The Pentagon is outsourcing a new wave of creative "psychological warfare," designed to win minds and hearts overseas — particularly in Arab and Middle Eastern nations — with everything from Internet pop-up ads to a comic book series.
"If you want to influence someone, you have to touch their emotions." Col. James A. Treadwell, director of the Joint Psychological Operations Support Element, told the Washington Post for a June 11 story. Treadwell's group was established last year and includes a graphic artist and videographer, he said.
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The Pentagon hired three firms, defense contractor SAIC, L-3 Communications subsidiary SYColeman and public relations firm Lincoln Group, to five-year contracts that could pay them as much as $300 million combined.
The firms are to produce a mix of print, video and audio "news," Internet sites and pop-up ads, text messages and podcasting, and novelty items such as T-shirts and bumper stickers.
The contracts come following criticism that the Bush administration has not successfully coordinated efforts to repair the United States' post-Iraq image problems abroad, particularly in the Muslim world. Vice President Cheney said in March that public diplomacy "has been a very weak part of our arsenal."
But that's not the only criticism facing the new propaganda efforts.
Officially, spreading psychological warfare messages to U.S. citizens is illegal. But some experts worry that the messages, especially disinformation efforts, might blow back to American audiences via the Internet and satellite news channels.
"In this age of the Internet and instant access, it's of great concern," Nancy Snow, a propaganda expert at California State University-Fullerton, told Media General News Service for a June 10 story. "If you plant false stories, how can you control where that story goes? You can't."
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The five-year campaign is believed to be the first time that psycholgical warfare has been outsourced by the military. But psychological warfare expert Herb Friedman told Media General News Service that he isn't surprised.
Article comments
1 - Joey
And who would be the COTR for those contracts?
VOA.
2 - Patriot
There is no need to spend another $300 million trying to craft messages and create millions of leaflets, broadcasts and other paraphernalia to “influence” the Muslim world.
The only message that will “sell” in the Muslim world is the following:
“This is George Bush speaking. Starting tomorrow -- our military will be leaving your countries. We will be gone in 30 days. We will let you control your own lives… we will let you decide your own future. The only proviso is that if your country can be traced to another attack on the United States -- we will be back -- correction… our B-2 bombers will be back and you will be no more… you leave us alone and we will leave you alone”.
Now -- with this pithy message -- the only one that will work -- do I get the rest of the $300 million?