Psychological Operations in Support of Internal Defense and Development Assistance Programs (1968)

[music] [music] [music] [music] [bell] This is the United States Embassy [music] in a country we shall call FL. In actuality, host land does not exist. But this fictional nation has many counterparts. Small countries [music] in which outside alien hands have planted the seeds of subversion. In this story, hostland will typify such a country. [music] A nation seeking its own independent path to progress, but stalled in its forward march by a subversive force that grows more malignant with each passing day. Gentlemen, the pattern here is familiar. Mr. J, what is your government doing about this? As you know, we have had some success in counteracting their efforts, but never quite enough. At best, we have achieved a containment stalemate. Now, with the sudden intensification of subversive activity, the outbreak of violence in the eastern province, my government is firmly convinced that a fullscale internal defense operation is the only answer to the problem. That is why we have once again come to the United States for help. As to our specific needs, you'll find them outlined in the official requests which we have submitted for your attention. Of course, we've been aware of your problem and the step up of subversive activity. We have planned for this type of emergency prepared in advance and continually updated. So, I've been informed by your military attache, uh, Colonel Adams, here you have men who specialize in internal defense operations, familiar with the situation we're facing. Then you are specifically requesting that you assist using our current training programs. We've got to set up and staff new training centers for officers and NCOs, and we must move quickly. With your government's help, we should be able to accomplish our objectives in much less time. And time will be a critical facto. I feel confident that my government will give you every assistance along those lines. In fact, we should be able to have additional advisors on the way here in a matter of just a few days. Other specifics? Frankly, Mr. Ambassador, we like the trained men who would be able to plan and implement operations in an area we think is vitally important. Because of this, we are also requesting that your team of advisers include a senior officer who is thoroughly experienced in uh psychological operations. Very well, sir. I think we can provide you with an expert on the subject. This man [music] is the expert on the subject. His name is Leo Hamilton and he is a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Army. Earlier today, he was designated [music] the psychological operations staff officer adviser. Soon with the other officers on the advisory team, he will be flying [music] to hostland. In the area of psychological [music] operations, SCOP, Colonel Hamilton qualifies as a veteran with considerable field experience. Now he [music] is building on that knowledge, supplementing it with specifics concerning host [music] land, its geography, its economy, its governmental structure. Above all, he is concerned [music] with its people, their way of life, their religion, their culture, their sense of national identity, or lack of it. He must know the people of Hostland, [music] for their minds will be his primary objective. [music] As promised by the ambassador, a team of American military advisers arrives [music] in hostand just a few days after that country's official request for assistance. Their initial destination is the [music] United States embassy and they are met by a representative of the military atesee. [music] Like the others on the team, Colonel Hamilton has come [music] to his assignment well prepared, but he still faces many hours of additional study and research before he can begin to initiate a SCOP [music] program. At the embassy, [music] he meets with the local United States information service representative for a briefing on all programs that may be already underway in hostland. [music] He reviews the psychological [music] objectives the United States hopes to achieve in hostland. Objectives based on official US foreign policy. He confers [music] with the chief of the United States Agency for International Development. This knowledge is [music] of vital significance for his efforts must harmonize all other American activities [music] within hostland. His next [music] stop is a hostland army post. He meets Lieutenant Colonel Matra, who will be his counterpart, the man with whom he will work in very close conjunction [music] while he serves in hostand with his counterpart. [music] He reviews all available sources of information that will help him determine the attitudes of the population. How do they feel about their country, [music] their government? And how do these feelings vary from local to local? A comprehensive accumulation of data is reviewed, but it is not seen as unalterable fact. It is rather a guideline for further research. And all such further research is [music] done firsthand. They literally tour the country, sounding out the people and their leaders, seeking face-to-face meetings that will pinpoint national and local problems, what they are and where they are. In the cities, they attend labor meetings. Through interaction with such groups, their understanding of local issues is enhanced. They meet with labor leaders and industrialists. Their main goal is to find out the feeling of labor and industry toward the military and [music] government of hostand. In many cases, the feeling of the people toward the military establishment is similar to that shown toward the existing government. Psychologically [music] the military in every country in the world represents government authority. Military psychological operations [music] cannot function independently. They must always reflect the national policy of the host country. To establish the target audiences for any military psychological operations, all functional groups [music] must be checked and their reaction to the military establishment determined. [music] teachers, [bell] [music] writers and publishers, [music] farmers [music] and religious leaders. leaders. [music] Each will have a perspective that is peculiar to his own particular group. Problems, [music] real or imagined, will come to the four. This face-to-face, eye-to-eye confrontation with the population, [music] provides the SCOP officer with a tool that is essential to his job. Insight. A look into the minds of a people. A working knowledge of their individual and group needs, [music] attitudes, and ambitions. [bell] As with most countries that find themselves [music] in the midst of a communist inspired insurgency, Hostland has a population with a doubtful sense of national unity. [music] Host land does have problems, economic, social, [music] and emotional, and subversive insurgents are always aware of them, always ready to promise instant [music] solutions for the price of revolution. In the more urban areas, where there is less dissension and more of a sense of national integrity, subversives achieve only minor disturbances at best. But real grievances must not be ignored. [music] [music] In the rural areas of hostland, where government supervision and control is only a wispy thread, the subversive makes stronger headway. Here he is free to promote his objectives. Here he can recruit [music] and frequently obtain the direct support of the civilian population. The potential recruit is carefully selected. Perhaps some injustice, real or imagined, drives him [music] where he reluctantly goes, to the side of the subversives. [music] [music] [music] In some areas of host land, the subversives have so deceived the populace that they have very strong civilian backing. Here they are openly combating government [music] troops. [music] Initial analysis indicates that the target audiences can be broken down into three basic groups. The subversives, the government supporters, [music] and then the big group in the middle, the uncommitted civilians. Any SCOP effort will have to encompass all three groups. Having mentally worked out, altered, rejected, [music] and then finally accepted plans for the military psychological operations [music] program, they now prepare to put them on paper as a formal proposal. [music] They list the major psychological objectives. Then the various [music] functional group target audiences. The objectives for each of these functional groups. The severity and stage [music] of subversive insurgency in which the various target groups find themselves. The proposed psychological military [music] activities that should be instituted. And the proposed program to help these [music] activities. After securing recommendations and the necessary approvals from his own people [music] and making sure that the military psychological operations plan fits in with the USIS country plan already in effect, the plan [music] is checked with the government of Hosteland. approved by them. It now becomes the psychological operations doctrine for the [music] hostland military forces. To implement the plan, [music] it becomes necessary for Colonel Hamilton to request the support of military training teams, elements of a US psychological [music] operations battalion assigned to his theater of operations. Among the support elements needed are the light mobile printing team [music] with its printing and editorial shelters. [music] Also needed is a radio team to support existing [music] radio stations particularly in the back country. An audiovisisual vehicle will help to increase the effectiveness of face-to-face [music] communications. and a loudspeaker [music] team will support tactical operations. One of the initial steps [music] of the military scop program is directed toward the hostland military establishment [music] itself. Since the military represents the government to the [music] populace, their actions and attitudes can do much to create a favorable image of that government [music] in the minds of the people. Postland soldiers are provided with rules of conduct [music] toward civilians and impressed with the importance of observing them. A soldier's attitude goes a long way toward implementing an [music] effective military SCOP program. Another [music] portion of the SCAP program primarily directed toward the civilian population is concerned [music] with developing national unity. [music] Once the people start to consider themselves as a national group, acceptance of their government tends [music] to increase, thus making penetration by subversives much more difficult. The proper conduct of the individual [music] soldier towards the people is a critical factor in creating this sense [music] of national unity. Touring groups of [music] performers are used to attract attention. They are particularly effective in remote areas. Entertainment or diversion of any kind is eagerly awaited. [music] Entertainment teams [music] like this one attract crowds of people wherever they appear. Controlled [music] [music] interaction can result in group belonging and assist in developing a sense of national unity. [music] A continuing effort is made to [music] link the SCOP program with progress to help the people help themselves. This makes them see the military and the government as positive images, benevolent