Information Operations: All Information, All Languages, All the Time: The New Semantics of War & Peace, Wealth & Democracy

by Robert David Steele

My personal view is that the key points of the book are inter-agency sharing of non-secret information is much more important than precision delivery of secrets to the top guy; unclassified information on operations, logistics, beliefs, etc. is much more important that technical secret information; and there is a larger process called "Information Operations" (IO) that has been mis-defined in the US as offensive cyberwar and PSYOP on steroids, which in fact deals with the full and constant integration of global coverage in all languages all the time (including historical and cultural knowledge at the neighborhood level); the technologies of sharing, translating, and understanding; inclusive of online video gaming; and the crafting of inter-agency BEHAVIOR and BUDGETS (means) in order to achieve useful ends. In short, it's not about secret intelligence; it is about global awareness and ethical behavior done across all the instruments of national power, wisely. As Dr. Cambone demands, we need universal coverage, 24/7, at sub-state levels of granularity, but we also need to act on that information in a timely as well as ethical manner, utilizing all of our resources, not just our military, and harmoniously integrating our intelligence and operational activities with those of other legitimate governments and non-governmental organizations.

362 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006