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| Psychological Warfare / PSYOP News |
- Posted on 2 April 2009 at 4:03 pm
8th Annual Information Operations Europe
Delivering Effects through Influence Activity
June 22 - 24, 2009 - Le Meridien Piccadilly, London, UK
The IO Europe conference series is back for the 8th year...
The human terrain has proven hugely important in current conflicts and the capabilities required to influence an audience have seen major developments in recent years. The employment of private sector expertise and new media tools such as online social networking have opened up new opportunities for the IO community, yet the challenges of developing a coherent and culturally astute message remain. Messages must also be coordinated in an often complex, coalition environment and the issue of Measurement of Effect still represents a significant obstacle to progress. The Information Operations Europe conference series, now in its 8th year, is specifically designed for military staff engaged in influence activities to share key Lessons Learned from ongoing information campaigns, new concepts and policy updates and to understand how techniques for MoE are developing. It is the best attended and most international meeting of its kind in the world. Guest Speakers for IO Europe 2009 include: * Major General David Morris, Commanding General, US Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command (Airborne)
* Air Commodore Robert Judson, Director of Targeting and Information Operations, UK Ministry of Defence
* Mark Johnson SES, Executive Director, Joint Information Operations Warfare Command, US Strategic Command
* Mark Laity, Chief Strategic Communications and Special Advisor to SACEUR, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, NATO
* James Glassman, former Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy (Dec ’07 to Jan ’09), US State Department
* General Major Oleksandr LEVCHENKO, Head of Department of Defence Intelligence, Ukrainian MoD
* Colonel Glenn Connor, Chief IO Division, HQ US Africa Command
* Colonel Duncan Barley, Colonel Influence Activity, British Army
* Colonel Charles Eassa, Chief Information Operations Division, US European Command
* Colonel Dietger Lather, Commander, Psyops Centre, Bundeswehr
* Colonel David Haught, Director, US Army Information Proponent Office, Capabilities Development and Integration Directorate, Combined Arms Centre, US Army
* General Major Vadym Kokorin (Ret’d), Professor of the Intelligence Faculty, National Defence Academy of Ukraine, former Chief Military Intelligence, HQ Soviet Forces in Afghanistan (1986-1988)
* Simon Bergman, Director, Information Options
Again this year PsyWar.Org is a proud media partner to the 2009 Information Operations Europe conference. PsyWar.Org readers are eligible for a 10 percent discount by quoting the following reference number when registering for the event: IGB_11591.003_PSYWAR For more information visit the conference website here: http://www.defenceiq.com/ShowEvent.aspx?id=173906
- Posted on 8 February 2009 at 4:15 pm
The PsyWar Society has had two sad losses over the last month. At the beginning of January the co-founder and Honourable President of the PsyWar Society, Peter Robbs, died. He was 97-years-old and took a keen interest in the activities of the Society until the end. The last issue of Falling Leaf was the Society’s fiftieth anniversary edition and featured a tribute to both Peter Robbs and the late Reginald Auckland. The second sad news came a few days ago when we learned of the untimely death of Hans Moonen, aged 48-years-old. Hans was a long-standing member of the PsyWar Society and was the first person to put a dedicated aerial propaganda leaflet website, ( http://ww2propaganda.eu), online in 1996. Hans was a good friend, and a kind, generous leaflet researcher. He had a great knowledge of the subject and was always willing to share his latest research. We both shared a deep interest in "black" propaganda and I am thankful for the help he gave with my forthcoming book on the subject. Just sad that he will not be around to see the fruits of his help when the book is published. RIP Pete and Hans.
- Posted on 9 December 2008 at 8:25 pm
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How African-Americans have been exploited in enemy divide and conquer psychological warfare campaigns from World War I to Vietnam. |
- Posted on 30 October 2008 at 10:53 pm
 | Herb Friedman's massive Propaganda and Espionage Philately article has been updated again and includes new research regarding this Office of Strategic Services / Office of War Information black propaganda label featuring a parody of a Third Reich postage stamp. |
- Posted on 17 October 2008 at 4:11 pm
 | A 45-page report on the work of the Third Psychological Warfare Consolidation Team of PWD/SHAEF in north-western France between August 23rd to October 8th, 1944.
