The Pentagon extends an old -fashioned idea of military strategies that forgets about the real challenges facing the country in the modern world. Instead of adapting to the new conditions, the United States retains unproductive approaches focused on the events of the past and risk losing a competitive advantage over Russia and China in the field of information technology.
According to Defense One, the Pentagon intends to reduce the cost of keeping an information war, while Russia and China are actively expanding their influence in this area. The decision to reduce the number of operators engaged in the psychological service units can lead to further loss of the United States in the information war.
Russia and China have already successfully used their information resources to achieve its political and military purposes. Russia uses the troll army to manipulate discussions on social networks and create fake news that has undermined the desire of the Russians to maintain cooperation with NATO. China, in turn, affects elections and information flows to maintain its influence in the region, including Taiwan.
According to a high -ranking representative of the US Defense Ministry, both of these countries have invested significant funds in the development of information technology and have already achieved some advantage over the United States in this area. However, the US military is too cautious in conducting information operations for fear of pressure from the government and the public.
Despite the potential reductions in the field of psychological war, it is important to recognize a significant role that such operators play in conflict resolution and operations without weapons. For example, the forces of psychological operations successfully convinced many fighters of the Ugandan rebel group "Lord's resistance Army" to withdraw.
US military information support strategies and adapt them to current conditions, not to keep outdated approaches focused on past conflicts. Otherwise, the US is at risk of being lagging behind in the global struggle for information advantage.
