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- Combat Arms
- 2869 Grove Way
- Castro Valley, California 94546-6709
- Telephone (415) 538-6544
- BBS: (415) 537-1777
-
-
- ---------------------------------------------------
- ║ ║
- ║ PSYCHOLOGICAL OPERATIONS IN GUERRILLA WARFARE ║
- ║ ║
- ║ by ║
- ║ ║
- ║ Tayacán ║
- ║ ║
- ║ A tactical manual for the revolutionary that ║
- ║ was published by the Central Intelligence ║
- ║ Agency and distributed to the Contras in ║
- ║ Central America. ║
- ║ ║
- ║ Combat Arms urges gun owners in the United ║
- ║ States to become very familiar with the ║
- ║ contents of this manual and to discuss it ║
- ║ among your family and friends. Liberty knows ║
- ║ no peace. ║
- ║ ║
- ---------------------------------------------------
-
-
-
- PREFACE
-
- Guerrilla warfare is essentially a political war. Therefore, its area
- of operations exceeds the territorial limits of conventional warfare, to
- penetrate the political entity itself: the "political animal" that
- Aristotle defined.
-
- In effect,the human being should be considered the priority objective
- in a political war. And conceived as the military target of guerrilla war,
- the human being has his most critical point in his mind. Once his mind has
- been reached, the"political animal" has been defeated, without necessarily
- receiving bullets.
-
- Guerrilla warfare is born and grows in the political environment; in
- the constant combat to dominate that area of political mentality that is
- inherent to all human beings and which collectively constitutes the
- "environment" in which guerrilla warfare moves, and which is where
- precisely its victory or failure is defined.
-
- This conception of guerrilla warfare as political war turns
- Psychological Operations into the decisive factor of the results. The
- target, then, is the minds of the population, all the population: our
- troops, the enemy troops and the civilian population.
-
- This book is a manual for the training of guerrillas in psychological
- operations, and its application to the concrete case of the Christian and
- democratic crusade being waged in Nicaragua by the Freedom Commandos.
-
- Welcome!
-
-
- INTRODUCTION
-
- 1. Generalities
-
- The purpose of this book is to introduce the guerrilla student to the
- psychological operations techniques that will be of immediate and practical
- value to him in guerrilla warfare. This section is introductory and
- general; subsequent sections will cover each point set forth here in more
- detail.
-
- The nature of the environment of guerrilla warfare does not permit
- sophisticated psychological operations, and it becomes necessary for the
- chiefs of groups, chiefs of detachments and squadron leaders to have the
- ability to carry out, with minimal instructions from the higher levels,
- psychological action operations with the contacts that are thoroughly aware
- of the situation, i.e. the foundations.
-
- 2. Combatant-Propagandist Guerrillas
-
- In order to obtain the maximum results from the psychological
- operations in guerrilla warfare, every combatant should be as highly
- motivated to carry out propaganda face to face as he is a combatant. This
- means that the individual political awareness of the guerrilla of the
- reason for his struggle will be as acute as his ability to fight.
-
- Such a political awareness and motivation is obtained through the
- dynamic of groups and self-criticism, as a standard method of instruction
- for the guerrilla training and operations. Group discussions raise the
- spirit and improve the unity of thought of the guerrilla training and
- operations. Group discussions raise the spirit and improve the unity of
- thought of the guerrilla squads and exercise social pressure on the weak
- members to carry out a better role in future training or in combative
- action. Self-criticism is in terms of one's contribution or defects in his
- contribution to the cause, to the movement, the struggle, etc.; and gives a
- positive individual commitment to the mission of the group.
-
- The desired result is a guerrilla who can persuasively justify his
- actions when he comes into contact with any member of the People of
- Nicaragua, and especially with himself and his fellow guerrillas in dealing
- with the vicissitudes of guerrilla warfare. This means that every guerrilla
- will be persuasive in his face-to-face communication - propagandist-
- combatant - ins his contact with the people; he should be able to give 5 or
- 10 logical reasons why, for example, a peasant should give him cloth,
- needle and thread to mend his clothes. When the guerrilla behaves in this
- manner, enemy propaganda will never succeed in making him an enemy in the
- eyes of the people. It also means that hunger, cold, fatigue and insecurity
- will have a meaning, psychologically, in the cause of the struggle due to
- his constant orientation.
-
- 3. Armed Propaganda
-
- Armed propaganda includes every act carried out, and the good
- impression that this armed force causes will result in positive attitudes
- in the population toward that force; ad it does not include forced
- indoctrination. Armed propaganda improves the behavior of the population
- toward them, and it is not achieved by force.
-
- This means that a guerilla armed unit in a rural town will not give
- the impression that arms are their strength over the peasants, but rather
- that they are the strength of the peasants against the Sandinista
- government of repression. This is achieved through a close identification
- with the people, as follows: hanging up weapons and working together with
- them on their crops, in construction, in the harvesting of grains, in
- fishing, etc.; explanations to young men about basic weapons, e.g. giving
- them an unloaded weapon and letting them touch it, see it, etc.; describing
- in a rudimentary manner its operation; describing with simple slogans how
- weapons will serve the people to win their freedom; demanding the requests
- by the people for hospitals and education, reducing taxes, etc.
-
- All these acts have as their goal the creation of an identification of
- the people with the weapons and the guerrillas who carry them, so that the
- population feels that the weapons are, indirectly, their weapon to protect
- them and help them in the struggle against a regime of oppression. Implicit
- terror always accompanies weapons, since the people are internally "aware"
- that they can be used against them, but as long as explicit coercion is
- avoided, positive attitudes can be achieved with respect to the presence of
- armed guerrillas within the population.
-
- 4. Armed Propaganda Teams
-
- Armed Propaganda Teams (EPA) are formed through a careful selection of
- persuasive and highly motivated guerrillas who move about within the
- population, encouraging the people to support the guerrillas and put up
- resistance against the enemy. It combines a high degree of political
- awareness and the "armed" propaganda ability of the guerrillas toward a
- planned, programmed, and controlled effort.
-
- The careful selection of the staff, based on their persuasiveness in
- informal discussions and their ability in combat, is more important than
- their degree of education or the training program. The tactics of the Armed
- Propaganda Teams are carried out covertly, and should be parallel to the
- tactical effort in guerrilla warfare. The knowledge of the psychology of
- the population is primary for the Armed Propaganda Teams, but much more
- intelligence data will be obtained from an EPA program in the area of
- operations.
-
- 5. Development and Control of the "Front" Organizations
-
- The development and control of "front" (or facade) organizations is
- carried out through subjective internal control at group meetings of
- "inside cadres," and the calculations of the time for the fusion of these
- combined efforts to be applied to the masses.
-
- Established citizens-doctors, lawyers, businessmen, teachers, etc.-
- will be recruited initially as "Social Crusaders" in typically "innocuous"
- movements in the area of operations. When their "involvement" with the
- clandestine organization is revealed to them, this supplies the
- psychological pressure to use them as "inside cadres" in groups to which
- they already belong or of which they can be members.
-
- Then they will receive instruction in techniques of persuasion over
- control of target groups to support our democratic revolution, through a
- gradual and skillful process. A cell control system isolates individuals
- from one another, and at the appropriate moment, their influence is used
- for the fusion of groups in a united national front.
-
- 6. Control of Meetings and Mass Assemblies
-
- The control of mass meetings in support of guerrilla warfare is
- carried out internally through a covert commando element, bodyguards,
- messengers, shock forces (initiators of incidents), placard carriers (also
- used for making signals), shouters of slogans, everything under the control
- of the outside commando element.
-
- When the cadres are placed or recruited in organizations such as labor
- unions, youth groups agrarian organizations or professional associations,
- they will begin to manipulate the objectives of the groups. The
- psychological apparatus of our movement through inside cadres prepares a
- mental attitude which at the crucial moment can be turned into a fury of
- justified violence.
-
- Through a small group of guerrillas infiltrated within the masses this
- can be carried out; they will have the mission of agitating by giving the
- impression that there are many of them and that they have a large popular
- backing. Using the tactics of a force of 200-300 agitators, a demonstration
- can be created in which 10,000-20,000 persons take part.
-
- 7. Support of Contacts with Their Roots in Reality
-
- The support of local contacts who are familiar with the deep reality
- is achieved through the exploitation of the social and political weaknesses
- of the target society, with propagandist-combatant guerrillas, armed
- propaganda, armed propaganda teams, cover organizations and mass meetings.
-
- The combatant-propagandist guerrilla is the result of a continuous
- program of indoctrination and motivation. They will have the mission of
- showing the people how great and fair our movement is in the eyes of all
- Nicaraguans and the world. Identifying themselves with our people, they
- will increase the sympathy towards our movement, which will result in
- greater support of the population for the freedom commandos, taking away
- support for the regime in power.
-
- Armed propaganda will extend this identification process of the people
- with the Christian guerrillas, providing converging points against the
- Sandinista regime.
-
- The Armed Propaganda Teams provide a several-stage program of
- persuasive planning in guerrilla warfare in all areas of the country. Also,
- these teams are the "eyes and ears" of our movement.
-
- The development and control of the cover organizations in guerrilla
- warfare will give our movement the ability to create a "whiplash" effect
- within the population when the order for fusion is given. When the
- infiltration and internal subjective control have been developed in a
- manner parallel to other guerrilla activities, a comandante of ours will
- literally be able to shake up the Sandinista structure, and replace it.
-
- The mass assemblies and meetings are the culmination of a wide base
- support among the population, and it comes about in the later phases of the
- operation. This is the moment in which the overthrow can be achieved and
- our revolution can become an open one, requiring the close collaboration of
- the entire population of the country, and of contacts with their roots in
- reality.
-
- The tactical effort in guerrilla warfare is directed at the weaknesses
- of the enemy and at destroying their military resistance capacity, and
- should be parallel to a psychological effort to weaken and destroy their
- sociopolitical capacity at the same time. In guerrilla warfare, more than
- in any other type of military effort, the psychological activities should
- be simultaneous with the military ones, in order to achieve the objectives
- desired.
