SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2018, Issue No. 62
October 15, 2018

Secrecy News Blog: https://fas.org/blogs/secrecy/

ON THE CONDUCT OF ARMY INFORMATION OPERATIONS

The planning and execution of US Army information operations are the subject of a new Army manual for practitioners.

Information operations are activities that involve the use of information to support US and allied military objectives and/or to degrade adversary functions. The field of information operations includes military deception, cyberspace operations, and other sub-disciplines.

The first step is to characterize and assess the information environment.

Information Operations (IO) officers "identify human networks, groups, and subgroups that affiliate along religious, political, or cultural lines, including commonly held beliefs and local narratives."

Once such networks are identified, information operators devise ways to influence, control or subvert them.

"IO officers focus their analysis on preferred means, methods, and venues that each social affiliation uses to interact and communicate and the ways each collectively constructs reality. Analysis examines biases, pressure points, general leanings, and proclivities, especially as they pertain to support or opposition of friendly and adversarial forces."

See The Conduct of Information Operations, ATP 3-13.1, October 4, 2018:

CRS VIEWS TRUMP ADMIN REORGANIZATION PROPOSALS

Last June, the White House issued a set of proposals to reform and reorganize government functions in dozens of executive branch agencies. The proposals range from cosmetic (e.g., renaming the Department of Health and Human Services) to substantial (e.g, combining the Departments of Labor and Education) with significant implications for domestic and foreign policy, as well as for national security.

A memorandum prepared by the Congressional Research Service provides brief summaries and analyses of the most important proposals, assessing their feasibility and describing the uncertainties involved.

See Trump Administration Reform and Reorganization Plan: Discussion of 35 "Government-Wide" Proposals, CRS memorandum, July 25, 2018:

New and updated reports issued by the Congressional Research Service last week include the following.

Air Force B-21 Raider Long Range Strike Bomber, updated October 12, 2018:

Religious Intolerence [sic] in Indonesia, CRS In Focus, October 10, 2018:

Post-election Issues in Bosnia and Herzegovina, CRS Insight, October 11, 2018:

Hurricane Michael: Brief Overview of FEMA Programs and Resources, CRS Insight, updated October 11, 2018:

Temporary Protected Status: Overview and Current Issues, updated October 10, 2018:

Vehicle Fuel Economy and Greenhouse Gas Standards, CRS In Focus, updated October 11, 2018:

Expiration of the 2014 Farm Bill, October 11, 2018:

House Passes Bill to Amend the Federal "Crime of Violence" Definition, CRS Legal Sidebar, October 11, 2018:

Deference and its Discontents: Will the Supreme Court Overrule Chevron?, CRS Legal Sidebar, October 11, 2018:

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Secrecy News is written by Steven Aftergood and published by the Federation of American Scientists.

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