Information warfare is giving propaganda, denying information or giving disinformation to one’s own population, either to build support or counter propaganda.

Psychological operations is selected information given to specific audiences to influence emotions, motives and reasoning, and ultimately affecting the behavior of organizations, groups and individuals. Simply put it’s the preparation of the battlefield using information and information technology during a crisis real or created to achieve specific goals.

President Barack Obama stated, “With an endless parade of distractions, political posturing and phony scandals, Washington has taken its eye off the ball.” The tactics used deny, distract and deflect. The incidents are not “phony” or just talking points; the people were real. Border Patrol Brian Terry and special agent Jaime Zapata died as a result of Operation Fast and Furious gun running.

Bengazi is rife with failure. We owe it to the fallen Ambassador Chris Stevens, Sean Smith, Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty and their families to get the truth; anything less is unacceptable. The NSA scandal — if you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear — this reeks of a paranoid progressive police state. What we are doing now to lawful American citizens is what the East German secret police could only dream about.

Recently the federal government is hiring a “Behavioral Insights Team” they will “exploit” tactics with the goal of tweaking behavior. This takes it to a whole new level of social engineering, a legitimate function of government I think not.

One needs to be an informed consumer of information looking at what is “news” and why. The administration has shown they are very adept in the arts of media management. They use media to help drive issues and promote the agenda, and to be fair most of the media are willing accomplices. The casualties in all of this media management is truth and accountability.

This is about the consolidation of power to influence your behavior and control your actions. Words are the new weapons of mass distraction; when you manage the message, you manage the people. These are not the tactics of freedom and self-determination but of a state of domination and servitude. This is not what the founders envisioned.

 

Randy Kruckeberg
Mankato