CIA Manual for Psychological Operations in Guerrilla Warfare E-Book

C.I.A.

• Herausgeber: Andura Publishing
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020

Beschreibung

A manual written by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for the Nicaraguan Contras, who were involved in a civil war with the Nicaraguan government. It was revealed by the Associated Press on October 15, 1984. The ninety-page book of instructions focused mainly on how "Armed Propaganda Teams" could build political support in Nicaragua for the Contra cause through deceit, intimidation, and violence. The manual also discussed assassinations.The ICJ case Nicaragua v. United States found that the publication of this manual had "encouraged acts ... contrary to general principles of humanitarian law." However, the CIA claimed that the purpose of the manual was to "moderate" the extreme violence already being used by the Contras.

Leseprobe

CIA Manual for Psychological Operations in Guerrilla Warfare

PSYCHOLOGICAL OPERATIONS IN GUERRILLA WARFARE

A tactical manual for the revolutionary. First published by the Central Intelligence

Agency and distributed to the Contras in Central America.

By the C.I.A., Duane Ramsdell Clarridge, Tayacán

Index

PREFACE

Guerrilla warfare is essentially a political war. Therefore, its area of

operations exceeds the territorial limits of conventional warfare, to penetrate

the political entity itself: the "political animal" that Aristotle defined.

In effect, the human being should be considered the priority objective

in a political war. And conceived as the military target of guerrilla war, the

human being has his most critical point in his mind. Once his mind has been

reached, the "political animal" has been defeated, without necessarily

receiving bullets.

Guerrilla warfare is born and grows in the political environment; in

the constant combat to dominate that area of political mentality that is

inherent to all human beings and which collectively constitutes the

"environment" in which guerrilla warfare moves, and which is where

precisely its victory or failure is defined.

This conception of guerrilla warfare as political war turns

Psychological Operations into the decisive factor of the results. The target,

then, is the minds of the population, all the population: our troops, the

enemy troops and the civilian population.

This book is a manual for the training of guerrillas in psychological

operations, and its application to the concrete case of the Christian and

democratic crusade being waged in Nicaragua by the Freedom Commandos.

Welcome!

INTRODUCTION

1. Generalities

The purpose of this book is to introduce the guerrilla student to the

psychological operations techniques that will be of immediate and practical

value to him in guerrilla warfare. This section is introductory and general;

subsequent sections will cover each point set forth here in more detail.

The nature of the environment of guerrilla warfare does not permit

sophisticated psychological operations, and it becomes necessary for the

chiefs of groups, chiefs of detachments and squadron leaders to have the

ability to carry out, with minimal instructions from the higher levels,

psychological action operations with the contacts that are thoroughly aware

of the situation, i.e. the foundations.

2. Combatant-Propagandist Guerrillas

In order to obtain the maximum results from the psychological

operations in guerrilla warfare, every combatant should be as highly

motivated to carry out propaganda face to face as he is a combatant. This

means that the individual political awareness of the guerrilla of the reason

for his struggle will be as acute as his ability to fight.

Such a political awareness and motivation is obtained through the

dynamic of groups and self-criticism, as a standard method of instruction for

the guerrilla training and operations. Group discussions raise the spirit and

improve the unity of thought of the guerrilla training and operations. Group

discussions raise the spirit and improve the unity of thought of the guerrilla

squads and exercise social pressure on the weak members to carry out a

better role in future training or in combative action. Self-criticism is in terms

of one's contribution or defects in his contribution to the cause, to the

movement, the struggle, etc.; and gives a positive individual commitment to

the mission of the group.

The desired result is a guerrilla who can persuasively justify his

actions when he comes into contact with any member of the People of

Nicaragua, and especially with himself and his fellow guerrillas in dealing

with the vicissitudes of guerrilla warfare. This means that every guerrilla

will be persuasive in his face-to-face communication - propagandist-

combatant - is his contact with the people; he should be able to give 5 or 10

logical reasons why, for example, a peasant should give him cloth, needle

and thread to mend his clothes. When the guerrilla behaves in this manner,

enemy propaganda will never succeed in making him an enemy in the eyes

of the people. It also means that hunger, cold, fatigue and insecurity will

have a meaning, psychologically, in the cause of the struggle due to his

constant orientation.

3. Armed Propaganda

Armed propaganda includes every act carried out, and the good

impression that this armed force causes will result in positive attitudes in the

population toward that force; ad it does not include forced indoctrination.

Armed propaganda improves the behavior of the population toward them,

and it is not achieved by force.

This means that a guerilla-armed unit in a rural town will not give the

impression that arms are their strength over the peasants, but rather that they

are the strength of the peasants against the Sandinista government of

repression. This is achieved through a close identification with the people, as

follows: hanging up weapons and working together with them on their crops,

in construction, in the harvesting of grains, in fishing, etc.; explanations to

young men about basic weapons, e.g. giving them an unloaded weapon and

letting them touch it, see it, etc.; describing in a rudimentary manner its

operation; describing with simple slogans how weapons will serve the

people to win their freedom; demanding the requests by the people for

hospitals and education, reducing taxes, etc.

All these acts have as their goal the creation of an identification of the

people with the weapons and the guerrillas who carry them, so that the

population feels that the weapons are, indirectly, their weapon to protect

them and help them in the struggle against a regime of oppression. Implicit

terror always accompanies weapons, since the people are internally "aware"

that they can be used against them, but as long as explicit coercion is

avoided, positive attitudes can be achieved with respect to the presence of

armed guerrillas within the population.

4. Armed Propaganda Teams

Armed Propaganda Teams (EPA) are formed through a careful

selection of persuasive and highly motivated guerrillas who move about

within the population, encouraging the people to support the guerrillas and

put up resistance against the enemy. It combines a high degree of political

awareness and the "armed" propaganda ability of the guerrillas toward a

planned, programmed, and controlled effort.

The careful selection of the staff, based on their persuasiveness in

informal discussions and their ability in combat, is more important than their

degree of education or the training program. The tactics of the Armed

Propaganda Teams are carried out covertly, and should be parallel to the

tactical effort in guerrilla warfare. The knowledge of the psychology of the

population is primary for the Armed Propaganda Teams, but much more

intelligence data will be obtained from an EPA program in the area of

operations.

5. Development and Control of the "Front" Organizations

The development and control of "front" (or facade) organizations is

carried out through subjective internal control at group meetings of "inside

cadres," and the calculations of the time for the fusion of these combined

efforts to be applied to the masses.

Established citizens-doctors, lawyers, businessmen, teachers, etc.- will

be recruited initially as "Social Crusaders" in typically "innocuous"

movements in the area of operations. When their "involvement" with the

clandestine organization is revealed to them, this supplies the psychological

pressure to use them as "inside cadres" in groups to which they already

belong or of which they can be members.

Then they will receive instruction in techniques of persuasion over

control of target groups to support our democratic revolution, through a

gradual and skillful process. A cell control system isolates individuals from

one another, and at the appropriate moment, their influence is used for the

fusion of groups in a united national front.

6. Control of Meetings and Mass Assemblies

The control of mass meetings in support of guerrilla warfare is carried

out internally through a covert commando element, bodyguards, messengers,

shock forces (initiators of incidents), placard carriers (also used for making

signals), shouters of slogans, everything under the control of the outside

commando element.