THE SEAMLESSNESS OF THE INFORMATION SPACE

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THE SEAMLESSNESS OF THE INFORMATION SPACE
If we must begin a military campaign, it will be
directed against the lawless men who rule your
country and not against youDo not obey any
command to use weapons of mass destruction
against anyone, including the Iraqi people (G.
Bush, Remarks by the President, Address to the
Nation, March 17 2003)
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THE PSYOP LEAFLETS
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THE PSYOP LEAFLETS
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PROFESSIONALISM
Some critical questions There has been much talk
of liberation. Isnt there a danger that we are
seeing now that many Iraqis regard Western forces
as invaders and occupiers? There are significant
elements in Basra who are hugely loyal to the
regime . Now doesnt that mean that your strategy
needs a rethink and in fact that coalition forces
are in danger of being overstretched? (PM Press
Conference, March 25 2003)
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THIRD PARTY ACTORS
The TV generals We are seeing what the
military calls a pause. The coalition has
stopped to rearm and refit. Theyve sort of run
out of steam The Media The negative
commentary was predictable the offensive was
bogged down, stalled, stymied, in the face
of stiffening resistance and mounting
casualties (Extracted from American Soldier by
General Tommy Franks, 2004)
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Jim Wilkinson (General Franks Director of
Strategic Communications) General, what am I
supposed to do about these motherf TV
generals?
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THE ENEMY
Muhammed Saeed al-Sahaf (Iraqi Information
Minister) The air bombers of the criminal Bush
struck this marketplacehundreds of innocent
civilians had been killed or wounded J.Wilkinson
(Director of Strategic Communications) We think
it was an Iraqi missile, probably an SA-2 fired
two nights ago, unguidedIt hit that marketplace
before dawn. There was nobody on the
street. General Franks So, weve got no
problem J. Wilkinson We might, sirAll the
headlines Arabic newspapers feature that line
hundreds of dead and woundedour pals in the
BBC are already running with Baghdad Bobs
version.