Comment by bootload | Hacker News Reader

Comment by bootload | Hacker News Reader

Psyops.

I occasionally delve into the CIA CREST database and one day stumbled on old articles with dollar values [0] Russian Intelligence services dumped on psyops against their adversaries at the height of the cold war. In 1980 for instance this was reported:

    "According to the CIA's reckoning, the Soviets in 1979 
     poured at least 200 million dollars (I assume US) into 
     a variety of campaigns - using propaganda and covert 
     operations - to isolate the US from it's friends." [1]

Nothing has changed.

" Palantir is practically now a trigger word. The data-mining firm has contracts with governments all over the world – including GCHQ and the NSA. It’s owned by ^Peter Thiel^, "

Let that sink in. How long till this article is flagged?

Reference:

[0] Values in CIA reports are often redacted because they are an indication of resources.

[1] CREST (Psyops Russia 1980): DEPARTMENT OF DIRTY TRICKS, SOVIET STYLE Document Release Date: January 13, 2011

Summary: https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/document/cia-rdp90-0...

Document: https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP90-00552...

So this raises a very important question: what about the CIA psyops? Is this kind of thing only "not OK" when certain parties are doing it, or is it one of those things that just makes the world worse and should be banned by treaty like biological weapons?

After all, the west regards "regime change" as its prerogative; what if the rest of the world wants to "regime change" us?

Edit: yes it's whataboutism, but I think addressing that has to be part of any good solution. Otherwise the only solutions are bad ones: every country has to build a Great Firewall to stop its domestic politics being destroyed by foreign intelligence agencies.

Also, note in the article that seemingly everyone is fine with CA doing this kind of stuff to other countries. This is like shipping thousands of tons of guns to Mexico and then being surprised when some of them turn up on US streets.

"what about the CIA psyops?"

The CIA psyops question is a good one. The CIA was setup by Eisenhower to collate intelligence not engage in operations. Psyops is operations. The question of CIA dabbling in operations was resolved in '63. Post '63, there was no real threat to the CIA charter.

I'll double up, "why has the CIA got an Airforce?" [0] T

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Targeted_killing#Use_by_the_Un...

Reply on news.ycombinator.com