-
- COMBATANT-PROPAGANDIST GUERRILLA
-
- 1. Generalities
-
- The objective of this section is to familiarize the guerrilla with the
- techniques of psychological operations, which maximizes the social-
- psychological effect of a guerrilla movement, converting the guerrilla into
- a propagandist, in addition to being a combatant. The nature of the
- environment in guerrilla warfare does not permit sophisticated facilities
- for psychological operations, so that use should be made of the effective
- face-to-face persuasion of each guerrilla.
-
- 2. Political Awareness
-
- The individual political awareness of the guerrilla, the reason for
- his struggle, will be as important as his ability in combat. This political
- awareness and motivation will be achieved:
-
- ■ By improving the combat potential of the guerrilla by improving
- his motivation for fighting.
-
- ■ By the guerrilla recognizing himself as a vital tie between the
- democratic guerrillas and the people, whose support is essential
- for the subsistence of both.
-
- ■ By fostering the support of the population for the national
- insurgence through the support for the guerrillas of the locale,
- which provides a psychological basis in the population for
- politics after the victory has been achieved.
-
- ■ By developing trust in the guerrillas and in the population, for
- the reconstruction of a local and national government.
-
- ■ By promoting the value of participation by the guerrillas and the
- people in the civic affairs of the insurrection and in the
- national programs.
-
- ■ By developing in each guerrilla the ability of persuasion face-
- to-face, at the local level, to win the support of the
- population, which is essential for success in guerrilla warfare.
-
- 3. Group Dynamics
-
- This political awareness-building and motivation are attained by the
- use of group dynamics at the level of small units. The group discussion
- method and self-criticism are a general guerrilla training and operations
- technique.
-
- Group discussions raise the spirit and increase the unity of thought
- in small guerrilla groups and exercise social pressure on the weakest
- members to better carry out their mission in training and future combat
- actions. These group discussions will give special emphasis to:
-
- ■ Creating a favorable opinion of our movement. Through local and
- national history, make it clear that the Sandinista regime is
- "foreignizing," "repressive" and "imperialistic," and that even
- though there are some Nicaraguans within the government, point
- out that they are "puppets" of the power of the Soviets and
- Cubans, i.e. of foreign power.
-
- ■ Always a local focus. Matters of an international nature will be
- explained only in support of local events in the guerrilla
- warfare.
-
- ■ The unification of the nation is our goal. This means that the
- defeat of the Sandinista armed forces is our priority. Our
- insurrectional movement is a pluralistic political platform from
- which we are determined to win freedom, equality, a better
- economy with work facilities, a higher standard of living, a true
- democracy for all Nicaraguans without exception.
-
- ■ Providing to each guerrilla clear understanding about the
- struggle for national sovereignty against Soviet-Cuban
- imperialism. Discussion guides will lead the guerrillas so that
- they will see the injustices of the Sandinista system.
-
- ■ Showing each guerrilla the need for good behavior to win the
- support of the population. Discussion guides should convince the
- guerrillas that the attitude and opinion of the population play a
- decisive role, because victory is impossible without popular
- support.
-
- ■ Self-criticism will be in constructive terms that will contribute
- to the mission of the movement, and which will provide the
- guerrillas with the conviction that they have a constant and
- positive individual responsibility in the mission of the group.
- The method of instruction will be:
-
- a) division of the guerrilla force into squads for group
- discussions, including command and support elements,
- whenever the tactical situation permits it. The makeup of
- the small units should be maintained when these groups are
- designated.
-
- b) Assignment of a political cadre in the guerrilla force to
- each group to guide the discussion. The squad leader should
- help the cadre to foster study and the expression of
- thoughts. If there are not enough political cadres for each
- squad or post, leaders should guide the discussions, and the
- available cadres visit alternate groups.
-
- c) It is appropriate for the cadre (or the leader) to guide
- the discussion of a group to cover a number of points and to
- reach a correct conclusion. The guerrillas should feel that
- it was their free and own decision. THe cadre should serve
- as a private teacher. The cadre or leader will not act as a
- lecturer, but will help the members of the group to study
- and express their own opinions.
-
- d) The political cadre will at the end of every discussion
- make a summary of the principal points, leading them to the
- correct conclusions. Any serious difference with the
- objectives of the movement should be noted by the cadre and
- reported to the comandante of the force. If necessary, a
- combined group meeting will be held and the team of
- political cadres will explain and rectify the
- misunderstanding.
-
- e) Democratic conduct by the political cadres: living,
- eating and working with the guerrillas, and if possible,
- fighting at their side, sharing their living conditions. All
- of this will foster understanding and the spirit of
- cooperation that will help in the discussion and exchange of
- ideas.
-
- f) Carry out group discussions in towns, and areas of
- operations whenever possible with the civilian population,
- and not limit them to camps or bases. This is done to
- emphasize the revolutionary nature of the struggle and to
- demonstrate that the guerrillas identified with the
- objectives of the people move about within the population.
- The guerrilla projects himself toward the people, as the
- political cadre does toward the guerrilla, and they should
- live, eat and work together to realize a unity of
- revolutionary thought.
-
- The principles for guerrilla and political-cadre group discussions
- are:
-
- ■ Organize discussion groups at the post or squad level. A cadre
- cannot be sure of the comprehension and acceptance of the
- concepts and conclusions by guerrillas in large groups. In a
- group of the size of a squad of 10 men, the judgement and control
- of the situation is greater. In this way, all students will
- participate in an exchange among them; the political leader, the
- group leader, and also the political cadre. Special attention
- will be given to the individual ability to discuss the objectives
- of the insurrectional struggle. Whenever a guerrilla expresses
- his opinion, he will be interested in listening to the opinions
- of others, leading as a result to the unity of thought.
-
- ■ Combine the different points of view and reach an opinion or
- common conclusion. This is the most difficult task of a political
- guerrilla cadre. After the group discussions of the democratic
- objectives of the movement, the chief of the team of political
- cadres of the guerrilla force should combine the conclusions of
- individual groups in a general summary. At a meeting with all the
- discussion groups, the cadre shall provide the principal points,
- and the guerrillas will have the opportunity to clarify or modify
- their points of view. To carry this out, the conclusions will be
- summarized in the form of slogans, wherever possible.
-
- ■ Face with honesty the national and local problems of our
- struggle. THe political cadres should always be prepared to
- discuss solutions to the problems observed by the guerrillas.
- During the discussions, the guerrillas should be guided by the
- following three principles:
-
- ■ Freedom of thought.
-
- ■ Freedom of expression.
-
- ■ Concentration of thoughts on the objectives of the democratic
- struggle.
-
- The result desired is a guerrilla who in a persuasive manner can
- justify all of his acts whenever he is in contact with any member of the
- town/people, and especially with himself and with his guerrilla companions
- by facing the vicissitudes of guerrilla warfare.
-
- This means that every guerrilla will come to have effective face-to-
- face persuasion as a combatant-propagandist in his contact with the people,
- to the point of giving 5-10 logical reasons why, e.g. a peasant should give
- him a piece of cloth, or a needle and thread to mend his clothes. When
- behaves in this manner, no type of propaganda of the enemy will be able to
- make a "terrorist" of him in the eyes of the people.
-
- In addition, hunger, cold, fatigue and insecurity in the existence of
- the guerrilla acquire meaning in the cause of the struggle due to the
- constant psychological orientation.
-
- 4. Camp Procedures
-
- Encamping the guerrilla units gives greater motivation, in addition to
- reducing distractions, and increases the spirit of cooperation of small
- units, relating the physical environment to the psychological one. The
- squad chief shall establish the regular camping procedure. Once thy have
- divested themselves of their packs, the chief will choose the appropriate
- ground for camping. He should select land that predominates over the zone
- with two or three escape routes. He will choose among his men and give them
- responsibilities such as:
-
- ■ Clean the camp area.
-
- ■ Provide adequate drainage in case of rain. Also build some
- trenches or holes for marksmen in case of emergency. In addition,
- he will build a stove, which will be done by making some small
- trenches and placing three rocks in place; in case the stove is
- built on a pedestal, it will be filled with clay and rocks.
-
- ■ Build a windbreaking wall, which will be covered on the sides and
- on the top with branches and leaves of the same vegetation of the
- zones. This will serve for camouflaging and protecting it from
- aerial visibility or from enemy patrols around.
-
- ■ Construct a latrine and a hole where waste and garbage will be
- buried, which should be covered over at the time of abandoning
- the camp.
-
- ■ Once the camp has been set up, it is recommended that a watchman
- be positioned in the places of access at a prudent distance,
- where the shout of alarm can be heard. In the same moment the
- password will be established, which should be changed every 24
- hours. The commander should establish ahead of time an alternate
- meeting point, in case of having to abandon the camp in a hurried
- manner, and they will be able to meet in the other already
- established point, and they should warn the patrol that if at a
- particular time they cannot meet at the established point, the
- should have a third meeting point.
-
- These procedures contribute to the motivation of the guerrilla and
- improve the spirit of cooperation in the unit. The danger, sense of
- insecurity, anxiety and daily concern in the life of a guerrilla require
- tangible evidence of belonging in an order for him to keep up his spirit
- and morale.
-
- In addition to the good physical conditions in which the guerrilla
- should find himself, good psychological conditions are necessary, for which
- group discussions and becoming a self=critic are recommended, which will
- greatly benefit the spirit and morale of the same.
-
- Having broken camp with the effort and cooperation of everyone
- strengthens the spirit of the group. The guerrilla will be inclined then
- towards the unity of thought in democratic objectives.
-
- 5. Interaction with the People
-
- In order to ensure popular support, essential for the good development
- of guerrilla warfare, the leaders should induce a positive interaction
- between the civilians and the guerrillas, through the principle of "live,
- eat , and work with the people," and maintain control of their activities.
- In group discussions, the leaders and political cadres should give emphasis
- to positively identifying themselves with the people.
-
- It is not recommendable to speak of military tactical plans in
- discussions with civilians. The Communist foe should be pointed out as the
- number one enemy of the people, and as a secondary threat against our
- guerrilla forces.
