Evening star., 1943-01-31
US. Still Lacks Definite Program
on Psychological Warfare
Inter Departmental Strife Hamstrings Attempts
for Co.ordinated Campaign to Weaken
Mental Defenses of the Enemy
By Raymond p. Brandt.

More than year after Pearl Harbor,
the United States is still without an
agreed policy or a concerted program for
psychological warfare, the warfare
against the enemys mind by which Ger
many so effectively circumvented or
undermined the fighting power and
morale of Czechoslovakia, Poland, Den
mark. Norway, Belgium, Holland and
finally France, to say nothing Of Austria,
Hungary and Rumania.
Instead of united effort by more
than half dozen agencies to which
have been assigned parts of the whole
important task, several Of the agencies,
to use current military phrase, are
fighting dirty" among themselves rather
than pooling their energies against the
Germans, the Italians and the Japanese.
The reasons for this situation are
numerous. Some are personal, some
bureaucratic, but most arise from quar-
rels over present and prospective juris-
dictions. The effects are felt in WASH
ington and. more important, in specific
operational fields throughout the world,
in North Africa, Norway, China and
Russia. The agencies involved are the
State and War Departments, the ONCE
of War Information, the Bureau of Eco
nomic Warfare, the once of Strategic
Services and, to lesser extent, the
Lease-Lend Administration, the Office
Of Inter American Affairs and the Once
of Foreign Relief and Rehabilitation,
U. S. Caught Unprepared.
At present no head supervises and CO.
ordinates the policies and activities Of
these agencies as general stan plans
and directs strategy for military war
Most Of these departments and agencies
report directly to the President, al
though the ONCE OF Strategic Services,
under Col. william J. Donovan, is re-
sponsible to the joint chiefs of staff of
the Army, Navy and the Army Air
Forces. Mr.. Roosevelt, with his many
duties as President and Commander in
Chief, can give only small part OF his
attention to the worldwide, yet at times
particularly local, problems Of this new
form of warfare.
groups, while deplorable, are understand
able. Our Government was caught COM
pletely unprepared in this new form OF
warfare. The Nazis, Fascists and Japa-
nese militarists had been schooled in II
for years and rose to power by unremit-
ting practice on their own peoples. Our
Army and NAVY had NO oficsrs trained
for the new and important task and even
today there IS no trained general stafl
officer assigned to the Joint chiefs 81 Stat,
to act as liaison officer between the. mill
tary and the civilion groups, Informing
them Of the general strategies so they
could coordinate on common tactics.
Until two or three weeks ago Col
Charles c. Blakeney was in charge of the
psychological branch of Ga, military in
telligence. This branch has been abol-
ished and Col. Blakeney has been trans
ferred to the Office of Strategic Services.
The Army Register states merely that
Col. Blakeney holds B. S. degree in
chemical engineering from Purdue Uni
verslty and Is graduate of the Field
Artillery School and the Battery Of
ficers' Course.
The Navy, according to an official
spokesman, has had no psychological
warfare branch Of its Intelligence Of
flee or an officer comparable to Col
Blakeney.
The term psychological warfare it
self Is SO broad in it's connotation that it
almost defies definition, It spreads into