Communicating For Effect Syllabus & Lesson Assignments

AWC DL Elective: Communicating for Effect
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Communicating for Effect Syllabus & Lesson Assignments

Lesson
Title/Link Course Introduction Course Objectives Dening Strategic Communication How Strategic Commnication Goes to War Effect-Based Methodology and Strategic Communication Planning Analyzing the Information Environment Strategic Message Formulation Providing Context to the Media's "Framing" of Combat Operations Strategic Communication & Information Operations Terrorist Use of Information Technologies Countering Terrorism Use of Information Technologies Legal Ramications of Strategic Communication and IO
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Return to TOC COMMUNICATING FOR EFFECT Course Introduction Description: The maturation of information technologies and the criticality of information in military operations, including air, space, and cyberspace, have produced a fth dimension vital to Americas national security an information dimension. Recent and evolving technical renements in information technology and the military value we assign information has presented opportunities and challenges in both information itself and information technologies. Senior military leaders must understand the information environment; how it can be exploited for military
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gain; the statutory and policy limitations our government places on the exploitation of information and the communication channels it passes through; what effects various public affairs actions, integrated into information operations, can generate on U.S. citizens, allies, and adversaries; what measures must be taken to safeguard information and the communication channels it passes through; and how the evolving opportunities and challenges in the information environment affect military decision making. The at-will exploitation of the ubiquitous information environment by our adversaries mandates the U.S. have senior decision-makers familiar with the unique and pervasive qualities of mass produced and transmitted information. Senior military leaders must recognize the impact the information environment has on public opinion and agenda-setting as they relate to military policy decisions. This course is intended to prepare current/future leaders to exploit the information environment with regard to military operations planning and execution and to use strategic communication in operations planning. The instantaneous nature of global satellite communications; the enemys rened use of the mass media and cyberspace; and the effect on the population of spectacular events (e.g., 9/11 terrorist attacks) demands that current and future leaders recognize the information domain as an equal and supported military operation. It is imperative senior military leaders recognize the complex information environment we now operate in demands that public affairs ofcers (PAO) have access to current, accurate military information and to senior leaders on a highly frequent basis. Senior leaders must consider the impact and effects Public Affairs (PA) and information operations (IO) have in campaign planning and therefore the conventional wisdom to consult freely and regularly with the PAO. The course employs a survey of the constitutional, statutory and policy requirements for senior leaders to communicate with various constituencies; PA and IO joint doctrine and policy; and topical literature addressing PA, IO, strategic communication, the cyberspace domain, and terrorist use of media. Course Themes: Assess the impact the information environment has on all military operations. Analyze the complex nature of the information environment. Analyze the importance of strategic communication and the effects it can generate in military operations. Assess the need to incorporate public affairs and information operations into operational planning using an effects-based model. Desired Learning Outcomes: Assess how and when to use strategic communication as a weapon system, understanding its limits and abilities. Evaluate strategic communication planning and operations using effects-based methodology.
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Information is an instrument of national power. As such, it has a diffuse and complex set of components with no single center of control. Information itself is a strategic resource vital to national security. This reality extends to the Armed Forces at all levels. Military operations, in particular, are dependent on many simultaneous and integrated activities that, in turn, depend on information and information systems. (JP 3-13) Military forces operate in an information dimension which changes over time . This evolution adds another layer of complexity to the challenge of planning and executing military operations at a specic time and in a specic location. A continuum of long, medium, and short-term factors shape the information dimension for which military operations are planned and in which such operations are executed. (1) Longer-term factors may include the various ways by which humans organize themselves nation states, groups, tribes, families, etc.; group experience and interaction (i.e. anthropology, sociology, and history); and technological advances. (2) Medium-term factors may include the rise and fall of organizational leaders, competition between organizations over resources or goals, development of specic technologies into the information infrastructure, and the relative resources that various organizations can employ to take advantage of information technology and infrastructure. (3) Shorter-term factors may include weather; availability of nite resources to use, support, or employ specic information technologies; and ability to extend/maintain sensors and portable information infrastructure to the specic location of distant military operations. (JP 3-13) United States forces perform their missions and prevail in an omnipresent, increasingly complex, information dimension . To succeed, it is necessary for United States forces to gain and maintain information superiority. In DOD Policy, information superiority is dened as the capability to collect, process, and disseminate an uninterrupted ow of information while exploiting or denying an adversarys ability to do the same. Finite time and resources dictate that information superiority be achieved and maintained.
