Rumsfeld plans new attack on US

by **darkbeforedawn** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 12:04 pm

Skip to main content. Scotland's award-winning independent newspaper Est America's war on the web While the US remains committed to hunting down al-Qaeda operatives, it is now taking the battle to new fronts. Deep within the Pentagon, technologies are being deployed to wage the war on terror on the internet, in newspapers and even through mobile phones. Investigations editor Neil Mackay reports IMAGINE a world where wars are fought over the internet; where TV broadcasts and newspaper reports are designed by the military to confuse the population; and where a foreign armed power can shut down your computer, phone, radio or TV at will. In 2006, we are just about to enter such a world. This is the age of information warfare, and details of how this new military doctrine will affect everyone on the planet are contained in a report, entitled The Information Operations Roadmap, commissioned and approved by US secretary of defence Donald Rumsfeld and seen by the Sunday Herald. The Pentagon has already signed off $383 million to force through the document’s recommendations by 2009. Military and intelligence sources in the US talk of “a revolution in the concept of warfare”. The report orders three new developments in America’s approach to warfare: lFirstly, the Pentagon says it will wage war against the internet in order to dominate the realm of communications, prevent digital attacks on the US and its allies, and to have the upper hand when launching cyber-attacks against enemies. lSecondly, psychological military operations, known as psyops, will be at the heart of future military action. Psyops involve using any media – from newspapers, books and posters to the internet, music, Blackberrys and personal digital assistants (PDAs) – to put out black propaganda to assist government and military strategy. Psyops involve the dissemination of lies and fake stories and releasing information to wrong-foot the enemy. lThirdly, the US wants to take control of the Earth’s electromagnetic spectrum, allowing US war planners to dominate mobile phones, PDAs, the web, radio, TV and other forms of modern communication. That could see entire countries denied access to telecommunications at the flick of a switch by America. Freedom of speech advocates are horrified at this new doctrine, but military planners and members of the intelligence community embrace the idea as a necessary development in modern combat. Human rights lawyer John Scott, who chairs the Scottish Centre for Human Rights, said: “This is an unwelcome but natural development of what we have seen. I find what is said in this document to be frightening, and it needs serious parliamentary scrutiny.” Crispin Black – who has worked for the Joint Intelligence Committee, and has been an Army lieutenant colonel, a military intelligence officer, a member of the Defence Intelligence Staff and a Cabinet Office intelligence analyst who briefed Number 10 – said he broadly supported the report as it tallied with the Pentagon’s over-arching vision for “full spectrum dominance” in all military matters. “I’m all for taking down al-Qaeda websites. Shutting down enemy propaganda is a reasonable course of action. Al-Qaeda is very good at [information warfare on the internet], so we need to catch up. The US needs to lift its game,” he said. This revolution in information warfare is merely an extension of the politics of the “neoconservative” Bush White House. Even before getting into power, key players in Team Bush were planning total military and political domination of the globe. In September 2000, the now notorious document Rebuilding America’s Defences – written by the Project for the New American Century (PNAC), a think-tank staffed by some of the Bush presidency’s leading lights – said that America needed a “blueprint for maintaining US global pre-eminence, precluding the rise of a great power-rival, and shaping the international security order in line with American principles and interests”. The PNAC was founded by Dick Cheney, the vice-president; Donald Rumsfeld, the defence secretary; Bush’s younger brother, Jeb; Paul Wolfowitz, once Rumsfeld’s deputy and now head of the World Bank; and Lewis Libby, Cheney’s former chief of staff, now indicted for perjury in America. Rebuilding America’s Defences also spoke of taking control of the internet. A heavily censored version of the document was released under Freedom of Information legislation to the National Security Archive at George Washington University in the US. The report admits the US is vulnerable to electronic warfare. “Networks are growing faster than we can defend them,” the report notes. “The sophistication and capability of … nation states to degrade system and network operations are rapidly increasing.” T he report says the US military’s first priority is that the “department [of defence] must be prepared to ‘fight the net’”. The internet is seen in much the same way as an enemy state by the Pentagon because of the way it can be used to propagandise, organise and mount electronic attacks on crucial US targets. Under the heading “offensive cyber operations”, two pages outlining possible operations are blacked out. Next, the Pentagon focuses on electronic warfare, saying it must be elevated to the heart of US military war planning. It will “provide maximum control of the electromagnetic spectrum, denying, degrading, disrupting or destroying the full spectrum of communications equipment … it is increasingly important that our forces dominate the electromagnetic spectrum with attack capabilities”. Put simply, this means US forces having the power to knock out any or all forms of telecommunications on the planet. After electronic warfare, the US war planners turn their attention to psychological operations: “Military forces must be better prepared to use psyops in support of military operations.” The State Department, which carries out US diplomatic functions, is known to be worried that the rise of such operations could undermine American diplomacy if uncovered by foreign states. Other examples of information war listed in the report include the creation of “Truth Squads” to provide public information when negative publicity, such as the Abu Ghraib torture scandal, hits US operations, and the establishment of “Humanitarian Road Shows”, which will talk up American support for democracy and freedom. The Pentagon also wants to target a “broader set of select foreign media and audiences”, with $161m set aside to help place pro-US articles in overseas media. 02 April 2006 Got something to say about this story? Write to the EditorArticle Tools Email to a friend Print this story In This Section America's war on the web Army’s breakdown in communication lies at the force’s rotten core Bullyboy tactics or Basic Training? Moussaoui: terrorist or fantasist? The Scottish Enterprise Mission: to boldly go and plug a £30m black hole … and survive Advertising ©2006 newsquest (sunday herald) limited. all rights reserved