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- Posted on 15 October 2008 at 9:40 pm
 | This 24-page booklet was produced by the Commander-in-Chief, United States Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Areas in August 1944 and details the use of tactical psychological warfare against the Japanese in the Pacific Theater. |
- Posted on 12 October 2008 at 5:18 pm
 | Psychological operations were a key Battlefield Operating System used extensively to support Unified Task Force (UNITAF) Somalia operations. In order to maximise the PSYOP impact, a joint PSYOP Task Force (JPOTF) under the supervision of the Director of Operations was established, PSYOP was integrated into all plans and operations and limited the PSYOP focus to the operational and tactical levels.
Throughout the course of Operation Restore Hope, thirty-seven different leaflets and over a dozen handbills and posters were designed, printed and disseminated. Over seven million leaflets were dropped over central and southern Somalia.
One hundred sixteen different editions of the UNITAF newspaper RAJO, which means “Hope” in Somali, were published. As many as 25,000 copies were printed and distributed daily to every town and villages where UNITAF forces were deployed.
This booklet contains exemplars of those printed products. Each represents the collective efforts of members of the UNITAF JPOTF who provided PSYOP support to Operation Restore Hope.
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- Posted on 10 October 2008 at 11:13 am
- Posted on 9 October 2008 at 9:02 pm
 | The United States found itself involved in the nation once called Yugoslavia several times in the past decade. There was a violent disintegration of that country after the death of Joseph Broz (Tito) in 1980. In order to rule as dictator, Tito had divided the Serbian people, the largest ethnic group of Yugoslavia, into four "Socialist Federative Republics" and two Autonomous Regions. Some 42% of the Serbs were located outside Serbia Proper. This system worked only as long as Tito was able to rule with an iron hand.
In 1989, a new nationalist leader by the name of Slobodan Milosevic took power in the Serbian Republic. He had previously served as the leader of Belgrade Communist Party and the Serbian Communist Party. He wanted to dominate all of the old Yugoslavia, but when it became clear that he could not, he decided upon the ethnic cleansing of his country and the creation of a Greater Serbia. He abolished Kosovo's autonomy. Croats and Slovenes feared that they were next in line. There were daily news reports of murders, rapes, mass killings and other atrocities carried out by the Serbs as Milosevic drove the minorities from their lands and homes, "purifying" Serbia.
This article is not a history of the Balkan conflict as confined to the old Yugoslavia. It is a look at the PSYOP campaigns fought there in the past decade. |
- Posted on 8 October 2008 at 12:32 pm
A new addition to PsyWar.Org’s range of merchandise is this large (10” x 3”) 4mil vinyl bumper sticker printed using water and UV resistant inks - means no fading in the sun or bleeding in the rain. They are available singly at $5.49 each or a ten pack for $38.99, plus shipping.
- Posted on 5 October 2008 at 10:17 pm
 | The Times History and Encyclopaedia of the War: British Propaganda in Enemy Countries (WWI).
Originally published in 1919 by the Times, this booklet documents British propaganda work in the First World War. Topics covered include: Propaganda in war as theory and in operation, German activities, early British propaganda work, Wellington house, the Department of Information, the formation and scope of the Ministry of Information, Viscount Northcliffe becomes director of propaganda in enemy countries, operations against Austria-Hungary, Germany and Bulgaria, methods of distribution of literature, tributes to Lord Northcliffe’s work from Hindenburg, Ludendorff, and the German press.