******** Return to TOC LESSON 01: Dening Strategic Communication Strategic communication in the DOD is currently understood as the use of media to inform the public and to inuence our adversaries. This can be thought of as a combination of public affairs, to inform; and psychological operations, to inuence. Information has become an important realm in our security environment. It is now considered a national instrument of power to be wielded by both military and civilian components of the government. The end of the Cold War has resulted in a new environment for the United States. The instantaneous and global nature of communications due to the Internet makes effective strategic communication imperative. The success of national
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interests and policies depend on effectively communicating them in a credible manner. This lesson sets the foundation for this elective by rst dening the basic concepts to be analyzed during the course. Desired Learning Outcomes: Critique the concept of Strategic Communication. Analyze the concept of Public Diplomacy. Assess the impact of public diplomacy and strategic communication on national security. Questions for Study: 1. Why is strategic communication considered a vital component of US national security? 2. Which of the four core instruments of strategic communication is the most important and why? 3. How does the US National Strategy intend to use public diplomacy to further our strategic objectives? Assigned Readings: 1. Report of the Defense Science Board Task Force on Strategic Communication, Sept 2004, Executive Summary and Chapter 1, pp. 1-32, (32 pg.). 2. U.S. National Strategy for Public Diplomacy and Strategic Communication, June 2007, Strategic Communication and Public Diplomacy Public Policy Committee, pp. 1-12, 27-30 (15 pg.). ******** Return to TOC LESSON 02: How Strategic Communication Goes to War This lesson relates strategic communication concepts to warghting principles. With the advent of instantaneous communications, dominance of the information environment is now a requirement for a successful military operation. The commander must be aware of and effectively use information operations in planning and executing a mission. The DOD has an obligation to keep the American public informed about its activities. This now extends to international audiences because the globalization of information technology ensures public domain information is available world-wide in cyberspace. Our adversaries are adept at using the information environment to express views, recruit, and coordinate attacks. The DOD must ensure US strategic objectives are met by supporting US public diplomacy efforts. The rst reading is joint doctrine describing joint information operations leading to information superiority. The second joint doctrine reading provides an overview of how public affairs activities are related to information operations. Desired Learning Outcomes:
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Assess the warghting principles and terminology that describe and guide the proper use of strategic communication and information operation forces in military operations. Assess the information environment; how it can be exploited for military gain; the statutory and policy limitations our government places on the exploitation of information and the communication channels it passes through. Questions for Study: 1. What is the relationship between Information Operations and Intelligence, and what are the problems? 2. What is the relationship between military operations and the information environment? 3. What is the relationship between public affairs and information operations? Assigned Readings: 1. Joint Pub 3-13, Information Operations, 13 February 2006, pp. ix-II-10, (29 pg.). 2. Joint Pub 3-61, Public Affairs, 9 May 2005, pp. vii-I-8, III-20-III-29, (24 pg.). ******** Return to TOC LESSON 03: Effects-Based Methodology and Strategic Communication Planning This lesson takes the concept of effects-based strategy and applies it to strategic communication planning. The effects-based approach to operations (EBAO) methodology involves planning actions which focus not just on the military objectives, but also those second and third order effects that may occur as a result of the military action. Commanders should use EBAO and employ all national instruments of power to achieve a desired military and political outcome. Information operations must be an integral part of the full spectrum of military missions. Without public support, a campaign that is succeeding militarily may fail to achieve the desired outcomes. In this era of global and near instantaneous communication, it is important that the US become proactive in using the information domain. Information dominance has become a requirement for military success. Desired Learning Outcomes: Understand effects-based planning as it relates to message development and communication targeting. Analyze the application of an effects-based model to strategic communication development in support of joint military operations. Questions for Study: 1. How did planners in Desert Storm fail to learn lessons about effects-based planning from WWII and how did Saddam take advantage of this? 2. Why does LTG Metz call for turning information operations from a passive warghting
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discipline into an active one? 3. According to DOD principles, can a commander disseminate false information through a press release as part of a military deception or psychological operation, and why? Assigned Readings: 1. Edward Mann, Thinking Effects, October 2002, pp. 1-42, (42 pg.). 2. Thomas Metz, Massing Effects in the Information Domain, Military Review, May-June 2006, pp. 2-12, (11 pg.). 3. Donald Rumsfeld, Principles of Information, November 2001, AF Link (1 pg.).