-
- Whenever there is a chance, groups of members should be chosen who
- have a high political awareness and high disciplinary conduct in the work
- to be carried out, in order to be sent to the populous areas in order to
- direct the armed propaganda, where they should persuade the people through
- dialogue in face-to-face confrontations, where these principles should be
- followed:
-
- ■ Respect for human rights and others' property.
-
- ■ Helping the people in community work.
-
- ■ Protecting the people from Communist aggressions.
-
- ■ Teaching the people environmental hygiene, to read, etc., in
- order to win their trust, which will lead to a better democratic
- ideological preparation.
-
- This attitude will foster the sympathy of the peasants for our
- movement, and they will immediately become one of us, through logistical
- support, coverage and intelligence information on the enemy or
- participation in combat. The guerrillas should be persuasive through the
- word and not dictatorial with weapons. If they behave in this way, the
- people will feel respected, will be more inclined to accept our message and
- will consolidate into popular support.
-
- In any place in which tactical guerrilla operations are carried out in
- populous areas, the squad should undertake psychological actions parallel
- to these, and should proceed, accompany and consolidate the common
- objective and explain to all the people about our struggle, explaining that
- our presence is to give peace, liberty and democracy to all Nicaraguans
- without exception, and explaining that out struggle is not against the
- nationals but rather against Russian imperialism. This will serve to ensure
- greater Psychological achievements which will increase the operations of
- the future.
-
- 6. Conclusions
-
- The nature of the environment in guerrilla warfare does not permit
- sophisticated facilities for psychological operations, and the face-to-face
- persuasion of the guerrilla combatant-propagandists with the people is an
- effective and available tool which we should use as much as possible during
- the process of the struggle.
-
- ARMED PROPAGANDA
-
- 1. Generalities
-
- Frequently a misunderstanding exists on "armed propaganda," that this
- tactic is a compulsion of the people with arms. In reality, it does not
- include compulsion, but the guerrilla should know well the principles and
- methods of this tactic. The objective of this section is to give the
- guerrilla student an understanding of the armed propaganda that should be
- used, and that will be able to be applied in guerrilla warfare.
-
- 2. Close Identification with the People
-
- Armed propaganda includes all acts carried out by an armed force,
- whose results improve the attitude of the people toward this force, and it
- does not include forced indoctrination. This is carried out by a close
- identification with the people on any occasion. For example:
-
- ■ Putting aside weapons and working side by side with the peasants
- in the countryside: building, fishing, repairing roofs,
- transporting water, etc.
-
- ■ When working with the people, the guerrillas can use slogans such
- as "many hands doing small things, but doing them together."
-
- ■ Participating in the tasks of the people, they can establish a
- strong tie between them and the guerrillas and at the same time a
- popular support for our movement is generated.
-
- During the patrols and other operations around or in the midst of
- villages, each guerrilla should be respectful and courteous with the
- people. In addition he should move with care and always be well prepared to
- fight, if necessary. But he should not always see all the people as
- enemies, with suspicions or hostility. Even in war, it is possible to
- smile, laugh or greet people. Truly, the cause of our revolutionary base,
- the reason why we are struggling, is our people. We must be respectful to
- them on all occasions that present themselves.
-
- In places and situations wherever possible, e.g. when they are resting
- during the march, the guerrillas can explain the operation of weapons to
- the youths and young men. They can show them an unloaded rifle so that they
- will learn to load it and unload it; their use, and aiming at imaginary
- targets they are potential recruits for our forces.
-
- The guerrillas should always be prepared with simple slogans in order
- to explain to the people, whether in an intentional form or by chance, the
- reason for the weapons.
-
- "The weapons will be for winning freedom; the are for you."
-
- "With weapons we can impose demands such as hospitals, schools, better
- roads, and social services for the people, for you."
-
- "Our weapons are, in truth, the weapons of the people, yours."
-
- "With weapons we can change the Sandino-Communist regime and return to
- the people a true democracy so that we will all have economic
- opportunities."
-
- All of this should be designed to create an identification of the
- people with the weapons and the guerrillas who carry them. Finally, we
- should make the people feel that we are thinking of them and that the
- weapons are the people's, in order to help them and protect them from a
- Communist, totalitarian, imperialist regime, indifferent to the needs of
- the population.
-
- 3. Implicit and Explicit Terror
-
- A guerrilla armed force always involves implicit terror because the
- population, without saying it aloud, feels terror that the weapons may be
- used against them. However, if the terror does not become explicit,
- positive results can be expected.
-
- In a revolution, the individual lives under a constant threat of
- physical damage. If the government police cannot put an end to the
- guerrilla activities, the population will lose confidence in the
- government, which has the inherent mission of guaranteeing the safety of
- citizens. However, the guerrillas should be careful not to become an
- explicit terror, because this would result in a loss of popular support.
-
- In the words of a leader of the Huk guerrilla movement of the
- Philippine Islands: "The population is always impressed by weapons, not by
- the terror that they cause, but rather by a sensation of strength/force. We
- must appear before the people, giving them the message of the struggle."
- This is, then, in a few words, the essence of armed propaganda.
-
- An armed guerrilla force can occupy an entire town or small city that
- is neutral or relatively passive in the conflict. In order to conduct the
- armed propaganda in an effective manner, the following should be carried
- out simultaneously:
-
- ■ Destroy the military or police installations and remove the survivors to
- a "public place."
-
- ■ Cut all the outside lines of communications: cables, radio, messengers.
-
- ■ Set up ambushes in order to delay the reinforcements in all the possible
- entry routes.
-
- ■ Kidnap all officials or agents of the Sandinista government and replace
- them in "public Places" with military or civilian persons of trust to our
- movement; in addition, carry out the following:
-
- ■ Establish a public tribunal that depends on the guerrillas, and cover the
- town or city in order to gather the population for this event.
-
- ■ Shame, ridicule and humiliate the "personal symbols" of the government of
- repression in the presence of the people and foster popular participation
- through guerrillas within the multitude, shouting slogans and jeers.
-
- ■ Reduce the influence of individuals in tune with the regime, pointing out
- their weaknesses and taking them out of the town, without damaging them
- publicly.
-
- ■ Mix the guerrillas within the population and show very good conduct by
- all members of the column, practicing the following:
-
- Any article taken will be paid for with cash.
-
- The hospitality offered by the people will be accepted and this
- opportunity will be exploited in order to carry out face-to-face
- persuasion about the struggle.
-
- Courtesy visits should be made to the prominent persons and those with
- prestige in the place, such as doctors, priests, teachers, etc.
-
- The guerrillas should instruct the population that with the end of the
- operative, and when the Sandinista repressive forces interrogate them,
- they may reveal EVERYTHING about the military operation carried out.
- For example, the type of weapons they use, ho many men arrived, from
- what direction they came and in what direction they left, in short,
- EVERYTHING.
-
- In addition, indicate to the population that at meetings or in private
- discussion they can give the names of the Sandinista informants, who
- will be removed together with the other officials of the government of
- repression.
-
- When a meeting is held, conclude it with a speech by one of the
- leaders of guerrilla political cadres (the most dynamic), which includes
- explicit references to:
-
- The fact that the "enemies of the people" -- the officials or
- Sandinista agents -- must not be mistreated in spite of their criminal
- acts, although the guerrilla force may have suffered casualties, and that
- this is done due to the generosity of the Christian guerrillas.
-
- Give a declaration of gratitude for the "hospitality" of the
- population, as well as let them know that the risks that they will run when
- the Sandinistas return are greatly appreciated.
-
- The fact that the Sandinista regime, although it exploits the people
- with taxes, control of money, grains and all aspects of public life through
- associations, which they are forced to become part of, will not be able to
- resist the attacks of our guerrilla forces.
-
- Make the promise to the people that you will return to ensure that the
- "leeches" of the Sandinista regime of repression will not be able to hinder
- our guerrillas from integrating with the population.
-
- A statement repeated to the population to the effect that they can
- reveal everything about this visit of our commandos, because we are not
- afraid of anything or anyone, neither the Soviets nor the Cubans. Emphasize
- that we are Nicaraguans, that we are fighting for the freedom of Nicaragua
- and to establish a very Nicaraguan government.
-
- 4. Guerrilla Weapons Are The Strength of the People over an Illegal
- Government
-
- The armed propaganda in populated areas does not give the impression
- that weapons are the power of the guerrillas over the people, but rather
- that the weapons are the strength of the people against a regime of
- repression. Whenever it is necessary to use armed force in an occupation or
- visit to a town or village, guerrillas should emphasize making sure that
- they:
-
- ■ Explain to the population that in the first place this is being done to
- protect them, the people, and not themselves.
-
- ■ Admit frankly and publicly that this is an "act of the democratic
- guerrilla movement," with appropriate explanations.
-
- ■ That this action, although it is not desirable, is necessary because the
- final objective of the insurrection is a free and democratic society, where
- acts of force are not necessary.
-
- ■ The force of weapons is a necessity caused by the oppressive system, and
- will cease to exist when the "forces of justice" of our movement assume
- control.
-
- If, for example, it should be necessary for one of the advanced posts
- to have to fire on a citizen who was trying to leave the town or city in
- which the guerrillas are carrying out armed propaganda or political
- proselytism, the following is recommended:
-
- ■ Explain that if that citizen had managed to escape, he would have alerted
- the enemy that is near the town or city, and they could carry out acts of
- reprisal such as rapes, pillage, destruction, captures, etc., it this way
- terrorizing the inhabitants of the place for having given attention and
- hospitalities to the guerrillas of the town.
-
- ■ If a guerrilla fires at an individual, make the town see that he was an
- enemy of the people, and that they shot him because the guerrilla
- recognized as their first duty the protection of citizens.
-
- ■ The command tried to detain the informant without firing because he, like
- all Christian guerrillas, espouses nonviolence. Firing at the Sandinista
- informant, although it is against his own will, was necessary to prevent
- the repression of the Sandinista government against innocent people.
-
- ■ Make the population see that it was the repressive system of the regime
- that was the cause of this situation, what really killed the informer, and
- that the weapon fired was one recovered in combat against the Sandinista
- regime.
