 73, 123-24
Jordan, 153
Josephus, 146Just cause. See Morality and ethics
Kachins (of Burma), 113
Kaznacheyev, Alexander, 103-04Kennedy administration, 139-40
Kennedy-Khrushchev meeting, 140
KGB lobbyists, 216
Khrushchev, Nikita, 139-40, 209
Korcan War. See under Wars
Labor Party, British, 198
Laos, 95
Latimer, Harry, 124Leadership, role of, 40, 75
Leaflet bombs and shells, 46, 48
Leaflets and pamphlets, 46, 47,
48, 49, 124, 219
Lebanon, 25, 86, 92, 147
Israeli invasion, 1982, 167
Legion of Freedom, 212
Lenin, V.I., 4, 117, 209, 219, 223
Leotychides, 192
Lewy, Gunther, 124
Liberty Bonds, 210Libya, 30, 148, 221
air force of, 156
bombing of, 152-55, 161-62
Limited war, 3, 9, 163
defined, 145
and psychological effects, 145,146-58, 167
Litani River, 167
Lithuania, 202
Lloyd George, David, 40
Loudspeaker and Leaflet (L&L)
Company, 1st, 47-48
Loudspeakers, 46, 47, 49
Low-intensity conflict, 3, 15,
29-31, 64, 65, 73, 125,223.See also Revolutionary war-
fareLuttwak, Edward, 145
Lyons, Eugene, 212
MacArthur, Gen. Douglas, 113
Mafia and statecraft, 166-67
Managua. See Nicaragua
Mao Tse-tung, 114, 219Marine Corps. See US Marine
Corps
Marshall Plan, 84
Masada, 145-46
Mass mobilization, 115-16
McCarthy, Joseph R., 13
McClure. Brig. Gen. Robert A.,
6O
Media Production Center, 4th
PSYOP Group, 57, 69
Meir, Golda, 187
Mengistu Halle Mariam, 221
Mexico, 113, 124
Mid-East Peace Process, 92
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I N D E X ~ 5
Military occupational specialty
(MOS), 57
Military parity, 3Military services. See also Defense,
Dept. of; specific service
civilians in PSYOP, 52-53, 58,
63, 68, 69, 73, 74
and PSYOP, 28-30, 42, 54-55,
57, 63, 67-68, 74, 155-56.See also Terrorism, and the
bombing of Libya
and PSYOP modernization,57-58, 68-69, 70
Missiles, 85, 95, 180-81. See also
Nuclear weaponsMobile Radio Broadcasting (MRB)
companies, 46-47, 48. See
also Radio broadcasting
Mobile Radio Broadcasting (MRB)
Company, RB&L Group, 48
Mobile Training Teams (MTT), 56Moderate factions, 90-93, 105, 109
Monitoring sets, 46
Montana, 90
Morality and ethics, 5-6, 7, 95-97,
108, 178, 210, 217-18. See
also Cultural inhibitions and
biasesMossadegh, Mohammed, 89, 106
Mozambique, 105,221MPLA, 117. See also Angola
Mujahedeen, 96. See also Afghan-
istanMutual Security Act, 1951, 212
Mycale, battle of, 192
Nagy, Imre, 181National Endowment for
Democracy, 21
National Guard, 54, 57National policy and strategy, 13,
15-17, 20, 42, 111. Seealso
Political warfarc (POLWAR),
and national goals;Psychological operations(PSYOP), and national goals
and anticoalition strategy. See
Alliances, disruption of
and consistency, 77-78, 81-82,104, 105-06, 107, 109
and insurgencies. See Insur-gency-counterinsurgencypolicies
and isolationist tendencies,1 4 8 - 4 9
and limited force, 147-50,157-58. See also Limited
war; Low-intensity conflictNational security adviser, 21National Security Agency, 71
National Security Council (NSC),27, 43
National Security Decision Direc-
tives (NSDDs)77, 35-36n20, 42-43
130, 42-43National Security Planning Group,
35-36n20, 162National security policy, 42NATO, 171, 175, 193-94, 212.
