An Introduction to Psychological Warfare

An Introduction to Psychological Warfare Psychological warfare is the planned tactical use of propaganda, threats, and other non-combat techniques during wars, threats of war, or periods of geopolitical unrest to mislead, intimidate, demoralize, or otherwise influence the thinking or behavior of an enemy. While all nations employ it, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) lists the tactical goals of psychological warfare (PSYWAR) or psychological operations (PSYOP) as: Assisting in overcoming an enemy’s will to fightSustaining the morale and winning the alliance of friendly groups in countries occupied by the enemyInfluencing the morale and attitudes of people in friendly and neutral countries toward the United States To achieve their objectives, the planners of psychological warfare campaigns first attempt to gain total knowledge of the beliefs, likes, dislikes, strengths, weaknesses, and vulnerabilities of the target population. According to the CIA, knowing what motivates the target is the key to a successful PSYOP.   A War of the Mind As a non-lethal effort to capture hearts and minds, psychological warfare typically employs  propaganda to influence the values, beliefs, emotions, reasoning, motives, or behavior of its targets. The targets of such propaganda campaigns can include governments, political organizations, advocacy groups, military personnel, and civilian individuals. Simply a form of  cleverly â€Å"weaponized† information, PSYOP propaganda may be disseminated in any or all of several ways: Face-to-face verbal communicationAudiovisual media, like television and moviesAudio-only media including shortwave radio broadcasts like those of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty or Radio HavanaPurely visual media, like leaflets, newspapers, books, magazines, or posters More important than how these weapons of propaganda are delivered is the message they carry and how well they influence or persuade the target audience.   Three Shades of Propaganda In his 1949 book, Psychological Warfare Against Nazi Germany, former OSS (now the CIA) operative Daniel Lerner details the U.S. militarys WWII Skyewar campaign. Lerner separates psychological warfare propaganda into three categories:   White propaganda: The information is truthful and only moderately biased. The source of the information is cited.Grey propaganda: The information is mostly truthful and contains no information that can be disproven. However, no sources are cited.Black propaganda: Literally â€Å"fake news,† the information is false or deceitful and is attributed to sources not responsible for its creation. While grey and black propaganda campaigns often have the most immediate impact, they also carry the greatest risk. Sooner or later, the target population identifies the information as being false, thus discrediting the source. As Lerner wrote, Credibility is a condition of persuasion. Before you can make a man do as you say, you must make him believe what you say.† PSYOP in Battle   On the actual battlefield, psychological warfare is used to obtain confessions, information, surrender, or defection by breaking the morale of enemy fighters.   Some typical tactics of battlefield PSYOP include:   Distribution of pamphlets or flyers encouraging the enemy to surrender and giving instructions on how to surrender safelyThe visual â€Å"shock and awe† of a massive attack employing vast numbers of troops or technologically advanced weaponsSleep deprivation through the continual projection of loud, annoying music or sounds toward enemy troopsThe threat – whether real or imaginary – of the use of chemical or biological weaponsRadio stations created to broadcast propagandaRandom use of snipers, booby traps, and improvised explosive devices (IEDs)â€Å"False flag† events – attacks or operations designed to convince the enemy that they were carried out by other nations or groups In all cases, the objective of battlefield psychological warfare is to destroy the morale of the enemy leading them to surrender or defect.   Early Psychological Warfare While it might sound like a modern invention, psychological warfare is as old as war itself. When soldiers the mighty Roman Legions rhythmically beat their swords against their shields they were employing a tactic of shock and awe designed to induce terror in their opponents.   In the 525 B.C. Battle of Peluseium, Persian forces held cats as hostages  in order to gain a psychological advantage over the Egyptians, who due to their religious beliefs, refused to harm cats.   To make the number of his troops seem larger than they actually were, 13th century A.D. leader of the Mongolian Empire Genghis Khan ordered each soldier to carry three lit torches at night. The Mighty Khan also designed arrows notched to whistle as they flew through the air, terrifying his enemies. And in perhaps the most extreme shock and awe tactic, Mongol armies would catapult severed human heads over the walls of enemy villages to frighten the residents. During the  American Revolution, British troops wore brightly colored uniforms in an attempt to intimidate the more plainly dressed troops of George Washington’s Continental Army. This, however, proved to be a fatal mistake as the bright red uniforms made easy targets for Washington’s even more demoralizing American snipers. Modern Psychological Warfare Modern psychological warfare tactics were first used  during World War I. Technological advances in electronic and print media made it easier for governments to distribute propaganda through mass-circulation newspapers. On the battlefield, advances in aviation made it possible to drop leaflets behind enemy lines and special non-lethal artillery rounds were designed to deliver propaganda. Postcards dropped over German trenches by British pilots bore notes supposedly handwritten by German prisoners extolling their humane treatment by their British captors. During  World War II, both Axis and Allied powers regularly used PSYOPS. Adolf Hitlers rise to power in Germany was driven largely by propaganda designed to discredit his political opponents. His furious speeches mustered national pride while convincing the people to blame others for Germany’s self-inflicted economic problems. Use of radio broadcast PSYOP reached a peak in World War II. Japans famous Tokyo Rose broadcast music with false information of Japanese military victories to discourage allied forces. Germany employed similar tactics through the radio broadcasts of Axis Sally.   