فصلنامه مطالعات عملیات روانی
پیاپی 23 (پاییز 1388)

The story of the spiritual struggles of the prophets and Imams (a.s.) indicates that the main battle between the truth and falsehood was not mainly based on military and hard mechanisms. It was rather based on mental and emotional factors and elements since the philosophy of the mission of the prophets was founded on guidance and purification of man so that he could he make the best of his existential capacity and reach the stage of perfection and servanthood. Since the infidels and obstinate foes of the prophets knew the hearts of people and the radiant divine guidance was not the field in which they could confront the prophets and they predicted their failure in this kind of confrontation¡ they inevitably resorted to hard combat in the battlefield. Examining the macrocosmic course of Hazarat Noah and Ibrahim’s spiritual struggles¡ this article seeks to offer guidance for the microcosmic course in leading people in the field of psychological operations.

Psychological operations which aim at the mental and emotional aspect of man¡ and relies on mental¡ intellectual¡ and cultural tools and seeks to manipulate and change human mind¡ feelings and emotions utilizing these tools¡ is highlighted by intellectuals and political and military thinkers. The relationship between psychological warfare and psychological operations and religion and spirituality and their legitimacy are very important for us to consider. Above all is the relationship between psychological warfare and psychological operations and Islam which has been offered to man as a comprehensive¡ complete and yet saving religion. This article is an introduction to psychological operations from the viewpoint of Islam with a special emphasis on a famous hadith on war from the Prophet of Islam. Besides examining the legitimacy of psychological warfare and psychological operations from the viewpoint of Islam¡ it deals with the point that the massive assault of the enemies placed the Prophet in a defensive position here too and consequently he utilized psychological operations as an inevitable necessity. Islam believes deception can only be utilized in the battlefield¡ under certain conditions¡ with noble objectives and with the objective of getting rid of the enemy or defeating him. Therefore¡ utilization of deception and trickery on the basis of inadmissible tendencies must be prohibited. In addition¡ Muslims have been ordered not only to stay away from deception in politics¡ community affairs and in dealing with people¡ but they have been strongly asked not to utilize it in their ordinary relations with others. The Prophet (p.b.u.h.)¡ Imam Ali (a.s.) and other Infallibles never resorted to deceit in politics and statesmanship.

Terrorism¡ due to its various and unknown dimensions and aspects¡ is still believed to be one of the major concerns in the field of science and research. At times¡ terrorist groups and movements enhance the range of their power and destruction by inventing¡ integrating and developing tools and methods of terrorism. Application of psychological operations elements and components in the context of terrorism is one of the factors helping the empowerment of terrorists. Utilizing the concept of “psychological operations”¡ the present study delves into the point that there is a direct relationship between conduction of destructive and consolidation psychological operations by terrorists and the terrorist goals and spread of “psychological insecurity” in the community. The main focus of the study is on explaining the characteristics and elements of the psychological terrorism and its applications in line with the intentions of Abdolmalek Rigi’s terrorist group. Development of the tools and contexts of the realization of psychological operations has given unique opportunities to such baseless groups so that they can create identity for themselves¡ legitimize their actions and spread panic.

Propaganda is among the terms which is conceived differently and at times some conflicting and opposite interpretations are offered on it. At one end of the propaganda continuum¡ we see the political¡ economic¡ social and cultural information it provides through newspapers¡ magazines¡ the Internet¡ television or radio and at the other end we observe the overstatement¡ understatement¡ deception¡ distortion of the truth¡ and alteration of the reality it brings about. Propaganda gives an opportunity to the agent to fulfill his/her goals utilizing specific media techniques. However¡ propaganda isn’t a phenomenon detached from the opinions and ideas of its agent¡ as it has formulated a major part of the political¡ economic and social culture in the contemporary history of the West. Malleability of the intellectual and behavioral pillars of individuals especially adolescents and young adults at different ages by the patterns provided by the propaganda is the issue which has attracted a lot of scholars. Considering the application of propaganda techniques in soft war approaches¡ this article examines various aspects of this issue. Undoubtedly¡ consideration of the social functions of soft war is among the necessities requiring fundamental research on the part of researchers and scholars of social sciences.