See also Western Europeand an anticoalition strategy,
179-82crisis of strategy, 195-96
and Eastern Europe, 173-74,190-91
modernization, 205,215
nuclear strategy, 170, 173, 190,203. See also Nuclear
weaponsperceptions of, 173,200and war aims, 189-91,204
Negotiation, 20Nepalese troops, UNIFIL, 167
Neutron bomb, 85"New Economic Policy," 209
"New Thinking," 209News media, 7, 41, 213, 216. See
also Radio broadcasting; Tele-
vision; Wall Street Journal;
Washington Post
and censorship, 25-26, 36n27
and covert operations, 4
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236 INDEX
and government information
programs, 26
and national consensus, 23-25and the bombing of Libya,
161-62
Nicaragua, 4, 11, 93, 111, 127-28,
213-14, 221. See also
Contras; Sandinistas
and El Salvador, 7and POLWAR, 41, 152
Nigeria, 154
North Africa, 46North Korea, 221
army of, 47
North Sea oil, 154North Vietnam, 90, 95, 147
and PSYOP, 142, 212, 213
Northcliffe, Alfred C. W.
Harmsworth, Viscount, 40Norway, 86
Norwegian troops, UNIFIL, 167NSC 58/2, 183
Nuclear weapons, 142, 170,
172-73, 180-81,215
"Nuclear winter," 216
Nunn, Sam, 63
Oder-Neisse Line, 206
Office of Public Diplomacy for
Latin America and theCaribbean, 36
Office of Strategic Services (OSS),
14, 113, 211Okinawa, 49
Oman, 153
Ortega, Daniel, 4, 214, See also
Nicaragua
Ostpolitik, 180, 206
OWl (Office of War Information),211
Pace, Frank, 59-60
Palestine Liberation Organization
(PLO), 92, 121, 132, 162-63
Pakistan. See IslamabadPanama, 49
Pavlov, 209Peace Corps, 20
Peaceful coexistence, 209, 215
Perceptions management, 160-61.See also Disinformation
Pershing II, 85Persian Gulf, 205
Peru, 128Philippines, 113
Phoenix program, 95, 96Pike Committee, 82Poland, 80, 172, 177-78, 191
and lost territory, 206
and tclcvision, 202unrest in, 80, 184, 198
and the West, 172, 179-80Political action, 18Political combat, 73Political communication, 16
Political warfare (POLWAR). Seealso Agents of influence;Credibility and reputation;Coercive diplomacy; Insur-
gency-counterinsurgency
policies; Propagandadefined, 16, 18, 38, 77-79
and military action, 9, 73, 203.See also Limited war; Low-intensity conflict
and national goals, 3, 6, 8-1 l,41, 77, 93-100, 105, 106,
109, 134and US culture, 5, 6, I0, 16,
21-23. See also Culturalinhibitions and biases
Polybius, 146
Pomerania, 206
Poznan, 184
Prague Spring, 184, 201, 212
President, US. See also Roosevelt,Franklin D.; Carter, James
E.; Eisenhower, Dwight D.;
Reagan Ronald; Truman,
Harry S; Wilson, Woodrow
directives, 49, 99
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IN DEX 2 3 7
Press spokesman, 74
Printing presses, 46, 49. See also
Leaf le ts and pamphletsPropaganda 7, 13, 140-41, 157,
210, 220. See also Radio
broadcast ing
black, 18, 82-85
Cold War , 211-12
gray, 79-81, 84Korean War , 47 -48
and r evo lu t ionary war fa re , 41 ,
114, 116 , 117-18, 120Vietnam, 49
World War I , 39-40, 46, 210-11
World War I I , 46 , 211Propaganda o f the deed , 52
P r o p a g a n d a S e c t i o n , G - 2 , G H QA EF , 4 6
