In the later 1970s, Psychological Operations (PSYOP) doctrine in the U.S. Army had
yet to emerge from the disappointment and frustration of the Vietnam War. Thus it was
that in 1980 Colonel Paul Vallely 1 , Commander of the 7th PSYOP Group, asked me, as
his Headquarters PSYOP Research & Analysis (FA) Team Leader, to draft a paper that
would encourage some futurethought within the PSYOP community. He did not want a
Vietnam postmortem, but rather some fresh and innovative ideas concerning PSYOP' s
evolution and application.
I prepared an initial draft, which Colonel Vallely reviewed and annotated, which
resulted in revised drafts and critiques until he was satisfied, and the result of that was this
paper: From PSYOP to MindWar: The Psychology of Victory. 2
Colonel Vallely sent copies of it to various governmental offices, agencies, commands,
and publications involved or interested in PSYOP. He intended it not as an article for
publication, but simply as a "talking paper" to stimulate dialogue. In this it was quite
successful, judging by the extensive and lively letters he received concerning it over the
next several months.
That should have been the end of MindWar: a minor "staff study" which had done
its modest job.
With the arising of the Internet in the 1980s, however, MindWar received an entirely
unexpected - and somewhat comic - resurrection. Allusions to it gradually proliferated,
with its "sinister" title quickly winning it the most lurid, conspiracy-theory reputation. The
rumor mill soon had it transformed into an Orwellian blueprint for Manchurian Candidate
mind control and world domination. My own image as an occult personality added fuel to
the wildfire: MindWar was now touted by the lunatic fringe as conclusive proof that the
Pentagon was awash in Black Magic and Devil-worship.
Now that this absurdly comic opera has at least somewhat subsided, I thought that it
might be interesting to make a complete and accurate copy of the paper available, together
with an Introduction and some historical-hindsight annotations to place it in reasonable
context. After all it did - and perhaps still does - have something worthwhile to say.
yet to emerge from the disappointment and frustration of the Vietnam War. Thus it was
that in 1980 Colonel Paul Vallely 1 , Commander of the 7th PSYOP Group, asked me, as
his Headquarters PSYOP Research & Analysis (FA) Team Leader, to draft a paper that
would encourage some futurethought within the PSYOP community. He did not want a
Vietnam postmortem, but rather some fresh and innovative ideas concerning PSYOP' s
evolution and application.
I prepared an initial draft, which Colonel Vallely reviewed and annotated, which
resulted in revised drafts and critiques until he was satisfied, and the result of that was this
paper: From PSYOP to MindWar: The Psychology of Victory. 2
Colonel Vallely sent copies of it to various governmental offices, agencies, commands,
and publications involved or interested in PSYOP. He intended it not as an article for
publication, but simply as a "talking paper" to stimulate dialogue. In this it was quite
successful, judging by the extensive and lively letters he received concerning it over the
next several months.
That should have been the end of MindWar: a minor "staff study" which had done
its modest job.
With the arising of the Internet in the 1980s, however, MindWar received an entirely
unexpected - and somewhat comic - resurrection. Allusions to it gradually proliferated,
with its "sinister" title quickly winning it the most lurid, conspiracy-theory reputation. The
rumor mill soon had it transformed into an Orwellian blueprint for Manchurian Candidate
mind control and world domination. My own image as an occult personality added fuel to
the wildfire: MindWar was now touted by the lunatic fringe as conclusive proof that the
Pentagon was awash in Black Magic and Devil-worship.
Now that this absurdly comic opera has at least somewhat subsided, I thought that it
might be interesting to make a complete and accurate copy of the paper available, together
with an Introduction and some historical-hindsight annotations to place it in reasonable
context. After all it did - and perhaps still does - have something worthwhile to say.
No comments:
Post a Comment