Report by the Department of State, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs
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OCR Page 1 of 33J.B.PHILLIPS COPY
NORET
645
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
OFFICE OF THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS
Attached hereto are the following papers in a plan for a new propaganda approach
to the Soviet Union:
SECRET
"Emergency plan for Psychological Offensive (USSR)"
CONFIDENTIAL -"Psychological Offensive vis-a-vis The USSR - Objective, Tasks and
Themes"
RESTRICTED - -"An Analysis of the Principal Psychological Vulnerabilities in the USSR
and of the Principal Assets Available to the U.S. for Their Exploita-
tion"
Recipients should note the difference in classification of these papers and dis-
tribution must be strictly in accordance with the classifications.
The Confidential paper is intended primarily for operators of propaganda media.
Officers of the government who are in a position to guide speakers or writers to pro-
duce material which fulfills these objectives and tasks should be encouraged to base
their guidance on this paper. This, however, should be done on an oral and informal
basis without revealing either the existence of such a document or the integrated
nature of a series of tasks established to attack the USSR by propaganda. We do not
want to telegraph our punches to the enemy. (N.B. Themes in this paper are only
suggestions and operators should not be limited to them in carrying out the Objectives
and Tasks.)
The Restricted paper is one of several existing studies on Soviet psychological
vulnerabilities and is given this classification to permit wider use by writers and
speakers. Again, to avoid telegraphing our punches, this paper should not be quoted
from. Writers and speakers should be encouraged to attack these vulnerable points
but not to describe them.
CAUTION: Objective II (To establish a reservoir of good will between the peoples
of the USSR and those of the free world.) requires the most careful handling. This
objective was considered necessary to counteract the effect on the Soviet people of
the current efforts of the Soviet regime to create an attitude of especial hostility
to the U.S. within the USSR. Within this context the end result sought is confusion
and ambivalence in the minds of the Soviet people; actual circumstances do not permit
the achievement of ends beyond this. Accordingly, every effort has been made to keep
the tasks and themes under this objective as realistic as possible. The word "good-
will" has been used instead of "friendship" as more nearly corresponding to the real-
istic possibilities.
This plan is directed specifically at the Soviet Union. Some of the Objectives,
Tasks and Themes may be useful to operators dealing with other areas, but their use
should be guided by local attitudes. They should serve as guidance to other areas,
however, in that output should not contradict or confuse the approach described in
these papers.
Edward W. Barrett
DECLASSIFIED
11 April 1951
E. O. 11652, Sec. 3(E) and 5(D) or (E)
F.23.76
SECRET
Dept. of State
PROJECT NET
10-20-16
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