Perception Management in War and Just Ad Bellum Principles - Essay Example

Insert (Lectures (Unit 26th March Perception Management in War and Just Ad Bellum Principles Introduction In the world, the military ought to maintain a good public image for the sake of public cooperation and international relations. They are therefore forced into using crude methods in convincing the public that indeed their need for war is justified. Perception management are actions to convey or/ and deny selected information and indicators to foreign audience to influence their emotional motives and independent reasoning as well as intelligence systems. This influence tends to safeguard and assist the originator in maintaining good international relations and for their own selfish reasons. In various ways, perception management combines truth projections, operations, security cover, deception and psychological operation. However, the just ad bellum theory has been used to limit such dishonesty by providing ways to prevent occurrence of war. Media coverage for war in Vietnam A great tool for perception management is the use of mass media: that is, televisions, radios, newspapers, journals etc. The media over a long period has been a reliable source of information because it relays information from a long distance. In the 1960’s, the television became a widespread source of information for the American citizens in the coverage for war; it brought the concept of war into people’s living rooms. Perception management in the Vietnam War After the American military invasion in the Vietnam, there was, need to convince the rest of the world that their motives were for the general good. As stated by Caroline Page in her book U.S propaganda in the Vietnam War, “the military had to use television to spread propaganda so that they can manage the world perception about the war”. The following are examples of perception management used:- The non-communism south was invaded by the communist north Vietnam The American military claimed to have the moral right to defend southern Vietnam against a communist leadership. Kristina Karsh explains that in the American journal that, “Through the television sets and other forms of media, they convinced the world that the innocent people were being invaded hence their reason for war.” These were done by providing video tapes of the suffering of the Vietnam people under the leadership of communists. The U.S came to the aide of the regime in the south The U.S government use perception management to convince the world that the South Vietnamese regime was in need of their help. They claimed that the north was trying to bring a neo-colonialism to the south hence the need to help their allies. In the book Village at war: an account of conflict in Vietnam by James T states that “Even though the people of the south did not want to be ruled by the north, they also did not want external military intervention as a way of conflict resolution.” However, the military perception management did not allow such information to reach the world news. The regime in the south was democratic The United States, being branded as one of the best examples for modern day democracies, had the mandate to protect and safeguard other developing democracies. This idea of guarding the democracy of southern Vietnamese was a perception management technique in order to justify their reasons for war. Use of movies In the 1970’s, many military combat movies were produced to portray the situation of the war in Vietnam. These movies always showed the U.S military as the good people trying to fight a bad regime. In no instance do the movies express the core cause of the war and the expressions of the native people. As stated in the book endless war by Sweezy Paul, “The superiority portrayal of the American soldiers in these movies helped to safeguard the public image of the American military hence movies assisted in perception management.” Through his explanations, the impact of movies to spread propaganda is clearly explained. However, at around 1968, the media turned against the solids fighting in the Vietnam War. These were because of the brutality observed by the journalists reporting. The journalists did not support the killing of innocent people and hence the media undermined the efforts of the American soldiers. These actions helped to end the war as the public demanded withdrawal of the American troops. Just ad bellum Just ad bellum means the justification of an occurrence of war. This theory was formulated in the early days of Christianity where arguments about being a roman soldier and a Christian were put forward. Augustine de Hippo (354-430 CE) and Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274 CE) are acknowledged for their works in with the “Just War theory in Western Christianity.” Augustine wrote extensively on this theory, however, it was St. Thomas Aquinas whose compilation brought sense to the war theory. He had a profound influence on Western thought and modern philosophy, particularly in the areas of ethics, natural law and political theory. It is through his profound knowledge that he was able to organize the earlier discussions about war and peace and hence came up with the following principles:- Principles of just war theory Just cause/right intention: A just and legitimate war must be fought only for purposes of self-defense against armed attack or to ensure prevail of harmony in the society. This principle ensures that there is genuine reason to go to war because of the urge for self-defense. Therefore, peace prevails due to the fact that one nation cannot attack unless attacked. Proper authority: A war is just only if waged by a legitimate authority for example a country. This principle ensures that there is fairness in waging a war hence a war should not be waged against a certain community but to a whole country. George Herring in the book Americas longest war explains that, “The legitimate authorities have rule and regulations governing the policies of external aggression hence they are able to make the right decisions.” By allowing only the authorities to wage war, the principle ensures that there is a clear thinking and analysis of the consequences of the war. Therefore, this principle limits the occurrence of wars because it discourages unnecessary wars. Last resort: A just war must be the last resort; all peaceful options must be exhausted before the use of force can be justified. In order to wage a war against a certain country, all options of reconciliation must be explored. The arbitrators in the conflict resolution must have tried all means of solving the problem, which involves use of treaties, open table discussions and use of sanctions by the regional bodies. The principle of last resort limits the necessity of war because the other methods of conflict resolution have proved to be of importance hence it encourages peace. Probability of success There must be a reasonable chance of success; deaths and injury that result from a hopeless cause cannot be morally justified. The country waging the war must be well financed in terms of modern equipment and in terms of intelligence report. In addition, the country should have a good number of soldiers in the battlefield. The principle advocates that before going to war, there must be certainty of a win in the war. Considering the nature of the current military systems in different countries, it is not easy to be very sure of a win; hence, the conflicting countries would be discouraged to go into war. Beneficial outcome: The outcome of the war must be better than the situation that would exist had the war not taken place. The public should therefore be able to see an improvement from the previous situation in form of improved security, improved economy or the occurrence democracy and rule of law. This principle encourages analysis of the outcome of the war before the actual war starts. This analysis, in most cases; shows a decline in the respect for the rule of law, decline in economic activities and the spread of poverty. With such analysis, the waging countries would be discouraged to go fight hence peace would prevail. Proportionality: The violence and destruction must be proportional to the injury suffered. This principle mostly applies in the case of self-defense or where there are disputes involving territorial boundaries. It advocates for a rational treatment of the conflict as both sides are allowed to analyze the magnitude of damage caused by the aggressors. Therefore, this principle ensures an end to a war because it limits revenge attacks by the aggressed; hence encouragement of harmony in the society. Conclusion In conclusion, perception management has been widely used by the United States as a military strategy against its enemies. Through perception management, propagated by the media, the public has been forced to believe in wrong information about the real cause of the war and how it is carried out. To limit the occurrence of war, Augustine de Hippo and Thomas Aquinas devised a method for the justification of war. Thomas Aquinas compiled them into the principles of just ad bellum, which states that before going to war, there must be credible reasons such as; self-defense, that is the last resort, the proper authority should wage war, and the war should have a beneficial outcome. These principles have become vital in the prevention of war and conflicts that may arise in the society. Works cited Caroline, P. The U.S propaganda during the Vietnam War 1st edition. London: Bloomsbury publishers, 1998. Print. George, C. Americas longest war. New York: John Wiley & sons publishers, 1979. Print. James, T. Village at war: an account of conflict in Vietnam. California: Stanford University press, 1994. Print. Kim, W. The bad war: an oral history of the Vietnam War. New York: Nal books publishers, 1987. Print. Kristian, K. Lies, Deceit and Hypocrisy. American history journal. May 1997. 19 October 2005. Print. Sweezy, P. Vietnam; the endless war: New York: monthly review press,1970. Print. Read More