Psychological ac t ions, 52
Psycho logical defense , 220
Psychological opera t ions( P S Y O P ) . See also Defense ,
Depar tmen t o f ; L imi ted war ;
M ilitary services; News m ediabatt lef ield, 19, 23, 28-30,
46-48, 49, 72-75, 263-65
and coerc ive d ip lomacy. See
Coerc ive d ip lomacy
and credibi l i ty. See Credibil i ty
and r epu ta t ion
defined, 19, 45, 72and deter rence , 29emot ion in , 217-18and m il i tary planning , 16-17,
74, 142, 169, 170. See also
Alliances, disruption ofand mora l i ty . See M ora l ity and
ethicsand n ation al goals, 10-11,
15-16, 54-55, 66, 71-72,
105-06, 134. See also
Insurgency-counter insurgencypolicies
and revi ta liza t ion of U Scapabilities, 28-29, 30-31,142-43, 150 , 217-19
and r evo lu t ionary war fa re . See
Rev olu t ionary war fa re
and Specia l Operat ions, 58-62,64-65, 70
Psychological Op erat ions ba t ta l ion ,
6th, 49Psycho log ica l Opera t ions Coo rd i -
na t ing Commi t t ee , 14
Psychological Operat ions Director -
ate, OSD, 51, 61, 62, 64, 67,68, 223
Psycho logical opera t ion s d iv ision ,DA, 51, 143
Psycho logical Op erat ions Divis ion ,
J - 3 , M A C V , 4 9
Psycholog ical opera t ion s d iv is ion ,
OJCS, 51, 143
Psychological opera t ions groups
4th, 49, 54, 56, 57, 69, 71
7th, 49
Psychological S t ra tegy Board , 14 ,32-33n7, 211
Psycho log ica l war fa re (PSY W AR ) ,
16, 46, 10 5, 160, 209, 216.
See also Pol i t ica l w arfare
( P O LW A R ) ; P sy c h ol o gi c al
opera t ions (PSYOP)
Psycho log ica l W ar fa re B oard , 48
Psycho log ica l W ar fa re Branch
(PWB) Al l ied Forces Head-quar t e r s (AFHQ) , 46
Psycho log ica l W ar fa re Cen te r ,
Fort Bragg, 14, 48, 60, 61
Psycho logical W arfare Divis ion
(PWD) , SHAEF, 46 , 47 , 60
Psycho log ica l W ar fa re Schoo l , 48
Psycho log ica l W ar fa re Sub-
Sec t ion , G -2 , 46
Psycho log ica l W ar fa re , Of f i ce o ft h e C h i e f o f ( O C P W ) , 6 0
P S Y O P A u t o m a t e d D a t a Sy ste m s
(POADS) , 70
P S Y O P M O S , 5 7
Public address systems, 46
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238 INDEX
Public affairs , 17, 18, 38, 39
Publ ic diplomacy, 42, 43
defined, 17, 18, 38Reagan admin i s t ra t i on , 21
Publ i c educa t ion and in forma t ion ,
213, 215, 219-20
Public opinion, 41, 85, 209, 213,
221. See also Cul tura l in-
hibi t ions and biases; News
m e d i a; P r o p a g a n d a
Q a dda f i , Mua m m a r , 152 - 53 ,
161-62. See also L i bya
Radia t i on weapons , 142 . See also
N uc l e a r w e a pons
R a d i o a nd B r oa dc a s t i ng G r oup ,
6th, 48
Radio broadcas t ing, 14, 15, 26,
106 , 124 , 183-85 ,201 . See
also I n t e r na t i ona l c om m un i -
c a t i ons ; P r opa ga nda , g r a y ;
specific stat ion
communi s t media , 81 , 82
mi l i ta ry, 46-49, 54, 69. See
also Psycholog ica l ope ra t i ons
(PSYOP) , ba t t l e f i e ld
Radio Broadcas t i ng and Lea f l e t
(RB&L) Group, 1s t , 47-48Radio Free Europe , 14, 19, 26,
80, 82, 108, 183, 184, 201 ,211
miss ion of , 185
Radio Libera t ion, 14, 183,211
