Psychological WarfareLinebarger, Paul Myron Anthony
History
Psychological Warfare
Linebarger, Paul Myron Anthony
Psychological warfare
This text is very much like leaflets dropped during World War II on
reluctant enemies, such as the Italians, the Chinese puppet troops, and
others. (Compare this Greek text with _Figure 5_.) Note that the
propagandist tries to see things from the viewpoint of his audience. His
air of reasonable concern for their welfare creates a bond of sympathy.
And by suggesting that the Ionians should behave badly in combat, he
lays the beginning of another line--the propaganda to the Persians,
"black" propaganda making the Persians think that any Ionian who was
less than perfect was a secret Athenian sympathizer. The appeal is sound
by all modern standards of the combat-leaflet.
Another type of early military propaganda was the political denunciation
which, issued at the beginning of war, could be cited from then on as
legal and ethical justification for one side or the other. In the
Chinese _San Kuo_ novel, which has probably been read by more human
beings than any other work of fiction, there is preserved the alleged
text of the proclamation of a group of loyalist pro-Han rebels on the
eve of military operations (about A.D. 200). The text is interesting
because it combines the following techniques, all of them sound: 1)
naming the specific enemy; 2) appeal to the "better people"; 3) sympathy
for the common people; 4) claim of support for the legitimate
government; 5) affirmation of one's own strength and high morale; 6)
invocation of unity; 7) appeal to religion. The issuance of the
proclamation was connected with rather elaborate formal ceremony:
The House of Han has fallen upon evil days, the bonds of Imperial
authority are loosened. The rebel minister, Tung Cho, takes advantage
of the discord to work evil, and calamity falls upon honorable
families. Cruelty overwhelms simple folk. We, Shao and his
confederates, fearing for the safety of the imperial prerogatives,
have assembled military forces to rescue the State. We now pledge
ourselves to exert our whole strength, and to act in concord to the
utmost limit of our powers. There must be no disconcerted or selfish
action. Should any depart from this pledge may he lose his life and
leave no posterity. Almighty Heaven and Universal Mother Earth and the
enlightened spirits of our forefathers, be ye our witnesses.[5]
Any history of any country will yield further examples of this kind of
material. Whenever it was consciously used as an adjunct to military
operations, it may appropriately be termed military propaganda.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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