New NATO report on Russian ‘robotrolling’ shows value of small allies

A new report on Russian trolling against NATO shows the important contributions that small frontline allies are making to the alliance, Dr Waller tells Bill Gertz in the Washington Free Beacon. Gertz reports: “‘While we provide the real military might, our smaller frontline allies focus on Russian information operations and psychological ops that we often … Read more

Waller praises DIA for report citing Russian psychological strategy

The Defense Intelligence Agency’s latest report on Russian military power is “a vital development in American military intelligence analysis,” Dr Waller told the Washington Free Beacon. “This is an important development, because the U.S. military has not adequately addressed the fact that Russia has a global psychological strategy to compensate for its relative military weakness,” … Read more

At the Atlantic Council, discussing how to combat Russian disinformation

The Atlantic Council sponsored an innovative and badly needed #DisinfoWeek to pay serious attention to Russian disinformation and how to combat it. The event, featuring speakers and experts from North America and Europe, wound up on Friday, June 30, with an off-the-record discussion about what to do next. Dr. Waller was among the invited participants. … Read more

Teaching at JFK Special Warfare Center & School at Fort Bragg

This week has Dr Waller back down at Fort Bragg, teaching at the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School. Dr Waller is a frequent teacher and trainer for American special operations forces and others at Fort Bragg, and this week he is providing military officers and their interagency civilian counterparts with a historical, … Read more

Helping the Army Special Operations Forces understand subversion in an age of countering violent extremism

Subversion: Non-Violent Warfare in an Age of Countering Violent Extremism  By J. Michael Waller, Ph.D. John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center, Fort Bragg, NC, September 12, 2016 Abstract Subversion is an ambiguous form of conflict in war and peace that does not rely on violence. From the perspective of the target, subversion is so ambiguous … Read more

Defeating ISIS: The missing psychological warfare dimension

The Westminster Institute hosted Dr. Waller to give a presentation on how to use psychological warfare to defeat ISIS/Daesh and other jihadist movements. The October 21, 2015 presentation, titled “Defeating ISIS: The Missing Psychological Warfare Dimension,” demonstrated the low-cost, high-impact opportunities at hand to wipe out Daesh. Dr. Waller’s presentation also discussed how to retaliate … Read more

Plan for victory over the global jihad movement

Secure Freedom Strategy

A team of veteran national security practitioners and scholars authored a Plan for Victory Over the Global Jihad Movement. The authors modeled the plan after President Ronald Reagan’s historic National Security Decision Directive 75, which laid out a strategy to defeat the Soviet Union without going to war. Published under the auspices of the Center … Read more

America’s ‘provocative weakness’

by J Michael Waller / inFOCUS / Winter 2014 As it continues its spiraling, across-the-board decline, the Russian Federation is becoming more relevant as a world power. This development became most visible when President Barack Obama effectively placed Vladimir Putin in the driver’s seat to resolve the crisis in Syria. The Russian strongman quickly used … Read more

Psychological strategy presentation at Westminster Institute

After a decade of war, with many military victories to its credit, the United States continues to struggle with defining and combating ideological adversaries. It has been unable to dominate the psychological battlespace in which America’s enemies – both those practicing violence and those not presently violent – flourish. Dr. Waller outlines a strategic solution … Read more

PSYOP by ridicule: New York Times says Waller’s paper got Pentagon review

The New York Timesreports that officials in the Pentagon and Iraq have reviewed an academic paper that called for a strategic psychological campaign of ridicule against terrorist leaders and other adversaries. The paper “has been circulating at the Pentagon and among military commanders with experience in Iraq recently,” the New York Timesreported in its May 6, 2006 … Read more