symbols signifying steps toward a better life. [music] The sense of success, the satisfaction of a job finished. These are of major importance. Direct response [music] to community needs is vital. Projects which would be meaningless in terms of local needs should be avoided. [music] For psychological purposes, one finished well is worth far more than an unfinished dam. Throughout these efforts, the SCIA program keeps [music] the people informed. They are told what is being [music] done. They are told why it is being done. [music] and they are told how it will benefit them. [music] In areas where the insurgent is openly recruiting and receiving [music] aid from the people, an internal security program takes the greatest SCOP effort. [music] Here the objectives are to sever the link between the insurgent and the [music] civilian population, to detect and neutralize subversive apparatus, and to provide a secure environment. [music] An effective internal security program encompasses roadblocks, curfews, critical supplies such as medicine, money, food, explosives, arms, etc. All of which make the SCOP effort a little more difficult. [music] Where restrictions are imposed, the people should be made to realize the necessity for them. They must be convinced that these restrictions are only temporary. [music] That as soon as subversive activities are controlled, restrictions [music] will be lifted. Many problems are encountered during the implementation [music] of this type of program. [music] [music] Perishables damaged while held up in roadblocks must be investigated immediately. Curfews can alienate shopkeepers and theater and restaurant owners unless implementation of such measures is planned and announced well in advance. Curfews may also alienate the younger people who use the evening for youth [music] activities. Controls restrict the flow of essential products and goods. Psychologically, the people must be convinced that if it were not for the insurgents, these restrictions would not be necessary [music] and that when insurgent activities cease, restrictions will be removed. In areas of the country where government troops are battling the subversives, the psychological effort is of a different nature. Here, in addition to directing the psychological effort at the civilians, it now must be addressed to friendly and enemy troops as well. The civilian problems in a combat zone are those of safety, relocation, and medical aid. The [music] SCIA program supports the effort to get the civilians out of the way of the fighting. [music] If property has been damaged in the fighting, prompt repairs and payment [music] is the prime goal. Medical [music] attention for wounded civilians should be made available to the maximum extent possible. [music] It must be made very obvious to the civilian that his welfare and safety are of great concern to [music] his government. That they are in fact the major interest of his government. The complaints of civilians against soldiers are given full attention. [music] Rules of conduct involving actions of soldiers toward civilians are rigidly enforced. The moment the citizen is convinced that [music] his government is there to serve and protect him, he will begin to support and serve his government. [music] The SCOP effort directed at the gorilla has one objective to demoralize him and to motivate him to defect. [music] [music] By leaflet, by loudspeaker, by radio, by whatever means possible, SCOP [music] reaches his ears and eyes, stressing the futility of his present, offering hope for his future if he defects. With the SCA program underway, it becomes necessary to evaluate its effectiveness. [music] Improvements and changes must be continually made based on the evaluations of [music] current intelligence. Prisoners are interrogated with special questionnaires that give clues toward their reaction to [music] the psychological effort directed toward them. [music] Regular tours of the country afford SCOP officers a means of direct evaluation. [music] Interception and analysis of enemy messages [music] and radio and TV broadcasts provides another useful measure of the effectiveness of the SCOP program. [music] Feedback information from the field is used as a basis for continual [music] changes. For the psychological program must be constantly updated. [music] As the people are affected by the program, so the program is affected by their changes in attitudes. A successful SCAP program [music] will make them perceive things from the desired viewpoint. [music] You are looking at the most important man in the world. [music] In America, he is called John Doe. Other countries have other [music] names for him. He is the man without a face. every man, the average citizen, the man who totals a billion when added to all his counterparts all over the world. In the final analysis, he will decide the future of the world. Because his importance is clearly recognized by forces that seek world domination. His mind has become a target. [music] When he pledges his allegiance, when he decides in which direction he should project his loyalty, the issue in hostand countries in the world today will have been largely resolved. [music] Inevitably, the [music] moment of decision will come and at such moments what thoughts will pass through his mind. What images will he see? What factors will push him in one direction or another? [music] [music] What decision has he made? Who can say with certainty? But given an effective comprehensive [music] psychological operations campaign as part of the background, we could logically make an optimistic forecast. 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