-
- ■ Make the population see that if the Sandinista regime had ended the
- repression, the corruption backed by foreign powers, etc., the freedom
- commandos would not have had to brandish arms against brother Nicaraguans,
- which goes against our Christian sentiments. If the informant hadn't tried
- to escape he would be enjoying life together with the rest of the
- population, because not have tried to inform the enemy. This death would
- have been avoided if justice and freedom existed in Nicaragua, which is
- exactly the objective of the democratic guerrilla.
-
- 5. Selective Use of Violence for Propagandistic Effects
-
- It is possible to neutralize carefully selected and planned targets,
- such as court judges, mesta judges, police and State Security officials,
- CDS chiefs, etc. For psychological purposes it is necessary to gather
- together the population affected, so that they will be present, take part
- in the act, and formulate accusations against the oppressor.
-
- The target or person should be chosen on the basis of:
-
- ■ The spontaneous hostility that the majority of the population feels
- toward the target.
-
- ■ Use rejection or potential hatred by the majority of the population
- affected toward the target, stirring up the population and making them see
- all the negative and hostile actions of the individual against the people.
-
- ■ If the majority of the people give their support or backing to the target
- or subject, do not try to change these sentiments through provocation.
-
- ■ Relative difficulty of controlling the person who will replace the
- target.
-
- The person who will replace the target should be chosen carefully,
- based on:
-
- ■ Degree of violence necessary to carry out the change.
-
- ■ Degree of violence acceptable to the population affected.
-
- ■ Degree of predictable reprisal by the enemy on the population affected or
- other individuals in the area of the target.
-
- The mission to replace the individual should be followed by:
-
- ■ Extensive explanation within the population affected of the reason why it
- was necessary for the good of the people.
-
- ■ Explain that Sandinista retaliation is unjust, indiscriminate, and above
- all, a justification for the execution of this mission.
-
- ■ Carefully test the reaction of the people toward the mission, as well as
- control this reaction, making sure that the populations reaction is
- beneficial towards the Freedom Commandos.
-
- 6. Conclusions
-
- Armed propaganda includes all acts executed and the impact achieved by
- an armed force, which as a result produces positive attitudes in the
- population toward this force, and it does not include forced
- indoctrination. However, armed propaganda is the most effective available
- instrument of a guerrilla force.
-
- ARMED PROPAGANDA TEAMS (APTs)
-
- 1. Generalities
-
- In contact with the very reality of their roots, in a psychological
- operation campaign in guerrilla warfare, the comandantes will be able to
- obtain maximum psychological results from an Armed Propaganda program. This
- section is to inform the guerrilla student as to what Armed Propaganda
- Teams are in the environment of guerrilla warfare.
-
- 2. Combination: Political Awareness and Armed Propaganda
-
- The Armed Propaganda Teams combine political awareness-building with
- armed propaganda, which will be carried out by carefully selected
- guerrillas (preferably with experience in combat), for personal persuasion
- within the population.
-
- The selection of the staff is more important than the training,
- because we cannot train guerrilla cadres just to show the sensations of
- ardor and fervor, which are essential for person-to-person persuasion. More
- important is the training of persons who are intellectually agile and
- developed.
-
- An Armed Propaganda Team includes from 6 to 10 members; this number or
- a smaller number is ideal, since there is more camaraderie, solidarity and
- group spirit. The themes to deal with are assimilated more rapidly and the
- members react more rapidly to unforeseen situations.
-
- In addition to the combination as armed propagandist-combatant each
- member of the team should be well prepared to carry out permanent person-
- to-person communication, face-to-face.
-
- The leader of the group should be the commando who is the most highly
- motivated politically and the most effective in face-to-face persuasion.
- The position, hierarchy or range will not be decisive for carrying out that
- function, but rather who is best qualified for communication with the
- people.
-
- The source of basic recruitment for guerrilla cadres will be the same
- social groups of Nicaraguans to whom the psychological campaign is
- directed, such as peasants, students, professionals, housewives, etc. The
- campesinos (peasants) should be made to see that they do not have lands;
- the workers that the State is putting an end to factories and industries;
- the doctors, that they are being replaced by Cuban paramedics, and that as
- doctors they cannot practice their profession due to lack of medicines. A
- requirement for recruiting them will be their ability to express themselves
- in public.
-
- The selection of the personnel is more important than the training.
- The political awareness-building and the individual capabilities of
- persuasion will be shown in the group discussions for motivation of the
- guerrilla as a propagandist-combatant chosen as cadres to organize them in
- teams, that is, those who have the greatest capacity for this work.
-
- The training of guerrillas for Armed Propaganda Teams emphasizes the
- method and not the content. A two-week training period is sufficient if the
- recruitment is done in the form indicated. If a mistaken process of
- recruitment has been followed, however good the training provided, the
- individual chosen will not yield a very good result.
-
- The training should be intensive for 14 days, through team
- discussions, alternating the person who leads the discussion among the
- members of the group.
-
- The subjects to be dealt with will be the same, each day a different
- theme being presented, for a varied practice.
-
- The themes should refer to the conditions of the place and the meaning
- that they have for the inhabitants of the locality, such as talking of
- crops, fertilizers, seeds, irrigation of crops, etc. They can also include
- the following topics:
-
- ■ Sawed wood, carpenters' tools for houses or other buildings.
-
- ■ Boats, roads, horses, oxen for transportation, fishing,
- agriculture.
-
- ■ Problems that they may have in the place with residents, offices
- of the regime, imposed visitors, etc.
-
- ■ Force labor, service in the militia.
-
- ■ Forced membership in Sandinista groups, such as women's clubs,
- youth associations, workers' groups, etc.
-
- ■ Availability and prices of consumer articles and of basic needs
- in the grocery stores and shops of the place.
-
- ■ Characteristics of education in the public schools.
-
- ■ Anxiety of the people over the presence of Cuban teachers in the
- schools and the intrusion of politics, i.e. using them for
- political ends and not educational ones as should be.
-
- ■ Indignation over the lack of freedom of worship, and persecution,
- of which priests are victims; and over the participation of
- priests such as Escoto and Cardenal in the Sandinista government,
- against the explicit orders of his Holiness, the Pope.
-
- NOTE: Members of the team can develop other themes.
-
- The target groups for the Armed Propaganda Teams are not the persons
- with sophisticated political knowledge, but rather those whose opinion are
- formed from what they see and hear. The cadres should use persuasion to
- carry out their mission. Some of the persuasive methods that they can use
- are the following:
-
- Interior Group/Exterior Group. It is a principle of psychology that we
- humans have the tendency to form personal associations from "we" and "the
- others," or "we" and "they", "friends" and "enemies," "fellow countrymen"
- and "foreigners," "mestizos" and "gringos."
-
- The Armed Propaganda Team can use this principle in its activities, so
- that it is obvious that the "exterior" groups ("false" groups) are those of
- the Sandinista regime, and that the "interior" groups ("true" groups) that
- fight for the people are the Freedom Commandos.
-
- We should inculcate this in the people in a subtle manner so that
- these feelings seem to be born of themselves, spontaneously.
-
- "Against" is much easier that "for." It is a principle of political
- science that it is easier to persuade the people to vote against something
- or someone than to persuade them to vote in favor of something or someone.
- Although currently the regime has not given the Nicaraguan people the
- opportunity to vote, it is known that the people will vote in opposition,
- so that the Armed Propaganda Teams can use this principle in favor of our
- insurrectional struggle. They should ensure that this campaign is directed
- specifically against the government or its sympathizers, since the people
- should have specific targets for their frustrations.
-
- Primary Groups and Secondary Groups. Another principle of sociology is
- that we humans forge or change our opinions from two sources: primarily,
- through our association with our family, comrades, or intimate friends; and
- secondarily, through distant associations such as acquaintances in
- churches, clubs or committees, labor unions or governmental organizations.
- The Armed Propaganda Team cadres should join the first groups in order to
- persuade them to follow the policies of our movement, because it is from
- this type of group that the opinions or changes of opinion come.
-
- Techniques of Persuasion in Talks or Speeches:
-
- Be Simple and Concise. You should avoid the use of difficult words or
- expressions and prefer popular words and expressions, i.e. the language of
- the people. In dealing with a person you should make use of concise
- language, avoiding complicated words. It is important to remember that we
- use oratory to make our people understand the reason for our struggle, and
- not to show off our knowledge.
-
- Use Lively and Realistic Examples. Avoid abstract concepts, such as
- are used in universities in the advanced years, and in place of them, give
- concrete examples such as children playing, horses galloping, birds in
- flight, etc.
-
- Use Gestures to Communicate. Communication, in addition to being
- verbal, can be through gestures, such as using our hands expressively, back
- movements, facial expressions, focusing of our look and other aspects of
- "body language," projecting the individual personality in the message.
-
- Use the Appropriate Tone of Voice. If, on addressing the people, you
- talk about happiness, a happy tone should be used. If you talk of something
- sad, the tone of the voice should be one of sadness; on talking of a heroic
- or brave act, the voice should be animated, etc.
-
- Above All, Be Natural, Imitation of others should be avoided, since
- the people, especially simple people, easily distinguish a fake. The
- individual personality should be projected when addressing the population.
-
- 3. "Eyes and Ears" Within the Population
-
- The amount of information for intelligence that will be generated by
- the deployment of the Armed Propaganda Teams will allow us to cover a large
- area with out commandos, who will become the eyes and ears of our movement
- within the population:
-
- The combined reports of an Armed Propaganda Team will provide us with
- exact details on the enemy activities.
-
- The intelligence information obtained by the Armed Propaganda Teams
- should be reported to the chiefs. However, it is necessary to emphasize
- that the first mission of the Armed Propaganda Teams is to carry out
- psychological operations, not to obtain data for intelligence.
-
- Any intelligence report will be made through the outside contact of
- the Armed Propaganda Team, in order not to compromise the population.
-
- The Armed Propaganda cadres are able to do what others in a guerrilla
- campaign cannot do: determine personally the development or deterioration
- of the popular support and the sympathy or hostility that the people feel
- toward our movement.
-
- The Armed Propaganda Team program, in addition to being very effective
- psychologically, increases the guerrilla capacity in obtaining and using
- information.
-
- In addition, the Armed Propaganda cadre will report to his superior
- the reaction of the people to the radio broadcasts, the insurrectional
- flyers, or any other means of propaganda of ours.
