Why Freedom Is Losing; Our nation is in a real war, it is a war that has been waged for a millennium prior to the founding of the United States of America, and it is a war that will continue for the next millennia and more. It is a Cognitive War. In simple terms the Cognitive War is a war between those who seek to advance tyranny, control, and subjugation versus those who seek to advance freedom, humanity, and democracy. It is a war of ideas, ideology, and narratives –enabled by varied means, methods, and measures –to include at times violence, kinetics, and asymmetric warfare. It is a war in which deception, deceit and dystopian views are crafted in a manner to be passed off as the truth and fact. And it is a war that is occurring globally and domestically.
I define the Cognitive Domain as: The domain of the human mind -ideas, ideology, function, reason, etc. The Cognitive Domain encompasses all other domains -the umbrella under which mankind operates, functions, learns, advances or regresses. All other domains – Cyber, Air, Land, Sea, Subterranean, Space, Sub-surface -are all one operating domain, not separate. We, as humans, have mentally segmented these domains to operate and function in them. And as we learn, we add new operational and/or functional domains. Yet, the most important domain, the Cognitive Domain, remains an afterthought.
I define the Cognitive War as: A primarily an ideological war, between tyranny and freedom, control and independence, subjugation, and democracy. It is a war fought primarily in the cognitive domain, using various means to influence (e.g., academic, economic, to agriculture, social, etc.), but which can include irregular warfare and kinetics. It is a war that’s been ongoing for more than a millennium. It is timeless as mankind exists. The cognitive war is truly an existential threat that is global and domestic. In today’s U.S.A, few understand it, can defend against it, can compete in it, or win it. It can be won, but not if we are unwilling to change.
The ongoing Cognitive War is the primary war between the free countries of the world and dystopian societies of China, Russia, Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, etc. Yet the free countries remain unaware and unprepared to compete in the cognitive domain – which results in the primary alternative – kinetic wars.
China, Russia, Iran, and the other dystopian societies have enormous vulnerabilities which we do not leverage to influence their direction. We could easily disrupt these Orwellian societies and take actions that would require these despots and dictators to expend enormous resources to counter. Yet we do not.
We have failed to define the problem (cognitive war) focusing instead on technology and personalities. We remain in a near solely reactive posture (defensive vice offensive and proactive), thus sitting until too late, which equals losing. We focus far too much on kinetic solutions, when the real war has been, and will remain, in the cognitive domain. Lastly, the free world remains stuck in the industrial age, refighting WWI (not WWII) using a culture (policy) and structure (organizations) that have changed little since then while our adversaries have advanced new and integrated policy and structure to take advantage of the democratization of technology to regularly outmaneuver us in the information age.
We can change this paradigm – but to do so we must overhaul our inept and broken national security apparatus – that consists primarily of the Departments of State, Justice, and Defense and the Intelligence Community. Yet our lawmakers ignore the complete and total failure of these organizations – including Afghanistan, the Arab Spring, Iranian nuclear program, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (not once but twice – indications and warning are USELESS – if we only wait to react), Chinese theft of US R&D and corruption of our academics and compromise of our politicians, and the nearly one million murders committed because of failure to alert of the ChinaFlu.
We can no longer ignore the failure of these “titanium cylinders of sub-excellence.” We must move toward a proactive, information age-based structure (organization) and policy (culture), with a fully integrated national security apparatus, to compete and challenge our adversaries in the cognitive domain. We can either define the future we desire and take purposeful actions to realize it. Or, as we do today, we can defer to our adversaries to define the future for us and react to it/them. In closing, I repeat my warning of three years prior as I retired from over thirty-years serving our country in our Intelligence Community and Department of Defense.
Unless we adjust our future…Investments to account for the paradigm shifts that have occurred under our feet, our nation and its intelligence operations will once again awaken too late, to a different reality, which is likely to end badly with significant and long-term impacts to our nation’s security and place as world leader.
I project such a negative and reactive outcome to occur either because we lost the cognitive war totally, our adversaries succeed undermining our institutions and democratic foundation to such an extent they are no longer viable, or, because our efforts to counter in the cognitive domain came too late.
If we fail to act in the cognitive domain, we will likely end up in a major kinetic conflict resulting in devastating outcomes, in physical and human toll – recovery is questionable
© Edward L. Haugland, All Rights Reserved 2022
This article originally appeared in The Information Equilibrium. Reprinted here with permission.
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I’ve pushed for people to stop viewing headlines and read up on Non-Violent Action as a tool, one of several, to learn about and consider using. https://www.aeinstein.org
War ? If so likely to take such an action, but not through bloodshed. Armed conflict is not necessary or desired, but is still reserved. Killing is what governments do, and our current Executive Branch is illegitimate and violent. We, the People don’t need violence, but reserve it anyway. You see, it’s in what it takes to achieve an objective. Economy of force prevails, but armed conflict is a reserved tool.
Voting people into Congress is an option. It’s not the only one, nor will it be enough. Citizen pressure is needed. Conservatives, MAGA, ultraMAGA, etc. must apply appropriate pressure into this equation – the equation of Hope, and hence more, one of purposeful positive action. Together we live right. Together is right.
Join, focus, act and we can reverse the real and perceived problems.
“In simple terms the Cognitive War is a war between those who seek to advance tyranny, control, and subjugation versus those who seek to advance freedom, humanity, and democracy.”
Yes, and it’s a struggle that must continue to be had.
Defining our country’s purpose outside of itself is the core of your argument. Being more than who we started out in 1776 is an ongoing debate. Taking on an Old-World persona in 1945 is why this country is screwed up. Using our powers wrongly since then makes an apparent demise.
You’re right in needing to overhaul parts of our system, but the People must be involved more than ever. However, most people can’t see past their lives. Historical perspective is lacking other than accepting Old-World views on being subservient to “authority” by deferring their birthright of being in charge of government. This is slowly changing.
Events are caused by individuals. Power stems from each person. People acting together amplify their powers. People lack this understanding it seems. Implementing change requires changes be made first in understanding the role of the Citizen. The source of power is in the People. Knowing this, and accepting the responsibility, and more so, to now act, is needed.
Following your insight and recommendations needs help from Citizens knowing who they are and what they need to do.
P.S. WWI was the most stupidly and insanely fought war ever.
The war we are, or should be, fighting, is the one against our own government, who put this problem upon the citizens of the United States.
And, like Eric Hodgdon said above, violence should always be reserved as necessary because, without the threat of violence, nothing is taken seriously. Elections can change things, but only if fair and honest, and that is still dependent on how many bad ideas have been accepted by the voters.
If we don’t fight, literally fight for our freedoms, we will lose it.