political warfare

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

Information a vital weapon

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by J Michael Waller, USA Today, December 7, 2005. [USA Today ran an editorial that criticizes the US military for planting propaganda in the Iraqi press. The editors invited Professor J. Michael Waller to provide an opposing view after the Pentagon refused. Both pieces appeared together on December 7. For the USA Today editorial, click here. Dr. Waller’s column … Read more

What to do about Venezuela: The case for political & psychological strategy

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by J. Michael Waller / Occasional Paper Series No. 6 / Center for Security Policy, May 2005. Among the more troubling legacies Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has inherited is one of neglect towards the Western Hemisphere, a legacy that has seriously diminished the United States’ stature and influence in most of the Americas This is due, in … Read more

Russia: Death and resurrection of the KGB

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by J Michael Waller, Demokratizatsiya: The Journal of Post-Soviet Democratization, Vol. XII, No. 3, 2004, pp. 333-355. The George Washington University is the repository of Demokratizatsiya journal. The roots of all of the most efficient political police systems in modern his- tory can be traced to December 20, 1917. On that day, the new Bolshevik … Read more

China waging political warfare against its neighbors

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by J Michael Waller, adapted from article in Insight magazine, May 26, 2003 Might the People’s Republic of China (PRC) be waging covert political operations to weaken Asian and Pacific governments’ support for their security relationships with the United States? U.S. intelligence officials tell me they have detected no Soviet-style “active-measures” campaign. However, Chinese tradecraft depends more on … Read more

How terrorists use ‘civil liberties’ arguments to undermine war effort

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by J. Michael Waller, Insight, March 4, 2003 Terrorists and their supporters are doing their best to weave themselves into the political fabric of American society, say specialists in homeland security. They are operating front groups and charities to finance their operations, and they are running influence operations to weaken federal antiterrorism laws under the guise of … Read more

Hyde urges Bush to oust Venezuela’s Chavez

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by J Michael Waller, Insight magazine, October 29, 2002. Warning of the formation of a potential “Axis of Evil” in the Americas, an influential lawmaker has called on President George W. Bush to support the ouster of left-wing Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez. Just days before Brazilians elected radical populist Lula da Silva as their president on Oct. … Read more

Blinded vigilance: How Deutch and Tenet helped weaken CIA prior to 9/11

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by J. Michael Waller, Insight magazine, October 15, 2001 While the terrorists and their sponsors were plotting to hijack airliners and crash them into Manhattan skyscrapers and the Pentagon, senior CIA officials were compelling analysts and operations officers to attend sensitivity-training classes and sew diversity quilts. That is a fact. It also is a metaphor for why … Read more