CIA TEXTBOOK:Psychological Operations In Guerrilla Warfare

We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth...For my part, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst;and to provide for it.~ Patrick Henry ~

CIA TEXTBOOK:

PsychologicalOperations In GuerrillaWarfare

Source:www.cia.gov

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PREFACEGuerrilla warfare is essentially a political war. Therefore, its area ofoperations exceeds the territorial limits of conventional warfare, topenetrate the political entity itself: the "political animal" that Aristotledefined.In effect, the human being should be considered the priority objective ina political war. And conceived as the military target of guerrilla war, thehuman being has his most critical point in his mind. Once his mind hasbeen reached, the "political animal" has been defeated, withoutnecessarily receiving bullets.Guerrilla warfare is born and grows in the political environment; in theconstant combat to dominate that area of political mentality that isinherent to all human beings and which collectively constitutes the"environment" in which guerrilla warfare moves, and which is whereprecisely its victory or failure is defined.This conception of guerrilla warfare as political war turns PsychologicalOperations into the decisive factor of the results. The target, then, isthe minds of the population, all the population: our troops, the enemytroops and the civilian population.This book is a manual for the training of guerrillas in psychologicaloperations, and its application to the concrete case of the Christian anddemocratic crusade being waged in Nicaragua by the FreedomCommandos.INTRODUCTION1. GeneralitiesThe purpose of this book is to introduce the guerrilla student to thepsychological operations techniques that will be of immediate andpractical value to him in guerrilla warfare. This section is introductoryand general; subsequent sections will cover each point set forth here inmore detail.

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The nature of the environment of guerrilla warfare does not permitsophisticated psychological operations, and it becomes necessary for thechiefs of groups, chiefs of detachments and squadron leaders to have theability to carry out, with minimal instructions from the higher levels,psychological action operations with the contacts that are thoroughlyaware of the situation, i.e. the foundations.2. Combatant-Propagandist GuerrillasIn order to obtain the maximum results from the psychological operationsin guerrilla warfare, every combatant should be as highly motivated tocarry out propaganda face to face as he is a combatant. This means thatthe individual political awareness of the guerrilla of the reason for hisstruggle will be as acute as his ability to fight.Such a political awareness and motivation is obtained through the dynamicof groups and self-criticism, as a standard method of instruction for theguerrilla training and operations. Group discussions raise the spirit andimprove the unity of thought of the guerrilla training and operations.Group discussions raise the spirit and improve the unity of thought of theguerrilla squads and exercise social pressure on the weak members tocarry out a better role in future training or in combative action. Self-criticism is in terms of one's contribution or defects in his contributionto the cause, to the movement, the struggle, etc.; and gives a positiveindividual commitment to the mission of the group.The desired result is a guerrilla who can persuasively justify his actionswhen he comes into contact with any member of the People of Nicaragua,and especially with himself and his fellow guerrillas in dealing with thevicissitudes of guerrilla warfare. This means that every guerrilla will bepersuasive in his face-to-face communication - propagandist-combatant -ins his contact with the people; he should be able to give 5 or 10 logicalreasons why, for example, a peasant should give him cloth, needle andthread to mend his clothes. When the guerrilla behaves in this manner,enemy propaganda will never succeed in making him an enemy in the eyesof the people. It also means that hunger, cold, fatigue and insecurity willhave a meaning, psychologically, in the cause of the struggle due to hisconstant orientation.3. Armed Propaganda

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