However, in perhaps the most impactful PSYOP in WWII, American commanders orchestrating the leaking of false orders leading the German high command to believe the allied D-Day invasion would be launched on the beaches of Calais, rather than Normandy, France. The Cold War was all but ended when U.S. President Ronald Reagan publicly released detailed plans for a highly sophisticated â€Å"Star Wars† Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)anti-ballistic missile system capable of destroying Soviet nuclear missiles before they re-entered the atmosphere. Whether any of Reagan’s â€Å"Star Wars† systems could have really been built or not, Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev believed they could. Faced with the realization that the costs of countering U.S. advances in nuclear weapons systems could bankrupt his government, Gorbachev agreed to reopen dà ©tente-era negotiations resulting in lasting nuclear arms control treaties.   More recently, the United States responded to the September 11, 2001 terror attacks by launching the Iraq War with a massive â€Å"shock and awe† campaign intended to break the Iraqi army’s will to fight and to protect the country’s dictatorial leader Saddam Hussein. The U.S. invasion began on March 19, 2003, with two days of non-stop bombing of Iraq’s capital city of Baghdad. On April 5, U.S. and allied Coalition forces, facing only token opposition from Iraqi troops, took control of Baghdad. On April 14, less than a month after the shock and awe invasion began, the U.S. declared victory in the Iraq War.   In todays ongoing  War on Terror, the Jihadist terrorist organization ISIS – the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria- uses social media websites and other online sources to conduct psychological campaigns designed to recruit followers and fighters from around the world.

Cousin Kate and The Choosing poetry comparison Essays

Cousin Kate and The Choosing poetry comparison Essays Cousin Kate and The Choosing poetry comparison Paper Cousin Kate and The Choosing poetry comparison Paper Essay Topic: Christina Rossetti Poems Literature The poem Cousin Kate is written by Christina Rossetti in the 19th century. The Choosing was written in the 20th century by Liz Lochhead. Both poems are about two girls who are equal, and how with the interference of a man and a decision they go in different directions of life. In Cousin Kate betrayal is the theme, whereas, in The Choosing there is more a sense of envy between the characters. Both poems are similar. They consist of men, marriage, love and women. Cousin Kate is a traditional narrative poem. It has been written in first person, narrated by I using the personal pronoun. I is the victim. The poem is set out in quatrains so it has a regular structure. Each stanza has four lines and the poem also rhymes. The Choosing has an irregular structure and it doesnt rhyme on every stanza. Rhythm is only used to emphasise the important parts of the poem. The structure of both poems can tell us when the poem was written. Both poems also differ from each other. One difference would be the title. The title The Choosing tells us that a decision was made. The is a definite article and Choosing is a verb, which is a doing word. The purpose of a title is to give the reader an idea to what the poem could be about. It has been used to mislead the reader, it gives you false expectations until you meet the point that the title is relating to in the poem. And wonder when the choices got made we dont remember making. This tells us that a choice was made, but I or Mary didnt decide. The choice was made by Marys father, they moved to a different home. This distanced I and Marys friendship so they took different paths of life. The writer has used caesuras to once again emphasise important parts of the poem. The title Cousin Kate is a proper noun because it is a name. In this poem the writer has used oxymoron to contrast both parts of Is life. To lead a shameless shameful life. This oxymoron tells us that Is life is shameless and shameful, she is trying to express the difference of her present life with her past life. Her past life was shameless because she was an ordinary cottage maiden living an ordinary life, until the Lord found her out and filled her heart with care. Her present life is shameful because she has lost her virginity before marriage. In the 19th century this was considered serious. Women were humiliated and thrown out of their homes, it was a shameful life. In Cousin Kate I was a cottage maiden along with her cousin Kate. Contented with my cottage mates. This phrase tells us that I was better off in her past life before the Lord interfered. She wasnt mindful, but she was fair. The Lord took advantage of Is beauty. He lured her to his palace home and used her as his plaything. I however, was unable to see the Lords true colours; she may have truly loved the Lord until she found out about his affair with her cousin Kate. He changed me like a glove. This simile has been used to emphasise how easy it was for the Lord to change Is way of thinking. He tricked her into loving him and he used her to make himself look good to the public. When he was satisfied with her, he became bored and then he noticed Kate. I was cast by. This also tells us that the 19th century had a patriarchal society. Men had to be the boss; only men were permitted to have a job. Women were expected to stay home and take care of their children. Only men were allowed to divorce their wives. The neighbours call you good and pure, call me an outcast thing. I is disgraced; she is pointed at and humiliated. Nevertheless, she has something the Lord would give lands for; she has the Lords fair-haired son. Her shame, but her pride and a gift that Kate can never give the Lord. In The Choosing I and Mary are equal and young. With the same coloured ribbons in mouse coloured hair. This tells us that they are young because they wear ribbons on their mouse coloured hair. The word mouse is a synonym to a light brown colour. Synonyms are used to include other words with the same meaning. It also tells us that they are equal and normal average girls. Both girls were first equal and equally proud. We curtseyed to the Lady Councillor for copies of Collins Childrens Classics. This tells us that both girls were equally clever. The writer has used an alliteration to slow down the rhythm and make it stand out to show how important education was then. However, I had always felt a bit jealous of Mary. And my