Radio Liberty, 14, 19, 26, 80, 183,184, 201,211
miss ion of 185Radio Mart i , 20, 21
R a d i o Mos c ow , 26
R a nd C or po r a t i on , 200
Reader's Digest, 212
Reagan adm in i s t ra ti on , 17
and na t iona l s t ra tegy, 7 , 20-21,111, 1 25, 12 7, 133, 135
a nd t he bom bi ng o f L i bya , 154
Reagan , Rona ld , 7 , 21 ,212 , 213Red Te r ror , 9
Reserves , 55-57, 69
Responsibi l i ty , 80-82, 108
Revel , Jean-Frangois , 140
R e v i ta l iz a ti on o f P S Y O P -
P O L W A R c a pa b i l i t i e s . See
under Uni ted Sta tes
R e vo l u t i ona r y w a r f a r e. See also
Guer r i l l a wa r fa re ; Insurgency-
cou nter insu rgen cy policies ;
Low-intens i ty conf l ic t ;P r o p a g a n d a
de f i n e d , . l l 3 , 114 , 139
and in t e rna t iona l o rgan i za t i ons ,
120-21
pol i t i ca l -mi l i t a ry infras t ruc ture ,116
strate gy of , 114-17, 139
R obe c k , R . A dm . J ohn de , 5
R om a n E m pi r e , 145 - 46R om a n i a , 206
a rm y of , 170 , 171
R o m e r o , N a p o l e o n , 7Roosevel t , Frankl in D. , 187
Russia , 40. See also Soviet Union
Salamis, 192
Samizdat l i terature, 82
Samizdat U nde r g r ound V i de o , 219Sand inis tas , 4 , 41, 1 17, 152. See
also N i c a r a gua
Sa rnof f , David , 211
Satelli te TV. See Televis ion
Saudi Arabia , 153
Savimb i , Jon as , 108 , 109S D I , 2 1 5 , 2 2 0
S E A T O ( S ou t he a s t A s i a T r e a t y
Organiza t ion) , 149Senate , US, 82
Se ton-Wat son , Hugh , 40 , 169
Shah of I ran , 89 , 90S H A P E ( S u p r e m e H e a d q u a r t e r s ,
Al l ied Powers Europe) , 67Shi ' i te gro up s , 132
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I ND EX 239
Sidle , Gen. Winant , 36n27
Sidra , Gu l f o f , 156
Silesia, 206S oc i a l D e m oc r a t i c P a r t y , G e r m a n ,
198 ,203
Sol idar i ty , 177 , 18 0, 184 , 198
South Afr ica , 41, 91, 92
S ou t h A f r i c a n C om m un i s t P a r t y ,
91South Korea , 47
South Vie tnam, 49, 86, 124. See
also Wars , Vie tnampac i f i ca t i on and counte r -
insurgency, 122
North Vie tnamese leaders in ,95 -96
S ou t h - W e s t A f r i c a n P e op l e ' s
O r ga n i z a t ion ( S W A P O ) , 121
Southeas t Asia , 27, 212. See also
spec i f ic count ry
Sovie t Psycholog ica l Aw arenessP r o g r a m ( S P A P ) , 6 8
Soviet Union, 4, 13, 29, 31, 41, 50,
68, 80, 96, 97-99 . 11 7. 139,
183. See also A ge n t s o f
influence; All iances,
d i s rup t ion of ;D i s i n f o r m a t i on ; I n s u rge nc y -
counter insurgency pol ic ies ;
Russ i a ; Warsaw Pac tand Cent ra l Amer i ca , 214 . See
also C uba ; N i c a r a gua
and coe rc ive d ip lom acy , 166a nd E a s t e r n E u r ope 108 ,
169-70, 17 1, 172-73. See
also E a s t e r n E u r ope
Gene ra l S t a f f , 174 , 177 , 178technology , 97-98 , 156a nd T h i r d W or l d s t ude n t s a nd
pol i t i c ians , 215-16and US backed re s i s t ance
g r oups , 93 - 94a nd U S pub l i c op i n i on , 41 , 209 ,
2 1 3 , 2 1 6a nd W a r s a w P a c t f o r c e s ,
172-78
and Wes t e rn Europe , 89 , 142 ,
