In a recent interview on Open Source with Chris Lyden, Tammy Duckworth, Director of the Illinios Department of Veteran Affairs sited recent issues in the capacity of VA hospitals. One of the problems she sited was the reemergence of war Veterans from as far back as World War II admitting themselves for PTSD because of images on the evening news bringing back old memories.
War is in the livingroom of America, and we're sittin' back with a bowl of popcorn.
A recent photo shows an Iraqi briefing room board displaying "America is not at war. The Marine Corps is at war. America is at the mall."
The WYSIWYG representation of mass media is not revealing the full complexities of what's going on to the soldiers on the ground.
The US Department of Defense just declassified its "Informations Operation Roadmap" a couple weeks ago. The first assumption: "The ability to rapidly disseminate information to diverse audiences in order to directly influence their decision-making ability is an increasingly powerful means of deterring aggression" (p. 7).
As violence escalates in Iraq, Americans sit idol. Whose aggression is being deterred? How is the other side using the same techniques to keep the flames fanned? How can these techniques be used to encourage the end of combat and violence?
It's important to examine the first sited case of modern-day information warfare to begin to unravel some of these questions: Chiapas, Mexico.