by **greencrow0** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 2:05 pm

Thanks for posting this DBD. Every country worth of the name should have an alternate means of communication in place...even if it involves runners like in the ancient greek states or smoke signals as was the case in the North American indigenous peoples. Regards, GC

by **dbeach** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 2:12 pm

"“full spectrum dominance” in all military matters." given that China has the same technology as the US after buying it and stealing it for yrs.. given that China has a 30 million man Army and the US has less than 2 million counting reserves How is that gonna be dominance..??? Rummy is gonna do this stuff as part of the overall globalist schemes to weaken the US middle class and continue population control by any means wars diseases poverty ect...

by **greencrow0** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 2:18 pm

dbeach are you saying this is a US military puff piece? <img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/eek.gif ALT=":eek"> GC

by **StarmanSkye** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 3:30 pm

Thanks for the heads-up post dbd on 'The War on the Web', link: <a href="http://www.sundayherald.com/54975">www.sundayherald.com/54975</a> This is the direct result of the neocon establishment failing, utterly, to respond reasonably and competantly, in the tradition of a TRUE enlightened democracy, to the US's Pentagon report in fall of '04 that it had 'lost' the war for hearts and minds in the Middle East, playing right into the 'terorists' and extremists' hands, by its actions that have shown how out-of-touch it is with social, political and cultural perceptions in the Muslim world. The report (posted below) acknowledged that while the US speaks of 'bringing democracy' to the region, its support for the oppressive, tyranical regimes in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Pakistan, Egypt and the Gulf States is seen as patronizing and hypocritical -- thereby increasing popular support for resistance to US policies. IMO: An objective observor looking at current events could hardly avoid concluding the US is deliberately provoking widespread and unified opposition to its increasingly ham-fisted and un-invited intervention in the Middle East. But rather than showing a capacity for self-reflection and acknowledging having made serious policy errors in order to change its wrong-headed, destructive course, the US Corporate-Military mindset has decided to dig-in its heels and enlarge the battlefield -- a true Orwellian concession to the US's sense of moral exemption characterized by intellectual dishonesty, guile and capacity for excessive force. It would seem the US's embrace of Information Warfare is as much directed against its own and the world's citizenry as against any perceived external 'enemy', since the Pentagon-Military Industry needs to disguise its lack of accountability and economic interests as well as the fact of its anti-democratic function as an autonomous institution independent from the actual wants and needs of the citizenry, seeing no difference between convincing the public of its legitimacy and the necessity of its destructive and duplicious policies, and fighting battles to defend the wealth and privelege of its elite capitalist clients. The war for hearts and territory and resources is so transparently being fought under cover of lies and contrived paranoia shielded by strident claims of National Security 'secrets' that it's almost natural this 'war' would be taken by the Pentagon warlords to include the battelefields of minds and perceptions -- a necessary enlargement to achieve true 'victory'. But the tragicomic absurdity is that the assumptions about what we are really fighting FOR are never examined. I'd say that assumption of anything-goes exceptionalism which is behind America's increasingly belligerant, reckless, unaccountable Foreign --and Domestic-- policy and that is impossible to reconcile with what America has always presumed to be about, is the friggin' giganticus-mutant elephant in the livingroom that NOBODY in public service or the mainstream media is willing to discuss, or even question. This is the arrogance of believing your own prideful boast and PR, the assumption that you carry the torch of decency and honor and goodness. And as America commits more and more outrages, atrocities and horrors in foreign lands in the name of defending 'democracy' and 'freedom', it gets harder and harder for citizens back home to accept or understand the enormity of the crimes being perpetrated in their name -- as the US sheeple couldn't grasp how indefensible the invasions of Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Panama and Grenada were, or the 'secret' wars the US was funding and masterminding in Africa and Latin America, Haiti and Yugoslavia, and the present 'wars' in Iraq and Afghanistan. There's nothing 'democratic' about ANY of 'em -- in every instance, there's a link between the US military-intelligence Industry protecting and expanding proprietary elite non-Nationalist capitalist interests. The increasing sectarian in-fighting in Iraq that has isolated resistance groups and confounded organizational unity to fight America's military and political force in Iran can hardly be an accidental or incidental cause -- given the perception among Pentagon planners that America had lost the strategic advantage by not capitalizing on its initial victory, and had been forced to fight holding and rearguard actions. The extent to which the US has actively provoked and incited Shiite/Sunni/Kurdish conflict may never be accurately known -- but such a policy of Divide-and-Conquer is entirely consistent with America's unacknowledged exceptionalism. One can almost anticipate this tactic would follow from the following observation made in the Pentagon's '04 report: “Americans are convinced that the US is a benevolent ‘superpower’ that elevates values emphasising freedom … deep down we assume that everyone should naturally support our policies. Yet the world of Islam – by overwhelming majorities at this time – sees things differently. Muslims see American policies as inimical to their values, American rhetoric about freedom and democracy as hypocritical and American actions as deeply threatening." What better way to dissuade Muslims that America is threatening, than to create a situation where America's force is necessary to prevent total social collapse? Starman PS: The Sunday Herald IS a refreshingly damn good anti-fascist resource. ********* Here's the fall '04 Pentagon report, as a 'refresher': <a href="http://www.sundayherald.com/46389">www.sundayherald.com/46389</a> THE Pentagon has admitted that the war on terror and the invasion and occupation of Iraq have increased support for al-Qaeda, made ordinary Muslims hate the US and caused a global backlash against America because of the “self-serving hypocrisy” of George W Bush’s administration over the Middle East. The mea culpa is contained in a shockingly frank “strategic communications” report, written this autumn by the Defence Science Board for Pentagon supremo Donald