on The Defense

NEW SITE!!!!

2009-11-10T12:59:00.001-06:00

Hello! Great news, we've got a new, revamped look-- bad news, you'll have to change your bookmark

Our new address is www.onthedefense.wordpress.com

check out the new site and let us know what you think!

thanks!

on the DEFENSE

OMG that's sad

2009-11-10T09:46:00.005-06:00

It seems more and more talking heads are now use screen grabs of their appearances on TV as profile picks for their Facebook and Twitter accounts. Is it vanity? Is it an attempt to say 'look I'm important and to be regarded highly'..or is it sad? You be the judge, check out the Politico post below.

http://www.politico.com/click/stories/0911/hey_thats_me_on_tv.html

REPORT: Navy: North and South Korea Exchange Fire

2009-11-10T09:32:00.002-06:00

A badly damaged North Korean patrol ship retreated in flames Tuesday after a skirmish with a South Korean naval vessel along their disputed western coast, South Korean officials said.

The first naval clash in seven years broke out just a week before President Barack Obama is due to visit Seoul, raising suspicions the North's communist regime is trying to rachet up tensions to gain a negotiating advantage.

There were no South Korean casualties, the country's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement, and it was not immediately clear if there were any casualties on the North Korean side. Each side blamed the other for violating the sea border.

The exchange of fire occurred as U.S. officials said Obama has decided to send a special envoy to Pyongyang for rare direct talks on the communist country's nuclear weapons program. No date has been set, but the talks would be the first one-on-one negotiations since Obama took office in January.

The Reinvention of Robert Gates

2009-11-10T09:23:00.002-06:00

Below is a link to an excellent piece appearing as a cover story in The New Republic. It chronicles the metamorphosis of Sec. Gates in terms of public policy, approach and overall regard. I highly recommend giving it a look.

http://www.tnr.com/article/politics/the-reinvention-robert-gates

Hasan on Islam

2009-11-10T09:15:00.004-06:00

Below is a link to a Washington Post article that has a slide viewer of a presentation Maj. Hasan had developed......
Maj. Nidal M. Hasan, the Army psychiatrist believed to have killed 13 people at Fort Hood, was supposed to discuss a medical topic during gave a presentation to senior Army doctors in June 2007. Instead, he lectured on Islam, suicide bombers and threats the military could encounter from Muslims conflicted about fighting wars in Muslim countries

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/gallery/2009/11/10/GA2009111000920.html?hpid=topnews

ABC: US Knew Hasan Attempted to Contact Al Qaeda

2009-11-09T11:54:00.003-06:00

ABC News reports--

U.S. intelligence agencies were aware months ago that Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan was attempting to make contact with people associated with al Qaeda, two American officials briefed on classified material in the case told ABC News.

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/fort-hood-shooter-contact-al-qaeda-terrorists-officials/story?id=9030873

Un-Diplomatic towards other Cultures?

2009-11-09T11:45:00.003-06:00

A recent post from Huffington that outlines a percieved recent backlash against cultural diplomacy, or the act of the US pointing towards other cultures from around the globe and highlighting their unique artistic heritage and traditions. Interesting observations and a discussion point that merits some critical thinking. Check it out below.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-brown/the-backlash-against-cult_b_350120.html

Chavez Warns War, Columbia seeks UN help

2009-11-09T11:39:00.002-06:00

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has urged his armed forces to be prepared for possible war with Colombia amid growing diplomatic and border tensions.

He said the best way to avoid war was to prepare for it. In response, Colombia said it would seek UN help.

For more on this, check out the BBC News article linked below:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8349745.stm

Lieberman: Investigate Hasan/Al Qaeda

2009-11-09T11:18:00.006-06:00

Prudent or speculative? Calls now are coming from Sen. Lieberman and others to conduct hearings on what if any ties existed between Maj. Hasan and Al Qaeda. The ramping up of public rhetoric points to possible reasons-- some say it is a way to declare a terrorist attack has occured on the Presidents watch. Others feel it is a way to create a "target" to direct anger over the senseless killings-- either the community of muslims or the US Army. What do you think?

