While MILDEC is customarily a wartime mission, PSYOP is con- ducted during all phases of military operations, including peacetime, and is authorized under Title 10, section 167 of the US Code, which allows the Department of Defense (DOD) to conduct PSYOP as part of special operations campaigns.6 JP 3-13.2, Psychological Operations, states the purpose of PSYOP

Where PSYOP and propaganda are communications directed at foreign audiences, military PA offices provide similar information to journalists and the American public to articulate DOD positions on policies and operations. The same principles based upon the freedom of the press that guide civilian journalists also guide the activities of PA professionals. Military PA responsibilities are captured in JP 3-61, Public Affairs—“providing truthful, accurate and timely information . . . to keep the public informed about the military’s missions and operations, countering adversary propaganda, deterring adversary actions, and maintain[ing] trust and confidence of the US population, and our friends and allies.” Even Pres. Abraham Lincoln understood the im- portance of interacting with the public, stating, “Public opinion is ev- erything. With it, nothing can fail. Without it, nothing can succeed.”

Sites like YouTube and other social networking sites have become a battleground for “a global audience to share firsthand re- ports, military strategies, propaganda videos, and personal conflict as it unfolds.” This public participation in conflict blurs the lines between combatant and noncombatant when operational data is involved. New counterpropaganda tools aided by the Internet combat this trend.

The American public plays a large role, both directly and indirectly, in the arena of influence operations. Doctrinally, “MILDEC operations must not intentionally target or mislead the US public, the US Con- gress, or the US news media.” This insulation of the US public from US deception operations is understandable; however, it also leaves the United States vulnerable to foreign deception and propaganda efforts and “a questioning mind is the first line of defense.”