******** Return to TOC LESSON 04: Analyzing the Information Environment This lesson introduces the concepts of hard and soft instruments of national power. Hard power is considered the direct approach of using military and economic instruments. Soft power is more of an indirect approach to inuence others to support US security goals. Economic sanctions and military force can become expensive and may not induce an enduring change. Globalization has caused interdependencies that did not exist before. Information technology has become less expensive and more available. The concept of the noosphere, a global realm of the mind, is also introduced in this lesson. The noosphere includes cyberspace and the media. News broadcasts have become instantaneous and international, and as a result, they have more ability to inuence public opinion. In order for US policies to be effective, they must have support from people all over the world. Objectives: Assess the impact of soft power on American inuence overseas Analyze the impact of the information revolution on the West and the rest Questions for Study: 1. Which is more effective, hard or soft power, and why? 2. How can the US effectively use the concept of noopolitik, information strategy and its soft power to further US interests 3. How can mass media affect a military campaign? Assigned Readings: 1. Frederick A. Henry, Hard and Soft Power: The Paradox of Winning the War of Ideas in the 21 st Century, USAWC Strategy Research Project, 18 Mar 2005, (14 pg.). 2. John Arquilla, David Ronfeldt, The Emergence of Noopolitik, RAND Corporation, 1999, Summary (4 pg.).
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3. Ibid., Chapter 1 (6 pg.). 4. Ibid., Chapter 2 (11 pg.). 5. Thomas J. Burton, Mass Media and Clausewitz: A Different Look at the Trinity, USAWC Strategy Research Project, 5 May 1994, pp. 1-14 (14 pg.). ******** Return to TOC LESSON 05: Strategic Message Formulation Individuals now have the capability to lm or photograph events and upload it to cyberspace or send it to a news station for instant access by people everywhere. This can affect world opinion about the U.S. and the DOD. The DOD cannot afford to ignore the media. The American people have a right to timely and accurate information about the DOD and once the information is in the public domain, it is available globally. This information can be taken out of context and used to discredit the US. Senior leaders must appreciate and understand how to effectively deal with the media and the use of strategic communication. The current war on terrorism must have global support to be effective. This is made more difcult by the fact that the US is now facing a different type of adversary than in the past. The DOD is used to ghting nation-state actors in the physical dimension. We are now dealing with nonstate actors who are winning the war in cyberspace and the information dimension. Senior leaders must become proactive rather than reactive in information operations. Desired Learning Outcomes: Understand Effects-Based Approach to Operations (EBAO) terminology as it applies to EBAO-centric strategic communication. Illustrate the ability to employ effects-based planning with the development of positive messages in challenging situations. Demonstrate understanding of the value of truthful, positive messages in achieving specic effects on varied audiences Questions for Study: 1. When being interviewed as a representative of DOD, how and why is EBAO used? 2. In what four major ways does strategic communication differ from other forms of public communication? 3. What are the problems with blurring the boundaries between public affairs and information operations? 4. How must the DOD change to effectively ght in the information environment? Assigned Readings: 1. Meeting the Media: A practical guide to assist military personnel and DOD civilians in preparing to speak with representatives of the news media, US Air Force Public Affairs Center of Excellence, 15 October 2003 (14 pg.). 2. Mari K. Eder, Toward Strategic Communication, Military Review, July-August 2007, pp.