Alleged: Cuban Blogger Abducted, Beaten, Released

2009-11-09T11:12:00.002-06:00

Trail-blazing Cuban blogger Yoani Sánchez says she was headed to a peaceable march against violence with friends in Havana Friday when she and fellow writer Orlando Luis Pardo were confronted by three men in plainclothes presumed to be state security, forced into a car, and assaulted.

For more of the story, click the link below:

http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/tech/Cuban-Blogger-Allegedly-Beaten--69466567.html?abc=123

News Corp to pull out from search engines

2009-11-09T11:08:00.002-06:00

In the boldest move yet in a bid to monotize the online news business....Rupert Murdoch is said to be exploring the option of removing all News Corp content from search queries. Read the article below for more details

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Business/News-Corp-Boss-Rupert-Murdoch-Says-Online-Newspaper-Pages-Will-Be-Invisible-To-Google-Users/Article/200911215446006?lpos=Business_First_Home_Article_Teaser_Region_7&lid=ARTICLE_15446006_News_Corp_Boss_Rupert_Murdoch_Says_Online_Newspaper_Pages_Will_Be_Invisible_To_Google_Users

Social Media Used During/Wake of Ft. Hood

2009-11-06T14:17:00.004-06:00

By Doug Beizer
Nov 06, 2009

The Army’s public affairs staff at Fort Hood used Facebook today to publish a note saying the media relations office is inundated with requests and is answering queries as quickly as possible.

The post, which appeared on the Army’s official Facebook page, is just one way social media is being used in the wake of the mass shooting that left 13 people dead and at least 30 others wounded, according to the Army.

A Facebook user created a page called “Prayers for Fort Hood” on Nov. 5 and nearly 19,000 people had signed up as members of it -- meaning they can post and read comments and receive updates when it gets new content -- as of noon today. Many of the posts on the Facebook page are from military members and their families stationed across the United States and overseas.

A post from Amanda Fleck, for example, said, “We are stationed at Fort Benning and my husband is in Iraq right now and I can’t even imagine him coming to from war to just be shot and killed by one of his own brothers in arms. My deepest prayers are with the families at Fort Hood.”

Thousands also used Twitter to share information and feeling about the event. A Twitter user named MyArmyLife posted, “Just home from being 'locked down' on Fort Hood. So saddened by the events of today. Please keep Fort Hood Family in your prayers tonight!”

Hundreds of other people posted phone numbers for a hot line set up for relatives of Fort Hood personnel.

Others used Twitter to let their followers know they were safe. A post by SDAJumpmaster was typical of that type of message, “I was off Post here at Fort Hood when it happened. I am OK and uninvolved.”

Some shared firsthand information from the attack. RicoRossi wrote: “a soldier i treated here said he was waiting in line @ SRP when another soldier stood up and started shooting. i dont want 2 b 2 graphic so ill stop there, he was there.... it was like something out of a movie he said im paraphrasing of course.”

It is not surprising that so many people turned to social media first to communicate about the shootings, said Scott Testa, a Cabrini College business professor with expertise in social media.

“You have a lot of people in the military that were raised on texting and now social media,” Testa said. “They’re not watching the network news; they’re getting all their news electronically.”

Testa said he saw social media help clarify conflicting reports in the hours after the shootings. Individuals on the base were able to confirm or deny reports of lockdowns and other incidents via Twitter, he said.

While social media can help clear up conflicting reports, it also has the power to perpetuate false information, he said.

“That’s why the government has to put out info via these channels,” he said. “You can’t let it fester if the information is wrong; you have to respond to that.”

A review of the benefits and risks of using social media within the Defense Department is expected to conclude soon, according to a DOD official.

Fort Hood Shootings: Profile in Leadership

2009-11-06T14:10:00.003-06:00

It is through some of the most intense and saddening tragedies that we find our true leaders. Lt. Gen. Cone has done a great job providing leadership and a sound voice in the storm. Also the individual stories of bravery continue to flood in-- selfless acts of brotherhood.

Rendon v. Mullen: Issues of Perception

2009-09-04T13:27:00.003-05:00

My take on this....

The Adm. Mullen piece is spot on, but I think we need to compare two important factors:

1) Distribution- would the piece have been weightier and had 'greater legs' if released as an op-ed through a major daily or international news outlet? JFQ was the 'safe outlet'

2) Competing Narratives- At the same time that the Admirals article goes to print we have the Rendon Group story of reporters being 'profiled, racked and stacked, etc'-- and that's the story that gets the press and the attention. This story has persisted and has been picked up globally.

