Propaganda, Public Diplomacy & Psychological Operations

1. Propaganda, Public Diplomacy & Psychological Operations Comm 5500: Lecture 3 WHAT ARE PSYCHOLOGICAL OPERATIONS? Prof. Philip M. Taylor, ICS University of Leeds www.leeds.ac.uk/ics/pmt

2. Munitions of the Mind “For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill.” Sun Tsu, The Art of War.

3. The Psychology of War “ There are but two powers in the world, the sword and the mind. In the long run the sword will always be beaten by the mind.” - Napoleon

4. Info-Warriors “ The real target in war is the mind of the enemy commander, not bodies of his troops.” - Sir Basil Liddell-Hart, Thoughts on War, 1944

5. The ‘Black Game’? • Propaganda is a value-neutral process of persuasion (like a TV set) • The ‘P’ word is irrevocably blackened by the totalitarian legacy • But even within the democratic experience, the ‘black’ has tarnished the ‘white’ in the popular mind (cf. wars of national survival) • ‘P’ = PSYOP = ‘dirty tricks’, ‘brainwashing’, mind manipulation, Orwell, etc • How does this shape up to the reality of PSYOP?

6. Evolution of Terminology • Combat propaganda • Political Warfare • Psychological Warfare (PSYWAR) • Psychological Operations (PSYOPS) • Information Support (UK); OpInfo (Germany) INFORMATION WARFARE/INFORMATION OPERATIONS

7. US Definition “Operations planned to convey selected information and indicators to foreign audiences to influence their emotions, motives, objective reasoning, and ultimately the behavior of foreign governments, organizations, groups and individuals.” - Joint Pub 3-53

8. NATO Definition • ‘planned psychological activities in peace and war directed at enemy,friendly and neutral audiences in order to influence attitudes and behaviour affecting the achievement of political and military objectives’ • (MC 402)

9. Forms of PSYWAR/PSYOPS • Black (covert): purports to be from a source other than the true one (e.g. PWE radio). Usually conducted by intelligence services. • White (overt): emanates from the source it says it is (e.g. ‘This is Radio Moscow’). Usually conducted by military or civil-military services. • Grey: (source unknown).

10. Instruments of International Power NATIONAL FOREIGN POLICY OBJECTIVES Diplomacy Economics Military Informational • ‘Propaganda’/ • Perception Mgmt. • - Public Diplomacy ? • - Cultural Diplomacy • International • Broadcasting ? • Media Operations ? • PSYOPS ? Treaties, Contracts, Alliances etc Coercive Diplomacy threats of force, threats of sanctions Trade Agreements, WTO, GATT, NAFTA Sanctions Threats of Force Combat Blue = Hard Power? Green = Soft Power?

11. Instruments of International Information ‘PROPAGANDA’ or ‘PERCEPTION MANAGEMENT’ Public Affairs/ PI/Media Ops Public/Cultural Diplomacy International Broadcasting • PSYOPS • Battlefield • Consolidation (Nation Building?) • Peace Support • Strategic Educational/Cultural Exchanges; International Sport; Medical exchanges News vs. Views ‘Spin’; Media Management

12. The Lessons of 20th Century History • Crewe House (1918): propaganda gets ahead of policy • Unconditional Surrender (1943): policy gets ahead of propaganda • Cold War turned the entire globe into a strategic information battle space • Gulf War (1991) sees revival of PSYOPS • Covert PSYOPS in 1991 hindered Overt campaign in 2003.

13. PSYOPS media

14. The Gulf War of 1991 as catalyst for PSYOPS rebirth • US-led ‘Burning Hawk’ • 29 million leaflets for Iraqis in KTO • 4 POG and 193rd PNG deployment of leaflets, radio, loudspeakers and Commando Solo • c. 44% of Iraqi army surrendered or deserted (c. 70,000) • Moral case that making people put down their weapons and give up is better than blowing their brains out.

16. Operations Other Than War Bosnia Kosovo Trying to avoid unintended consequences The dangers of ‘unintended consequences’

17. Nation Building? TV SFOR WEEKLY NEWSPAPERS TELEVISION BROADCASTS & ADVERTISEMENTS RADIO BROADCASTS & AUDIO TAPES MOSTOVI MIRKO HERALD OF PROGRESS

18. The new ‘P’ word – Perception Management ‘Actions to convey and/or deny selected information and indicators to foreign audiences to influence their emotions, motives and objective reasoning; and to intelligence systems and leaders at all levels to influence official estimates, ultimately resulting in foreign behaviors and official actions favorable to the originator’s objectives. In various ways perception management combines truth projection, operations security, cover and deception and psychological operations.’ -- Joint Pub 1-02

19. Traditional ‘Surrender or Die’ messages Kosovo, 1999 Afghanistan, 2001-02

20. How to surrender

21. We are not ‘invaders’

22. PSYOPS - Commando Solo

23. Enduring Freedom Psyops leaflets – pre-translation Left - front Right - back

24. Commando Solo broadcasts - Afghanistan • ‘We have no wish to hurt you, the innocent people of Afghanistan. Stay away from military installations, government buildings, terrorist camps, roads, factories or bridges. If you are near these places, then you must move away from them. Seek a safe place, and stay well away from anything that might be a target. We do not wish to harm you. • With your help, this conflict can be over soon. And once again, Afghanistan will belong to you, and not to tyrants or outsiders. Then, you will reclaim your place among the nations of the world, and return to the honored place your country once held. Remember, we are here to help you to be free from this terrorism, despotism and the fear and pain they bring with them’.

26. Radio (and TV)

27. Commando Solo Broadcasts – Iraqi Freedom 2003 “Soldiers of Iraq. …. Soldiers are the defenders of their people, and the protectors of women and children. A soldier is willing to sacrifice himself for his country and their way of life. Soldiers sacrifice their own personal freedoms to protect others. Saddam has tarnished this legacy. Saddam spews forth political rhetoric along with a false sense of national pride to deceive these men to serve his own unlawful purposes. Saddam does not wish the soldiers of Iraq to have the honor and dignity that their profession warrants. Saddam seeks only to exploit these brave men. Saddam uses the soldiers of Iraq not as protectors of the peace, but rather as his own personal bodyguards. Do not let Saddam tarnish the reputation of soldiers any longer. Saddam uses the military to persecute those who don’t agree with his unjust agenda. Make the decision.”

28. ‘Shock and Awe’ ‘Do not follow orders to destroy dams or flood villages. Do not follow orders to destroy your country's oil. ... See those orders for what they are -- the last desperate gasp of a dying regime.’ Sec. Rumsfeld at DoD Press Conference, 23 March 2003

29. Some successes

30. Fully integrated from top to bottom ‘The nightmare that Saddam Hussein has brought to your nation will soon be over. You are a good and gifted people – the heirs of a great civilisation that contributes to all humanity. You deserve better than tyranny and corruption and torture chambers. You deserve to live as free people. And I assure every citizen of Iraq: your nation will soon be free’. (President Bush, 10 April 2003 on ‘Towards Freedom TV’)

31. White PSYOPS, 2003 • Go home/Stay at home campaign This also looks to have been a successful part of the campaign

32. Does it Work?

33. SOMETIMES – IT DEPENDS….