Rumsfeld. On “the war of ideas or the struggle for hearts and minds”, the report says, “American efforts have not only failed, they may also have achieved the opposite of what they intended”. “American direct intervention in the Muslim world has paradoxically elevated the stature of, and support for, radical Islamists, while diminishing support for the United States to single digits in some Arab societies.” Referring to the repeated mantra from the White House that those who oppose the US in the Middle East “hate our freedoms”, the report says: “Muslims do not ‘hate our freedoms’, but rather, they hate our policies. The overwhelming majority voice their objections to what they see as one-sided support in favour of Israel and against Palestinian rights, and the long-standing, even increasing support, for what Muslims collectively see as tyrannies, most notably Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Pakistan and the Gulf states. “Thus when American public diplomacy talks about bringing democracy to Islamic societies, this is seen as no more than self-serving hypocrisy. Moreover, saying that ‘freedom is the future of the Middle East’ is seen as patronising … in the eyes of Muslims, the American occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq has not led to democracy there, but only more chaos and suffering. US actions appear in contrast to be motivated by ulterior motives, and deliberately controlled in order to best serve American national interests at the expense of truly Muslim self-determination.” The way America has handled itself since September 11 has played straight into the hands of al-Qaeda, the report adds. “American actions have elevated the authority of the jihadi insurgents and tended to ratify their legitimacy among Muslims.” The result is that al-Qaeda has gone from being a marginal movement to having support across the entire Muslim world. “Muslims see Americans as strangely narcissistic,” the report goes on, adding that to the Arab world the war is “no more than an extension of American domestic politics”. The US has zero credibility among Muslims which means that “whatever Americans do and say only serves … the enemy”. The report says that the US is now engaged in a “global and generational struggle of ideas” which it is rapidly losing. In order to reverse the trend, the US must make “strategic communication” – which includes the dissemination of propaganda and the running of military psychological operations – an integral part of national security. The document says that “Presidential leadership” is needed in this “ideas war” and warns against “arrogance, opportunism and double standards”. “We face a war on terrorism,” the report says, “intensified conflict with Islam, and insurgency in Iraq. Worldwide anger and discontent are directed at America’s tarnished credibility and ways the US pursues its goals. There is a consensus that America’s power to persuade is in a state of crisis.” More than 90% of the populations of some Muslims countries, such as Saudi Arabia, are opposed to US policies. “The war has increased mistrust of America in Europe,” the report adds, “weakened support for the war on terrorism and undermined US credibility worldwide.” This, in turn, poses an increased threat to US national security. America’s “image problem”, the report authors suggest, is “linked to perceptions of the US as arrogant, hypocritical and self-indulgent”. The White House “has paid little attention” to the problems. The report calls for a huge boost in spending on propaganda efforts as war policies “will not succeed unless they are communicated to global domestic audiences in ways that are credible”. American rhetoric which equates the war on terror as a cold-war-style battle against “totalitarian evil” is also slapped down by the report. Muslims see what is happening as a “history-shaking movement of Islamic restoration … a renewal of the Muslim world …(which) has taken form through many variant movements, both moderate and militant, with many millions of adherents – of which radical fighters are only a small part”. Rather than supporting tyranny, most Muslim want to overthrow tyrannical regimes like Saudi Arabia. “The US finds itself in the strategically awkward – and potentially dangerous – situation of being the long-standing prop and alliance partner of these authoritarian regimes. Without the US, these regimes could not survive,” the report says. “Thus the US has strongly taken sides in a desperate struggle … US policies and actions are increasingly seen by the overwhelming majority of Muslims as a threat to the survival of Islam itself … Americans have inserted themselves into this intra-Islamic struggle in ways that have made us an enemy to most Muslims. “There is no yearning-to- be-liberated-by-the-US groundswell among Muslim societies … The perception of intimate US support of tyrannies in the Muslim world is perhaps the critical vulnerability in American strategy. It strongly undercuts our message, while strongly promoting that of the enemy.” The report says that, in terms of the “information war”, “at this moment it is the enemy that has the advantage”. The US propaganda drive has to focus on “separating the vast majority of non-violent Muslims from the radical- militant Islamist-Jihadist”. According to the report, “the official take on the target audience [the Muslim world] has been gloriously simple” and divided the Middle East into “good” and “bad Muslims”. “Americans are convinced that the US is a benevolent ‘superpower’ that elevates values emphasising freedom … deep down we assume that everyone should naturally support our policies. Yet the world of Islam – by overwhelming majorities at this time – sees things differently. Muslims see American policies as inimical to their values, American rhetoric about freedom and democracy as hypocritical and American actions as deeply threatening. “In two years the jihadi message – that strongly attacks American values – is being accepted by more moderate and non-violent Muslims. This in turn implies that negative opinion of the US has not yet bottomed out." Equally important, the report says, is “to renew European attitudes towards America” which have also been severely damaged since September 11, 2001. As “al-Qaeda constantly outflanks the US in the war of information”, American has to adopt more sophisticated propaganda techniques, such as targeting secularists in the Muslim world – including writers, artists and singers – and getting US private sector media and marketing professionals involved in disseminating messages to Muslims with a pro-US “brand”. The Pentagon report also calls for the establishment of a national security adviser for strategic communications, and a massive boost in funding for the “information war” to boost US government TV and radio stations broadcasting in the Middle East. The importance of the need to quickly establish a propaganda advantage is underscored by a document attached to the Pentagon report from Paul Wolfowitz, the deputy defence secretary, dated May. It says: “Our military expeditions to Afghanistan and Iraq are unlikely to be the last such excursion in the global war on terrorism.” 05 December 2004