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61-70 (10 pg.). 3. J.D. Scalon, In Defense of Military Public Affairs Doctrine, Military Review, May-June 2007, pp. 92-96 (5 pg.). 4. Philip Seib, The News Media and the Clash of Civilizations, Parameters, Winter 2004-2005, pp. 71-85 (14 pg.). 5. Norman Emery, Jason Werchan, and Donald G. Mowles, Fighting Terrorism and Insurgency: Shaping the Information Environment, Military Review, January-February 2005, pp. 32-38 (7 pg.).
******** Return to TOC LESSON 06: Providing Context to the Medias Framing of Combat Operations How an issue gets into the mainstream media and how it is initially framed is critical for public perception. Issues are usually framed with key players in mind and an idea of how the issues will be resolved. This lesson discusses the ner aspects of framing issues. Senior leaders must be aware of how the media can be manipulated by both state actors and even journalists to either incite or defuse conict. Statements have been made implying a causal effect on media reporting of a conict and the impact this has on public opinion and support for military operations. A slight relationship has been demonstrated for factual reporting of events, but not of biased reporting. The message from this is that leaders must communicate clear policy and strategic objectives so that military actions can be decisive. The US military must aggressively ensure our messages of the true story are transmitted, so the world can make up its mind. Inaccurate reporting of a battle, even if it was a tactical success, could translate into a strategic failure, as happened at Fallujah in 2004. Embedding reporters with units in Operation Iraqi Freedom ensured the tactical level stories were told. Strategic briengs at the DOD level were not as effective, mainly because the messages were conicting and not always clear. Desired Learning Outcomes: Analyze how the media frames events during conicts/contingencies and how framing impacts public opinion. Analyze how the military attempted to manage information leading up to and including the invasion of Iraq. Questions for Study: 1. How could the media be used to promote conict in a vulnerable society and what can be done to prevent it? 2. Why could the media be considered an instrument of war? 3. The military made a radical departure in the way it interacted with the media during Operation Iraqi Freedom. How was it different from past conicts and how effective was it?
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Assigned Readings: 1. Mark Frohardt and Jon Temin, Use and Abuse of Media in Vulnerable Societies, US Institute of Peace, October 2003 (11 pg.). 2. William M. Darley, War Policy, Public Support, and the Media, Parameters, Summer 2005, pp. 121-134 (13 pg.). 3. Kenneth Payne, The Media as an Instrument of War, Parameters, Spring 2005, pp. 81-93 (10 pg.). 4. Jose L. Rodriguez, Embedding Success into the Military-Media Relationship, USAWC Strategy Research Project, 3 May 2004 (18 pg.).
******** Return to TOC LESSON 07: Strategic Communication & Information Operations On 30 October 2003, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld signed the Information Operations Roadmap, clearing the way for information operations (IO) to become a DOD core competency. This elevates IO to a priority joint capability. Information dominance is a prerequisite for winning any battle and can actually deter attack. This lesson delves into the importance of implementing strategic communication using effective IO. It also covers how the media can magnify a tactical event into a strategic issue affecting the public support for on-going military operations. Our adversaries understand the importance of current information technologies and are using it quite effectively against us. China and the Peoples Liberation Army are actively improving capabilities and developing doctrine for an integrated network-electronic warfare concept, similar to the US concept of network centric warfare in cyberspace. International and national media consider the DOD a major story maker. The DOD needs to build a closer relationship and become more open with the media. Desired Learning Outcomes: Assess the pros and cons of the increasing importance of information operations in the DOD. Analyze the potential effectiveness of strategic communication in the current security environment. Questions for Study: 1. What are the ve core capabilities of information operations and why were they chosen? 2. Why is dominance of cyberspace considered as important as dominance of the battleeld in military operations? 3. How do the Chinese and American concepts of Information Warfare differ? 4. How should the military culture change to improve relations with media, and what is the potential strategic impact?
