PR Meets Psy-Ops in War on Terror

The issue here is that it was always taboo to use the mass media to wage information warfare such as PSYOPs. All media releases must be factual and not a part of the war plan. Here in thisLA Times story, the media is used to broadcast an early start to the Fallouja offensive. I understand the hand-wringing on this issue, however, let us keep in mind that our opponents are using the media to broadcast messages to their terrorist cells. The media is now a part of the battlespace. Do we also, with extreme restraint, use the media as battlespace. I say, for now and with restraint, yes...More to follow//JW sends.

On the evening of Oct. 14, a young Marine spokesman near Fallouja appeared on CNN and made a dramatic announcement.

"Troops crossed the line of departure," 1st Lt. Lyle Gilbert declared, using a common military expression signaling the start of a major campaign. "It's going to be a long night." CNN, which had been alerted to expect a major news development, reported that the long-awaited offensive to retake the Iraqi city of Fallouja had begun.

In fact, the Fallouja offensive would not kick off for another three weeks. Gilbert's carefully worded announcement was an elaborate psychological operation — or "psy-op" — intended to dupe insurgents in Fallouja and allow U.S. commanders to see how guerrillas would react if they believed U.S. troops were entering the city, according to several Pentagon officials.

In the hours after the initial report, CNN's Pentagon reporters were able to determine that the Fallouja operation had not, in fact, begun.

"As the story developed, we quickly made it clear to our viewers exactly what was going on in and around Fallouja," CNN spokesman Matthew Furman said.

Officials at the Pentagon and other U.S. national security agencies said the CNN incident was not an isolated feint — the type used throughout history by armies to deceive their enemies — but part of a broad effort underway within the Bush administration to use information to its advantage in the war on terrorism.