We need the individual service chiefs as well as the directors of the Public Affairs career fields out their championing what the Admwrote-- there just seems to be a vacuum and a large sucking sound.

I think it comes down to a classic case of words vs. deeds-- as long as we propose to pursue Strategic Communication-- we must be honest in both our intentions and what we claim to hold as professional ideals.

For all of the good the Adm Mullen piece espouses, it is obliterated by the Rendon piece in the public consciousness and that of the media.

What's interesting when you do a Google news search on the key terms "rendon" "mullen" and "strategic communication" is that the tone and tenor changes when reading article written in the US and those abroad. I think we should be much more concerned about those that are abroad.

Having the Times and others cover the story is great and appeals to our desire to be heard, understood and respected-- but read what is being written in AFP and in the Guardian and they are not pinning Rendon on the military, they are linking it to the President and Rendonsprevious efforts with the Iraqi National Congress in the lead up to the invasion in Iraq. This deals a much larger blow to our international credibility and the perception we are creating.

I believe this is the difference between being "strategic" in our communication and "strategic communication".

Adm Mullen on SC: A Call to Common Sense

2009-09-04T13:13:00.007-05:00

The debate on transparency has stumbled onto the pages of most international publications following the exposure of the controversial Rendon Group contract by the Department of Defense. Occurring around the same time was the publication of Admiral Mullen's article below. Originally published in Joint Forces Quarterly, it has been picked up by Thom Shanker of the NYT and has been republished in Foreign Policy magazine.

Link to article pdf available below or by clicking post title.

http://www.ndu.edu/inss/Press/jfq_pages/editions/i55/1.pdf

Words Vs. Actions: Press takes DoD to Task

2009-09-03T08:58:00.002-05:00

Excerpt from a Stars and Stripes article:

WASHINGTON — Media critics for years have blasted the military for its heavy-handed efforts to control the flow of information coming out of the Pentagon. And now the Joint Chiefs Chairman has agreed with them.

“There has been a certain arrogance in our ‘strat comm’ efforts,” Adm. Mike Mullen wrote in a recent essay in the Pentagon’s Joint Force Quarterly magazine. “We need to worry a lot less about how to communicate our actions and much more about what our actions communicate.

“What we need more than anything is credibility,” Mullen added. “And we can’t get that in a talking point.”

But the Pentagon has yet to embrace Mullen’s beliefs, military watchdogs assert, noting that few meaningful changes have been made since President Barack Obama promised an “unprecedented level of openness in government” earlier this year.

To read the rest of the Stars and Stripes article, follow the link below:

http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=64540

UPDATE: Files Show Press Monitoring

2009-08-27T09:28:00.002-05:00

Pulled from Stars and Stripes Article:

Contrary to the insistence of Pentagon officials this week that they are not rating the work of reporters covering U.S. forces in Afghanistan, Stars and Stripes has obtained documents that prove that reporters’ coverage is being graded as “positive,” “neutral” or “negative.”

Moreover, the documents — recent confidential profiles of the work of individual reporters prepared by a Pentagon contractor — indicate that the ratings are intended to help Pentagon image-makers manipulate the types of stories that reporters produce while they are embedded with U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

For the rest of the Stars and Stripes article follow the link below

http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=64401

STRIPES:Rendon Group to Screen Reporters

2009-08-24T09:51:00.003-05:00

"U.S. public affairs officials in Afghanistan acknowledged to Stars and Stripes that any reporter seeking to embed with U.S. forces is subject to a background profile by The Rendon Group, which gained notoriety in the run-up to the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq for its work helping to create the Iraqi National Congress. That opposition group, reportedly funded by the CIA, furnished much of the false information about Iraq’s supposed weapons of mass destruction used by the Bush administration to justify the invasion."

Pulled from the Stars and Stripes article, linked below:

http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=64348

DEAD: Another Afghani Journalist

2009-08-24T08:55:00.005-05:00

Unidentified gunmen have shot dead an Afghan journalist in north-west Pakistan, officials say.