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Assigned Readings: 1. Christopher J. Lamb, Information Operations as a Core Competency, Joint Force Quarterly, Issue 36, 1 st Quarter 2005, pp. 88-96 (7 pg.). 2. John C. Koziol, Contesting the Information Battlespace, Joint Force Quarterly, Issue 46, 3 rd Quarter 2007, p.71 (1 pg.). 3. Keith B. Alexander, Warghting in Cyberspace, Joint Force Quarterly, Issue 46, 3 rd Quarter 2007, pp. 58-61 (3pg.). 4. Synthia S. Jones, Bernard Flowers and Karlton D. Johnson, Unity of Effort in Joint Information Operations, Joint Force Quarterly, Issue 33, Winter 2002/2003, pp. 78-83 (6 pg.). 5. Gregory L. Schulte, Deterring Attack: The Role of Information Operations, Joint Force Quarterly, Issue 33, Winter 2002/2003, pp. 84-89 (5 pg.). 6. Timothy L. Thomas, Chinese and American Network Warfare, Joint Force Quarterly, Issue 38, 3 rd Quarter 2005, pp. 76-83 (7 pg.). 7. Thomas Rid, The Bundeswehrs New Media Challenge, Military Review, July-August 2007, pp. 104-109 (6 pg.). 8. Daniel L. Baggio, Army Cultural Change and Effective Media Relations, USAWC Strategy Research Project, 15 Mar 2006, (13 pg.).
******** Return to TOC LESSON 08: Terrorist Use of Information Technologies Terrorism is planned to have primarily psychological effects. The intent is to modify the behavior of a group of people to achieve the terrorists aims through fear and intimidation. Therefore, terrorism is not only an act of violence, but a way of sending a message. Until recently, large broadcasting rms controlled the means of mass communication, but now the Internet has delivered that capability into the hands of the individual. Most terrorist organizations now have web sites, there are almost 5,000 dedicated to terrorism. Fears of cyberterrorism have traditionally outweighed concerns about the more established uses of the Internet. Indeed, terrorist organizations have demonstrated a preference for using the Internet to increase their operational effectiveness and to launch a successful propaganda campaign against the West. They use the internet for recruiting, to raise funds, to train, to gather intelligence and to control operations. Desired Learning Outcomes: Examine how terrorists use all forms of media for strategic communication. Understand the importance of the Internet to terrorist operations. Evaluate the relative risk of cyberterrorism. Questions for Study:
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1. 2. 3. 4.
How do terrorists effectively use mass media? Why is the Internet an ideal arena for terrorist operations? What aspects of the Internet make it appealing as a planning tool for terrorism? Should the US be allocating more capital to avert the risk of cyberterrorism, and why?
Assigned Readings: 1. Bruce Hoffman, A Form of Psychological Warfare, eJournalUSA, Foreign Policy Agenda, Vol. 12, No. 5, pp. 8-11 (4 pg.). 2. Gabriel Weimann, Mass-Media Theater, eJournalUSA, Foreign Policy Agenda, Vol. 12, No. 5, pp. 28-32 (4 pg.). 3. Gabriel Weimann, www.terror.net: How Modern Terrorism Uses the Internet, United States Institute of Peace Special Report 116, March 2004, (11 pg.). 4. Timothy L. Thomas, Al Qaeda and the Internet: The Dangers of Cyberplanning, Parameters, Spring 2003, pp. 112-123 (11 pp.). 5. Patrick S. Tibbets, Terrorist Use of the Internet and Related Information Technologies, USACGSC, Leavenworth, 2002, pp 6-24 (18 pg.). 6. Irving Lachow and Courtney Richardson, Terrorist Use of the Internet: The Real Story, Joint Force Quarterly, Issue 45, pp. 100-103 (4 pg.) ******** Return to TOC LESSON 09: Countering Terrorism Use of Information Technologies As seen in the last lesson, our adversaries are more effectively using information technologies, in particular the Internet, than we are. Information technologies have become force multipliers for the terrorists. They have increased operational effectiveness and excellent inuence operations. We must nd ways to counter these. This lesson will focus on using strategic communications to counter terrorist propaganda. We are not only engaged in a physical war fought by the military and law enforcement, but we are also engaged in a war of ideas. The war of ideas is as important, if not more so, than the physical war. Since the Internet plays so heavily in terrorist operations, we must nd and exploit inherent weaknesses in it. The concept of cyber-herding is an interesting one and is about using the anonymity of the Internet to drive people away from extremist websites toward covertly controlled websites. The US must increase its efforts to create a successful public diplomacy in the world. Desired Learning Outcomes: Evaluate how we can use information technology to counter terrorist operations. Evaluate how we can use strategic communication to counter terrorism . Questions for Study: 1. How might we use the Internet to counter terrorist efforts to spread their extremist messages?