171. See also N A T O
Spa , 39
Spain, 205
Special Forces, 28, 48, 59-60, 215
Special Fo rces G ro up , 10th, 48, 60Specia l opera t ions , 58-62, 65, 70
Spec i a l Ope ra t i ons Command, 1s t ,
61, 64
Spec ia l Ope ra t i ons Div i sion ,
O C P W , 6 0
Spec i a l Ope ra t i ons Forces (SOF) ,63-64, 125
Spec i a l Ope ra t i ons School , USAF,
53, 54, 68
Specia l opera t ions uni t s , USAF,
49
Specia l Planning Group, 21Spec i a l Warfa re Cente r , 48 , 61
Spec t rum of conf l i c t , 30
Spel lman, Franc is Cardina l , 211Spetsnaz, 175 ,202
Stabi l i ty, 8. See also Pol i t i ca l
w a r f a re ( P O L W A R ) , a n dna t iona l goa l s
S t a l i n , Joseph , 186-87 ,211
Sta l ingrad, 170 , 171
Sta te , Depar tment of , 14, 19, 63,
73, 130
S t a t e - D e f e ns e D e pa r t m e n t r e po r ton C ent ra l Am er i ca , 1984 , 140S t e e d , W i c kha m , 40
Sterl ing, Claire , 141Sti lwel l , Gen. Richard, 143
St ra tegic Studies Divis ion, 4thP S Y O P G r oup , 69 , 71
St rouga l , Lubomi r , 181
Subve rs ion , 13 . See also Pol i t i ca lw a r f ar e ( P O L W A R ) , a n d
na t iona l goa l sSu ez crisis, 19 56 , 184S uka r no , 83Sun T zu, 6 , 23, 170 , 178 , 196 , 209Supreme Headqua r t e r s , Al l i ed
E xpe d i t i ona r y F o r c e( S H A E F ) , 4 6
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240 INDEX
Syria , 92, 15 3, 155
Tac t i ca l Decept ions Group(Atlant ic), 54
T a c t i c a l I n f o r m a t i on D e t a c hm e n t ,
47
T a n k s
Leopa rd I f , 205
M - l , 2 0 5Teacher t ra ining, 220
Technology t rans fe r , 97-98
Televis ion, 25, 124 -25 ,202 , 213,215. see also N e w s m e d i a
Te rror i sm , 3 , 9 , 132 , 13 9, 141
a nd t he bom bi ng o f L i bya ,152-55, 161-62
a nd dom e s t i c la w e n f o r c e m e n t ,
157-58
t e r r o r i s t g r oups a nd P S Y O P ,
161-63
vic t ims of and te levis ion, 25Tet , 1968 , 142
Tha i l and , 90
Themis toc les , 191-92
T o ky o s um m i t, 154
T r a i n i ng a nd e duc a t i on ( P S Y O P -
POLWAR), 52 , 53 , 57 , 67 ,68, 70-71, 74, 143,219. See
also Psycholog ica l Warfa re
C e n t e rTransy lvan i a , 206
Trehol t , Arne , 86
T r o op i n f o r m a t i on , 19T r o t s ky , L e on , 9
Tru m an, H ar ry S , 14 , 15Tu Mu, 6 , 7
Tunisia , 153
T ur ke y , 89
Two-t rack pol icy, 78, 106
U kra in e , 184 , 200, 202
U nc onve n t i ona l w a r f a r e ( U W ) , 60
U n d e r g r o u n d c h u r c h m o v e m e n t s ,
198, 202
Uni f i ed commands , 51 , 55 , 62
Un i la t e ra l d i sa rm am ent , 198
Uni t ed Arab Emi ra t e s , 153
U n i t e d K i ngdom . See Great Bri ta in
Uni ted Nat ions (UN), 48, 119
f o r c e s i n L e ba non ( U N I F I L ) ,
167
Uni ted Sta tes . See also All iances ,
d i s rup t ion of
a nd t he C a r i bbe a n , 152 . See also
spec i f ic count ry
and Cent ra l Amer i ca , 21 . See
also spec i f ic count ryand the Diem fami ly , 86
and Eas t e rn Eu rope , 80-82 , 108 ,
172, 183, 184. See also
spec i f ic count ry
and fore ign l abor un ions , 89
and the Middle Eas t , 147-48.
