[NYTr] FAS Secrecy News -- 09/17/2007

Mon Sep 17 18:23:32 EDT 2007

SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2007, Issue No. 92
September 17, 2007

Secrecy News Blog:  http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/

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**	PSYCHOLOGICAL OPERATIONS TEST MILITARY APTITUDE
**	SUPREME COURT IS ASKED TO REVIEW STATE SECRETS CASE
**      SELECTED CRS REPORTS

PSYCHOLOGICAL OPERATIONS TEST MILITARY APTITUDE

Psychological operations (PSYOP) -- military programs that seek to
influence the attitudes and shape the behavior of a target audience --
have the potential to increase the effectiveness of the armed forces
they support while minimizing violent conflict.  But the U.S. military
is not notably good at conducting such programs.

To achieve their objective, PSYOP practitioners should ideally have a
clear understanding of the values and thought processes of their
audience (as well as their own), and they should have a credible and
compelling message to deliver.  These have often been lacking.

According to a 2004 Army evaluation of PSYOP activities during the wars
in Afghanistan and Iraq, "it is clear that on the whole, PSYOP produced
much less than expected and perhaps less than claimed."

Two newly disclosed Army publications provide insight into Army PSYOP
planning and procedures.

"Psychological Operations Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures," U.S.
Army Field Manual FM 3-05.301, December 2003 (a revision was issued in
August 2007) (439 pages, 6.2 MB):

     http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/army/fm3-05-301.pdf

"Tactical Psychological Operations: Tactics, Techniques, and
Procedures," U.S. Army Field Manual 3-05.302, October 2005 (255 pages,
11.2 MB):

     http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/army/fm3-05-302.pdf

These documents have not been approved for public release, but copies
were obtained by Secrecy News.

A related document that was previously disclosed by Secrecy News is
"Psychological Operations," U.S. Army Field Manual 3-05.30, April 2005:

     http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/army/fm3-05-30.pdf

In the worst cases, poorly executed PSYOP activities are not merely
futile but may actually be counterproductive.

In 2003, a U.S. information operations officer produced posters
picturing Saddam Hussein as Homer Simpson and other figures of
ridicule.  "The posters enraged Iraqis and led to conflict that
resulted in casualties for U.S. forces," according to a 2005 study of
PSYOP lessons learned.

See "Review of Psychological Operations: Lessons Learned from Recent
Operational Experience" by Christopher J. Lamb, National Defense
University Press, September 2005:

     http://www.fas.org/irp/eprint/lamb.pdf

SUPREME COURT IS ASKED TO REVIEW STATE SECRETS CASE

Attorneys for Khaled El-Masri, who was allegedly subjected to
"extraordinary rendition" by the Central Intelligence Agency, asked the
U.S. Supreme Court to review the dismissal of his lawsuit against the
Agency last year on asserted "state secrets" grounds.

If the petition is granted, the Court's review has the potential to
alter the judiciary's handling of "state secrets" claims generally.

"The proliferation of cases in which the government has invoked the
state secrets privilege, and the lack of guidance from this Court since
its 1953 decision in Reynolds, have produced conflict and confusion
among the lower courts regarding the proper scope and application of
the privilege," the petitioners argued.

See Petition for Certiorari, May 30, 2007:

     http://www.fas.org/sgp/jud/statesec/elmasri-cert.pdf

The government replied last week that the petition is an "extravagant
request" to overturn "settled precedents" and should be rejected.  See
Government's Opposition to Petition for Certiorari, September 2007:

    http://www.fas.org/sgp/jud/statesec/elmasri-govt-opp.pdf

The historical and legal background of the controversy over use of the
state secrets privilege was examined most recently by legal scholar
Louis Fisher in "The State Secrets Privilege: Relying on Reynolds,"
Political Science Quarterly, Fall 2007 (www.psqonline.org, subscription
required).

A critical view of state secrets policy was presented by journalist
Barry Siegel in "State-Secret Overreach," Los Angeles Times, September
16:

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-op-siegel16sep16,0,4846280.story

SELECTED CRS REPORTS

Recently updated reports of the Congressional Research Service that
have not been made readily available to the public include the
following.

"U.S. Strategic Nuclear Forces: Background, Developments, and Issues,"
updated September 5, 2007:

    http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/nuke/RL33640.pdf

"U.S.-China Nuclear Cooperation Agreement," updated September 6, 2007:

    http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL33192.pdf

"Venezuela: Political Conditions and U.S. Policy," updated September 4,
2007:

    http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL32488.pdf

"Liberias Post-War Recovery: Key Issues and Developments," updated
August 30, 2007:

    http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL33185.pdf

"Australia: Background and U.S. Relations," updated August 8, 2007:

    http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL33010.pdf

_______________________________________________
Secrecy News is written by Steven Aftergood and published by the
Federation of American Scientists.

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_______________________
Steven Aftergood
Project on Government Secrecy
Federation of American Scientists
web:    www.fas.org/sgp/index.html
email:  saftergood at fas.org
voice:  (202) 454-4691