Information Operations Roadmap

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The Information Operations Roadmap is a document commissioned by the Pentagon in 2003 and personally approved by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.^[1]^[2]^[3]

The document was declassified in January 2006 and describes the United States Military's approach to information warfare, with an emphasis on the Internet.^[4]

1 The Document
2 Examples of PSYOP
3 See also
4 External links
5 References

[edit] The Document

Although "information intended for foreign audiences, including public diplomacy and PSYOP, increasingly is consumed by our domestic audience and vice-versa," the document observes that "the distinction between foreign and domestic audiences becomes more a question of USG [U.S. government] intent rather than information dissemination practices."^[1]

Kristin Adair reported:

The Roadmap presents as one of its key assumptions the importance of Psychological Operations (PSYOP), particularly in wartime: "Effectively communicating U.S. Government (USG) capabilities and intentions is an important means of combating the plans of our adversaries.^[1]

and:

The document calls on DoD to enhance its capabilities in five key Information Operations (IO) areas: electronic warfare (EW), PSYOP, Operations Security (OPSEC), military deception and computer network operations (CNO).^[1]

An article by the BBC states:

The operations described in the document include a surprising range of military activities: public affairs officers who brief journalists, psychological operations troops who try to manipulate the thoughts and beliefs of an enemy, computer network attack specialists who seek to destroy enemy networks.^[3]

The document acknowledges the Smith-Mundt Act, adopted in 1948, which explicitly forbids information and psychological operations aimed at the US public, but fails to offer any way of limiting the effect this program has on domestic audiences.^[1]^[3]

The document states the internet can be used as weapon system by opposing forces, with its rapid growth it is becoming harder to defend:

"Strategy should be based on the premise that the Department [of Defense] will 'fight the net' as it would an enemy weapons system ... Networks are growing faster than we can defend them... Attack sophistication is increasing... Number of events is increasing."^[3]

One of the stated goals of improving network and electro-magnetic attack capabilities is:

To prevail in an information-centric fight, its increasingly important that our forces dominate the electromagnetic spectrum with attack capabilities". PDF pg.10 of 78

[edit] Examples of PSYOP

The Pentagon, using the Lincoln Group, secured hundreds of articles in the Iraqi media. All these stories supported the US military. ^[3]
The Zarqawi PSYOP program was intended to inflate the importance of Al Zarqawi in an attempt to alienate the Iraqi citizens from him.