Evidence of Pentagon Psychological Warfare Operations Against U.S. Citizens Surfaces in Want Ads
By Justin Rood, Congressional Quarterly Staff
The U.S. military's domestic operations command says it is not planning or conducting a secret psychological warfare campaign to manipulate the opinions of American citizens, despite a U.S. Air Force document suggesting such activities might be taking place.
"We do not do information operations against the American public," said Lt. Cmdr. Sean Kelly, a spokesman for the Pentagon's Northern Command, known as NORTHCOM, based in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Kelly confirmed that there is a "psyops," or psychological warfare operations, unit at NORTHCOM but said its work is "designed to influence and deter foreign enemies from attacking the United States."
NORTHCOM was created after the 9/11 attacks to direct military operations, including intelligence analysis, air defense and support for civilian first responders, inside the United States. It shares the military's counterterrorism mission with the Pentagon's Pacific Command, Central Command and Strategic Command.
The possibility of a propaganda program run out of the military's domestic headquarters surfaced with a phrase in an online employment ad.
An advertisement for an "influence operations specialist" with a Top Secret security clearance for the U.S. Air Force appeared on the Web sites of military contractors several weeks ago.
The position would "coordinate [Air Force] inputs to NORAD-NORTHCOM influence operations," according to the ad. It defined those operations to include "PSYOPS themes and messages for use in foreign countries, public affairs themes and messages," as well as "deception plans."
The same position and job description is included in Air Force contracting documents.
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For full story, see:
http://page15.com/2004/07/evidence-of-pentagon-psychological.html
Source: CQ Homeland Security © 2004 Congressional Quarterly Inc. All Rights Reserved
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