-
- Expressions or gestures of the eyes, or face, the tone and strength of
- the voice, and the use of the appropriate words greatly affect the face-to-
- face persuasion of the people.
-
- With the intelligence reports supplied by the Armed Propaganda Teams,
- the comandantes will be able to have exact knowledge of the popular
- support, which they will make use of in their operations.
-
- 4. Psychological Tactics, Maximum Flexibility
-
- Psychological tactics will have the greatest flexibility within a
- general plan, permitting a continuous and immediate adjustment of the
- message, and ensuring that an impact is caused on the indicated target
- group at the moment in which it is the most susceptible.
-
- Tactically, an Armed Propaganda Equipment program should cover the
- majority and if possible all of the operational area. The communities in
- which this propaganda is carried out should not necessarily form political
- units with an official nature. A complete understanding of their structure
- or organization is not necessary because the cadres will work by applying
- socio-political action and not academic theory.
-
- The target populations of the Armed Propaganda Teams will be chosen
- for being part of the operational area, and not for their size or amount of
- land.
-
- The objective should be the people and not the territorial area.
-
- In this respect, each work team will be able to cover some six towns
- approximately, in order to develop popular support for our movement.
-
- The Team should always move in a covert manner within the towns of
- their area.
-
- They should vary their route radically, but not their itinerary,. This
- is so that the inhabitants who are cooperating will be dependent on their
- itinerary, i.e., the hour in which they can frequently contact them to give
- them the information.
-
- The danger of betrayal or an ambush can be neutralized by varying the
- itinerary a little, using different routes, as well as arriving or leaving
- without previous warning.
-
- Whenever the surprise factor is used, vigilance should be kept in
- order to detect the possible presence of hostile elements.
-
- No more than three consecutive days should be spent in a town.
-
- The limit of three days has obvious tactical advantages, but it also
- has a psychological effect on the people, on seeing the team as a source of
- current and up-to-date information. Also, it can overexpose the target
- audience and cause a negative reaction.
-
- Basic tactical precautions should be taken. This is necessary for
- greater effectiveness, as was indicated in dealing with the subject of
- "Armed Propaganda," and when it is carried out discreetly, it increases the
- respect of the people for the team and increases their credibility.
-
- The basic procedures are: covert elements that carry out vigilance
- before and after the departure and in intervals. There should be two at
- least, and they should meet at a predetermined point upon a signal, or in
- view of any hostile action.
-
- The team's goal is to motivate the entire population of a place, but
- to constantly remain aware that defined target groups exist within this
- general configuration of the public.
-
- Although meetings may be held in the population, the cadres should
- recognize and keep in contact with the target groups, mixing with them
- before, during and after the meeting. The method for holding this type of
- meeting was included in the topic "Armed Propaganda," and will be covered
- in greater detail under the title "Control of Mass Meetings and
- Demonstrations."
-
- The basic focus of the Armed Propaganda cadres should be on the
- residents of the town,where their knowledge as formers of opinion can be
- applied.
-
- In the first visits of identification with the inhabitants, the
- guerrilla cadres will be courteous and humble. They can work in the fields
- or in any other form in which their abilities can contribute to the
- improvement of the living style of the inhabitants of the place, winning
- their trust and talking with them; helping to repair the fences of their
- cattle; the cleaning of the same, collaborating in the vaccination of their
- animals; teaching them to read, i.e., closely together in all the tasks of
- the peasant or the community.
-
- In his free time, our guerrilla should mix in with the community
- groups and participate with them in pastoral activities, parties,
- birthdays, and even in wakes or burials of the members of said community;
- he will try to converse with both adults and adolescents. |He will try to
- penetrate to the heart of the family, in order to win the acceptance and
- trust of all of the residents of that sector.
-
- The Armed Propaganda Team cadres will give ideological training,
- mixing these instructions with folkloric songs, and at the same time he
- will tell stories that have some attraction, making an effort to make them
- refer to heroic acts of our ancestors. He will also try to tell stories of
- heroism of our combatants in the present struggle so that listeners try to
- imitate them. It is important to let them know that there are other
- countries in the world where freedom and democracy cause those governing to
- be concerned over the well-being of their people, so that the children have
- medical care and free education; where also they are concerned that
- everyone have work and food, and all freedoms such as those of religion,
- association and expression; where the greatest objective of the government
- is to keep its people happy.
-
- The cadres should not make mention of their political ideology during
- the first phase of identification with the people, and they should orient
- their talks to things that are pleasing to the peasants or the listeners,
- trying to be as simple as possible in order to be understood.
-
- The tactical objectives for identification with the people are the
- following:
-
- To establish tight relations through identification with the people,
- through their very customs.
-
- To determine the basic needs and desires of the different target
- groups.
-
- To discover the weaknesses of the governmental control.
-
- Little by little, to sow the seed of democratic revolution, in order
- to change the vices of the regime towards a new order of justice and
- collective well-being.
-
- In the motivation of the target groups, by the Armed Propaganda Teams,
- the cadre should apply themes of "true~ groups and themes of "false"
- groups. The true group will correspond to the target group and the false
- one to the Sandinista regime.
-
- For the economic interest groups, such as small businessmen and
- farmers, it should be emphasized that their potential progress is "limited"
- by the Sandinista government, that resources are scarcer and scarcer, the
- earnings/profits minimal, taxes high, etc. This can be applied to
- entrepreneurs of transportation and others.
-
- For the elements ambitious for power and social positions, it will be
- emphasized that they will never be able to belong to the governmental
- social class, since they are hermetic in their circle of command. Example,
- the nine Sandinista leaders do not allow other persons to participate in
- the government, and they hinder the development of the economic and social
- potential of those like him, who have desires of overcoming this, which is
- unjust and arbitrary.
-
- Social and intellectual criticisms. They should be directed at the
- professionals, professors, teachers, priests, missionaries, students and
- others. Make them see that their writings, commentaries or conversations
- are censored, which does not make it possible to correct these problems.
-
- Once the needs and frustrations of the target groups have been
- determined, the hostility of the people to the "false" groups will become
- more direct, against the current regime and its system of repression. The
- people will be made to see that once this system or structure has been
- eliminated, the cause of their frustration s would be eliminated and they
- would be able to fulfill their desires. It should be shown to the
- population that supporting the insurrection is really supporting their own
- desires, since the democratic movement is aimed at the elimination of these
- specific problems.
-
- As a general rule, the Armed Propaganda teams should avoid
- participating in combat. However, if this is not possible, they should
- react as a guerrilla unit with tactics of "hit and run," causing the enemy
- the greatest amount of casualties with aggressive assault fire, recovering
- enemy weapons and withdrawing rapidly.
-
- One exception to the rule to avoid combat will be when in the town
- they are challenged by hostile actions, whether by an individual or whether
- by a number of men of an enemy team.
-
- The hostility of one or two men can be overcome by eliminating the
- enemy in a rapid and effective manner. This is the most common danger.
-
- When the enemy is equal in the number of its forces, there should be
- an immediate retreat, and then the enemy should be ambushed or eliminated
- by means of sharp-shooters.
-
- In any of the cases, the Armed Propaganda Team cadres should not turn
- the town into a battleground. Generally, our guerrilla will be better
- armed, so that they will obtain greater respect from the population if they
- carry out appropriate maneuvers instead of endangering their lives, or even
- destroying their houses in an encounter with the enemy within the town.
-
- 5. A Comprehensive Team Program - Mobile Infrastructure
-
- The psychological operations through the Armed Propaganda Teams
- include the infiltration of key guerrilla communicators (i.e., Armed
- Propaganda Team cadres) into the population of the country, instead of
- sending messages to them through outside sources, thus creating our "mobile
- infrastructure."
-
- A "mobile infrastructure" is a cadre of our Armed Propaganda Team
- moving about, i.e., keeping in touch with six or more populations, from
- which his source of information will come; and at the same time it will
- serve so that at the appropriate time they will become integrated in the
- complete guerrilla movement.
-
- In this way, an Armed Propaganda Team program in the operational area
- builds for our comandantes in the countryside constant source of data
- gathering (infrastructure) in all the area. It is also a means for
- developing or increasing popular support, for recruiting new members and
- for obtaining provisions.
-
- In addition, an Armed Propaganda Team program allows the expansion of
- the guerrilla movement, since they can penetrate areas that are not under
- the control of the combat units. In this way, through an exact evaluation
- of the combat units they will be able to plan their operations more
- precisely, since they will have certain knowledge of the existing
- conditions.
-
- The comandantes will remember that this type of operation is similar
- to the Fifth Column, which was used in the first part of the Second World
- War, and which through infiltration and subversion tactics allowed the
- Germans to penetrate the target countries before the invasions. They
- managed to enter Poland, Belgium, Holland and France in a month, and Norway
- in a week. The effectiveness of this tactic has been clearly demonstrated
- in several wars and can be used effectively by the Freedom Commandos.
-
- The activities of the Armed Propaganda Teams run some risks, but no
- more than any other guerrilla activity. However, the Armed Propaganda Teams
- are essential for the success of the struggle.
-
- 6. Conclusions
-
- In the same way that the explorers are the "eyes and "ears" of a
- patrol, or of a column on the march, the Armed Propaganda Teams are also
- the source of information, the "antennas" of our movement, because they
- find and exploit the sociopolitical weaknesses in the target society,
- making possible a successful operation.
-
- DEVELOPMENT AND CONTROL OF FRONT ORGANIZATIONS
-
- 1. Generalities
-
- The development and control of front organizations (or "facade"
- organizations) is an essential process in the guerrilla effort to carry out
- the insurrection. That is, in truth, an aspect of urban guerrilla warfare,
- but it should advance parallel to the campaign in the rural area. This
- section has as its objective to give the guerrilla student an understanding
- of the development and control of front organizations in guerrilla warfare.
-
- 2. Initial Recruitment
-
- The initial recruitment to the movement, if it is involuntary, will be
- carried out through several "private" consultations with a cadre (without
- his knowing that he is talking to a member of ours). Then, the recruit will
- be informed that he or she is already inside the movement, and he will be
- exposed to the police of the regime if he or she does not cooperate.
