The Lovelorn General and PSYOP

Unless you live in a cave, in which case you wouldn’t be able to read this anyway, the big news is the resignation of CIA Director, GEN (R) David Petraeus over an affair he had with a younger woman. While I will leave the national security implications and the “should his clearance be revoked” discussion to others, it is worthwhile to consider the PSYOP implications. 

It turns out that the discussion would center on the perceptions of the intended audience. One wag in today’s San Jose (CA) Mercury News told the story of the French diplomat who was ensnared in a ‘honeytrap’ by the KGB. When confronted with the pictures of himself engaged in love acts with a woman not his wife, the diplomat replied “I’ll take two prints of that one and three of the other.” Meaning of course, the no one in France could possibly care.

In translating that to the Petraeus incident – which of our many adversaries would want to use that kind of story as a message and what would be the point? As card carrying infidels Western Nationals, those from the US in particular, are expected to engage in what others may regard as deviant behavior, so how valuable is one story?

Since the cat is out of the bag, so to speak, there is no likelihood of blackmail, so the criminal aspect is moot as well. 

We should consider domestic adversaries for the moment as well. If the General was closely associated with one major party or the other then the games would begin much as they did when former President Clinton had his dalliance with Monica Lewinsky 15 years ago.

As with the Lewinsky story, the Petraeus brouhaha knocked some other stories off the front pages. Stories like the lingering misery from Hurricane Sandy and others were pushed to the back. Sometimes that in itself is a good thing. For example back in 1997 while I was in Bosnia one of the Persons Indicted For War Crimes (PIFWIC) was arrested. Ordinarily this would have been big news and a potential catalyst for domestic disturbances. Luckily this happened when the Lewinsky story did and scant attention was paid to said PIFWIC.

Thus far it would seem that the General Petraeus story is mostly a domestic one, but I’d be curious to hear what the readers think.

Photo Source: http://www.mercurynews.com/nation-world/ci_21987486/generals-petraeus-allen-both-backed-socialites-twin-sister

Cultural Affinity – Sometimes It Just Works

For the past three days it has been my distinct pleasure to visit Paraguay. While I really haven’t seen very much of the country, it has been one of those rare trips where everything seems to just work .

After an incredibly long set of flights which included a seat mate who was, as we use to say, “falling down drunk”, who tripped over me twice and stole my sleeping blanket during the flight. My Spanish was adequate enough to get through immigration without a hitch.

Sure enough there was a car, driver and escort at the airport to meet me. After the driver helped wrestle my bags into the trunk we learned that the car was locked and the keys were in it. He quickly got a second car and I was at my hotel.

The best hotel in Asuncion, Paraguay is the smallest Sheraton Hotel in the world. However a new “Loft” similar to the one in Arundel Mills, MD is under construction along with a new World Trade Center. This says something if you are sensitive to the implications.

The people are incredibly warm and friendly. After I purchased some post cards in a mall shop, one of the store’s clerks was kind enough to take me to the post office after it became clear that I couldn’t make out the Spanish instructions I was given. After we went through the door marked “Do Not Enter” and down a corridor with no signs it was a good thing he helped me out.

The food is marvelous, especially the fruit and meat. I was even able to find a very respectable version of a NY Deli favorite, tongue, which was served on a portable charcoal grill. At my dinner last night the pate was some absolutely incredible chicken liver as it might have been served in Brooklyn. A very nice complement to the pork medallions which were slow kicked for over 7 hours.

I was in Asuncion giving a set of two presentations on Cyber War and Cyber Crime and the interpreter was a delight to work with. Even though she was an attorney like me, she also had a great sense of humor and our timing together was quite good. While I suspect she told the audience when to laugh a few times, we did get marvelous reviews.

The point of the story is that for PSYOP/MISO relating to your audience is key. Sometimes it takes an incredible effort to try and understand things from their point of view and other times, like this week, it just works.

Photo Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/Paraguay_flag.png

“Radio Training” Part of US Handoff in Afghanistan

Imagine how my funny bone was tickled when I saw an article on npr.com entitled” U.S. Handoff In Afghanistan Includes Radio Training” (see: http://www.npr.org/2012/11/04/164205769/u-s-handoff-in-afghanistan-includes-radio-training).

The article describes the “Radio in a box” concept where by the Afghan Army helps to broadcast political shows, music and messages according to the article. There is even a new job title in the Afghan Army, “Information Dissemination Officer”. In addition to active participation in the messaging cycle, the IDO is also responsible for propaganda analysis and other related tasks.

Given the nature of what is being broadcast, one would have to conclude that the US/NATO equivalent would have to be MISO, InfoOps or PSYOPs depending on which force you are talking to.

What is even more interesting is that the IO of the 173^rd Airborne Bde BCT appears to be the coach for the operation. The fact that the BCT can muster such an individual and an 04 to boot is commendable.

Interestingly I suspect that the Afghans will face many of the same challenges with their new mission as those forces with more mature MISO capabilities. Getting the buy in and support of Commanders up the chain and insuring that the political masters aren’t offended at the same time are no easy tasks.

Of course the new information disseminators are faced with the same challenge as the rest of us – how do we know when our message is being effective?

In another Afghanistan related development, I am pleased to announce that the 15 (UK) Psychological Operations Group has been awarded the prestigious Firmin Sword of Peace by the Ministry of Defence (see http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/HistoryAndHonour/FirminSwordOfPeaceAwardedTo15ukPsychologicalOperationsGroup.htm?goback=.gmp_910477.gde_910477_member_179222180).

