Psychological operations American style : the Joint United States Public Affairs Office, Vietnam and beyond / Robert J. Kodosky.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kodosky, Robert J., 1967-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Psychological warfare--United States--History.

Psychological warfare.

United States. Army.

United States.

History.

Physical Description:

xx, 227 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Lanham, MD : Lexington Books, [2007]

Summary:

Psychological Operations American Style examines the historical use of PSYOP by the United States in the twentieth century. Over six years into its War on Terror, and more than thirty years removed from the Vietnam War, the United States continues to cling to its traditional style of PSYOP. It has remained a tangential weapon in the otherwise conventional arsenal employed by U.S. officials in the War on Terrorism. To the extent that Americans have utilized PSYOP, they have remained wedded to the notion of its use as a tactical offensive weapon meant to instill terror in their enemies. While often successful in the short term for securing defection and surrender, this type of PSYOP does little to win hearts and minds over the long haul. As experience in Vietnam demonstrates, using PSYOP only as a tactical weapon possesses the potential to undermine the nation's position by eroding its credibility. It offers civilian officials and military commanders the means to blur the distinction between information and persuasion in order to achieve immediate and demonstrable results. The use of such tactics by the Joint U.S. Public Affairs Office in Vietnam destroyed trust in the information given even at official press conferences. Psychological Operations American Style is ideal for military and diplomatic historians and scholars of the Vietnam War.

Contents:

Blurring the line

Truth or consequences

The great cultural divide

Lessons learned

The truth will set them free

A matter of performance

Picking up the slack

Dwelling on difference

Toward oblivion

Maximum exposure

From the people, for the people.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 211-220) and index.

ISBN:

9780739121399

0739121391

OCLC:

163625200