-
- When the guerrillas carry out missions of armed propaganda and a
- program of regular visits to the towns by the Armed Propaganda Teams, these
- contacts will provide the commandos with the names and places of persons
- who can be recruited. The recruitment, which will be voluntary, is done
- through visits by guerrilla leaders or political cadres.
-
- After a chain of voluntary recruitments has been developed, and the
- trustworthiness of the recruits has been established by their carrying out
- small missions, they will be instructed about increasing/widening the chain
- by recruiting in specific target groups, in accordance with the following
- procedure:
-
- From among their acquaintances or through observation of the target
- groups - political parties, workers' unions, youth groups, agrarian
- associations, etc. - finding out the personal habits, preferences and
- biases, as well as the weaknesses of the "recruitable" individuals.
-
- Make an approach through an acquaintance, and if possible, develop a
- friendship, attracting him through his preferences or weaknesses: it might
- be inviting him for lunch in the restaurant of his choice or having a drink
- in his favorite cantina or an invitation to dinner in the place he prefers.
-
- Recruitment should follow one of the following guidelines:
-
- ■ If in an informal conversation the target seems susceptible to
- voluntary recruitment based on his beliefs and personal values, etc.,
- the political cadre assigned to carry out the recruitments will be
- notified of this. The original contact will indicate to the cadre
- assigned, in detail, all he knows of the prospective recruit, and the
- style of persuasion to be used, introducing the two.
-
- ■ If the target does not seem to be susceptible to voluntary
- recruitment, meetings can be arranged which seem casual with the
- guerrilla leaders or with the political cadres (unknown by the target
- until that moment). The meetings will be held so that "other persons"
- know that the target is attending them, whether they see him arrive at
- a particular house, seated at the table in a particular bar or even
- seated on a park bench. The target, then, is faced with the fact of
- his participation in the insurrectional struggle and it will be
- indicated to him also that if he fails to cooperate or to carry out
- future orders, he will be subjected to reprisals by the police or
- soldiers of the regime.
-
- ■ The notification of the police, denouncing a target who does not
- want to join the guerrillas, can be carried out easily, when it
- becomes necessary, through a letter with false statements of citizens
- who are not implicated in the movement. Care should be taken that the
- person who recruited him covertly is not discovered.
-
- ■ With the carrying out of clandestine missions for the movement, the
- involvement and handing over of every recruit is done gradually on a
- wider and wider scale, and confidence increases. This should be a
- gradual process, in order to prevent confessions from fearful
- individuals who have been assigned very difficult or dangerous
- missions too early.
-
- Using this recruitment technique, our guerrillas will be able to
- successfully infiltrate any key target group in the regime, in order to
- improve the internal control of the enemy structure.
-
- 3. Established Citizens, Subjective Internal Control
-
- Established citizens, such as doctors, lawyers, businessmen,
- landholders, minor state officials, etc., will be recruited to the movement
- and used for subjective internal control of groups and associations to
- which they belong or may belong.
-
- Once the recruitment/involvement has been brought about, and has
- progressed to the point that allows that specific instructions be given to
- internal cadres to begin to influence their groups, instructions will be
- given to them to carry out the following:
-
- ■ The process is simple and only requires a basic knowledge of the
- Socrates dialectic: that is the knowledge that is inherent to another
- person or the established position of a group, some theme, some word
- or some thought related to the objective of persuasion of the person
- in charge of our recruitment.
-
- ■ The cadre then must emphasize this theme, word or thought in the
- discussions or meetings of the target group, through a casual
- commentary, which improves the focus of other members of the group in
- relation to this. Specific examples are:
-
- Economic interest groups are motivated by profit and generally feel
- that the system hinders the use of their capability in this effort in some
- way, taxes, import-export tariffs, transportation costs, etc. The cadre in
- charge will increase this feeling of frustration in later conversations.
-
- Political aspirants, particularly if the are not successful, feel that
- the system discriminates against them unfairly, limiting their
- capabilities, because the Sandinista regime does not allow elections. The
- cadres should focus political discussions towards this frustration.
-
- Intellectual social critics (such as professors, teachers, priests,
- missionaries, etc.), generally feel that the government ignores their valid
- criticism or censors their comments unjustly, especially in a situation of
- revolution. This can easily be shown by the guerrilla cadre at meetings and
- discussions, to be an injustice of the system.
-
- For all the target groups, after they have established frustrations,
- the hostility towards the obstacles to their aspirations will gradually
- become transferred to the current regime and its system of repression.
-
- The guerrilla cadre moving among the target groups should always
- maintain a low profile, so that the development of hostile feelings towards
- the false Sandinista regime seems to come spontaneously from the members of
- the group and not from suggestions of the cadres. This is internal
- subjective control.
-
- Antigovernmental hostility should be generalized, and not necessarily
- in our favor. If a group develops a feeling in our favor, it can be
- utilized. But the main objective is to precondition the target groups for
- the fusion in mass organizations later in the operation, when other
- activities have been successfully undertaken.
-
- 4. Organizations of Cells for Security
-
- Internal cadres of our movement should organize into cells of three
- persons, only one of them maintaining outside contact.
-
- The cell of three persons is the basic element of the movement, with
- frequent meetings to receive orders and pass information to the cell
- leader. These meetings are also very important for mutually reinforcing the
- members of the cell, as well as their morale. They should exercise
- criticism of themselves on the realization or failures in carrying out
- individual subjective control missions.
-
- The coordination of the three-member cell provides a security net for
- reciprocal communication, each member having contact with only an
- operational cell. The members will not reveal at the cell coordination
- meetings the identity of their contact in an operational cell; they will
- reveal only the nature of the activity in which the cell is involved, e.g.,
- political party work, medical association work, etc.
-
- There is no hierarchy in cells outside of an element of coordination,
- who is the leader, who will have direct but covert contact with our
- guerrilla comandante in the zone or operational area. The previous diagram
- does not indicate which new operational cell is the limit, but it indicates
- that for every three operational cells, we need a coordination cell.
-
- 5. Fusion in a "Cover" Organization
-
- The fusion of organizations recognized by the Sandinista government,
- such as associations and other groups, through internal subjective control,
- occurs in the final stages of the operation, in a tight connection with
- mass meetings.
-
- When the guerrilla armed action has expanded sufficiently, armed
- propaganda missions will be carried out on a large scale: propaganda teams
- will have clearly developed open support of the institutions; the enemy
- system of target groups will be well infiltrated and preconditioned. At the
- point at which mass meetings are held, the internal cadres should begin
- discussions for the "fusion" of forces into an organization - this
- organization will be a "cover" source of our movement.
-
- Any other target group will be aware that other groups are developing
- greater hostility to the government., the police and the traditional legal
- bases of authority. The guerrilla cadres tn that group - for example,
- teachers - will cultivate this awareness-building, making comments such as
- "So-and-so, who is a farmer, said that the members of his cooperative
- believe that the new economic policy is absurd, poorly planned and unfair
- to the farmers."
-
- When the awareness-building is increased, in the sense that other
- groups feel hostility towards the regime, the group discussions are held
- openly and our movement will be able to receive reports that the majority
- of their operatives are united in common, greater hostility against the
- regime. This will be developed and the order to fuse/join will come about.
- The fusion into a "cover" front is carried out thusly:
-
- ■ Internal cadres of our movement will meet with people such as
- presidents, leaders, and others, at organized meetings chaired by the
- group chief of our movement. Two or three escorts can assist the
- guerrilla cadre if it becomes necessary.
-
- ■ Publish a joint communique on this meeting, announcing the creation
- of the "cover" front, including names and signatures of the
- participants, and names of the organizations that they represent.
-
- After releasing this communique, mass meetings should be initiated,
- which should have as a goal the destruction of the Sandinista control.
-
- 6. Conclusions
-
- The development and control of the "cover" organizations in a
- guerrilla war will give our movement the ability to create the "whiplash"
- effect within the population, when the order for fusion is gives. When the
- infiltration and internal subjective control have been developed parallel
- with other guerrilla activities, a democratic guerrilla commander will
- literally be able to shake up the Sandinista structure and replace it.
-
- CONTROL OF MASS CONCENTRATIONS AND MEETINGS
-
- 1. Generalities
-
- In the last stages of a guerrilla war, mass concentrations and
- meetings are a powerful psychological tool for carrying out the mission.
- This section has as its objective giving the guerrilla student training on
- techniques for controlling mass concentrations and meetings in guerrilla
- warfare.
-
- 2. Infiltration of Guerrilla Cadres
-
- Infiltration of guerrilla cadres (whether a member of our movement or
- outside element) in workers' unions, student groups, peasant organizations,
- etc., preconditioning these groups for behavior within the masses, where
- they will have to carry proselytism for the instructional struggle in a
- clandestine manner.
-
- ■ Our psychological war team should prepare in advance a hostile
- mental attitude among the target groups so that at the decisive moment
- they can turn their furor into violence, demanding their rights that
- have been trampled upon by the regime.
-
- ■ These preconditioning campaigns must be aimed at the political
- parties, professional organizations, students, laborers, the masses of
- the unemployed, the ethnic minorities and any other sector of society
- that is vulnerable or recruitable; this also includes the popular
- masses and sympathizers of our movement.
-
- ■ The basic objective of a preconditioning campaign is to create a
- negative "image" of the common enemy, e.g.:
-
- Describe the managers of collective government entities as trying
- to treat the staff the way "slave foremen" do.
-
- The police mistreat the people like the Communist "Gestapo" does.
-
- The government officials of National Reconstruction are puppets
- of Russian-Cuban imperialism.
-
- Our psychological war cadres will create compulsive obsessions of
- a temporary nature in places of public concentrations, constantly
- hammering away at the themes pointed out or desired, the same as
- in group gatherings; in informal conversations expressing
- discontent; in addition passing out brochures and flyers, and
- writing editorial articles both on the radio and in newspapers,
- focused on the intention of preparing the mind of the people of
- the decisive moment, which will erupt in general violence.
-
- In order to facilitate the preconditioning of the masses, we
- should often use phrases to make the people see, such as:
-
- The taxes that they pay the government do not benefit the people
- at all, but rather are uses as a form of exploitation in order to
- enrich those governing.
