Psychological Warfare (PSYOPS)

A variety of techniques that seek to influence the emotions, attitudes, and behavior of selected audiences in support of political and military objectives. Psychological warfare, also known as psychological operations (PSYOPS), usually connotes nonlethal attempts to gain advantage over the enemy. Techniques include dropping leaflets, airing radio and television broadcasts, and using loudspeakers. Psychological warfare may be conducted independently or as a force multiplier that compounds the effects of conventional military actions.

PSYOPS campaigns can be specifically tailored according to the target audience. Operations against enemy soldiers, sometimes called battlefield PSYOPS, seek to lower morale and encourage surrender. Psychological warriors often use threatening leaflets to scare the enemy in advance of an attack, often combined with other messages that offer incentives for defection. Consolidation PSYOPS have a different audience—noncombatants. Civilians play an important role in war; they work in factories that produce weapons and equipment, they provide support to enemy political leadership, and they offer refuge to enemy fighters. Consolidation operations seek to reduce that support and encourage civilians to accept defeat after fighting has ended. Finally, PSYOPS are used to try to retain the support of allies and sympathizers.

In addition to the benefits PSYOPS can yield on the battlefield, some U.S. commanders believe that PSYOPS help avoid killing foreign civilians. The killing of civilians, often referred to as collateral damage, risks damaging the reputation of the country responsible and undermines political objectives in the theater of operations. Civilian casualties also may reduce support for the war effort within the country that perpetrates the killings. For these reasons, contemporary U.S. PSYOPS often encourage local populations to stay out of harm's way during violent conflicts. During the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, for example, military aircraft broadcasted messages encouraging Iraqi civilians to stay indoors as American armored columns passed through their towns or neighborhoods. Millions of leaflets dropped on Iraq carried the same message.

Psychological warriors trace their intellectual lineage to the ancient Chinese strategy text The Art of War, most likely written during the 400s BCE. The authors (probably a collection of philosophers writing under the pseudonym Sun Tzu) argued that “subjugating the enemy's army without fighting is the true pinnacle of excellence.” However, PSYOPS have only recently received significant formal attention from Western military planners.

The United States established a psychological warfare section in the War Department during World War I but made no effort to continue PSYOPS research in the interwar period. In World War II, the Army established the Psychological Warfare Division (PWD) in Europe. Its mission was to disseminate “propaganda designed to undermine the enemy's will to resist, demoralize his forces and sustain the morale of our supporters.” However, as happened at the end of World War I, organized psychological warfare units mostly disbanded after 1945.

The Korean War was a watershed for psychological warfare. After re-creating units to drop leaflets and conduct loudspeaker PSYOPS, the Army established the Psychological Warfare Center at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where it has been headquartered ever since. At the same time, the government funded extensive academic research on communications. Scholars eagerly participated in this effort, viewing psychological warfare as more humane than conventional conflict. A torrent of studies appeared on the nature of psychological coercion. In the 1970s, however, many Americans began to view PSYOPS with skepticism. The Vietnam War experience made the public less willing to support Cold War actions abroad. Covert wars, propaganda, and psychological warfare all fell into disrepute.

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