To Rewrite History – Have Tourists Relive It!

I have been a student of China since I was but a wee lad in Brooklyn. Motivated by the cuisine and the fact that we had to actually get in the car and to the Chinese restaurant, I have been a life long Sinophile. In College I was the only ROTC student in Philosophy of Oriental Religion (it was a very long time ago). So it’s no surprise that I enjoyed the NY Times Article of 31 December: “Revolution Isn’t a Party, But It Draws The Tourists” which you can check out at: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/31/world/asia/31china.html. Photo source: Gilles Sabrie for the NY Times

It’s not Disneyland, but it fosters emotional attachment to the People’s Liberation Army and The Chinese Community Party. China.org describes the travel destination:

Yangjialing Village

It was in this historical site about three kilometers northwest of Yan'an that the CPC Central Committee led the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. At the entrance is an auditorium, a vaulted brick and wood structure. The small building at the rear used to be the office of the Central Committee's General Affairs Department. Mao Zedong, Zhu De, Zhou Enlai, and other leaders of the revolution had their residences on a small hill in the north. An exhibition hall has been built there to show the revolutionary activities of the leaders and the people in Yan'an. (see http://www.china.org.cn/english/chuangye/42187.htm)

This is a superb example of multifaceted information operations and plain old good salesmanship. In the sales business we’re taught that if you put the prospect in the picture of owning your product or using your service, you are well on the way to closing the sale.

In the case of Yan’an, today’s Chinese can put on uniforms of the revolution and experience battles as participants, albeit with a very safe perspective. This emotional connection to the revolution servers several purposes: it stimulates emotional support of today’s Chinese government because, after all, it is an extension of the Revolution. It also stimulates the domestic economy by encouraging those with money to spend to do so domestically.

In the US we have dedicated re-enactors who devote significant time and treasure to their hobby of dressing and acting like their forebears. Civil War re-enactors are very popular and the new sport of Cowboy Action Shooting is also on the upswing.
However, these kinds of efforts require dedication over time, something Americans are not famous for. Also it’s fair to say that most of the re-enactors are not the younger generation which seems to be attracted to Yan’an.

Perhaps Disney or Six Flags could devote part of one of their theme parks to mini-battles where people could experience battles of the past. Not only a good profit maker, but a help to bolster the American pride in ourselves.

Obama’s 2010 National Security Strategy and PSYOP

The last week in May 2010 is a particularly complex time. Headlines included the sending of 1,200 National Guard troops to the Mexican Border and continued angst over the alleged North Korean sinking of a South Korean Naval Vessel.

However, from a long term perspective, the quiet White House release of the 2010 National Security Strategy (NSS) of the United Stations. The NSS is the mother ship of security strategies from which all others such as the Defense Strategy, the Military Strategy, the Counter Terrorist Strategy, et al will be developed and with which they must conform. (See http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/rss_viewer/national_security_strategy.pdf)

There were some key themes that will have a significant impact on PSYOP and PSYOP forces during Obama’s administration tenure and perhaps beyond.


1. Alliances and Partnerships
While the President reserved the right to act unilaterally when necessary, he made it very clear that it was intent to capitalize on old alliances and new partnerships. His goal of strengthening and modernizing old ones while building new and deeper partnerships is complemented by stated tasks of training and assisting security systems (and forces) in at-risk states.

These notions combined with increased military to military contacts will no doubt put pressure on PSYOP to operate more frequently in a combined (multi-national) environment and to provide training, advice and assistance to forces of other nations that the President deems are important to US interests, values and international order.

2. Holistic Governmental Actions
The President made it very clear that he wants the Executive branch t to develop integrated plans and approaches. This includes more aggressive diplomacy where diplomats complement military forces no matter where they are needed and the ability to harness experts who can strengthen governance and support human dignity (via development efforts).

The NSS also plans to employ economic and financial transactions as means to advancing US interests and promoting US values.
The bottom line here is a greater demand for Civil Affairs (CA) capability and a critical need for CA and PSYOP to work together seamlessly in a variety of environments.

3. Engagement Across the Spectrum of Conflict
The NSS points out other goals the cut across the spectrum of conflict:
- Disrupt, dismantle and defeat AQ and its violent extremist affiliates in AF, Pak.
- Pursue sustainable and responsible security systems in at risk stakes
- Prevent the emergence of conflict
- Counter violent extremism and insurgency
- Foster security and reconstruction in the aftermath of conflict
- Stop the spread of nuclear weapons and securing nuclear materials
- Resolve and prevent conflicts and heal their wounds.

PSYOP is a non-lethal battlefield multiplier. It is also a critical means by which the USG can communicate messages designed to catalyst behavior in conformance with the goals of the NSS. PSYOP is the means by which civilian populations are informed of CA activities and is a critical capability in gaining and holding information dominance which is a prerequisite success on the global state in the 21st Century.
Unfortunately the PSYOP community has not shown the ability to influence law makers and senior members of the Executive Branch of its importance. The need to influence has been overshadowed by the specter of cyber this and cyber that. While CA enjoys the benefits of a cadre of retired flag officers and a resourced association, PSYOP does not.

The ill timed split of PSYOP across two general officer commands (USSOCOM and USARC) needs to be unwound immediately and SWC needs to step up to the plate, as Regimental Home Base Commander and act as a catalyst to strengthen PSYOP’s clout inside the military and position a robust association to ‘educate’ the Executive and Legislative branches.

Cyber PSYOP: Google vs. China

The recent “activity” surrounding Google’s China market search engine business and the Chinese government’s political, economic and technical actions to impose censorship on searches illustrates the critical nature of the cyber component of PSYOP and free information flow.

One of PSYOPs core principles is that truth is the best PSYOP weapon. The Chinese government goes to great lengths to insure that Chinese citizens only have access to truth that has been approved by the government and considered fit for consumption. Google has been an unparalleled success story and the wealth of its high tech founders is the stuff of legend. However, they have failed to learn by history.

I was quoted in Computerworld UK concerning the Google/China affair: “In Google's case, there are two aspects of why the Chinese government would pay special attention to Google: first of all open access to information is contra to the philosophy of the government of the People's Republic of China and secondly Google as a business offers lessons to be learned. Consequently it should be no surprise that Google has been attacked from inside and outside.” (http://www.computerworlduk.com/management/security/data-control/in-depth/index.cfm?articleId=3084; March 1, 2010)

From a strategic PSYOP perspective the Chinese of been able to: 1. harness their citizens to ‘protect’ the state, 2. muster significant technology resources and muscle to enforce their political will, 3. sacrifice short term economic gain for long term consistency, 4. Coordinate the disparate arms of government (foreign policy, economic development, military, and legal) to achieve an information objective that is part of their well understood governmental strategic communications strategy.

Taking the other tact for a moment, Google sought to evade China’s grip by redirecting searches from the Chinese Mainland to Hong Kong. Apparently they lost sight of the fact that in 1997 Hong Kong reverted back to the government of the People’s Republic. While Hong Kong retains traces of its former British governance and aspects of friendliness to the West, make no mistake it is part of China.

Google’s mantra of ‘do no evil’ smacks in some ways of the Star Trek Prime Directive (do not interfere with other cultures), however even this technological giant has met its match in the People’s Republic of China. The message for us is clear – we must develop an Influence Operations Strategy and President Obama must orchestrate its operations and tactics.

A small baby step in this direction would be to appoint a White House level coordinator along the lines of Howard Schmidt, the Cyber Coordinator. While Mr. Schmidt has no real authority he is a single point of contact and can act as a conductor to facilitate the performance of many players. Our global communications strategy deserves no less.