Information Operations. The Adequate Communication Response to Contemporary Threats

From immemorial time, information has been an indispensable and decisive element in winning the war. Although the morphology of conflicts evolves according to military capabilities, technologies, procedures and combat techniques, as well as the space in which they take place, the communication architecture of the battlefield remains a constant presence. Contemporary conflict can be characterised by increasing hybridity and the increasing role of information, both in the physical space itself and in the virtual space. With the digitalisation of the information environment (it directly affects the operational environment), the information sphere has become not only a crucial element, but also the battlefield in which the war takes place. In modern warfare, many of the tactics and techniques used by the armed forces have the role of informing/influencing and not destroying. Taking into account the diversity of participants (combatants, non-combatants), we can assert that the civilian population plays a preferential role. Therefore, interaction with a state’s own population and the population in the area of responsibility is essential to ensure the support of participation in the conflict as well as the acceptance of forces in the field. Nowadays, information operations (INFO OPS) are considered a force multiplier in the whole spectrum of military operations, and through technology, actions can be initiated to influence the target audience. The aim of this article is to identify the role of information operations during NATO’s longest and most challenging mission: the International Security Assistance Force/ISAF, in Afghanistan.