Psychological Operations in Urban Warfare: Lessons from the 1982 Middle East War

Abstract

This report examines the planning, organization, operations, and effectiveness of Israeli psychological operations (PYSOP) during the 1982 campaign in Lebanon and draws implications for U.S. forces in future conflicts. The report clearly establishes the criticality of effective tactical and strategic PSYOP mated to the overall strategy, especially in conduct of limited warfare operations. The Israeli focused PSYOP on destroying the enemy's will to resist, avoiding alienation of numerous third-party factions, and minimizing adverse public opinion within Israel and abroad. Tactical PSYOP communications were largely limited to traditional leaflets, radio broadcasts, and military demonstrations. Because the Majority of the fighting occurred in cities in the presence of a large civilian population, PSYOP in urban areas was especially critical in the attempt to separate combatants from noncombatants. In this regard, the Israeli PSYOP has some success.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jul 01, 1987
Accession Number
ADA184571

Entities

People

  • Phillip P. Katz
  • R. D. Mclaurin

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Human Systems
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Civil Affairs
  • Combat Areas
  • Command And Control
  • Contingency Operations (Military)
  • Governments
  • Human Factors Engineering
  • Military Applications
  • Military Operations
  • Military Organizations
  • National Governments
  • National Politics
  • Personnel Management
  • Political Systems
  • Psychological Operations
  • Terrorists
  • United States
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Irregular Warfare and Special Operations Cyberspace Operations against Adversarial Threats.
  • Military History / Militaries and War Studies
  • Strategic Security Studies