Psychological warfare is waged before, during, and after war; it is not waged against the
opposing psychological warfare operators; it is not controlled by the laws, usages, and customs
of war; and it cannot be defined in terms of terrain, order of battle, or named engagements. It is a
continuous process. Success or failure is often known only months or years after the execution of
the operation. Yet success, though incalculable, can be overwhelming; and
failure, though
undetectable, can be mortal.
Psychological warfare does not fit readily into familiar concepts of war. Military science owes
much of its precision and definiteness to its dealing with a well defined subject, the application
of organized lawful violence. The officer or soldier can usually undertake his task of applying
mass violence without having to determine upon the enemy. The opening of war, recognition of
neutrals, the listing of enemies, proclamation of peace—such problems are considered political,
and outside the responsibility of the soldier. Even in the application of force short of war, the
soldier proceeds only when the character of the military operation is prescribed by higher (that is,
political) authorities, and after the enemies are defined by lawful and authoritative command. In
one field only, psychological warfare, is there endless uncertainty as to the very nature of the
operation.
Psychological warfare, by the nature of its instruments and its mission, begins long before the
declaration of war. Psychological warfare continues after overt hostilities have stopped. The
enemy often avoids identifying himself in psychological warfare; much of the time, he is
disguised as the voice of home, of God, of the church, of the friendly
press. Offensively, the
psychological warfare operator must fight antagonists who never answer back—the enemy
audience. He cannot fight the one enemy who is in plain sight, the hostile psychological warfare
operator, because the hostile operator is greedily receptive to attack. Neither success nor defeat
are measurable factors. Psychological strategy is planned along the edge of nightmare.
