ABSTRACT
Sun Tzu would have approved with enthusiasm. For influencing was precisely the point of his famous admonition that success is based on "attacking the enemy's strategy" rather than resorting to battle. Address the conceptual basis for the conflict, including sowing discord among enemy's supporters—"disrupt his alliances"—while obviously building own, for "he whose ranks are united in purpose will be victorious". Davidson defines propaganda as "simply an attempt to control the actions of people indirectly by controlling their attitudes". To diffuse its negative connotations, he tries to differentiate the purpose of the attempt, which may be unobjectionable, from the techniques used to promote it, which could be shady. Influencing and intelligence are not only useful in offensive operations but at least as necessary for defensive action, and may help preempt military confrontation or at least minimize casualties.
