The Psychological Strategy Board (PSB) was a committee of the United States executive formed to coordinate and plan for
psychological operations
Psychological warfare (PSYWAR), or the basic aspects of modern psychological operations (PsyOp), have been known by many other names or terms, including Military Information Support Operations (MISO), Psy Ops, political warfare, "Hearts and M ...
. It was formed on April 4, 1951, during the
Truman administration. The board was composed of the
Under Secretary of State
Under Secretary of State (U/S) is a title used by senior officials of the United States Department of State who rank above the Assistant Secretaries and below the Deputy Secretary.
From 1919 to 1972, the Under Secretary was the second-ranking off ...
, the
Deputy Secretary of Defense
The deputy secretary of defense (acronym: DepSecDef) is a statutory office () and the second-highest-ranking official in the Department of Defense of the United States of America.
The deputy secretary is the principal civilian deputy to the sec ...
, and the
Director of Central Intelligence, or their designated representatives. The board's first director was
Gordon Gray, later
National Security Advisor during the
Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...
administration. The board was created in response to the growth of
Office of Policy Coordination
The Office of Policy Coordination (OPC) was the covert operation wing of the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Created as a department of the CIA in 1948, it actually operated independently until October 1950. OPC existed until 1 A ...
covert activities during the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
.
Under Eisenhower, the board became a purely coordinating body. The board's function was reviewed by the Jackson Committee, chaired by
William Harding Jackson
William Harding Jackson (March 25, 1901 – September 28, 1971) was a U.S. civilian administrator, New York lawyer, and investment banker who served as Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.(Reference: "The Central Intelligence Agen ...
, set up to propose future United States Government information and psychological warfare programs. The committee concluded that the board had been established on the assumption that psychological strategy could be conducted separately from official policy and actions, an assumption the committee disagreed with. It was abolished September 3, 1953 by
Executive Order
In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of t ...
10483, with its responsibilities being transferred to the
Operations Coordinating Board The Operations Coordinating Board (OCB) was a committee of the United States Executive created in 1953 by President Eisenhower's Executive Order 10483 and tasked with oversight of United States covert operations. Eisenhower simultaneously gave sec ...
.
National Psychological Strategy Board
In August 1950, the
Department of State created the National Psychological Strategy Board (NPSB), attempting to centralize psychological warfare activities under its control. That resulted in a conflict with the
Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to:
Current departments of defence
* Department of Defence (Australia)
* Department of National Defence (Canada)
* Department of Defence (Ireland)
* Department of National Defense (Philipp ...
which called for an interdepartmental committee instead. President Truman broke the logjam on January 4, 1951, when he ordered
Frederick Lawton
Frederick Joseph Lawton (November 11, 1900 – November 16, 1975) was an American bureaucrat who served as the ninth Director of the Bureau of the Budget. Lawton was born in Washington, D.C., and became a lawyer and an accountant. He spent mo ...
and
Sidney Souers
Sidney William Souers (March 30, 1892 – January 14, 1973) was an American admiral and intelligence expert.
Rear Admiral Souers was appointed as the first Director of Central Intelligence on January 23, 1946 by President Harry S. Truman, where ...
to develop a plan for what would become PSB – an interdepartmental committee.
Purpose
After World War II, the atmosphere altered: wars could not be won through bloodshed but by winning the hearts and minds of people. Consequently, the Truman administration changed their foreign policy from traditional warfare to psychological warfare.
The American government perceived Soviet actions as a threat to democracy. This was evident from the South Korean invasion by North Korea. The Psychological Strategy Board (PSB) was set up to produce propaganda that would win the opinion of people around the world and prevent the spread of Communism. According to a report by the State Department, "convincing a foreign official is less important than carrying an issue over his head to his people" as the people will have a greater influence on the official's action. As a result, the PSB was formed to create propaganda which subconsciously turned people towards democracy.
While working for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, historian
Edward P. Lilly wrote a 1,400 page study of United States psychological warfare during World War II, which is available among Lilly's papers at the Eisenhower Library in Abilene, Kansas; Lilly also wrote a book chapter on the PSB.
Types of propaganda
The PSB defined psychological warfare as any nonmilitary action which influenced public opinion or foreign policy interest. This, therefore, includes, but is not limited to: trade and economic aid, cultural and educational exchange, threats to use force and diplomacy.
Buzzwords
Diplomats and Politicians used carefully selected words and phrases, often referred to as buzzwords, to shape policies and influence domestic and international opinion. The most popular buzzword was 'containment' because it allowed U.S. officials to present their foreign policy objectives as "noble, restrained and fundamentally defensive."
Initially, the Soviet Union used buzzwords to promote their "hate America" campaign which was launched on January 21, 1951. The campaign emphasized the corruption of big businesses in America and accused them of attempting to dominate the world. The Soviets, on the other hand, were portrayed as champions who were trying to overthrow the capitalists, such as America. Many people in the international community believed the Soviet propaganda. The U.S. adopted the Soviet strategy to win the hearts and minds of people.
Radio
Radio
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...
programs were transmitted to countries behind the iron curtain, such as Hungary, Poland and Czechoslovakia, because the USSR could not block this form of propaganda as they could not stop radio waves. Some radio series, such as
Voice of America
Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is the state-owned news network and international radio broadcaster of the United States of America. It is the largest and oldest U.S.-funded international broadcaster. VOA produces digital, TV, and radio content ...
(VOA), were aired in
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
as well.
The programs were designed to accentuate America's successes and portrayed the U.S. as a superior nation. Each satellite country had a different program aimed towards them which focused on the issues that would attract the people towards democracy.
References
{{authority control
American propaganda during the Cold War
United States National Security Council
United States government propaganda organizations