Posted on 03/24/2003 10:52:30 AM PST by Columbine
After the first two days passed since the initial attack on Baghdad, many Americans were wondering, "Where is the 'shock and awe' that we were told to expect?" Sources at the Pentagon told the media, "If you have to ask, it's not 'shock and awe.'" On the third day, massive bombings were targeted on Baghdad locations, and Americans were told that "shock and awe" had begun. In reality, "shock and awe" began when the very first cruise missile hit its target.
"Shock and awe" is not simply a campaign of pummeling an enemy through relentless bombardment of missiles and bombs. "Shock and awe" is equally (or even more so) an attack on the mind -- a presentation of overwhelming force and an unwavering sense of inevitability. The message being sent to Iraq is loud and clear: Surrender or die, because we're coming.
Stepping back to the opening night of Operation Iraqi Freedom shows the psychological operations in action. Many psychological messages were sent to various factions in Iraq with the very first shot. In speech after speech, President Bush, and other administration officials, told the Iraqi people that this war was not about them, that it was not about destroying Iraq, but rather that the war was about Saddam Hussein and his evil regime. Saddam and his lieutenants were told that their time had come -- the end of the Saddam Hussein regime was at hand. The first strikes of the campaign emphasized those messages brilliantly.
(Excerpt) Read more at gopusa.com ...
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