Benjamin Franklin

Founding Political Warfare Documents of the United States

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by J. Michael Waller, editor (IWP/Crossbow Books, 2010/2011), 367 pp. Download PDF of full text here: Founding Political Warfare Docs 3 Public diplomacy and political warfare have been an American tradition since before the founding of the republic. The Continental Congress made its case to the world when it was founded in 1774. In this course … Read more

‘An ounce of prevention’ – Benjamin Franklin and private fire companies

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by J Michael Waller / Serviam / February 2, 2009. Out-of-control wildfires out West show the severe limits on government’s ability to protect society from one of nature’s weapons of mass destruction. Federal and state officials waited for more than a half-million acres to burn last June and July before calling the National Guard for … Read more

Private security contractors in America: 400 years and counting

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by J. Michael Waller / Serviam / September-October 2007. The soldier-turned-private-contractor arrived in Virginia in shackles and leg irons. A war hero who fought an Islamic army, he had left the military with a sense of mission and adventure. Now he was part of a private, government-chartered company to lead security operations in an inhospitable part of … Read more

The American way of propaganda: Lessons from the founding fathers

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by J. Michael Waller, Public Diplomacy and Political Warfare White Paper No. 1, The Institute of World Politics, 2006. This article is the first in a series of White Papers about the transformation of American public diplomacy and strategic communication. Introduction One of the most contentious debates in the war on terrorism centers on the “hearts … Read more