Comprehending Denial And Deception In Intelligence Studies

Comprehending Denial And Deception In Intelligence Studies
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Introduction
Denial and deception are a term used in the military to refers to a combination of operations undertaken by a nation to attain its military objectives. Denial refers to the ability to block information which enemies could potentially use to learn the truth. Deception, on the other hand, refers to an effort to cause enemies to believe something untrue. While the two refer to different activities, they are intertwined and work as a single military concept. In the military, the logic of confusing the enemy is fundamental, and when used appropriately, the rewards can be huge. Joseph W. Caddell states that deception is divided into active and passive deception categories. Active deception is designed to offer adversaries evidence of capabilities and intentions which in reality, do not exist. Passive deception, on the other hand, refers to hiding real military intentions and capabilities from military adversaries. An example of passive military perception in the history of America is evident in the Japanese attack on Pearl harbor. Prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese military adopted passive deception to confuse and distract their adversaries, the US. The Japanese ambassador’s Kurusu and Nomura presence in Washington DC in 1941 was a strategic military plan. Japan pretends to continue its diplomatic negotiations and, in process, making it hard for the US to understand Japan's intentions. This strategy allowed Japan to hide its actual intentions and pull a major tactical military surprise in the Pearl Harbor attack.[Gentry, John A., and Joseph S. Gordon. "US strategic warning intelligence: Situation and prospects." International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence 31, no. 1 (2018): 19-53.] [Caddell, Joseph. “DECEPTION 101―PRIMER ON DECEPTION”, (2004): 1-19.]
Comprehend fundamental theories of the use of Denial and Deception in shaping perception.
According to Caddell (2004), perception refers to a process of inference whereby people construct their reality based on information provided to them through their five common senses. Through perception, people organize and interpret information against an already existing network of knowledge. Whenever the information conforms to previously held thoughts, the individuals will more likely accept the information as accurate. This means that humans depend significantly on previously held assumptions and preconceptions to arrive at decisions. Conversely, deception is considered a deliberate manipulation of people's minds through dissimulation and simulation. In the military, deception is an intentional strategy used by the military to gain a competitive advantage over adversaries. Deception, as stated earlier, are intertwined with denial, which refers to the strategy of blocking information. Whenever a military group realizes that accurate information exists with adversaries, they must find ways to stop adversaries from leveraging on that truth. Deception and denial have worked in many instances by ensuring that enemies opt for decisions that work against them in the long run. In the sociological realm, any situation defined...