FAS

DoD Issues New Doctrine on Information Operations

04.03.06 | 1 min read | Text by Steven Aftergood

The Department of Defense recently published new doctrine (pdf) on the planning and execution of “information operations.”

Information operations, including what was formerly known as “information warfare” (a term that has been withdrawn from official doctrine), is comprised of five elements: psychological operations, military deception, operations security, electronic warfare, and computer network operations.

Its overall purpose is “to influence, disrupt, corrupt, or usurp adversarial human and automated decision making while protecting our own.”

Information operations programs to influence foreign audiences under the rubric of “strategic communication” have been both controversial and notably ineffective.

“If I were rating, I would say we probably deserve a D or D+ as a country as how well we’re doing in the battle of ideas that’s taking place,” said Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld on March 27. “I’m not going to suggest that it’s easy, but we have not found the formula as a country.”

The new doctrinal document is Joint Publication 3-13, “Information Operations,” dated February 13, 2006 (1.3 MB PDF).

Communications support to military operations through the Global Information Grid is addressed in another new document: Joint Publication 6-0, “Joint Communications System,” 20 March 2006 (3 MB PDF).

New Army doctrine on operations — beginning with “How Army Forces Fight” — was published last week in U.S. Army Field Manual Interim FMI 5-0.1, “The Operations Process,” March 31, 2006 (2.7 MB PDF).

publications
See all publications
Emerging Technology
day one project
Issue Brief
Winning the Next Phase of the Chip War

Familiar semiconductor policy approaches – export controls and subsidies – are inadequate alone to prevent reliance on Chinese-made legacy chips. Washington and its allies will instead have to turn  to the old-fashioned, disruptive tools of trade defense in the face of a challenge of this scale.  

02.06.25 | 0 min read
read more
Environment
Press release
Position on the Wildfire Intelligence Collaboration and Coordination Act of 2025

The Wildfire Intelligence Center would bring together expertise at all levels of government to give our firefighters and first responders access to cutting-edge tools and the decision support they need to confront this growing crisis.

02.06.25 | 1 min read
read more
Clean Energy
Blog
Energy Dominance (Already) Starts at the DOE

DOE is already very well set up to pursue an energy dominance agenda for America. There’s simply no need to waste time conducting a large-scale agency reorganization.

02.05.25 | 7 min read
read more
Government Capacity
Press release
Federation of American Scientists and Environmental Policy Innovation Center Unveil Permitting Tech and Talent Policy Recommendations to Support Deployment of Crucial Energy, Environmental, and Infrastructure Projects

FAS today released permitting policy recommendations to improve talent and technology in the federal permitting process. These recommendations will address the sometimes years-long bottlenecks that prevent implementation of crucial projects, from energy to transportation.

02.05.25 | 4 min read
read more