Are we being manipulated?
The following was a (unpublished) letter to the editor, The Post & Courier, Charleston, SC, submitted March 27, 2003.
Getting into the mind of people everywhere, soldiers on the battlefield and the families at home awaiting their return, is one of the goals of psychological warfare. Getting into people’s minds goes a long way to winning battles – and the war – without the use of bullets. This is not new age psychology; it has gone on as long as there have been wars. America is proficient at this tactic, but so are other nations. Let’s consider the current events in Iraq.
President Bush says Iraq has weapons of mass destruction (WMD), including chemical and biological weapons and the means to deliver them. And so for this (and other reasons beyond this scope of this letter) we have gone to war in Iraq. Preceding the war a massive buildup and positioning of men and equipment – primarily American – took place as the world watched. This out-in-the-open action was no half-hearted measure, and it was designed to send a message: Iraq’s armed forces ought to surrender forthwith and spare themselves. The President and his chief officers put out this message loud and clear. This was psychological warfare at its best.
Our leaders talked about the WMD and considered how they might be used on the battlefield. They talked of measures to be taken to meet and overcome chemical and biological weapons. Equipment was issued to the troops, and training in its use was intensive. Medical staff training was updated and intensified to recognize and treat problems which might arise. This was psychological warfare to reassure soldiers and their families.
A week into the battle, however, such weapons have not been used by the forces of Saddam Hussein, and none have yet by found by our forces. In a hospital in central Iraq, U.S. Marines found 3,000 chemical warfare suits and the discovery was instantly communicated to the American leadership. Following standard military procedures, we must conclude, the find was reported downward and all units and individual soldiers ordered to be on the alert and ready. The people at home got the message over the TV, radio and in their newspapers. This find would re-enforce the original message of our president that Iraq had WMD.
But let’s look at the strange place where the find occurred: in a hospital. Saddam Hussein knows Americans would not knowingly bomb, shell or destroy a hospital. The hospital would be taken, the suits discovered, and fear and anxiety introduced everywhere. What better way to get inside the mind of soldiers on the battlefield and anxious families at home? If Iraq didn’t have WMD, why would they have the suits? Will the weapons be used in the battle tomorrow or the next day? Will they be fired on Israel, or on the Iraqi people? Or, is Iraq showing its proficiency at psychological warfare?
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