the role of public sentiments in intelligence activities

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The Role of Public Sentiments

in Intelligence Activities

Ana Sulakvelidze

Student of Information Security Studies and Analysis Center

INFORMATION SECURITY

STUDIES AND ANALYSIS CENTER


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INFORMATION SECURITY STUDIES AND ANALYSIS CENTER E-LIBRARY

2

*******

Current document represents educational material and it is based on non-classified sources

and on personal observations. In case of any other kind use of this publication, author is not

responsible. The opinions and recommendations represented by this document should not be

considered as official position of INFORMATION SECUIRTY STUDIES AND ANALYSIS

CENTER, which by itself represents this document.

Ana Sulakvelidze

All Rights Reserved.

It is strictly forbidden copying and redistribution of this document, without authors agreement.


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THE ROLE OF PUBLIC SENTIMENTS IN INTELLIGENCE

ACTIVITIES

Intelligence community and its activities represent a kind of guarantee for the security of a

state and its society. Even though intelligence communities and official agencies were mostly

formed in the 20th century, the traditions of information collection and dissemination were

highly accredited in the past centuries all over the world.

The worlds intelligence communities have been using several techniques of information

collection in their activities since the date of their creation. Needless to say that, these

techniques have substantially changed with the technological developments and the digital era

in full swing. Nevertheless, one of the most important tools in modern intelligence activities

remains the same: collection of information on public sentiments regarding different political

developments.

Public moods and attitudes toward states internal and foreign policies have always

represented the subject of strong interest for intelligence bodies. A number of historical facts

demonstrate that, the information about public sentiments was an effective tool for

intelligence or equivalent communities even hundreds of years ago.

Worthy to note, that the intelligence bodies of Roman Empire, Egypt, and Assyria mainly

concentrated their activities on information collection among divergent layers of societies.

The information on public sentiments in different countries were significantly collected

through agents, diplomatic and trade missions.

In 55, B.C. Roman Empire sent a diplomatic mission to Great Britain in order to propagate the

idea of voluntary submission to Roman Empire. The main responsibility of the mission was

to persuade the intellectual leaders of Great Britain in the greatness of Rome, and to guaranteetheir support to the process of preparing positive public mood in Britain for voluntary

submission. At the same time the trade relations between Roman Empire and Great Britain

were substantially improved. This fact was quite important for the Empire policymakers,

because merchants could acquire significant information about Britains social life, traditions,


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public attitudes toward war, population and its preparedness to war, and other critical

information.

Public propaganda was an effective tool for communists in their activities against newly

Established Georgian Republic in 1918-19211. Bolsheviks made great efforts to propagate

among Georgian population the idea of insurgency; several newspapers and magazines were

financed by the Bolshevik government: Voina (), Kavkazski Rabochi (

), Kavkazskaia Pravda ( ), Volna (), and several

others2. Russian Bolsheviks tried to maintain the name of peacekeeper in the region (while

triggering a rebellion), and intentionally provided European countries with the wrong

information about Georgians willingness to rebel against the government of Independent

Republic of Georgia3.

Russian Bolsheviks was not the only involved party which used public propaganda as an

effective tool in its intelligence activities against the Independent Republic of Georgia.

Germany was interested to weaken English positions in the Caucasus region for that time,

consequently, German intelligence was actively engaging in propaganda against England

among Georgian population4.

The Central Intelligence Agency was and still remains one of the worlds leading intelligence

agencies. Collection of information regarding public sentiments, and public propaganda have

always played a vital role in the CIA activities since the date of its creation. For instance, in

accordance with the special operation called Secret War in North Vietnam CIA planned to

spread anti-state papers in order to prepare fertile soil for its operation 5. Moreover, CIA

effectively applied the propaganda tactics during its operations in Chile against president

Salvador Allende6.

The Cold War was particularly characterized with the intense intelligence activities. President

Harry Truman considered psychological propaganda as the most important tool for the United

1 David Kukhalashvili. The collapse of Independent Republic of Georgia and its causes. Tbilisi. 20032

David Kukhalashvili. The collapse of Independent Republic of Georgia and its causes. Tbilisi. 20033

David Kukhalashvili. Foreign Intelligence Agencies against Independent Republic of Georgia. Tbilisi. 2002.4 Ibid5

David Kukhalashvili. History of the United States Intelligence Activities. Tbilisi. 20036 Ibid


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States against the Soviet Union and Communist ideology. The psychological warfare was

conducted under the Campaign of Truth, Psychological Strategy Board, Radio Free Europe

and Radio Liberty which broadcasted to Eastern Europe and Russia, and several other

propagandistic activities that substantially supported the national interests of the United

States. In addition, the Central Intelligence agency became an active contributor and sponsor

of anti-communist cultural activities during the Cold War. In particular, CIA sponsored

several newspapers and magazines, movies, cultural conferences, exhibitions, and a number of

other anti-soviet cultural events7. New organizations, the National Endowment for

Democracy8

and the United States Information Agency9, were created in order to add to the

process of anti-communist propaganda.

