Daniele Ganser: Fear as a Weapon - the Effects of Psychological Warfare on Domestic and International Politics

IPRD » Fear as A Weapon The Effects of Psychological Warfare on Domestic and International Politics

I looked the author up, browsed the resp. articles on de.wikipedia.org and fr.wikipedia.org. There is no en.wikipedia.org article on him yet.

"Fear as a weapon", that reminded me almost immediately of "FUD" = "fear, uncertainty and doubt":

a tactic of rhetoric and fallacy used in sales, marketing, public relations, politics and propaganda …

Sort of "funny":

… Then, on Tuesday, November 6, a NATO spokesman probably Robert Stratford explained that NATO’s denial of the previous day had been false. The spokesman left journalists with a short communiqué which stated that NATO never commented on matters of military secrecy …

… Field Manual FM 30–31B details how and when the state can carry out terrorist operations. It specifies the methodology for launching terrorist attacks in nations that “do not react with sufficient effectiveness” against “communist subversion.” Ironically, the manual states that the most dangerous moment comes when leftist groups “renounce the use of force” and embrace the democratic process. …

Daniele Ganser's conclusion:

Those very few scientists who have researched the fields of psychological warfare and published on the subject realise that the weapon of fear is still being used today by a number of international actors in the context of the so- called ‘war on terrorism’. Without fear the so-called ‘war on terrorism’ could not succeed. Yet fear cripples the personal development of every human being and promotes violence in human interactions. Therefore all efforts should be made to assess the reality and power of fear as a secret weapon. Thereafter a conscious decision to monitor one’s own emotions, and particularly one’s fears and those who manipulate them, can allow every human being to break free from the destructive circle of fear and violence. For fear is a dangerous weapon only as long as the target remains ignorant of its real causes and the secret strategy is undetected. In full light it loses its strength and tends to dissolve. Regaining control of one’s own thoughts and emotions, and making a conscious decision to steer clear of fear and hatred, seem therefore, adequate answers to some of the major challenges of the twenty-first century.