terrible fear of her superiority at sums. This tells us that Mary was a little better at Maths than I. This frightened I a little because Mary would become better than her so they would no longer be equal anymore. I felt jealous. The writer has also used and, a conjunction to show Is agony and feelings of envy for Mary. Ten years later on a Saturday- I am coming home from the library. This tells us that there is a change in time, it is the present tense. It also tells us that she wants to learn and get a good job. She has just come back from the library, she may have been studying there, and she is determined not to go back to the old same life. She wants to see the difference and change in an educated life from an ordinary life. In Cousin Kate Kate is described as good and pure. They are positive adjectives because they describe a person in a good way. Kate is described this way because she is still a virgin. I on the other hand is pregnant with the Lords baby. Kate grew fairer than I. The Lord chose Kate while I was cast by. He bound you with his ring. This tells us that the Lord proposed to Kate. The word bound is a verb; the writer has used this verb because she wants to express to the reader that Kate is restricted from her freedom, she is trapped in his clutches, and theres no escape. This tells us that in the 19th century women were controlled by men, and they were only to do as they were told. Your love was writ in sand. This is a metaphor used to explain to the reader that Kates love for the Lord is false. Kate is interested in the Lords money. Her love can wash away like sand. Kate may be good and pure, but under her pretty face lays greed and selfishness. In The Choosing Mary is a quiet character. I dont know exactly why they moved, but anyway they went. Something about a three-apartment and cheaper rent. Rhythm is used in these two phrases because this is where the choice gets made. It has to stand out to enable the reader to notice. This tells us that Marys father may have had financial difficulties or lost his job so they had to move homes. This also tells us that Mary may have had to live her life uneducated because her father couldnt afford it. It is Marys father who makes the decision of their lives. Mary is a simple and ordinary schoolgirl, but she may have been beautiful to find a handsome husband. Sitting near me on the bus, Mary with a husband who is tall, curly haired, has eyes for no one else but Mary. This sentence has a hurenthasis caesura. It plainly states that Marys husband is devoted to her. The adjectives used in this sentence to describe Marys husband tell us that he is a handsome and good-looking man. This makes I feel jealous of Mary when she sees her on the bus. One other thing that makes I feel envious is when she realises that Mary is pregnant. Her arms are round the full-shaped vase that is her body. This is a metaphor that has been used to tell the reader that Mary is pregnant so she is happy and settled in her marriage. This tells us that in the 20th century women were less controlled by men. Men were beginning to take relationships seriously. The Lord in Cousin Kate praised Is flaxen hair to ensure her that he could be trusted. She fell for the Lords words, but her trust was betrayed after the Lord left her for another women. He wore me like a silken knot. This simile tells us that the Lord found it easy to gain Is trust. However, the Lord cannot completely remove I from his life because she has his son. The Lord needs an heir so he would give lands for one. Marys father in The Choosing is in a working class situation. He has been described in a way to make him sound strict. Marys father, mufflered, contrasting strangely with the elegant greyhounds by his side. This tells us that he isnt a very friendly father. He doesnt believe in high-school education especially for girls so he is sexually double standard and very stereotypical about girls. It was because of his decisions Mary and I took different paths of life. In conclusion, both poems are similar because they consist of women and womens role. Both poems have been written by women. In the 19th century women were expected to get married before they become pregnant. I disobeyed this traditional rule and so she got punished for it. In The Choosing I became jealous of her childhood friend. In the 20th century women were free, they were permitted to work and learn. There was no rush in marriage. The difference is the fact that in both poems the society is different, it is better in the 20th century. Women are included as useful.

Special Interest Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Special Interest - Essay Example The aims and objectives of Interest groups are set in such a way so as to benefit the group members or a specific portion of society, for example procuring government subsidies to farmers. There are also issues which cover the public interest in the broader sense such as improving air quality. Berry (1999) believes that the interest groups in the United States act as mediators in conveying the opinion and requirements of the common man to the elected representatives. Individuals can find an interest group that can address or focus on his personal problem. The directories of American Voluntary Associations provide an overview of what these interest group associations aim at and why they are formed. The Gale Research Encyclopedia of Associations is considered as the most acceptable listing of interest groups. Most of these groups seek to influence the public policies. Prior to 1970, the records in America had information on interest groups which were actively involved in business, labor and agriculture. As per the findings of Baumgartner and Leech (1998), the interest group universe has become more complicated since then. With the industrialization, the agricultural groups have started dwindling and have lost influence in the United States. Large number of new interest groups has come into existence, some of them are mentioned below: The large multinational corporations have much influence and say, states Sinclair (2000). These companies will be generally members in more than one trade association. These associations represent the view of the industry they are associated with. The National Association of Manufacturers and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are supported by the big corporations and these â€Å"umbrella† groups represent and speak on behalf of the entire business community, believes Victor (2001). Professionals also