Paper Summary:

This paper explains how communications and other technologies shaped the American war effort during the Vietnam War. It also examines how communication and technologies both revealed and concealed the nature of the war for Americans. This paper reveals how communications and technologies acted as both a hindrance and a tool in helping Americans understand America's relations with the Vietnamese.

From the Paper:

"Several factors are noted by Howell (1994) to have had an impact via television media upon the perception of the U.S. public and these include factors of: (1) media bias; (2) governmental filtering of information; (3) human opinion and varying perspectives; (4) media tendency to desire the creation of dramatic events to increase viewer volume and ratings; and finally: (5) intentional coloring of the truth in order to draw the public toward a certain way of processing the information they are receiving and thereby to an extent controlling the opinion and behavior of the American pubic at large and this both on the part of the television media and the government and likely there were more sinister influences that are only in recent years coming under focused observation and dissemination."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Howell, Cass D. (1994) Television Coverage of the Vietnam War and Its Implications for Future Conflicts. 6 Apr 1984. Global Security Org, Online available at: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/1984/HCD.htm
• Papp, Daniel S., Alberts, David, S. and Tuyahov (nd) Chapter 2: Historical Impacts of Information Technologies: An Overview. Online available at: http://www.ndu.edu/inss/books/Books%20-%201998/Information%20Age%20An thology%20-%20Sept%2098/ch02a.html
• Jenkins, Henry (2003) Media Tonic for War Fever MIT Technology Review 2 May 2003. Online available at: http://www.technologyreview.com/communications/13186/?a=f
• Anstead, N. and Chadwick, A. (2006) 'The Anti-War Movement, the Internet and Political Mobilization' in Drewry, G. and Haines, S. (eds)) Politics and Conflict: Domestic and International implications of the Iraq War (Department of Politics and International Relations, Royal Holloway, University of London. Online available at: http://www.rhul.ac.uk/politics-and-IR Or: http://www.rhul.ac.uk/politics-and-ir/about-us/Chadwick/pdf/Anstead_Chadwick_ Internet_Anti-War_Movement_Iraq_Politics_and_Conflict_2006.pdf
• Ludowese, J.C. and Biddle, C. (2006) The Growth of American Intelligence Between Wars - Strategic Communication: Who Should Lead the Long War of Ideas? Strategy Research Project. Adapted from the AIA presentation. Online available at: http://donmar.org/6911rgm/crypto.htm

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