A hearty cheer to our UK colleagues!

MISO, the Army and Asia

According to Defense News October 24, 2012, “Deputy SecDef: Major Role for Army In Asia-Pacific Plans ”the Army will play a major role in America’s new national defense strategy”.  According to Secretary Carter,  “Seven of the world’s 10 largest armies are in the Asia-Pacific region,” he said. “The Army will continue to partner and exercise with our allies in the region [and] we will build on those partnerships.”.

A little Google digging reveals that the largest Armies belong to Russia, the PRC, India, Pakistan, North and South Korea. The next tier is perhaps more interesting and includes Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand and Myanmar.  (sources: www.globalfirepower.com and www.amodmag.com)

From a MISO perspective this all means continued Mil to Mil contacts with our allies, but it also means a new level of potential engagement to include training and engagement with some new players. Some of these players have large Armies and appear above while others not on that list such as Viet Nam and the Republic of the Philippines will account for even more engagement based on the threats they face and the Secretary’s comments about “The Army will once again train to conduct full-spectrum operations and a full range of operations”.

The MISO role in those countries will require MISO support not against large standing Armies, but in dealing with non-state actors within their border and reinforcing these countries’ relationships with the US.

It would seem that MISO personnel will need to develop a new arsenal of linguistic and cultural skills as they support the new national defense strategies.

Let’s hope that the Army’s top management is more broadly focused than looking at which countries have the largest armies. Otherwise we are once again training to fight the last war.

As always, reader input invited.

Photo Source: www.britishbattles.com

Counter PSYOP More Important Than Ever

We often think of the Afghanistan AO as devoid of media sophistication. The high illiteracy rate and the general disdain for all things modern are general characteristics we associate with that part of the world. 

However, as Sporting Blood once said “it ain’t necessarily so”. The Washington Post of October 18, 2012 featured an article “’Mullah Radio’ believed to be behind attack on Pakistani school girl (see http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/mullah-radio-believed-to-be-behind-attack-on-pakistani-schoolgirl/2012/10/17/ee8a9a8c-189f-11e2-9855-71f2b202721b_story.html?wpisrc=nl_headlines; which is also the photo source).

The article talks about Mullah Fazlullah, a priority NATO target who, according to the article “is considered a charismatic preacher, recruiting not only suicide bombers but also village women, who have donated their precious jewels and other valuables to his cause, experts say”. The cooperation of village women is particular noteworthy given his views on their rights or rather the lack thereof.

Fazlullah is credited with using a roving transmitter (likely FM) as a personal media outline. 

According to the article, topics include “lyrical rants against the central government in Pakistan, music, education and the polio vaccine.”

His capabilities and stature have been waning of late and the vicious attack on Malala Yousafzai, the teenage outspoken advocate of education for women was supposed to be his ticket back to the forefront of the action.

The use of a roving (probably line of sight) transmitter presents tremendous challenges and opportunities for the PSYOP community. First of all the use of radio indicates that radio is likely to be a good way to reach the local population. Secondly, analysis of the content of the broadcasts gives MISO planners a window into what the target thinks is important.

Perhaps most interestingly, this type of activity also opens the door to the potential use of EW and kinetic operations. EW considerations include jamming the signal to negate its audience or to overpower the Mullah’s signal with content more friendly to the ISAF cause.

Use of direction finding, IMINT and HUMINT could also be combined to assess the operation of the transmitter and to develop alternative courses of kinetic action against the asset as well as the people who operate it.

This is clearly another instance where one should not underestimate their enemy.

As always reader comments invited.

Putting The Band Back Together

Today’s post is more of a group scavenger hunt. As a former MI Officer and current security professional, I tend to get a bit paranoid about sourcing. I believe that one has to cite your sources. If you do it shows that you have done your homework and if the reader or listener takes issue with what you have provided, then their issue is with the source not you.

All of us feel passionately about where PSYOP/MISO belongs. Those of us who had the privilege of being a part of the Special Operations Forces (SOF) strongly believe that all MISO needs to be united under this banner. USASOC via the JFK Special Warfare Center & School, the proponent for the branch. ASOC is in a much better position to be the overall lead/command for the branch for many reasons not the least of which is mission knowledge and history.

Recently several of my sources have advised me that 

the ASD SOLIC has reported to Congress: 

"The 2006 realignment and subsequent designation of more than two-thirds of the force as non-SOF contributed to unintended funding, equipping, ownership, and interoperability constraints on the acquisition, procurement, and sustainment of MISO

equipment for Army Reserve forces.  For efficiency, unity of command, unity of effort, and the ability to support both special operations and conventional forces more effectively, the Commander, U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC), the Army’s designated proponent for MISO, will lead the effort for future consolidation of the Army’s Active and Reserve MIS force under a single command. "

"This report is submitted pursuant to section 1086 of the Conference Report

(House Report 112-329) to accompany H.R. 1540 the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012" 

I have sent an e-mail to my Congress person asking her (Rep Zoe Lofgren (D) San Jose) to get a copy for me. If any of y’all have a copy or a URL I’d appreciate it.

Photo of Honorable Michael A. Sheehan, ASD SOLIC, Source: http://www.defense.gov/bios/biographydetail.aspx?biographyid=332