The role of public propaganda in intelligence activities is critical not only in wartimes but also

in peacetimes. The intelligence agencies of China stress substantial importance of public

propaganda in their approach to the national security. According to Chinese intelligence

community mass-media, diplomatic missions, and diasporas play a vital role in their

intelligence activities10

.

For the final analysis, history and modern times have clearly demonstrated that the

information collection on public sentiments, and public propaganda are attributed the leading

roles in intelligence activities. This fact is not a mere coincidence, but a reality which shouldbe indubitably considered. On the one hand, intelligence activities of a particular intelligence

community represent a pure political activity which stands in service of the national interests

of a particular country. On the other hand, politics is a social science, and the policy-making

process significantlly depends on public sentiments and attitudes toward ongoing political

developments. Consequently, collection of information on public sentiments, and public

propaganda have always been and remain a widely accredited tool for intelligence community

in their activities.

7Encyclopedia of the New American Nation. Propaganda Cold War. http://www.americanforeignrelations.com/O-

W/Propaganda-Cold-war.html8

National Endowment for Democracy (NED). http://www.ned.org/about9 United States Information Agency (USIA). http://dosfan.lib.uic.edu/usia/ 10Foreign Policy Research Institute. Chinas Propaganda and Influence Operations, Its Intelligence Activities that Target theUnited States, and the Resulting Impacts on U.S. National Security. Jacqueline Newmyer. April 30, 2009.http://www.fpri.org/transcripts/testimony.20090430.newmyer.chinapropaganda.html


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ABOUT THE CENTER

Information Security Studies and Analysis Center is the first and only in the Caucasus region

oriented towards the field of Information Security.

Establishment of the organization was caused by the new reality to develop after 2008

Russian-Georgian conflict. The war in 2008 showed us that there were no systems developed

so far to provide protection against the means of informational warfare and cyber-terrorism,

this equally is a challenge to both public and private sectors. Non-existence of respective law

basis, governmental institutions and appropriate means to fight against cyber-crime and cyber-

terrorism affects not only the homeland security but economy of the country also.

Currently in both private or governmental sectors there are modern technologies actively

implemented, the bigger is the process automation scale the more dificcult is its control. In the

conditions where there are espionage and other security challenges, that are of a technological

character, there are new threats to rise, consequently security of the information becomes vital

to not only governmental organizations, but private sector also.

Opposite to the named above threats and challenges our organization gathered a team of

experienced professionals, that gives us the opportunity for the first time in Georgia to


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establish institutional mechanisms to fight cyber-terrorism, piracy, corporate espionage and so

on.

OUR SERVICES

We offer unique services to private and governmental sectors, such as:

y Training of specialists in the fields of Information Secuirty, intelligence and anti-terrorism;

y Staffing;y Training to different type of employees of private and governmental sectors;y Audit in terms of informational security aspects and preparation of respective

recommendations;

y Development of standards and SOPs;y Creation of organizational units for threat monitoring and incident reaction;y Consultancy in IT infrastructural issues, legal part of IT projects;y Development of software/hardware solutions, provision and implementation;y IT outsourcing, protected hosting on US servers, domain registration and etc.

The first priority to the center still remains study of the technological, geopolitical and

military challenges existing in the country, at the same time in-depth analysis of such, and

timely provision of the objective information to public. For this purpose analytical unit ofISSAC periodically prepares and publishes analysis of modern threats and global trends. We

are maximally transparent in our activities and we help out those interested in these fields, we

give them knowledge base and encourage them to become part of the various projects

conducted by the center.

Our goal is to cooperate with as much governmental institution and educational units as

possible in order to ensure more effective fight against modern threats, create general/common

standards and means of implementation of these standards, increase the quality of

informationin this field to the society and provide our services to those who really needs it.


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This publication was downloaded from E-LIBRARY portal of

INFORMATION SECURITY STUDIES AND ANALYSIS CENTER

http://www.issac.ge


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the role of public sentiments in intelligence activities

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