See also Pales t ine Libera t ion
Organiza t i on (PLO) ; spec i f i c
c oun t r yand the mode ra t e s , 90-93 , 105 ,
109
and official visits, 185-86rev i t a l i za t i on of PSYOP-
P O L W A R c a pa b i l i t i e s , 28 - 31 ,50-53, 63, 65, 66, 67, 125,
129-34, 143 , 150, 217-19and the Shah , 89 , 90
and Southeas t As i a . See
spec if ic count ry ; W ars ,Vie tnam
spec t rum o f conf l ic t , 30, 150technology, 150-51, 156
and Wes t e rn Europe , 84 , 85 , 89 ,102, 1 42 , 154 , 173 , 180 . See
also N A T O ; s pe ci fi c c oun t r yU S A i r F o r c e
and PSYOP, 29 , 52-54 , 57-58 ,
69, 71. See also Mil i ta ryservices
spec ia l opera t ions uni t s , 49U S A r m y
and PSYOP, 14, 28, 45-50, 54,62, 67, 12 3, 124 , 143. See
also M ili tary services
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I N D E X 2 4 1
a n d P S Y O P m o b i l i z a t i o n , 5 5 - 5 7
guerr i l l a and counterguerr i l l a
act ions, 113U S C E N T C O M (U S C e ntr al
C o m m a n d ) , 6 2
U S I n f o r m a t i o n A g e n c y ( U S I A ) ,
14, 15, 19, 43, 63, 79, 130,
183
US Marine Corps , 52 , 54 , 92 ,147-48. S e e a l s o Mil i tary
services
U S M i li ta r y A s si st an c e C o m m a n d ,V i et na m , C o m m a n d e r o f
( C O M U S M A C V ) , 4 9
US Navy, 52 , 54and Libya, 156
and PSYOP, 29 , 30 , 52 , 54 ,
124, 155. S e e a l so Mil i tary
services
U S S O U T H C O M ( U S S o u t h e r n
C o m m a n d ) , 5 1 , 6 2
Vel ikhov, Y. P . , 83
Venice, 78
Vietnam, 217, 221 . S e e a l s o u n d e r
W a r s
Vie tnam, Repub l i c o f . S e e S ou th
Vie tnam
Voice of Am erica , 26, 63 , 80, 81 ,
183, 185 ,210
Voice o f t hc Un i t ed Na t ions ,
47, 48
Volckmann, Col . Russel l , 60
V ulnerab i l it ies , 131 , 133
W a l l S t r e e t J o u r n a l . 161
War, 3, 6 , 38. S e e a l so Guer r i l l a
war fa re ; L imi t ed war ;
R e v o l u t io n a r y w a r f a r e
W a r D e p a r t m e n t , 4 6
W a r i n t h e S h a d o w s : T h e G u e r r il la
i n H i s t o r y (Asprey) , 112
W ar o f i deas , 50
War planning, 30, 31, 50, 193-94.
