American Psychological Strategy Board (1951-1953)

At the breakout of the Cold War, the Truman Administration sought every means except war to contain the Soviet expansion and infiltration, and psychological warfare became one of Truman Administration's principal strategies. To implement the U.S. global strategic benefit and maintain the U.S. national security became the supreme target of the Truman Administration's psychological warfare. To propagate the U.S. social system, value of life and traditions to the Soviet-block, West Europe, the Middle East, the Southeast Asia, and other areas in order to cultivate their anti-Communism and pro-American inclination formed the principal contents of the Truman Administration's psychological strategy. And the application of political support, economic and military assistance, diplomatic activities, cultural and educational exchanges, information propaganda and covert actions to carry out these psychological strategic targets of the U.S. national psychological plan as well as the specific programs toward the target countries formed the principal approaches of the U.S. psychological warfare. From the end of the World War II to the1950's, the Truman Administration's psychological strategy took its preliminary shape. During this period, the U.S. psychological warfare organizations experienced the declining and flourishing. The Department of State, the Department of Defense and the Central Intelligence Agency took active parts in the formulation and implementation of the national psychological policies. However, the lack of unified leadership and coordination of the U.S. psychological warfare operations reflected a kind of turmoil. Some bureaucratic departments even fell into the struggle for their individual benefits and this severely affected the implementation and effectiveness of the U.S. national psychological warfare. In order to resolve this problem, the Truman Administration established the Psychological Strategy Board to formulate the national psychological plan, coordinate and evaluate the psychological warfare operations of the governmental departments. From then on, the Psychological Strategy Board played the role of the designer of the U.S. national psychological warfare and greatly pushed the "Truth Campaign" launched by the Truman Administration. When Eisenhower took office, in order the maintain the continuity of the U.S. national psychological warfare, the Eisenhower Administration reformed the Psychological Strategy Board to ensure its effectiveness in coordinating and evaluating the U. S. national psychological warfare under the New Face Strategy. But, because of Psychological Strategy Board's inability to resolve the inter-conflict among the representatives of the Department of State, the Department of Defense and the Central Intelligence Agency, as well as the development of the Cold War, the Eisenhower Administration canceled the Psychological Strategy Board and established the Operations Coordinating Board on its basis in order to diversify the means of the U.S. national psychological warfare. Thus, the U.S. psychological warfare entered a new stage.This dissertation takes the documents and files of the U.S. National Security Council, Department of State, Department of Defense, Central Intelligence Agency, Truman Library and other faculties as the basic research materials, uses the relevant research achievements at home and abroad as reference materials, follows the historic and dialectical analysis as well as the analytic approaches of documentary analysis, psychology to probe into the establishment, internal organization, responsibilities and duties, working mode, internal conflicts, the gains and losses of the Psychological Strategy Board, and its final replacement by Operations Coordinating Board, the aims of which is to reflect the significant role of the Psychological Strategy Board in the U.S. psychological warfare. This dissertation is composed of six chapters and a conclusion. The first chapter introduces the academic achievements in the studies of the U.S. psychological warfare and organizations at home and abroad, the research aim, significance, creations and deficiencies of this dissertation. The second chapter offers a narration of the breakout and development of the Cold War between the USA and the USSR, the formulation of the American Grand Strategy of Containment and the emphasis of the psychological warfare of the Truman Administration. The third chapter probes into the process of the establishment of the Psychological Strategy Board, the arrangement of its offices, its functions and responsibilities. The fourth chapter investigates the psychological warfare of the Psychological Strategy Board. The fifth chapter explores the psychological warfare operations of the Psychological Strategy Board during the Eisenhower Administration and the final determination of the Psychological Strategy Board. The sixth chapter summarizes the gains and losses the Psychological Strategy Board and analyzes the causes of its losses. The conclusion summarizes the contents of the dissertation and offers the four findings of this research: First of all, the Psychological Strategy Board is the first such organization ever established in the American history. Secondly, the Psychological Strategy Board plays a role of plan-formulator of the U.S. national psychological warfare. Thirdly, the psychological strategic operation plans and programs formulated by the Psychological Strategy Board have produced great effect in the countries concerned. And lastly, the replacement of the Psychological Strategy Board by the Operations Coordinating Board is the reflection of its own deficiencies as well as the development of the Cold War.Although the Psychological Strategy Board has existed for over two years, the national psychological plan, the series of psychological strategic operation plans and programs it formulated and coordinated to implement have played an important role in containing the called Communist expansion and infiltration and strengthening the West World as well as some third world countries's pro-American inclination.