by **dbeach** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 4:47 pm

GC "puff piece".. Donno ..it sounds like rummy is trying to scare the masses USSR China Germany Britain have ths stuff My pt is their dominace is the big illusion..the USA has been weakening by the PTB for yrs.. so in other words all going acording tp plan

by **havanagilla** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 5:04 pm

greencrow, its funny cause a few days ago, newspapers here reported that former GSS chief Avi Dichter submitted a brief to US gov't about the use of couriers by palestinian combatants, to avoid electronic surveillance. Israeli officials criticized Dichter for "selling out" state secrets, under the guise of "Strategic research" in the USA. Basically, Dichter provided explanation on how Siraeli Shabak deals with the phenomenon of couriers. Perhaps the US intel "bought" Dichter's know how, precisely to deal with what you just now suggested, as a result of the growing electronic surveillance on phones, internet etc. Of course, Dichter, who would easily nail someone like ME for treason (although I am not state worker), feels free to SELL Israel's secrets for some scholarship and schmoozing in some Washington "think center". these people treat their own country (Israel) as a training field where they can upgrade their market value in the USA. DIsgusting. --- The issue reminds me of Ghost Dog, the great movie about the MOb, and how this hit man is using pigeons to deliver communications to his employers. hillarious.

by **dbeach** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 7:41 pm

space race arms race now internet race all leading to the race to the bottom and the end of the human race.. except for the PTB and a few others..

Rumsfeld plans new attack on US

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