S e e a l s o P s y c h o l o g i c a l
o p e r a t i o n s ( P S Y O P ) , a n d
mi l i ta ry p l ann ing
Ara b- I s rae l i war , 1973 , 187W or ld W ar I I , 186 -87
W a r s
Civi l War (US), 113Falk lands (Malvinas) , 150-51 ,
156, 163
Greco-P ers i an , 191-93
l ran - l r aq , 163
Korean, 14, 47, 48, 59
Vietnam, 4, 15, 24, 25, 49, 72,73, 94-9 5, 12 2, 123-25, 142,
147, 149 , 212
W ar o f Independence (US ) , 113
W or ld W ar I , 39 -40 , 46
World War II , 13, 23, 46, 48,
113, 170, 191W arsaw Pac t , 172-74 , 175-78,
199, 203-06. .See a l s o Eas t e rn
E u r o p e
W a r s a w T r e a t y O r g a n i z a ti o n .S e e W a r s a w P a c t
W a s h i n g t o n P o s t , 7, 162W e a p o n s d e p l o y m e n t a n d
P S Y O P , 1 4 2
W einberger Doc t r i ne , 148
Wells , H. G. , 40
W es t Germany , 85 , 175
and Eas tern lands , 179
a n d N A T O , 1 9 0a n d r e a r m a m e n t , 1 9 3
mi l i t ary resurgence, 206
o s t p o l i t i k , 180, 206
radio s ta t ions , 183
Western Al l iance , 89 , 198 . S e e
N A T O
W es te rn Europe , 14
and Ea s t e rn Eu rope , 179 , 180
and t he S ov ie t U n i o n , 169-70
and th e Un i ted S ta tes , 180 , 198
W h a t l s t o B e D o n e (Lenin), 117
W h y D e m o c r a c i e s P e r is h (Revel),
140
Wilson, Lt . Gen. Sam, 61
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242 INDEX
Wilson, Woodrow, 39, 103,210
Woodward, Admiral, 150
Woodward, Bob, 161-62World Peace Council, 102
World War I. See under Wars
World War II. See under Wars
Xerxes, 191-92
Yakovlev, Alexander, 216
Yugoslavia, 191
Zartmann, (Argentine) Capt.
Carlos E., 150
Zulu tribe, 92
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P O L I T I C A L W A R F A R E
and
PS Y C H O L O G I C AL O PERA T IO N S
RETHL,~'KING the US APPROACH
Composed in Times Roman
Book and cover design by Thomas Gill
Cover mechanical prepared by
Juan A. Medrano and Nancy G. Bressi
Display type in Andover
NSIC Program Coordinator, Jeffrey Berman
NDU Press Editor, Thomas Gill
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N A T I O N A L D E F E N S E U N I V E R S I T Y
L i e u t e n a n t G e n e r a l B r a d l e y C . H o s m e r , U S A F
President
I N S T I T U T E F O R N A T I O N A L S T R A T E G I C S T U D I E S
D r . J o h n E . E n d i c o t t
Director
N A T I O N A L D E FE N SE U N I V E R S I T Y P R ES S
D r . F r e d e r i c k K i l e y , Director
C o l o n e l J o h n C . B o r d e a u x , U S A F D r . J o s e p h E . G o l d b e r g
Associate Director Proh'ss~' al !G'~carch
L i e u t e n a n t C o l o n e l P a u l T a i b l , U S A F
Deputy Director
G e o r g e C M a e r z , Senior Editor
D r . D o r a A l v e s , Writer-Editor D o n a l d S c h m o l d t , Writer-Editor
T h o m a s G i l l , Writer-Editor E d w a r d H . S e n e f f I I , Writer-Editor
Jan i s Bren H ie ta la , Writer-Editor
L. J . Conk, Production 5uperr i sor
Pat Wi l l i ams , Lead Editorial Clerk D o r o t h y M . M a c k , Editorial Clerk
Laura W. Hal l , Exe~:dt~'; Secretary M i l e s B r e w s t e r , Office Manager
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