EU plans use of psychological strategies in military missions

By David Cronin

Date: 16/12/04

The EU's military staff have devised a strategy for how psychological techniques can be used in crisis management missions, European Voice has learned.

Insiders say that the use of psychological operations (PsyOps) is being considered in the recently launched EU-led Operation Althea in Bosnia. Methods include using radio broadcasts and personal contacts with the local population as part of efforts to convince it that the Union wishes to achieve an enduring peace for the country.

The concept of employing PsyOps in EU missions is part of a confidential document drawn up by the Union's military headquarters. It suggests that the EU's thinking on PsyOps should be similar to NATO's. One of the most tangible uses of these techniques by the Alliance was during its bombardment of Serbia in 1999. At the time, it dropped leaflets condemning then president Slobodan Milosevic in Serbia and Kosovo and warning troops loyal to him that they risked attack.

"In Bosnia, we see it [PsyOps] as a means to promote ethnic tolerance and to talk people into handing over illegal weapons," said an EU military officer. "If you call it propaganda, that is OK. But propaganda is a loaded word. And our approach would be different to that of the US."

The US defence department defines PsyOps as operations to convey information to an audience in order to influence their emotions, motives and behaviour. Its purpose is to induce or reinforce attitudes favourable to a military undertaking. In Iraq, PsyOps have included broadcasting messages outside mosques and sending emails to senior personnel in Saddam Hussein's army, offering them clemency in return for help in locating weapons of mass destruction.

Julien Lindley-French of the Geneva Centre for Security Policy considers it inevitable that the EU will work more on psychological techniques as its defence structures develop. "The phrase PsyOps has a Dr Strangelove quality," he said. "But it is not really about propaganda, it is often about countering propaganda. It is a fundamental aspect of getting people on side, so perhaps it should really be called 'hearts and minds' ops."

Daniel Keohane of the Centre for European Reform believes that an EU PsyOps strategy for peacekeeping missions should be far-reaching. "People tend to like Europeans more. If I was advising Javier Solana [the EU's high representative for foreign affairs], I would say emphasize the holistic approach. Say 'yes, we have soldiers in your country. But we also have aid workers, diplomats, judges. So this is not just about stopping a conflict but we care about the reconstruction of your country too'."

Tomas Velashek, of the Washington-based Centre for Defence Information, argued that PsyOps could play an important role in the 'battlegroups' that EU defence ministers agreed to set up last month. Such teams, comprised of troops from several member states, could be deployed in UN-mandated operations within 6,000 km of the EU's borders.

"PsyOps is not per se a sinister activity," Velashek said. "It could mean liaising with civilian components or it could mean getting into the heads of enemy leaders."

According to a confidential document drawn up by the European Union's Military Staff a strategy has been devised for how psychological techniques can be used in crisis management missions such as the EU-led Operation Althea in Bosnia. The suggested methods include using radio broadcasts and personal contacts with the local population as part of efforts to convince it that the European Union wishes to achieve an enduring peace for the country.