The Foreign Service Journal, May 2020

20 MAY 2020 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 50 Years Ago Forgery in International Affairs “M isinformation”—or “dez- informatsiya” to use the Russian term—has long been known in military doctrine. It now applies in international politics. The Moscow Politicheskii Slovar ( Political Diction- ary ) (Gospolitizdat, 1958), edited by B. N. Ponomarev, defines the word: “dezinformatsiya is the intentional presentation of inaccurate informa- tion with the aim of leading someone astray.” Experts on our side of the Iron Curtain see “dezinformatsiya” as false, incomplete or misleading infor- mation passed, fed or confirmed to a targeted individual, group or country. Misinformation should not be confused with propaganda, which is biased information circulated by an identified source. A slanted TASS communique is labeled TASS. All know that it mirrors the Soviet viewpoint. But misinforma- tion appears under the guise of objective truth and masks the origin of the message by a false source. The channels circulating misin- formation vary, depending on the target and objective of the initiator. Misinformation appears even in scholarly studies. Forged political documents occupy a place of honor among channels of misinformation, but serious analysts have given them little attention. ... The Memorial allegedly submitted to the Japanese Throne in 1927 by General Giichi Tanaka, Premier of Japan, awakened interest in political literature since it contained what was purported to be Japan’s plan to crush the United States, conquer India, Asia Minor and even Europe. Much ink was also spilled over the so-called “Zinoviev letter” that still remains in the public eye. Neither of these forged documents has ever been thoroughly researched or analyzed. Political forgeries take the form of official acts, circulars, instruc- tions, minutes of meetings, memo- randa or letters exchanged between officials. Among them are resolu- tions of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, as well as clas- sified State Department directives, secret cables to Washington sent by ambassadors and Moscow commu- nications to agents abroad. —Natalie Grant, a former FSO, excerpted from her article of the same title in the May 1970 FSJ . set out a 14-month timetable for an intra- Afghan cease-fire, negotiations between the Taliban and Afghan government, and the final withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country. National Security Veterans Break with Tradition M ore than 150 national security, intelligence and homeland security veterans, most of whom have served in both Democratic and Repub- lican administrations, have broken with the strong tradition of not endorsing particular political candidates and signed an open letter under the heading “The Steady State,” endorsing Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden for president. “To be clear, those of us signing this letter do not agree on everything, or even most things, concerning foreign policy, defense or homeland security,” the authors of the letter, published on March 18, write. “Our policy views cover most of the spectrum, and many of us have often been in opposition, sometimes bitterly, with each other. But we have always been bound by profound patriotism, and a deep belief in our American democracy.” “Our nation’s foreign affairs are in disarray; our alliances frayed and our national prestige declining,” the letter states. “Our approach to both friends and enemies abroad has been chaotic and unprincipled,” it continues. “Our credibil- ity as a nation has been lessened. And, perhaps most importantly, our place in the world as a source of moral leadership has nearly been lost. As a country, we are increasingly less secure and less safe. “We are not, of course, giving up our views and approaches to national security. Should Vice President Biden be elected president, many of us will take up the honorable position of ‘loyal opposi- tion,’ and will fight as we have before for the policies we think best.” n This edition of Talking Points was compiled by Cameron Woodworth, Kim Greenplate and Shawn Dorman.