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In the past year, CENTCOM has pursued several initiatives to improve our capabilities in the information domain, and we have coordinated these actions closely with the State Department’s Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy, Judith McHale.
In the broader CENTCOM AOR, Operation Earnest Voice (OEV) is the critical program of record that resources our efforts to synchronize our Information Operations activities, to counter extremist ideology and propaganda, and to ensure that credible voices in the region are heard. OEV provides CENTCOM with direct communication capabilities to reach regional audiences through traditional media as well as via websites and regional public affairs blogging. In each of these efforts, we follow the admonition we practiced in Iraq, that of trying to be “first with the truth.” Full and enduring funding of OEV and other DoD information operations efforts will, in coordination with State Department initiatives, enable us to do just that and, in so doing, to communicate critical messages and to counter the propaganda of our adversaries.
Activities in Cyberspace
Cyberspace has become an extension of the battlefield and we cannot allow it to be uncontested enemy territory. Indeed, in the years ahead, extremist activities in cyberspace will undoubtedly pose increasing threats to our military and our Nation as a whole. DOD and other elements of our government are, of course, working to come to grips with this emerging threat. Clearly, this is an area in which we need to develop additional policies, build capabilities, and ensure adequate resources. I suspect, in fact, that legislation will be required over time, as well.