Last Sunday, the New York Times published an unsettling story about PsyOps. Psychological Operations are techniques used by military forces to influence a target's emotions, motives, objective reasoning, and behavior. PsyOps can disseminate White, Gray or Black propaganda. White propaganda contains true factual information and the true source is disclosed. The dirtier shades drop concerns for truth and hide the origin of the misinformation.
Our military engages in these operations against foreign targets. It seems silly to have to state that. Obviously our military doesn't engage in domestic operations against American citizens. That would be against the law. Well, apparently not in the Bush administration. In the War on Terror we are all fair game. According to the NY Times' story, the Pentagon has been engaging in domestic PsyOps. The goal, to manipulate public opinion on the war against terror through misinformation.
However, that isn't the worst. The LA Times points out the worst part. Why isn't this everywhere? Apparently we don't care.
The death of democracy is not likely to be an assassination from ambush. It will be a slow extinction from apathy, indifference, and undernourishment. - Robert Maynard Hutchins