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- Posted on 5 October 2008 at 12:12 pm
 | “This book contains exemplars of leaflets designed, printed and disseminated in support of Coalition Forces during Operation DESERT STORM. According to numerous sources, including captured Iraqi soldiers, these leaflets were extremely effective in convincing the Iraqi soldiers to cease resistance. Each leaflet in this collection represents the collective efforts of members of the Psychological Operations (PSYOP) team that provided support to Operations DESERT SHIELD and DESERT STORM. The psychological preparation of the battlefield began in earnest in December [1990] and radio, leaflet and loudspeaker operations continued non-stop throughout the air and ground phases of the conflict.” (18.7MB, PDF). |
- Posted on 4 October 2008 at 12:10 pm
 | This pamphlet, originally published by the 4th Psychological Operations Group, tells the story of “the crucial role which PSYOP played as a force multiplier in contributing to the success of Operation UPHOLD DEMOCRACY - an operation other than war.” It provides examples of the products generated by the Joint Psychological Operations Task Force (JPOTF) in Haiti following the US incursion to remove Haiti’s corrupt military regime. (6.1 MB, PDF) |
- Posted on 30 September 2008 at 4:35 pm
The PsyWar.Org online shop has been updated with new t-shirts reflecting the site's new look. The brown t-shirt with the green "V" for Victory logo is rather fetching, price $23.99 + shipping. Also available in "military" green and black.
- Posted on 30 September 2008 at 3:54 pm
Apologies for the downtime PsyWar.Org is experiencing at the moment. The forum remains down for the time being. I'm still trouble shooting the problem but hope to return to normal service as soon as possible. Update: as of 16:00 PST, the forum is back online and all seems to be working well. Sorry for the problems.
- Posted on 8 September 2008 at 12:05 am
 | PsyWar.Org features in the latest edition of Swindle magazine, issue 18. In their own words, "Swindle is the definitive pop culture and lifestyle publication… More than just reporting on culture, Swindle influences it. We believe in the humanization and personalization of design, and present all our stories – luscious fashion spreads, artist profiles or social & political issues around the globe – with a cutting-edge aesthetic."
The article gives a history of the use of airdropped leaflets in psychological operations, is well illustrated and also includes a little background information about myself. It also includes an interview with Colonel Boyd, Commander of the 4th PSYOP Group, based at Fort Bragg. |
- Posted on 7 September 2008 at 3:22 pm
PsyWar.Org's new design is now live! Afacelift of the website was well overdue and hopefully the makeover has a more contemporary feel. The page coding has also been amended so that it conforms to the W3C XHTML standard. To be honest the previous site had a mishmash of conflicting HTML code, some of which was originally coded over ten year ago.  The new design has been tested on the latest versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer (v.7), Firefox, Safari and Google’s new Chrome browser. All seems to be working well but if there are any glitches then please let me know. It is possible there might be minor issues (famous last words!?) with older browsers, particularly IE version 6. I’ll do my best to correct those as they are discovered but hey what are you doing still using IE 6? Get yourself Firefox! Some new developments are in the pipeline, especially in regard to database access for propaganda leaflet collectors. Perhaps we will have a couple of different user selectable themes as well, especially if the new look does not prove popular. Feedback is appreciated via the forum here: http://www.psywar.org/forum/index.php/topic,358.msg726.html PS Yes I know the forum is still using the old theme. I haven’t quite decided what to do with the forum just yet.
- Posted on 30 June 2008 at 10:05 pm
Herb Friedman shows us a wide selection of counterfeit banknotes used during the Cold War for psychological warfare and propaganda purposes.
- Posted on 3 June 2008 at 1:28 pm
| The latest addition to the PsyWar.Org archives is this 1962, Restricted British War Office psychological operations guidance booklet for officers, (PDF). |  |
- Posted on 31 May 2008 at 12:44 pm
 | Captain Pete Norton GC will be making a free-fall parachute jump with the British Army's "Red Devils" parachute display team at Langer Airfield, nr Nottingham on 1st July 2008 to raise funds for the Help for Heroes charity. Help for Heroes provides practical direct support to those British servicemen and women wounded in the line of duty in the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. In his own words: "In July 05 I was blown-up whilst working near Baghdad, losing my left arm, left leg and seriously damaging my remaining leg and buttocks. There followed 2 yrs in hospitals and rehabilitation before returning to 'normality'; I therefore know first hand just how important the work of Help for Heroes is."
Capt Norton GC is hoping to raise £7,500 (about $15,000 US) and can be sponsored through the JustGiving website here:
http://www.justgiving.com/peternorton
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