Ethnic studies¡ especially studies on ethnic conflicts¡ is a very new issue in the field of international relations. Domination of the paradigm of realism over international relations has overshadowed consideration of this highly influential variable at the domestic and international policy level. In fact¡ it was in 1990s that ethnic groups as one of the micro-actors besides a large number of other marginalized actors caught the attention of analysts and scholars in the field of international relations. Currently¡ following the shift in America’s security look from the Soviet Union to political Islam led by the Islamic Republic of Iran after the September 11 events¡ tactical use of ethnic groups has assumed higher importance. Hence¡ utilizing the Iranian ethnic groups¡ America attempts to confront Iran within the framework of soft war. Therefore¡ the present article is based on the assumption that using hard¡ security¡ and political measures in dealing with ethnic groups can increase the sense of economic and political deprivation among them. This¡ in turn¡ can decrease the sense of satisfaction¡ sensitivity¡ trust and political participation among ethnic groups¡ and can make the government’s policies in maintaining integrity¡ cohesion and national identity among them less successful and this can ultimately pave the way for the foreign countries’ taking advantage of the opportunity.

The concept of soft war which is used in contrast with hard war doesn’t have a unanimously-agreed-upon definition and different individuals¡ groups and governments have different conceptions about it. The Islamic Republic of Iran is a progressive and sublime model and an influential factor in awakening and rising of the Islamic nations of the region since it enjoys an ancient Iranian-Islamic culture and civilization¡ originality of race¡ width of territory¡ quantity and quality of population¡ political authority¡ regional and international influence¡ and obligation to the rulership of the jurisprudent. Hence¡ the West led by America has directed the focus of its soft and overthrowing attacks toward the Islamic Republic of Iran and besides imposing eight years of war¡ various coups¡ and supporting anti-revolutionary groups and insurgency in the country¡ they have utilized soft war techniques and instruments in various areas including film¡ theater¡ novels and literary fiction¡ poetry¡ digital media¡ and false gnosticisms. Giving an overview of the concepts of media warfare and soft war¡ this article delves into the soft approach of America and the West against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Following the occurrence of the crises after the recent elections in the country¡ the media intervention of the foreigners suddenly entered a new operational phase which had been experienced neither by the authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran nor by the enemy. Considering the fact that most of the accomplished studies have rightly focused on the analysis of the performance and behavior of the enemy¡ this article¡ presenting an image of the Iranian human nature¡ seeks to prove how Iranians are affected by the media and then some suggestions are offered which may help reduce the impact of foreign media on Iranians. To fulfill this goal¡ relying on the conducted indigenous studies¡ first¡ a model for the nature of the Iranian human is offered. Then¡ the best way to influence this human is suggested and then¡ relying on the public diplomacy-based studies¡ the ways to neutralize this influence are recommended. Influenced by Divine teachings¡ the Iranian human is a multi-dimensional human who still enjoys and utilizes God-given blessings¡ creativity and rationality due to the fact that they have not been manipulated in him. The media policy makers should analyze the performance of the enemy and try not to disturb this balance. Perhaps this is the most significant way for confronting foreign media¡ since the foreign media attempt to exacerbate agitation and false excitement and then when these emotions subside¡ they employ their instrumental rationality to show that the political system of the country is unable to satisfy the general expectations of people. Thus¡ the best way for confronting these ploys is to develop a model showing how the Iranian human is influenced and that is what the present study aims at.

Public diplomacy which had lost its importance following the Cold War has become a very important issue for the American politicians¡ scholars and officials again. Especially after the attacks of September 11¡ 2001¡ public diplomacy inevitably became one of the tools in the American foreign policy system. However¡ although America has mobilized its sources and attempts to promote public diplomacy strategy¡ there is a slight consensus regarding the major issues¡ effective and efficient solutions¡ characteristics and criteria of correct policies. In September 2005¡ the Congressional Research Center prepared a report on public diplomacy in which 29 relevant articles had been analyzed and some suggestions and recommendations as well as some common perspectives on this issue had been collected. These common suggestions and recommendations included cases such as development of a macro strategy¡ reorganization of public diplomacy in the White House or Department of State¡ enhancing the role of embassies and inter-organizational cooperations¡ as well as specialized training and boosting supervision.
These issues and some other similar ones were dealt with in a round-table forum on public diplomacy and the Middle East which was held at the Aspen Institute in Aspen¡ Colorado¡ in August 13–14¡ 2005. This forum attended by specialists involved in business¡ government¡ media¡ universities and NGOs¡ aimed at specifying the objectives¡ strategies and practical steps that America should take in with line public diplomacy in the Middle East. The participants offered a number of suggestions and new approaches regarding the US public diplomacy in the region at the end of this meeting. The Psychological Operations Quarterly hopes the review of the proposals and recommendations presented in this meeting will interest the experts of psychological operations and soft threat confrontation in the Islamic Republic of Iran in both military and nonmilitary areas.