I believe that the recent conflict in Gaza can serve as a
model of what many PSYOP missions will look like in the future. Here are a
couple of my reasons:
1.
Longstanding History
2.
Religious Overtones
3.
World Audience
4.
Sophisticated Media Mix
5.
No Ultimate Winner
1.
Long standing History
The conflict in Gaza is only the latest in the what seems
like eternal struggles going on the Middle East. While this conflict may
involve comparatively new political and national (depending on your point of
view) entities, it has evolved over a very long period of time so that the
current generation is far removed from the original events.
2.
Religious Overtones
There can be no question that the conflict is between
Israel, a Jewish state and Islamic forces. While components of these two
protagonists may run the gamut from orthodox and fundamentalist to moderate and
reform, and there may be other religions involved, the two principal players
are clear.
3.
World Audience
Much of the media and PSYOP (for my doctrinal purist friends
since much of the conflict is being pursued by non-state actors, they cannot
have military forces since military organizations are arms of the state) is not
directed locally but internationally and is designed to influence audiences far
beyond the conflict.
4.
Sophisticated Media Mix
Social media is playing a prominent role in the conflict and
there can be no doubt that there is an intended psychological effect behind the
cyber attacks that have taken place.
5.
No Ultimate Winner
Much like the situation between the Koreas, there is no
clear winner and no ‘legal’ resolve to the issues behind the conflict. While a
cease fire may have been called and lower levels of outright conflict may exist
temporarily, the final battle or agreement in this conflict is not likely to
happen in the near time.
Today’s Gaza situation shows the importance of being able to
adapt and innovate to dominate the war of today. It also shows that while there
may have been considerable kinetic action, the real victory will come through
influence.
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