{"id":11736,"date":"2020-10-02T17:15:59","date_gmt":"2020-10-02T17:15:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/uncategorized\/2020\/10\/02\/why-the-pentagon-needs-to-fully-embrace-influence-operations\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T17:52:53","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T17:52:53","slug":"why-the-pentagon-needs-to-fully-embrace-influence-operations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/information-warfare\/2020\/10\/02\/why-the-pentagon-needs-to-fully-embrace-influence-operations\/","title":{"rendered":"Why the Pentagon needs to fully embrace influence operations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2014 With adversaries working non-stop to inject disinformation into the public discourse, the United States must embrace influence operations as an integral part of modern warfare, a top Department of Defense official said today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In order to counter these actions and compete with state and non-state actors, influence operations cannot be \u201cjust a niche capability,\u201d Ezra Cohen, the acting assistant secretary of defense for special operations\/low-intensity conflict, said during a virtual presentation Oct. 2. He speaking at an NDIA conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2020\/10\/02\/irregular-warfare-strategies-must-move-beyond-special-forces-pentagon-says\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP20233561554146.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Irregular warfare strategies must move beyond special forces, Pentagon says<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Expect counterterrorism funds to draw down and move toward education and training, according to a top official.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cohen explained that DoD published an amendment to the National Defense Strategy in 2019 that focused on irregular warfare, how the department conducts such operations and what can be learned from 19 years of conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan. It provides objectives for the entire joint force to apply irregular warfare capabilities to counter nation states below the threshold of conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Of note, one of the five core themes of the document is that the department must emphasize operations in the information environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/information-warfare\/2019\/12\/10\/congress-wants-to-up-dods-game-in-the-information-environment\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/3046549.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Congress wants to up DoD\u2019s game in the information environment<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Congress is creating a new information operations position within the Pentagon.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOur adversaries embrace the anonymity of social media platforms and the viral nature of information flow as they employ information statecraft as an integral element of their approach to competition.\u201d Cohen said. \u201cThey poison public discourse, undermine democratic processes, turn citizens against each other and deflect blame for their malign activities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cohen emphasized that DoD can\u2019t do this alone, it must require a joint effort between other government agencies that \u201cintegrates technical capabilities and institutional knowledge across civilian agencies, foreign partners and other entities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/smr\/information-warfare-smr\/2020\/07\/24\/memes-the-pandemic-and-the-new-tactics-of-information-warfare\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/TwitterGrayZone.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Memes, the pandemic and the new tactics of information warfare<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The COVID-19 pandemic is evidence that Russia and China have accelerated adoption of their age-old influence and disinformation tactics to the modern era, national security experts and military leaders said.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In recent years, Pentagon leaders have tried to<a href=\"https:\/\/www.c4isrnet.com\/smr\/information-warfare\/2020\/07\/26\/how-the-defense-department-is-reorganizing-for-information-warfare\/\" target=_blank> reorganize under some form of information warfare within the military<\/a>. This has happened as adversaries have done the same \u2013 organized similar capabilities under one entity for greater synergy \u2013 and been effective at reaching their goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The U.S. government has also taken the approach that one of the best ways to thwart these efforts in the information sphere is to call them out when possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/home\/2020\/07\/20\/the-new-ways-the-military-is-fighting-against-information-warfare-tactics\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"157\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/typing-hands-1200x628.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">The new ways the military is fighting against information warfare tactics<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The military wants to publicly expose adversary activity as a way to thwart actions in the information sphere.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cohen said DoD needs new information operations technology that will more quickly identify and isolate disinformation while amplifying fact based narratives all at the speed of the information environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">DoD has been looking at a few artificial intelligence based approaches to do this, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.c4isrnet.com\/artificial-intelligence\/2020\/09\/11\/pentagons-ai-center-to-field-new-psychological-operations-tool\/\" target=_blank>which include a tool to conduct psychological operations in near-real time<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The DoD must ingrain information warfare and influence operations to disarm malign activities in the gray zone and competition space.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":26571,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":14,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"10":{"categories":["daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"daily-news-roundup"}}},"categories":[106,29,14,32],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3268],"class_list":["post-11736","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-brief","category-home","category-information-warfare","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"DBZGEMPY45BFLGXHFMSUPA3QVI","arc_canonical_url":"\/information-warfare\/2020\/10\/02\/why-the-pentagon-needs-to-fully-embrace-influence-operations\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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