Assessing Military Information Operations in Afghanistan, 2001-2010

Abstract

From the outset of military operations in Afghanistan, U.S. leaders have recognized the importance of winning the support of the Afghan population, and efforts to do so have been an important part of those operations. The U.S. Department of Defense requested an assessment of these efforts so that it could hone its messages to sway the population in supporting the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Accordingly, RAND reviewed the effectiveness of U.S. military information operations (IO), focusing on psychological operations (PSYOP, now called military information support operations) from late 2001 through 2010. Since 2010, there have been changes in the definition, doctrine, organization, and practice of IO and PSYOP in the field, reflecting the findings of various assessments, including the one conducted by RAND. In assessing the diverse PSYOP initiatives undertaken by the U.S. military, the study identified strengths and weaknesses and resulted in specific recommendations for improvement. A primary area of focus was how well PSYOP initiatives were tailored to target audiences, particularly Pashtuns, who are the dominant population in Afghanistan's conflict areas and the main source of support for the Taliban insurgency. The study also examined IO and PSYOP doctrine and organizational impact on the effectiveness of messaging. Key findings: (1) Efforts to win the support of the Afghan population for U.S. and allied military operations have had mixed success; (2) The most successful initiatives were those involving face-to-face communication; (3) The most notable shortcoming was the inability to effectively counter Taliban propaganda against U.S. and NATO forces regarding civilian casualties; and (4) Inadequate coordination, long response times for message approval, and an inability to exploit informal, oral communication were among the most significant problems with these initiatives.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2012
Accession Number
ADA559367

Entities

Organizations

  • RAND Corporation

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Afghanistan
  • Corporations
  • Doctrine
  • Governments
  • Health Care
  • Homeland Security
  • Information Operations
  • Intellectual Property
  • Law
  • Military Operations
  • Military Science
  • National Security
  • Nato Forces
  • Psychological Operations
  • Security
  • Terrorism
  • Terrorists

Readers

  • Irregular Warfare and Special Operations Cyberspace Operations against Adversarial Threats.
  • Military and Counterinsurgency Studies.
  • Organizational Process Management (OPM).