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2. In what ways does the US have to change to counter the terrorist threat? 3. What challenges does the US face in creating a successful public diplomacy in the Middle East? Assigned Readings: 1. David B. Moon, Cyber-Herding: Exploiting Islamic Extremists Use of the Internet, Naval Postgraduate School, 2007, (21 pg.). 2. David J. Kilcullen, New Paradigms for 21 st Century Conict, eJournalUSA, Foreign Policy Agenda, Vol. 12, No. 5, pp. 39-45 (7 pg.). 3. Timothy L. Thomas, Information-Age De-Terror-ence, Military Review, January-February 2002, pp.32-31 (6 pg.). 4. Mary E. Whisenhut, Answering Al-Qaeda: The Battle for Hearts and Minds in the Middle East, AU/AF FELLOWS/NNN/2002-03, pp.1-11, 45-55 (20 pg.). ******** Return to TOC LESSON 10: Legal Ramications of Strategic Communication and IO How do information operations t into the Law of Armed Conict? In fact, how do we dene an act of war in terms of information operations? An attack on our information systems could come from an independent hacker, a group of terrorists, or an adversarial government. The primary jus ad bellum (the law of resort to war) document is UN charter article 51, which states war is justied as self-defense in response to use of force or armed attack by another. Can we dene an information operations attack as either one of those? What is the appropriate response? In terms of jus in bello (the ethical conduct of waging war), the response must be in terms of proportionality and necessity. Since most military communications use civilian systems, how do we avoid unnecessary collateral damage? Even though most consider computer attacks as nonlethal and nonphysical, except for the computer systems, there may be physical consequences. Many countries use computers to control important infrastructure, such as power grids, chemical processes in factories, and dams. Clearly, civilian casualties and deaths are possible from disabling such systems, even accidentally. As with conventional weapons, commanders must apply the same planning considerations concerning unnecessary suffering and collateral damage to an information warfare attack. This is true even if there is still no coherent set of international laws concerning information operations. Objective: Examine the legal considerations surrounding strategic communication, especially with regards to information operations. Questions for Study: 1. What is the most likely area of information operations to create signicant international legal issues, and why?
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2. In what primary ways do information warfare operations challenge international law, and why? 3. How does LOAC apply to information warfare and how is ghting in cyberspace different from ghting in land, sea air, and space? Assigned Readings: 1. Derek I. Grimes, John Rawcliffe, and Jeannine Smith, eds., Operational Law Handbook, Chapter 18, Information Operations, The Judge Advocate Generals Legal Center and School, 2006, pp. 411 424 (13 pg.). 2. Bryan W. Ellis, The International Legal Implications and Limitations of Information Warfare: What are our Options?, USAWC Strategy Research Project, 2001 (15 pg.). 3. Richard W. Aldrich, The International Legal Implications of Information Warfare, Airpower Journal, Fall 1996, pp. 99-110. (10 pg.). 4. William J. Bayles, The Ethics of Computer Network Attack, Parameters, Spring 2001, pp. 44-58, (10 pg.). ********
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AWC DL Elective: Communicating for Effect