-
- Make it plain to the people that they have become slaves, that
- they are being exploited by privileged military and political
- groups.
-
- ■ The foreign advisers and their counseling programs are in reality
- "interveners" in our homeland, who direct the exploitation of the
- nation in accordance with the objectives of the Russian and Cuban
- imperialists, in order to turn our people into slaves of the hammer
- and sickle.
-
- 3. Selection of Appropriate Slogans
-
- The leaders of the guerrilla warfare classify their slogans in
- accordance with the circumstances with the aim of mobilizing the masses in
- a wide scale of activities and at the highest emotional level.
-
- When the mass uprising is being developed, our covert cadres should
- make partial demands, initially demanding, e.g. "We want food," "We want
- freedom of worship," "We want union freedom" - steps that will lead us
- toward the realization of the goals of our movement, which are: GOD,
- HOMELAND and DEMOCRACY.
-
- If a lack of organization and command is noted in the enemy authority,
- and the people find themselves in a state of exaltation, advantage can be
- taken of this circumstance so that our agitators will raise the tone of the
- rallying slogans, taking them to the most strident point.
-
- If the masses are not emotionally exalted, our agitators will continue
- with the "partial" slogans, and the demands will be based on daily needs,
- chaining them to the goals of our movement.
-
- An example of the need to give simple slogans is that few people think
- in terms of millions of cordobas, but any citizen, however humble he may
- be, understands that a pair of shoes is necessary. The goals of the
- movement are of an ideological nature, but our agitators must realize that
- food - "bread and butter," "the tortilla and red beans" - pull along the
- people, and it should be understood that this is their main mission.
-
- 4. Creation of Nuclei
-
- This involves the mobilization of a specific number of agitators of
- the guerrilla organization of the place. This group will inevitably attract
- an equal number of curious persons who seek adventures and emotions, as
- well as those unhappy with the system of government. The guerrillas will
- attract sympathizers, discontented citizens as a consequence of the
- repression of the system. Each guerrilla subunit will be assigned specific
- tasks and missions that they should carry out.
-
- Our cadres will be mobilized in the largest number possible, together
- with persons who have been affected by the Communist dictatorship, whether
- their possessions have been stolen from them, they have been incarcerated,
- or tortured, or suffered from any other type of aggression against them.
- They will be mobilized toward the areas where the hostile and criminal
- elements of the FSLN, CDS and others live, with an effort for them to be
- armed with clubs, iron rods, placards and if possible, small firearms,
- which they will carry hidden.
-
- If possible, professional criminals will be hired to carry out
- specific selected "jobs."
-
- Our agitators will visit the places where the unemployed meet, as well
- as the unemployment offices, in order to hire them for unspecified "jobs."
- The recruitment of these wage earners is necessary because a nucleus is
- created under absolute orders.
-
- The designated cadres will arrange ahead of time the transportation of
- the participants, in order to take them to meeting places in private or
- public vehicles, boats or any other type of transportation.
-
- Other cadres will be designated to design placards, flags and banners
- with different slogans or key words, whether they be partial, temporary or
- of the most radical type.
-
- Other cadres will be designated to prepare flyers, posters, signs and
- pamphlets to make the concentration more noticeable. This material will
- contain instructions for the participants and will also serve against the
- regime.
-
- Specific tasks will be assigned to others, in order to create a
- "martyr" for the cause, taking the demonstrators to a confrontation with
- the authorities, in order to bring about uprisings or shootings, which will
- cause the death of one or more persons, who would become the martyrs, a
- situation that should be made use of immediately against the regime, in
- order to create greater conflicts.
-
- 5. Ways to Lead an Uprising at Mass Meetings
-
- It can be carried out by means of a small group of guerrillas
- infiltrated within the masses, who will have the mission of agitating,
- giving the impression that there are many of them and that they have
- popular backing. Using the tactics of a force of 200-300 agitators, a
- demonstration can be created in which 10,00-20,00 persons take part.
-
- The agitation of the masses in a demonstration is carried out by means
- of sociopolitical objectives. In this action one or several people of our
- convert movement should take part, highly trained as mass agitators,
- involving innocent persons, in order to bring about an apparent spontaneous
- protest demonstration. They will lead all of the concentration to the end
- of it.
-
- Outside Commando. This element stays out of all activity, located so
- that they can observe from where they are the development of the planned
- events. As a point of observation, they should look for the tower of a
- church, a high building, a high tree, the highest level of the stadium or
- an auditorium, or any other high place.
-
- Inside Commando. This element will remain within the multitude. Great
- importance should be given to the protection of the leaders of these
- elements. Some placards or large allusive signs should be used to designate
- the Commando Posts and to provide signals to the subunits. This element
- will avoid placing itself in places where fights or incidents come about
- after the beginning of the demonstration.
-
- These key agitators of ours will remain within the multitude. The one
- responsible for this mission will assign ahead of time the agitators to
- remain near the placard that he will indicate to them, in order to give
- protection to the placard from any contrary element. In that way the
- commander will know where our agitators are, and will be able to send
- orders to change passwords or slogans, or any other unforeseen thing, and
- even eventually to incite violence if he desires it.
-
- At this stage, once the key cadres have been dispersed, they should
- place themselves in visible places such as by signs, lampposts, and other
- places which stand out.
-
- Our key agitators should avoid places of disturbances, once they have
- taken care of the beginning of the same.
-
- Defense Posts. These elements will act as bodyguards in movement,
- forming a ring of protection for the chief, protecting him from the police
- and the army, or helping him to escape if it should be necessary. They
- should be highly disciplined and will react only upon a verbal order from
- the chief.
-
- In case the chief participates in a religious concentration, a funeral
- or any other type of activity in which they have to behave in an organized
- fashion, the bodyguards will remain in the ranks very close to the chief or
- to the placard or banner carriers in order to give them full protection.
-
- The participants in this mission should be guerrilla combatants in
- civilian clothes, or hired recruits who are sympathizers in our struggle
- and who are against the oppressive regime.
-
- These members must have a high discipline and will use violence only
- on the verbal orders of the one in charge of them.
-
- Messengers. They should remain near the leaders, transmitting orders
- between the inside and outside commandos. They will use communication
- radios, telephones, bicycles, motorcycles, cars, or move on foot or
- horseback, taking paths or trails to shorten distances. Adolescents (male
- and female) are ideal for this mission.
-
- Shock Troops. These men should be equipped with weapons (Knives,
- razors, chains, clubs, bludgeons) and should march slightly behind the
- innocent and gullible participants. They should carry their weapons hidden.
- They will enter into action only as "reinforcements" if the guerrilla
- agitators are attacked by the police. They will enter the scene quickly,
- violently and by surprise, in order to distract the authorities, in this
- way making possible the withdrawal or rapid escape of the inside commando.
-
- Carriers of Banners and Placards. The banners and placards used in
- demonstrations or concentrations will express the protests of the
- population, but when the concentration reaches its highest level of
- euphoria or popular discontent, our infiltrated persons will make use of
- the placards against the regime, which we manage to infiltrate in a hidden
- fashion, an don them slogans or key words will be expressed to the benefit
- of our cause. The one responsible for this mission will assign the
- agitators ahead of time to keep near the placard of any contrary element.
- In that way, the comandante will know where the agitators are, and will be
- able to send orders to change slogans and eventually to incite violence if
- he wishes.
-
- Agitators of Rallying Cries and Applause. They will be trained with
- specific instructions to use tried rallying cries. They will be able to use
- phrase such as "WE ARE HUNGRY, WE WAND BREAD," and "WE DON'T WANT
- COMMUNISM." There work and their technique for agitating the masses is
- quite similar to those of the leaders of applause and slogans at the high
- school football or baseball games. The objective is to become more adept
- and not just to shout rallying cries.
-
- 6. Conclusions
-
- In a revolutionary movement of guerrilla warfare, the mass
- concentrations and protest demonstrations are the principle essential for
- the destruction of the enemy structures.
-
- MASSIVE IN-DEPTH SUPPORT THROUGH PSYCHOLOGICAL OPERATIONS
-
- 1. Generalities
-
- The separate coverage in these sections could leave the student with
- some doubts. Therefore, all sections are summarized here, in order to give
- a clearer picture of this book.
-
- 2. Motivation as Combatant-Propagandist
-
- Every member of the struggle should know that his political mission is
- as important as, if not more important than, his tactical mission.
-
- 3. Armed Propaganda
-
- Armed propaganda in small towns, rural villages, and city residential
- districts should give the impression that our weapons are not for
- exercising power over the people, but rather that the weapons are for
- protecting the people; that they are the power of the people against the
- FSLN government of oppression.
-
- 4. Armed Propaganda Teams
-
- Armed Propaganda Teams will combine political awareness building and
- the ability to conduct propaganda for ends of personal persuasion, which
- will be carried out within the population.
-
- 5. Cover ("Facade") Organizations
-
- The fusion of several organizations and associations recognized by the
- government, through internal subjective control, occurs in the final stages
- of the operation, in close cooperation with mass meetings.
-
- 6. Control of Mass Demonstrations
-
- The mixture of elements of the struggle with participants in the
- demonstration will give the appearance of a spontaneous demonstration,
- lacking direction,which will be used by the agitators of the struggle to
- control the behavior of the masses.
-
- 7. Conclusion
-
- Too often we see guerrilla warfare only from the point of view of
- combat actions. This view is erroneous and extremely dangerous. Combat
- actions are not the key to victory in guerrilla warfare but rather form
- part of one of the six basic efforts. There is no priority in any of the
- efforts, but rather they should progress in a parallel manner. The emphasis
- or exclusion of any of these efforts could bring about serious
- difficulties, and in the worst of cases, even failure. The history of
- revolutionary wars has shown this reality.
-
- APPENDIX
-
- The purpose of this appendix is to complement the guidelines and
- recommendations to the propagandist-guerrillas expressed under the topic of
- "Techniques of Persuasion in Talks and Speeches," to improve the ability to
- organize and express thoughts for those who wish to perfect their
- oratorical abilities. After all, oratory is one of the most valuable
- resources for exercising leadership. Oratory can be used, then, as an
- extraordinary political tool.