Janullah Hashimzada, 40, was the bureau chief in Peshawar for Afghanistan's Shamshad television channel.
He was returning from Afghanistan when his bus was ambushed near Jamrud, the main town in Khyber tribal district.
No one has admitted carrying out the attack. The area is a stronghold of the Taliban. Mr Hashimzada was an outspoken critic of the militants.
"The attackers in a Toyota Corolla car intercepted the bus and made it stop and then they went inside and shot him dead," Reuters news agency quoted Rehan Khattak, a government official in Jamrud, as saying.
For the rest of the story on the BBC site:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8217568.stm

REEL NEWS: HBO Documentary, "Fixer"

2009-08-24T08:24:00.005-05:00

For those who have not had the opportunity, I encourage you to check out the documentary, 'Fixer' on HBO. It focuses on the story of an Afghani journalist who is kidnapped. In journalism, a 'fixer' is one who helps make contacts, translates, and basically enables an otherwise difficult story to be covered. As I say, it's running on HBO and is also available 'on demand' if you have Charter. If you have the chance to watch or have already seen this-- let us know what you think.

Link to the HBO mini site: http://www.hbo.com/docs/docuseries/fixer/

DOD rolls out new site, while considering ban

2009-07-30T14:35:00.005-05:00

On the heels of the news that the military is seriously considering banning all social media sites, DoD has unveiled a portion of their site now dedicated to showcasing blogs of individual servicemembers and commands. The area also touts the effort to "unblock access to facebook and twitter".....too bad if the stories are true about rolling back efforts to engage in the Web 2.0 arena. The area is still worth a look. Click the title of this post to link to the DOD page.

Military Mulls Banning 'Headache' of Social Media

2009-07-30T11:42:00.004-05:00

Good article by Noah over at Wired's Danger Room. In the continual fish out of water motions,

the military in its usual over/undercompensate mode, is considering banning sites as 'security risks'.

Click this posts title for a link to the story.

Minimal Disclosure, Maximum Delay

2009-07-27T14:02:00.005-05:00

Culturally, the United States Air Force has created a system in which those individuals who demonstrate the doctrinal principles of maximum disclosure, minimal delay are professionally ostracized and excluded from further decision making circles. There is a professional liability in detailing, within operational and security constraints, those pieces of information that go beyond that which is simply “required”. The mentality in most if not all Public Affairs shops is that there is, “the school house way” (referring to the principles and curriculum of the Defense Information School) and then there is “the real world way”. This Jekyll and Hyde approach towards the practice of conducting communication based on the concept of credibility and accuracy poses several inherent dangers.

The command structure based on historical interaction with the media, it’s roots all the way back to the revolutionary war, with Gen Washington referring to the embedded press corps as “traitorous spies”, there has been a reticence for divulging the truth in its entirety, devoid of spin. This avoidance and abhorrence on the part of senior leadership still exists today.

With models of strategic communication, private consultants and PhD’s we have taken a simple model and muddled it with hypothesis, hyperbole and hysterics. The tried and true model of “communicate, communicate, communicate” still has application and purpose. The insurgents and those irregular forces of the global jihad have identified the value and legitimacy of this principle and employ it with maximum effectiveness, at our expense.

The Department of Defense Principles of Information state, “It is Department of Defense policy to make available timely and accurate information so that the public, the Congress, and the news media may assess and understand the facts about national security and defense strategy. Requests for information from organizations and private citizens shall be answered quickly”. Specifically, it goes on to detail that, “Information will not be classified or otherwise withheld to protect the Government from criticism or embarrassment”.

In an era of Abu Ghraib, Haditha and the like, current crisis communications plans are melded around increasingly worrisome senior leader decisions to meld strategic crisis planning into a crown that scapegoats are made to wear. There are institutional firewalls and obfuscations that preclude the public from understanding the totality of issue that impact scenarios such as this, furthermore, it not only limits the understanding on the part of the public, but that of the military complex as a whole.
With the advent of new media and the explosion of technology and information delivery systems, there are no more secrets, no more shadowy corners or remote information outposts, people are dialed in, logged on and waiting for information. The Air Force is operating with a Pony Express or dial-up mentality.

