Security cooperation activities conducted by DoD entities with other nations' defense organizations range from the very visible - training, equipping, and exercising together - to those that are less obvious, such as holding bilateral talks. Yet, it is often challenging to determine if these activities have contributed to U.S. objectives and if so, by how much or in what ways. Because security cooperation is both dispersed and long-term, it is ...
A good deal of attention presently is focused on how to improve the nation's capabilities to influence others. These capabilities include public diplomacy, strategic communications, information operations, and other means that can be used to influence attitudes, behaviors, and decisions--i.e., win hearts and minds--without resort to (or excessive reliance on) the use of force. As will be described, we use the term influence operations to describe such efforts, whether the ...
There is growing recognition within the Army and joint world that recent U.S. military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan--including information operations (IO) and influence operations--have turned in large measure on an understanding of cultural and other soft factors. However, along with this recognition of the importance of these factors have come many questions, including: How do commanders view their requirements for cultural preparation of the environment? How can these sorts ...
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