-
- 2. The Audience
-
- Oratory is simultaneous communication par excellence, i.e., the orator
- and his audience share the same time and space. Therefore, every speech
- should be a different experience at "that" moment or particular situation
- which the audience is experiencing and which influences them. So the
- audience must be considered as "a state of mind." Happiness, sadness,
- anger, fear, etc., are states of mind that we must consider to exist in our
- audience, and it is the atmosphere that affects the target public.
-
- The human being is made up of a mind and soul; he acts in accordance
- with his thoughts and sentiments and responds to stimuli of ideas and
- emotions. In that way there exist only two possible focuses in any plan,
- including speeches: the concrete, based on rational appeals, i.e., to
- thinking; and the idealized, with emotional appeals, i.e., to sentiment.
-
- For his part the orator, although he must be sensitive to the existing
- mass sentiment, he must at the same time keep his cold judgment to be able
- to lead and control effectively the feelings of an audience. When in the
- oratorical momentum the antithesis between heart and brain comes about,
- judgment should always prevail, characteristic of a leader.
-
- 3. Political Oratory
-
- Political oratory is one of the various forms of oratory, and it
- usually fulfills one of three objectives: to instruct, persuade, or move;
- and its method is reduced to urging (asking), ordering, questioning and
- responding.
-
- Oratory is a quality so tied to political leadership that it can be
- said that the history of political orators is the political history of
- humanity, an affirmation upheld by names such as Cicero, Demosthenes,
- Danton, Mirabeau, Robespierre, Clemenceau, Lenin, Trotsky, Mussolini,
- Hitler, Roosevelt, etc.
-
- 4. Qualities in a Speech
-
- In general terms, the most appreciated qualities of a speech, and
- specifically a political speech in the context of the psychological action
- of the armed struggle, are the following:
-
- ■ Be brief and concise
- A length of five minutes [line missing in Spanish text]...that of
- the orator who said: "If you want a two-hour speech, I'll start
- right now; if you want a two-minute one, let me think awhile."
-
- ■ Centered on the theme
- The speech should be structured by a set of organized ideas that
- converge on the theme. A good speech is expressed by concepts and
- not only with words.
-
- ■ Logic
- The ideas presented should be logical and easily acceptable.
- never challenge logic in the mind of the audience, since
- immediately the main thing is lost - credibility. As far as
- possible, it is recommended that all speeches be based on a
- syllogism, which the orator should adjust in his exposition. For
- example: "Those governing get rich and are thieves; the
- Sandinistas have enriched themselves governing; then, the
- Sandinistats are thieves." This could be the point of a speech on
- the administrative corruption of the regime. When an idea or a
- set of guiding ideas do not exist in a speech, confusion and
- dispersion easily arise.
-
- 5. Structure of a Speech
-
- Absolute improvisation does not exist in oratory. All orators have a
- "mental plan" that allows them to organize their ideas and concepts
- rapidly; with practice it is possible to come to do this in a few seconds,
- almost simultaneously with the expression of the word.
-
- The elements that make up a speech are given below, in a structure
- that we recommend always putting into practice, to those who wish to more
- and more improve their oratorical abilities:
-
- ■ Introduction or Preamble
- One enters into contact with the public, a personal introduction
- can be made or one of the movement to which we belong, the reason
- for our presence, etc. In these first seconds it is important to
- make an impact, attracting attention and provoking interest among
- the audience. For that purpose, there are resources such as
- beginning with a famous phrase or a previously prepared slogan,
- telling a dramatic or humorous story, etc.
-
- ■ Purpose or Enunciation
- The subject to be dealt with is defined, explained as a whole or
- by parts.
-
- ■ Appraisal or Argumentation
- Arguments are presented, EXACTLY IN THIS ORDER: First, the
- negative arguments, or against the thesis that is going to be
- upheld, and then the positive arguments, or favorable ones to our
- thesis, immediately adding proof or facts that sustain such
- arguments.
-
- ■ Recapitulation or Conclusion
- A short summary is made and the conclusions of the speech are
- spelled out.
-
- ■ Exhortation
- Action by the public is called for, i.e., they are asked in and
- almost energetic manner to do or not to do something.
-
- 6. Some Literary Resources
-
- Although there exist typically oratorical devices of diction, in
- truth, oratory has taken from other literary genres a large number of
- devices, several of which often, in an unconscious manner, we use in our
- daily expressions and even in our speeches.
-
- Below we enunciate many of their literary devices in frequent use in
- oratory, recommending to those interested moderate use of them, since an
- orator who over-uses the literary device loses authenticity and sounds
- untrue.
-
- The devices that are used the most in oratory are those obtained
- through the repetition of words in particular periods of the speech, such
- as:
-
- Anaphora, or repetition of a word at the beginning of each sentence,
- e.g., "Freedom for the poor, freedom for the rich, freedom for all." In the
- reiteration, repetition is of a complete sentence (slogan) insistently
- through the speech, e.g., "With God and patriotism we will overcome
- Communism because...:
-
- Conversion is the repetition at the end of every phrase, e.g.:
- "Sandinismo tries to be about everyone, dominate everyone, command
- everyone, and as an absolute tyranny, do away with everyone."
-
- In the emphasis, repetition is used at the beginning and at the end of
- the clause, e.g., "Who brought the Russian-Cuban intervention? The
- Sandinistas. And who is engaged in arms trafficking with the neighboring
- countries? The Sandinistas. And who is proclaiming to be in favor of
- nonintervention? The Sandinistas."
-
- Reduplication, when the phrase begins with the same word that ends the
- previous one. For example: "We struggle for democracy, democracy and social
- justice." The concatenation is a chain made up of duplications. For
- example: "Communism transmits the deception of the child to the young man,
- of the young man to the adult, and of the adult to the old man."
-
- In the antithesis or word play, the same words are used with a
- different meaning to give an ingenious effect: e.g., "The greatest wealth
- of every human being is his own freedom, because slaves will always be poor
- but we poor can have the wealth of our freedom."
-
- Similar cadences, through the use of verbs of the same tense and
- person, or nouns of the same number and case. For example: "Those of us who
- are struggling we will be marching because he who perseveres achieves, and
- he who gives up remains."
-
- Use of synonyms, repetition of words with a similar meaning. For
- example: "We demand a Nicaragua for all, without exceptions, without
- omissions."
-
- Among the figures of speech most used in oratory are:
-
- Comparison or simile, which sets the relationship of similarity
- between two or more beings or things. For example: "Because we love Christ,
- we love his bishops and pastors," and "Free as a bird."
-
- Antithesis, or the counterposition of words, ideas, or phrases of an
- opposite meaning. For example: "They promised freedom and gave slavery;
- that they would distribute the wealth and they have distributed poverty;
- that they would bring peace, and they have brought about war."
-
- Among the logic figures are the following:
-
- Concession, which is a skillful way to concede something to the
- adversary in order to better emphasize the inappropriate aspects, through
- the use of expressions such as: but, however, although, nevertheless, in
- spite of the fact that, etc. For example: "The mayor here has been honest,
- but he is not the one controlling all the money of the nation." It is an
- effective form of rebuttal when the opinion of the audience is not entirely
- ours.
-
- Permission, in which one apparently accedes to something, when in
- reality it is rejected. For example: "Do not protest, but sabotage them."
- "Talk quietly, but tell it to everyone."
-
- Prolepsis is an anticipated refutation. For example: "Some will think
- that they are only promises; they will say, others said the same thing, but
- no. We are different, we are Christians, we consider God a witness to our
- words."
-
- Preterition is an artifice, pretending discretion when something is
- said with total clarity and indiscretion. For example: "If I were not
- obligated to keep military secrets, I would tell all of you of the large
- amount of armaments that we have so that you would feel even more
- confidence that our victory is assured."
-
- Communication is a way to ask and give the answer to the same
- question. For example: "If they show disrespect for the ministers of God,
- will they respect us, simple citizens? Never."
-
- Rhetorical questions are a way in which one shows perplexity or
- inability to say something, only as an oratorical recourse. For example: "I
- am only a peasant and can tell you little. I know little and I will not be
- able to explain to you the complicated things of politics. Therefore, I
- talk to you with my heart, with my simple peasant's heart, as we all are."
-
- Litotes is a form of meaning a lot by saying little. For example: "The
- nine commanders have stolen little, just the whole country."
-
- Irony consists of getting across exactly the opposite of what one is
- saying. For example: "The divine mobs that threaten and kill, they are
- indeed Christians."
-
- Amplification is presenting an idea from several angles. For example:
- "Political votes are the power of the people in a democracy. And economic
- votes are their power in the economy. Buying or not buying something, the
- majorities decide what should be produced. For something to be produced or
- to disappear. That is part of economic democracy."
-
- The most usual plaintive figures of speech are:
-
- Deprecation or entreaty to obtain something. For example: "Lord, free
- us from the yoke. Give us freedom."
-
- Imprecation or threat, expressing a sentiment in view of the unjust or
- hopeless. For example: "Let there be a Homeland for all or let there be a
- Homeland for no one."
-
- Conmination, similar to the previous one, presents a bad wish for the
- rest. For example, "Let them drown in the abyss of their own corruption."
-
- The apostrophe consists of addressing oneself towards something
- supernatural or inanimate as if it were a living being. For example:
- "Mountains of Nicaragua, make the seed of freedom grow."
-
- Interrogation consists of asking a question of oneself, to give
- greater emphasis to what is expressed. It is different from communication,
- since it gives the answer and is of a logical and not a plaintive nature.
- For example: "If they have already injured the members of my family, my
- friends, my peasant brothers, do I have any path other than brandishing a
- weapon?"
-
- Reticence consists of leaving a thought incomplete, intentionally, so
- that mentally the audience completes it. For example, "They promised
- political pluralism and gave totalitarianism. They promised political
- pluralism and gave totalitarianism. They promised social justice, and they
- have increased poverty. They offered freedom of thought, and they have
- given censorship. Now, what they promise the world are free elections..."
-
- =================================
-
- This completes the text of the CIA's manual and you are encouraged to
- upload other materials similar to this.
-