A senior British commander in Afghanistan's Helmand Province said he had asked the U.S. military to withdraw its special forces from his area of operations because the high level of civilian casualties they have caused was making it difficult to win over local people. This illustrates the focus today of kinetic effects over non-kinetic. The yield may be more readily and immediately identifiable with kinetic targeting, but the lasting impact and strategic balance is set and maintained through the non-kinetic. A point that has been sorely lost on most in the military echelons.

With force transformations, huge defense contracts, force recapitalization and a myriad of other politically charged issues hanging in the balance, postures are predicated on corporate interest, not public interest. With our decision makers in the military concerned with donning the next rank, the interests of the general public have been deemed non-expedient in the final analysis of how to rise up in the ranks.
We face a cultural environment today in which individuals infuse personal ego and pride into the equation of telling the truth. Half truth or selective truth does not pass the mustard test when it comes to the Principles of Information. This point is important, focus on the word principles; this implies the very basic and most elemental of concepts. Time will tell what the everlasting impacts will be on the force with these patchwork, here today gone tomorrow mentality decisions made by senior leaders. Trust and credibility requires constant work and effort- it may never be fully realized, however, infarctions on accuracy and honesty will instantaneously render future success null.

Against "Winning Hearts and Minds

2009-07-27T13:46:00.005-05:00

If we are truly pitched in a battle to win hearts and minds, than we are destined to ultimately fail. Throughout history, no outside, warring faction has been able to foster and sustain an environment of intellectual acceptance and appreciation from and opposing force or population for any sustained amount of time.

The true victory in strategic communication will reside in persistent and unrelenting expectation management. Far too often, large democratized western societies place limitations and impedances upon their own efforts in such a grossly magnified way that they will never be able to realize any operational success, because the rhetoric or expectations they have created in the wider public consciousness has been so greatly under evaluated or thought through.

It has been said before that an image of a US troop on the ground in an occupied country or territory, even if they are doing humanitarian operations or handing out toys, will never be an acceptable image, that ultimately that is still a US troop in a country that has not invited them in.

The idea that on one hand you can wage campaigns declared as being “Shock and Awe” in the same breathe saying that we are “looking to win the hearts and minds of the people” are at complete odds with one another.

Many military leaders will talk about “phases” of operations, as if it is some transparent occurrence to an indigenous population. To these impacted groups, there is, but on phase of operations—a relentless, ongoing, never-ending phase. The bombings, patrols, toys, dental care and detainments all occupy the same space in time.

Kinetic actions have a potential one-time yield. If I strike a building and take out a group of insurgents, they may only perish once. However, if in the building or in an area adjacent to that building there are children playing, and indiscriminately they fall as well, that tactical error will resonate through generations.

Certain organizations have either a stigma or a perception that precludes them from carrying out specific tasks or actions. I charge that a fielded military force cannot successfully or with any degree of longevity, carry out military occupation and enact a successful public relations campaign. The messages go beyond being mixed and the long term visuals are far too compelling than any press release or photo op.

What if 9/11 conspirators were to have walked through NY during and after the attacks to attempt community relations? As horrific and absurd as this might sound, that is how we are perceived in some corners of the world, in the aftermath of airstrikes and destruction, attempting to persuade or engender good will.

Our efforts lack any and all sensitivity to the historical underpinnings of the West's relationship with the Middle East. One photo op cannot undo a thousand years grievance or mistrust. As a government we must understand and accept this reality.

What we would term as “good images”, are often times generated more for self flagellation of the US population at large than the indigenous, effected population.

Messages of, 'We are your friend, we are here to help you' set against a backdrop of humvees and .50 cal machine guns is disingenuous at best.

Army Does About Face on Social Media Access

2009-06-10T15:54:00.004-05:00

Wired.com has just posted a story detailing the Army's new order to unblock and unfilter web access to social media platforms on government computers and networks. This marks the first policy statement that looks to grant access universally to all soldiers. It is a sharp departure from the Air Force posture on computer access. Stories about restricted network access, email firewalls, thumb drive prohibiitions have caused a general perception with the public that the service does not trust its' members with these sorts of sites with goverment resources. Undoubtedly, some sort of Army doctrine of engagement is soon to follow. Should be interesting to see if the other services follow suit or if they hold their ground. Surely a topic that will be debated now and in the future.